REVIEW: Biotherm Skin-Ergetic D-Tox High Recovery Night Care

Biotherm recently launched a naturally derived skin care line, free of Mineral Oils, petro-chemicals, artificial fragrances, silicones, dyes, parabens, etc. The range of products include the serum (read that review here), an anti-oxidant day cream (read that review here) and this night cream.

The tag line in Biotherm's advertising, which you may have seen in countless magazines, is "So signs of Fatigue don't turn into Signs of Aging". With this night cream, the good folks over at Biotherm have put together a detoxifying blend of Tea Catechins, Buckwheat extract, Ruscus, Soy Protein and Cranberry extract so that SkinErgetic can help to activate toxin elimination and stimulate micro-circulation. 

Now I can't actually attest to the detoxification part, but I do know that when I used this moisturizer my skin felt soft and dewy. It absorbed really well, wasn't greasy, and had a fantastic (naturally derived) fragrance. My skin is slightly on the drier side and this moisturizer was just the tiniest bit too light. If I layered any one of my many serums underneath it, it felt like the perfect bit of moisture without overdoing it. 

I used this moisturizer every night while on our Dominican family vacation, and my face is the only part of me that didn't flake or peel...even after we returned home! Coincidence?

At $51 for a 50mL (1.7oz) glass jar, this is a well priced moisturizer, especially for those of us looking to limit our exposure to chemical laden cosmetic and skin-care products! I love it and I think you will too!

Click on the Sephora Banner below to buy it!

7 days! I made it, and....

...I miss it! To a degree.

My skin just glowed during the whole thing. The few tiny break-outs were done within the day each time, which makes me think it was just my skin purging the toxins it couldn't purge when I was putting more chemicals on it.

To be honest, I'm still washing my face with the soap I bought from the Farmers Market (www.EssenceDew.com), and I'm still using my facial toner (www.MadeYouLookCosmetics.etsy.com) and I even still masked with GwendolynForever's Honey & Glycerin Mask/Cleanser (www.GwendolynForever.etsy.com). I've switched up my moisturizers, going back to the stuff I was using before and even trying the newest addition to Biotherm's line-up (Aquasource Skin Perfection, which I'll review tomorrow).

Oddly enough I had a pimple today. It's still there. DAMMIT! LOL. I wonder if the oils finally caught up with me, or if my skin desperately wants the natural routine back? Hmmm...

Anyways, like I said yesterday - this was a pretty great experience for my skin. It was kinda tough at times because it's not very make-up-friendly, but it's definitely something that everyone can do for an occasional skin-detox!

I'm thinking about doing The Master Cleanse again soon... so maybe I'll line up my next facial detox to go along with my Master Cleanse! I'll keep y'all posted.

Au Naturel Day 5 - Hot Process Soap

My skin's been glowing you guys! 5 days of all-natural skincare and I gotta say - I'm pleasantly surprised! It's not always the easiest (for instance, I keep my Rose Hip Seed Oil in the fridge, because it spoils very easy - and the stuff aint cheap - So I wash in the bathroom, and moisturize in my kitchen) and I'm not used to the feeling of missing water from my moisturizer because I've only been moisturizing with oil thus far.

I cleansed with GwendolynForever's Honey & Glycerin cleanser this morning. I love this stuff in the morning...it's a light cleanser and my skin feels soft and glowing after I cleanse with it. I take my time with it, I massage for a good 30-60 seconds, then leave it on while I brush my teeth before rinsing it all off. I can't recommend this cleanser enough! It comes in a small bottle (4oz - which lasts forever anyways) so you don't have to committ to the huge jar right off the bat. Pick it up here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/34338193/honey-glycerin-cleanser-and-mask-4-oz

I miss a regular oil/water moisturizer though. I make a body butter using a classic cold cream formula, but it would be way too heavy for my face. There are some "natural" brands out there, but they have preservatives - and rightfully so, it is inevitable to have SOME FORM of preservative in any product that has water in it. I have a Green Beaver brand moisturizer kicking around here somewhere - they make FANTASTIC natural products. I'll try that out after my 7 days of completely natural are up. Their website is: http://www.greenbeaver.com/

Today I found a hot-process soap that I bought at the Withrow Farmers Market. This one had a strawberry fragrance oil in it and I normally don't like fragranced stuff for my face, but I wanted bubbles! I missed a lathering cleanser, so I figure this is natural - it's an old-fashioned soap, right? I LOVED IT. It was gentle, it was thorough, it rinsed completely clean, but my skin didn't feel like it was stretching over my skull afterwards! A wonderful and NATURAL cleansing!!! Except I have no idea who the seller was. I'll have to go back to the Farmers Market tomorrow to (a) buy an unscented one for my face and (b) get their name! ha.

