May Favorites...

I can't believe it's mid 2011.
It's crazy,
but what can we do other than enjoying each and every day...


I was thinking I don't have anything to put it in my May's Favorite list, but actually I do!


I love my Elf Translucent Mattifying Powder
for shine control (I already hit the pan)


I love the smell of Benefit Coralista blush,


I love my Sonia Kashuk Concealer Palette
that can erase every imperfection


I love my Hard Candy tinted moisturizer
that can cover up all my blemishes (but not acne scars)

I love my Smashbox Photo Finish Oil-Free Primer
because it has this silky smooth feeling to it


I love my new eye cream from
Origins - A perfect world for eyes
that has a silky smooth & has a long lasting moisturizing effect and it smells great

I like that my new moisturizer
Origins Balanced Diet
calmed my skin and moistured
and I have almost no shine when I wake up or during the day

I love my Watson's Witch Hazel as a toner
that treats blemishes and it's the cheapest most effective toner ever!


I am in love with Boot's No.7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser that makes me face super clean


I like Burt's Bees Citrus Facial Scrub
that makes my face super soft and moistured
but kind of harsh for my sensitive skin


I like my Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant scrub
because it's so soft and gentle on my skin

I love Mario Badescu Whitening Mask to erase acne scars and smells A-MA-ZING!


I like the smell of Neutrogena oil-free dry sun block


Non-beauty related May Favorite....

I love Panera's decaf coffee
and I don't even drink decaf. Imagine that!
(I'll miss it like crazy when I go back home :(  )

Losing my healthy skin...

I think I was really naive when it comes to make up knowledge. 

No, not in terms of my make up skills, 

but I never thought actually some make up products can cause me to break out. 

Recently, I remembered one incident... 

Because I changed my skin care products at that time I blamed the new guys in the collection for the break out. 

However, it was the mineral loose powder I used. 

I remember wanting to itch my face like crazy, and kept getting blemishes all over my face, and my combination skin dried out and I had no idea why. 

So,

...the Oscar goes to I.d Bare Essentuals Mineral Loose Powder for the worst loose powder EVER!!!!!!!!! award. 

Their powder has an ingridient called BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this ingridient is not your friend! 

Cosmetics companies use this product, because it gives you a nice pearly glow. 

Screw the glow, it's allergenic!, and according to researches most of the population is allergic to this ingridient. 

The common signs are itching and blemishes on the skin and cystic acne.

Guess who got acne like thirteen year-old at the age of 20?!

Which is funny, because I never had acne before even when I was a teenager up until I used this product, and I thought poor Dermalogica caused this. 

I started using Dermalogica again, and let me say this Dermalogica is a kind angel! 

It cleared out my acne almost completely in two months. 

Deja Vu

I had the same itching like crazy feeling when I used Maybelline Dreammatte Mouse. 

I Googled the ingredients in this product and I found out that this one is also formulated with bismuth in it. 

All this time I thought I can't tolerate drug store products, because they are cheap, but the problem was one of the ingredients. 

If you have sensitive skin like me stay away from powders that has bismuth oxychloride in it. 

Bismuth oxychloride is a natural ingredient found in the majority of mineral cosmetics. It is the main irritant in some brands of mineral cosmetics that often causes itching, rashes and mild to severe cystic acne. If you choose a mineral cosmetic that includes bismuth oxychloride it may cause additional irritation. If you have had a reaction to mineral cosmetics in the past it is likely because of the bismuth oxychloride in the product. (http://www.carefreebeauty.eu/sensitiveskin/bismuth)

You can google Bismuth Oxychloride allergy for more information... Personally I haven't heard Afterglow cosmetics other than a girl talking about it on youtube. (AndreasChoice) Recently, I went to Ulta, because I wanted to get a mineral loose powder for light coverage and a natural look.  Finally, after feeling frustrated, sad and depressed about the way my skin is, I am taking care of my blemishes, and acne scaring.  I will talk about the products that made miracles on my skin later,  but now it's make up time.  Powders... So, it was time to get out of the closet and show some skin....I mean my face. Lol  So, me and the seller girl spent a good 15 minutes to find a product that does not contain bismuth in it.  Never thought it was going to be this difficult.  The only one we could find was Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder.  Although I have combination/oily skin this product is good enough for me.  However, it's extremely expensive, even more than Dior.  So, I ended up getting a smaller size, but it's a set, so I got the primer, concealer, foundation and the loose powder in the set, Complexion Perfection.  My previous powder Lorac was oil-free, but still it was not helping my T-zone.  So, I decided to try something else after I ran out of it.  After all there are so many products out there and since we are mortal, we have limited time on this planet. Lol My next mission is to find out why my eye make up products are irritating my eyes as if I suddenly develop a pink eye for few hours.  It must be something in the products! By the way did I tell you I am still dealing with the cystic acne that bismuth oxychloride in the my make product caused for years ago!  It's sad!  I never had more than one small zit at a time until I turned 20 and used BE mineral loose powder and then 2 years ago Maybelline Dreammatte Mouse.  They screwed up my skin! (Posted on March 20, 2011)