St'Ives Black Head Clearing Green Tea Scrub

From few months I have been obsessed with scrubs and masks, I drop two or more tubes in my trolley during purchasing grocery every month and still I want to go back and purchase some more.
Today I will be writing about St'Ives Black Head Clearing Green Tea Scrub which I purchased 2 months before, I think I have used it enough to have an opinion.

Front side

Back side

As on their site:

Green tea packs a punch in this derma-tested, blackhead-tackling scrub. It’s got those good guys – antioxidants and it’s moderately exfoliating too, helping to target blackheads, unclog pores and calms redness, for a more even skin tone. It also contains olive leaf extract which the Egyptians saw as a symbol of heavenly power. And who’d argue with that?

Natural Ingredients:

• Green tea
• Exfoliating mineral

Extra Benefits:

• Contains 1% Salicylic acid which helps to clear blackheads
• Unclogs dirt and oil from pores, helping to clear blackheads and calm redness
• Instantly reveals skin’s natural radiance
• Made with 100% natural exfoliants
• Medium exfoliation scrub factor level
• Hypoallergenic & Paraben free
• Dermatologist tested & non-comedogenic (meaning it doesn’t block your pores.

How to use:

"Squeeze a dime sized amount of scrub onto your fingertips and massage onto damp skin. Spread in small circular motions, applying gentle pressure to wake your skin’s natural circulation. Work all over, right up to your hairline and onto the sides of your nose. When you’re done, rinse and pat dry with a clean towel."

Some informal information:

All hail the green tea revolution! Not only does it make a refreshing drink, but did you know its also got all sorts of skin benefits too? We’ve gone all green-eyed.
Our green tea leaves come from China and are processed in the traditional Chinese way. This involves heating them to stop oxidation so they stay that lovely vibrant green color. The goodness is then extracted by very gently by soaking them. It takes a little longer but we think it’s worth it. 

Packaging:

It comes in a standard squeezable tube with a flip cover which has 6 OZ/ 170g of product.

My thoughts:

I pretty much love all my scrubs as I have dry skin which tends to get scaly too at times, I HAVE to use scrub to remove dry skin and clear my pores. The formula is grainy but the particles are not as clear or separate as the regular oats or apricot scrub, also the scrub feels more like aqua-ish than creamy with mild harshness (I hope it makes sense).  When I first used it I was more than amazed, I was in LOVE. It made my skin so smooth and fresh and I loved every bit of it, and then reality happened. Two days after using it my skin became more drier and I had alot of dry patches too. I used it 4-5 more times to see if it was actually this scrub causing the dryness which later was proved right.

The back side of the tube says clearly that under heading Warning "skin irritation and dryness is more likely to occue if you are using another topical acne medication at the same time. If irritation occurs, only use one topical medication at a time". Although I am not using any medication as I hardly get acne, but it is probably just my sensitive skin being more sensitive :p. Also in Direction  heading it says that dryness can occur from first usage so you should increase its use gradually from one time a day to 2-3 times a day.

I believe that it is more suited for people who have acne as the scrubbing particles are mild and more likely will suit those who have oily or combination skin. It really does what it claims, it doesn't magically eliminate all black heads in single go but it does make your skin feel smoother and fresh. 

Final thought:

I would definitely recommend it to any one who is dealing with acne and have combination/oily skin. It may not suit well to people with dry skin, but it doesn't hurt to use once in a month when you REALLY need some scrubbing.

Pros:

• Travel friendly as comes in tube which closes with click.
• Economical and easily available over the counter.
• Lesser harsh chemicals, made with natural ingredients.
• Quite effective on newly-formed blackheads and whiteheads, prevents future zits

Cons:

• May not suit extra dry skin.
• Can be too mild for extra oily skins.
• The results may not be shown right after first usage.

Price and availability:

I got it from Al-Fatah Gulberg and it cost around Rs. 250/-

We greatly value your feedback, please do tell us in comments your favourite scrub and skin type.

With Love,

Maria.

Review on CLEAN & CLEAR Advantage Nose Pore Cleansing Strips and a "FAIL" Product

Hello Ladies! We all know the craze of pore strips and satisfaction that follows after removal of black/white heads by one single strip. I used to get intrigued by the charcoal strips the most, probably because it shows it on black background I guess. As we don't get Biore Pore strips in Pakistan like I searched in Alfatah Lahore, so I had to settle for some available brand. So like any other excited person I picked the first Charcoal based nose strips I saw. Here I will be talking about two of the brands though

Front

Back with detailed directions

Separate Strips inside package

Back Side of strip inside package

Pore strip side 1

Pore strip side 2

How I prep for it:
I use it after shower because I believe that is when my pores are soft or open so I scrub my face (Any scrub would work) and apply it OR you can also use warm cloth to open your pores too if you can't scrub.

