You northern hemisphere girls are heading towards midsummer, and us southern hemisphere girls are missing summer, so I thought I’d remind everyone of the most important thing to remember when going into the sun… sunscreen! During my research I came across this brilliant infographic which presents all the research in a much more interesting and clearer format than I could, …
(Chaval Brasil) Aspirin masks are a popular DIY skincare treatment, but can some pills crushed in water be an effective homemade replacement for expensive salicylic acid exfoliants? Aspirin vs salicylic acid Aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid, which sounds a lot like salicylic acid, a beta hydroxy acid that’s great for exfoliation, with anti-irritant and anti-bacterial properties that make it great for …
A few people have asked me why, when you apply a flakie topcoat over different colours, can they take on different sheens? Luckily, there’s a moderately simple explanation! Light and colour When light hits an object, some gets absorbed and some is reflected. The light that’s reflected hits your eye and tells you what colour it is. For example, when …
(Fir0002/Flagstaffotos) Why do I need to exfoliate? Your skin cells are constantly renewing themselves – your entire epidermis (outer skin layers) is replaced every 50 days. Millions of dead skin cells are shed each day from the topmost layer (the stratum corneum) in a natural process called desquamation. However, many things can interfere with this process, such as ageing, hormonal …
(You think you love your sleep? If you’re not Japanese – think again. The Japanese are HARDCORE SLEEPERS. Google images of “Japanese subway sleeping” for some pro-level public transport power-naps that most of us mere mortals can only aspire to.) I’ve been staying up til all hours recently for a number of reasons (Diablo, nail painting, thesis – in …
One of the things I hate the most about my body are my stretch marks. I have a lot around the sides of my bum from when I had my growth spurt in puberty. Every summer I’m paranoid about going to the beach in a bikini (yay swimming skirts!). So what can you do? Causes Although it’s not clear how …
Shellac and other hybrid gel nails give long-lasting nail colour that can be soaked off with acetone. You simply paint your nails using special gel polishes, then “cure” each layer under UV light. What’s in those special polishes, and how does the UV light change that? Plastic – it’s fantastic To understand gel nails, first we need to understand plastic! …
3268zauber Vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols) can be found in lots of foods (vegetables, nuts, oils (e.g. sunflower), seeds, wholegrains)… and lots of lotions! What’s it doing there? Well, vitamin E is actually one of THE most important antioxidants in our bodies! Oxygen is essential for life, but it’s also very reactive and, when it reacts with things it shouldn’t …