Zoe’s beauty blogs from 2006 – now

26
Jun

Q&A: Is the Clarisonic worth it?

Zoe, do I need a Clarisonic? Everyone is talking about them but I don’t know if really just a cream cleanser will do (and a bi-weekly scrub). Have you written about them before? I have dry, sensitive skin, prone to a little patchy eczema in winter, but otherwise manageable. I also get the occasional break-out around my chin, which I’m told is hormonal. Meg

Oh, Meg. Silly, silly Meg. I will never tell someone they “need” something, unless it is to wear sunscreen or to fill in their brows or to try pink lipstick or lash extensions or gradual tanner or this awesome pimple drying lotion that really works or dry shampoo.

What a hilarious joke! I am the biggest and most loving beauty bully this side of a revolving door.

Now, in fact I have written about the Clarisonic before, and I use one myself – the original Clarisonic Mia, $140-ish (there is a Mia 2 now, $179-ish, and it has cool colours and cool beeps that tell you when to move on to the next part of your face) – on occasion. I do get lazy, I must admit. I used about 5x a week when I first got it, but too much travel makes falling in love with appliances tricky.

I like the Clarisonic for the reasons most people do:

Skin feels more smooth.

Makeup seems to go on better, and you get a better application.

Skin care products used afterwards seem to penetrate deeper. Terrific news for those spending serious clams on serums.

It is gentle, and after using it, the skin feels extra clean, and glowing, and debris is thoroughly removed.

These are all good things. Especially if you’re dry-skinned, or the type to work outdoors in grime, or wear, say, sunscreen, primer and foundation and then colour makeup each day. (Like I do sometimes, and when one round of cleanser won’t cut it.)

Let me not be your guide, though, because I know at least six women personally who LOVE and SWEAR by and WANT TO THIRD BASE their Clarisonic. One of them is a girl called Gwyneth Paltrow, with whom I do jazz ballet with on Tuesdays.

 ClarisonicMia

 

But is it for you, Meg? Let’s see. Obviously I can’t see your skin, and double obviously I am a writer, not a beauty therapist, but I’ll have a crack:

You currently cream cleanse and bi-weekly scrub – this sounds like good practice to me. And great job on the cream cleanser for dry/sensitive skin. Anything too foaming and scratchy will irritate you. You may even like to switch to a chemical exfoliant, something with lactic or citric acid, say rather than a physical exfoliant (“scrub.”) I prefer these because they exfoliate evenly, and feel more thorough. Personal choice. (I especially enjoy exfoliating “peely” wipes, like these Philosophy Microdelivery Pads.)

philosophy-microdelivery-multi-peel-pads

 

 

The hormonal breakouts? The jury is out, but a few bloggers seem to think it helps lessen the anger of the breakouts and the number of blemishes (I would put this down to the basic fundamental of your skin being cleaned properly, and the treatment products being used up next being able to sink in real good and do their job.) Some say it makes it worse.

So, bottom line, yes, you might love it. You might love it a lot. A deep clean is paramount to Great Skin, and the Clarisonic certainly ensures that. If you’re not getting it from the Clarisonic, then that 2-3 weekly exfoliation will do the trick.

Responses to this drivel: 51 Comments
24
Jun

Underlights: For fine hair that wants volume but not regrowth.

When there is no permanent hair colour or highlights or tints in my hair it is so… thin. So fine. And if, like me, you already have fine hair, your levels of fineness and thinness and flatness reach levels that were previously reserved for uncooked angel hair pasta.

This is because, as we all know, hair colour adds plumpness to the hair strand. Some volume. A bit of sass and excitement. And I always forget this when I set out to get my natural colour back. What a pity.

Now that the first six inches of my hair is completely natural, with no colour whatsoever, it is arrogantly healthy but I find:

1. My hair needs more washing because my cute scalp oils have more effect, faster

2. My hair is flatter and even the usual root-boost/volume-crank-up products aren’t really doing much (or they do much initially, but by day two the effect has buzzed off to get a latte on Degraves St)

3. I use double the products (esp magic dusts and mousses) which leads to build-up and even – GASP – a dry scalp

4. Styles won’t hold, because the hair is too limp and pathetic and deserved of being bullied quite frankly

5. I eat more Lindor balls than I should.

 

LorealVolumeDust

Just one of the many wonderful magic (“volume”) dusts on the market.

 

I find it most amusing that every few years I bang on about wanting my “natural hair” back and then as soon as I have it, I immediately resent it for its overwhelming thinness and dullness… Of course the one VERY big plus to having hair that is not permanently coloured is that you can donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which puts you in the Fabulous Saint category.