While this endeavour has definitely been interesting, I'm looking forward to going back to regular moisturizer (even if my cleansers and toners stay all-natural). Wearing blush and concealer with oily moisturizers is a real pain in the butt. I haven't really broken out - just a couple of tiny pimples that self-correct within 24 hours (maybe its my skin detoxifying?), but my blush and concealer just disappear off my face!

Check out my skincare products in my etsy shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadeYouLookCosmetics

Au Naturel Day 4 - Oil Cleansing!!!

I love Oil Cleansing. It can be tedious because it takes so long... I try to do it once a week, especially after those days where I wear a lot of make-up. It's an awesome deep cleanser. Essentially what you do is mix your vegetable oil of choice with a little bit of Castor Oil, massage into your skin for about 2 minutes before steaming and massaging it off with a hot hot washcloth.

Your skin will absolutely glow!!!

Last night I came out of the bathroom, my boyfriend took one look at my skin and immediately decided to try the Oil Cleansing for himself. He declared it to be just a really lovely facial massage (which it is!!!) and he loved how his skin looked after. He even woke me up this morning to tell me how amazing his skin still looked. Bugger!!!

Update about the little pimple - it's completely gone.
Update #2 about pimples...there are 2 tiny new ones that have popped up on my cheek! GAH! So I masked again today with the baking soda, activated charcoal and GwendolynForever's Honey & Glycerin cleanser. I also added a bit of Green Clay and substituted Lavender Essential Oil for the Rosemary EO.

I'll keep you abreast of any pimpular developments. :o)

Otherwise my skin is just glowing! The dryness on my nasolabial fold has disappeared, no new blackheads have formed, the fine lines in my nasolabial fold have minimized big time and the little lines around my eyes have also softened! YES!!!

So far so good. I'm going for 7 days...even though I'm really itching to try my new Biotherm products!!! ;o)

Au Naturel Day 2

I don't wear much make-up in my day-to-day comings and goings. My average war paint consists of black mascara, a peachy blush, and lip balm. And it wore just fine yesterday over my moisturizer of coconut oil. Closer to the end of the day my mascara threw in the towel before I did. Probably because of the extremely rich Druide cream I used as my eye cream.

My face didn't get shiny as the day progressed, it started off a tiny bit tight after moisturizing with only the coconut oil, but after just an hour or so it felt fine but I never got oily! This is a crazy notion...even for me. :o)

I use a lot of NeoStrata products in my every day skincare routine. NeoStrata products are glycolic acid based, which means lots of exfoliation. I didn't want to give up the exfoliation - it could cause breakouts if your skin is used to shedding at a certain faster-than-average rate and you suddenly stop.

So I made a scrub using baking soda, activated charcoal, and a few drops of rosemary essential oil. After washing my face with GwendolynForever's Honey and Glycerin Cleanser (http://www.etsy.com/listing/34338193/honey-glycerin-cleanser-and-mask-4-oz) I scrubbed with my home-made scrub and my skin glowed! I followed with my toner (http://www.etsy.com/listing/55464096/oily-skin-toner-sage-aloe-witch-hazel), then used a dab of 99% organic Aloe Vera Gel (okay..I cheated, the other 1% of this product is quite laden with chemicals!) all over and sealed it in with a bit of Rose Hip Seed Oil. Again, I used the Druide Shea and Argan cream around my eyes...

I'm going to see if I can find an aloe vera plant today to use in lieu of the 99% organic stuff...

So far, so good. My skin is looking beautiful! Just as beautiful as when I use the chemical store-bought stuff.

Thinking of going All Natural?

So I've been thinking... I love my skincare routine. I use a gazillion different products every day, I vary the routine from day-to-day (partly because I have so much crap and partly because...I am Aries? - IDK...but somethings gotta get the blame) and I obviously vary it from night to day.

But sometimes when I over-do it, I get these thumb sized patches of dry spots just outside of my nose between my mouth and my nose - for those in the know it's called the Nasolabial fold. Dry skin = aging. And the lines in my nasolabial fold have been really starting to show up. I blame the dry skin. which comes from abusing my skincare...