"REVITALE" Deeply Absorbent Nose Strips- Charcoal Magnetic Cleansing:
When I saw the terms Charcoal and Magnetic I thought "OHMYGAAAWDDD my nose will be clean and smooth as baby's bum". So it comes in a cardboard package with 5 pore strips separately packed in another sheet cover.  There are directions to use it on the back side of package. You remove the strip from the sheet and apply the shiny side on nose. So after a few seconds I apply it, it starts to tingle a little like kind of minty, I actually like when products do that as it makes me a little satisfied that Yes something is happening. When I removed it there was literally one to two dots of stuff that I saw and my nose didn't feel clean at all. I tried it for 3 more times with in a month and the result was same so for me it was FAIL.

"CLEAN & CLEAR" Advantage Nose Pore Cleansing Strips:
Last summer Sana picked it up from Alfatah for her and I was like Eh!! as I wasn't into pore strips then. So I picked it up after my last fail pick because I remember Sana told me that it is a great product. It also comes in cardboard packaging and have 5 pore strips separately packed in it. It isn't charcoal based as you can see in pic too, it has hard cloth like texture. It applies with the same direction as previous one. When it removed it I was SO surprised as it was full of all the gunk and stuff (which is kind of gross and exciting also) and I almost showed it to everyone at home. My sister also used it and the result was same on her too. My nose felt so clean and smooth although not as much as baby's bum :D but still in comparison to Revitale it was much MUCH better. I am absolutely in love with this one and I think it is a pretty decent product although I wish I could get my hands on Biore one too as it is said to be the best one.

Pore strips necessarily doesn't remove or eliminate all black/white heads from your nose or minimize the pores forever. but it does clean it for a week or two. It is just your personal preference and choice to use it. It is advised to be used only once a week and also strip should be removed in upward direction or else it will rip or cause rashes on your skin (victim here :p).

They both cost below Rs 350/- for pack.

Regards,
Maria.

Why APPLE CIDER VINEGAR is my favourite DIY staple?

"Apple cider vinegar, otherwise known as cider vinegar or ACV, is a type of vinegar made from cider or apple must and has a pale to medium amber color Wikipedia"

I first learned about Apple cider vinegar from Huda Beauty's blog while searching for DIYs I suppose and trust me I got glued to her blog for days to follow and I did suggest it to almost everyone I know to check her blog. (If you want to read her blogposts on ACV Click here, DIYs from kitchen cabinet, Increase Hair Volume and many more). Apple Cider Vinegar seemed like a holy grail to me after reading all this and some further research, and let me tell you I am not disappointed.

Its been few years I have started using it and currently I have ran out of it (Must Purchase it On Next Grocery Shopping- Mental note) and I can't wait to restock it. I will be mentioning few things that I used it for.

1-Treating Acne:
Few properties that help are

• Anti-Bacterial and Antiseptic properties help to kill bacteria that block pores and cause acne
• Its alpha-hydroxyl acid rejuvenates the skin by exfoliating the dead skin cells.
• It helps to restore the skin Ph. level by balancing acid-alkaline levels.
• It works as astringent which means it dries out the pimple which helps to get of them faster.

I have a sensitive dry skin and I rarely get pimples but some of them do need extra attention. When I feel like a pimple is going to pop up the next day or there is redness/itching on my face which means I will get one tomorrow, what I do is I mix few drops of ACV in equivalent amount of water and apply directly on the spot. It do sting a little at first but that doesn't last for more than mere seconds. If I feel my skin is dried out from that spot after pimple is healed, I use scrub to get rid of it

2-Hair Mask:

Like Huda suggested, I used to pour a mug of water with few drops of ACV at the end and after few minutes wash it again pouring few more mugs of water. It does makes your hair soft and shiny. it helps to clear your scalp from excessive oils too. If you have lice problem you can treat it too with ACV, apply a diluted ACV on head and cover it with shower cap for half hour and wash it with regular shampoo later. It can be used in the same manner for people with dandruff issues.

3- Increase Metabolism/helps in digestion:

Although many people claim that it will reduce extra fat and makes you loss weight in weeks, no its not true. Abundance of one thing can never give you any required results, its always about "mix and match". I love to drink it in morning before breakfast, just mix one tea spoon in water and drink it. I do not like its smell btw (its CIDER Duh!! ) but I have heard Organic ACV does not have foul smell.
I feel light and active in days when I take this in morning as it helps in digestion and with continuous use you can reduced few pounds as it betters the metabolism function of your body, with right exercises and diet you can easily achieve your weight loss goal.

Other uses of ACV includes:

• Whitens teeth.
• Reduces cholesterol level
• Cures hiccups
• Soothes sore throat
• Banishes bad breathe. If you want to read more, click here. 

I will recommend everyone to include this in your pantry and take as much advantage of this natural staple as you can. It has been beneficial for me from years, it will help you too. It is easily available on super markets, I have been using American Gardens one but now I am planning to get BRAGG as its organic.

Please do tell me in comments if you have used it too for any cause or planning too.

With Love,

Maria.