Incidentally, during some wonderful trips to Sydney and Brisbane for Pantene Beautiful Lengths and Look Good Feel Better last week, I got to chatting about this with my fellow Beautiful Length ambassador and hair dresser and the chap who did my wedding hair, Barney ‘Bananas’ Martin.

 

WeddingUpdo

My fancy wedding updo, care of Barney.

I pretended not to be offended when he commented after blow-drying my hair that it was very fine wasn’t it, and perhaps I needed some colour back in there..?

“NO, Barney,” I said, unnecessarily loud. “I like having my natural colour back. Is healthy and shiny and the curls are behaving. Also I am lazy and care not for regrowth.’

“Just get some highlights underneath the top layer, silly!” he said in that fun British accent. “That would give you some volume and some texture, and you needn’t worry about regrowth because the top layes is still your natural colour.”

He had a point. It was large and red and wailing like some form of emergency vehicle.

“Almost like… underlights.” I said, trademarking it in my brain as I did so.

“Yes!” he said.

“And I suppose I could just have a colour similar to my own, couldn’t I. I don’t want obvious highlights at present.”

Ocourse you can, you duffer. Anything you like. So long as it’s permanent.”

“Just some lovely, natural smudging on the under layes of my hair, right up at the roots, but concealed by my top layers,” I said, in a way that would be helpful and very explanatory should I ever be enthused to write the conversation out as a blog post. “Yes, that could work.”

Barney is as tired of super-obvious ombre balayage as I am, but we both agreed the balayage (“painting”) technique. also called smudging, is still terrific, in terms of how natural the finish is, and how non-traditional-foils-or-streaks-cap it is.

So, I’m going to do it and report back. What fun!

Is your hair flat and uninspiring at present?

Does it shit you?  Yeah me too. When there is no permanent hair colour or highlights or tints in my hair it is so… thin. (Post continues on in a never-ending loop.)

 

 

Responses to this drivel: 15 Comments
14
Jun

Some Current Cherished Beauty Products: June 2013

Because why not?

I love them, I am gibbering about them to friends and strangers alike (my taxi driver was VERY rude when I was busy explaining the benefits of a gel blush stain, it was almost like he didn’t care at all) so they must be pretty cherished.

SMASHBOX CAMERA READY CC CREAM SPF 30

I was banging on about this at the Amazing Face Masterclass* Wednesday night. Why I like it, is because like a (good quality) BB cream, it’s far more skin-perfecting and gives more coverage than a tinted moisturiser, which is essentially just a face cream with some tint. You see, a BB or a CC cream works to make sure your skin looks even-toned and perfect (as well as providing some sun protection and priming qualities depending on which you buy), it’s far more cosmetic.

And a CC cream, (stands for colour correcting) works even HARDER to even out and perfect your skin. Which is terrific for someone like me with brown spots/pigmentation… or someone who has redness, or someone with sallowness or even some post-acne scarring, say. It just makes everything look… better. But not like you’re wearing a kilo of makeup.

The coverage from the Smashbox CC is light-medium, and the finish is healthy, but not shiny. The texture is quick thick, and I apply it with my fingers, or a brush so I use only what I need, and get precise coverage.

I use alone on clean skin, unless:

– My skin is thirsty or I am going to be outside for more than 30 minutes, in which case I add daily moisturiser with SPF underneath (The sun protection is actually more than token with this CC! Imagine that.)

– I want more coverage, in which case I blend with some foundation, or add foundation on over the top in certain areas.

Like many BBs and CCs it claims to fade/brighten dark spots over time, but I have my serious skin care for that, I’m more interested in the instant and cosmetic effects.

I was also just sent the new Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream SPF 30 Hydrating Colour Corrector, (let’s just call it “their CC cream”) which is copping some sweet reviews overseas, so I will try that out and let youse guys know on a standard bomb rating, just how much of the bomb it is.

 

Smashbox-Camera-Ready-CC-Cream-Broad-Spectrum-SPF-30

ESTEE LAUDER PURE COLOR CHEEK RUSH IN POSE ROSE

Cheek stains can be terrifying.

BUT, if mastered, can become quite the addiction (cue Benetint/Posietint/Chachatint) due to their lasting power and the way they sink perfectly into the skin, rather than sitting on top of it. Also, they make for a gorgeous flush of colour on the cheeks when dabbed on with ones’ index finger.