Anyway... I've been thinking. I make natural skin-care. (http://www.madeyoulookcosmetics.etsy.com/) I also buy natural skincare. I'm obsessed with skincare and I'm a junkie for trying new stuff out all the time! Thankfully I have an amazing manager at my pt job who loves to play the role of my crack-dealer and she sends me home with new stuff to try all the time.

I'm not talking about drugs people... SKINCARE! Stay with me...

Anyway, I'm wondering how I can incorporate completely natural skincare into my day-to-day (and day-to-night) routine. I'm talking COMPLETELY natural. Hand-made. No chemicals...

This can be difficult to do where moisturizers are concerned. After all, a heavier oily based product wouldn't work very well under make-up.

So I started last night... I came up with the idea AFTER I had washed my face with my NeoStrata face wash (which has 4% glycolic acid AND SLS - sigh). See ya in a little while NeoStrata!

I moisturized my eye area with a Shea Butter/Argan Oil cream by Druide that is rich, and thick, and creamy...and to DIE FOR. Those are literally the only two ingredients. You can buy a tiny 5mL size for $5, or a huge container of it for not much more.

You can find the product here: http://www.druide.ca/Product.aspx?ProductID=49008&Langue=En

To tone my skin I used my own "Oily Skin Toner" that's all natural. It has witch hazel, aloe vera gel, sage, lavender, and Calendule. You can find the product here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/55464096/oily-skin-toner-sage-aloe-witch-hazel

For my face I used a tiny bit of coconut oil and just massaged it in very well. At first it didn't have that "plumping" effect that you get with products that have water in them. You know that "aaaahhhh" cold-water-feeling of moisture being pushed into your skin? But after an hour or so, my skin felt rehydrated again, even though I hadn't actually added any more water...

I woke up with morning with beautiful skin! The lines around my eyes have disappeared (the Druide cream is THICK - and soooo refreshing, despite it's shocking lack of water) and my skin doesn't look congested after only using oil to moisturize.

I washed my face this morning with an amazing Honey & Glycerin cleanser I bought from another seller on Etsy. Her name is Gwendolyn and this cleanser and mask are AMAZING!!! The link for it is here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/34338193/honey-glycerin-cleanser-and-mask-4-oz?ref=v1_other_2

The small 4oz size lasts forever! You can use it as a cleanser or as a mask. Both the honey and the glycerin are natural humectants so you're increasing your skin's ability to hold water everytime you wash with it. It's also been infused with a bunch of wonderful organic herbs that she grows herself on her gazillion-acre-farm. It doesn't lather, but it's amazing. Honey is also a natural anti-bacterial (nurses used it in WW2 to clean out and heal wounds of all types). You'll have soft, glowing skin from the very very first time you use it! At $12 for the small bottle, it's WELL worth the investment!

Again, I moisturized with the Druide Shea & Argan Cream (I'll report back on how my mascara holds up, later) and I used a dab of coconut oil to moisturize. Except this time I sprayed my face with Avene's Thermal Water (just like the Evian stuff) before I put on the oil... my skin DID feel more "hydrated" because the oil sealed in the water.

Have any of you ever used an all-natural-routine? How did it work out for you?

Home Made Face Mask

This is a mask that is good for EVERYONE, no matter what your skin type.

STRAWBERRY HONEY MASK

5 or 6 strawberries, greens removed
2 tbspns honey
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
Lemon Juice

Mash the Strawberries with a fork and add the honey and olive oil. Drizzle in freshly squeezed Lemon Juice. The oilier your skin, the more lemon juice you can add (up to 1 tablespoon). If you have very dry skin add 1 tablespoon of oatmeal to the mix and let it sit for about a minute or two before applying it to your skin.

Wash your skin thoroughly and gently pat it dry. Apply the mask all over, avoiding your eye area. Let it sit for up to 20 minutes, then rinse off.

The Strawberries are rich in Alpha Hydroxy Acids which helps eliminate dead skin cells and gives you a nice rosey glow.
Honey is a mild anti-microbial AND is a humectant - so it actually increases your skin's water content as it pulls moisture out of the air and into your skin.
Olive oil is a wonderful moisturizer and because it's natural it will not clog your pores.
Lemon juice is loaded with Vitamin C and acids that brighten your skin.
This mask is chock-full of anti-free-radicals as well, so it's a wonderful natural anti-aging mask.

Whenever possible, try to use organic ingredients, but if it's too expensive for you it's still better than the store-brought stuff that's loaded with chemicals.

Try this mask today and give me your feedback!!!