Pure Color Cheek Rush in X-Pose Rose

 

Application tends to be where people come unstuck. Best used over liquid products (they can drag and mess up on top of powder) fingers can get real stained, and sometimes leave blend lines. But blush brushes are too dense. I use a synthetic stipling brush for all my creme/gel/liquid cheek products because it is so soft, and so good for quick buffing into the skin.

To be specific, I use the MAC 188 brush:

MAC188brush

And after squirting some of this fun, translucent pinky gel onto my wrist (to be VERY quickly scrubbed off post cheek application), I dab my brush into the gel, then swiftly work the gel into the fleshy part of my cheek, taking it up and back towards my temple for a youthful, uplifting fresh pop of colour that will last until the very last season of Two and a Half Men in 2019. See?

Photo copy

 Like I’ve been out for a play in the leaves. Lovely.

*It was a one off. But it was very successful and fun, so maybe we can do more. I will let a dame know.

Responses to this drivel: 19 Comments
10
Jun

The real reason your lips are so dry.

Is probably the same reason mine are: because you keep blowing kisses to your millions of teenage fans.

But bizarrely, there are other reasons for our lips to become dry.

Other reasons as to why no matter what you use, and what you do, your lips are tight, flaky, dry and essentially, showing you physically how furious at you for not tending to them properly or protecting the properly in the first place (from heat, heaters, wind, cold, snow, the sun or too much making out), and failing to buying them that pony you continue to promise them even though you know the yard isn’t big enough.


1. You have been using a lip barrier, not a lip balm.

And chances are that barrier is full of petroleum, which is a mineral oil derivative, and which I will not sanction if you are genuinely serious about healing dry lips, because IT WON’T DO SHIT. All it can hope to do is act like cling wrap over your lips, a film of thick grease. But it can not add moisture or encourage hydration. It just can’t. So sure, if your lips are in cracking shape and you are about to go out into the wind, load up. But if they are sore and cracked and painful, don’t mistake that lubricating feeling for moisturisation, cause only a dingus would do that, and I’ve seen your report card, and you’re no dingus.

2. You have used cosmetics that are drying.    

Like most lipsticks and glosses, sadly. Gosh, some are just the WORST aren’t they? Such a G-damn shame too, because the colour, texture and finish might be outstanding, but the next day your lips are ripped to shreds with creases and cracks. I wore one of my favourite red long-last lipsticks to dinner the night before my wedding because my skin was looking terrific thanks to 400 facials and red lips was all I wanted/needed, and it was a very very very bad idea because the day of my wedding my lips were a mess. Idiot.

But it’s not just lip products. Often you can involantarily swipe some BB cream or foundation or even moisturiser (especailly those with AHAs) over your lips and that can cause havoc. Gone are the days when people like me with blogs like this would tell you to press concealer all over your lips before applying lipstick, because all that does is dry the HECK out of your lips. (You’d use a lip primer or just a nude lip pencil instead.)

3. You are dehydrated.

Whenever I’m having my makeup done and have dry lips (“most of the time”) two times out of three the makeup artist will scold me for not drinking enough water. The lips are one of the first places on the body to show a lack of water in the system, so pay heed. Also, think about what you’ve been doing when next you have dry lips, it’s viable you’ve been depriving your body of water, whether from too many blankets at night, or travel, or partying. It will take a day or so to get them back on track, and get those water levels up in the body, so start sipping, man.

4. The environment is walloping you.

Heaters in winter, air con in summer, snow, wind, sun, salt… it’s almost like the earth has shares in Burt’s Bees.The thing is to be prepared: prevent rather than treat. So before you even board that plane, or head of for a day at the beach, or settle down in front of that roaring fire (you are a Girl Guide’s leader, right?), think lips. Protect and nourish them with a lovely moisturising lip balm (or even barrier at this stage if you are so inclined.) And of course, use SPF for all day time/sun activities. Otherwise you get burnt lips, aged lips and maybe – if you’re real lucky – a cold sore.

5. You keep licking them.

Have some self-restraint for God’s sake. It’s the lip equivelant of giving a drunk girl more tequila because she’s thirsty. Don’t do it.

When you find yourself with very irritated, very dry lips, I recommend:

Sipping a litre or two of water over the next couple of hours. Not gulping as you’ll just wizzwozz it all out.

– Taking a warm, damp face cloth and gently, so gently, exfoliating your lips by massaging the cloth over them in small circles. Some will tell you to use a toothbrush for this. Ignore them. They are morons.

– Smearing some (manuka if possible) honey to the lips and letting it sit for 10 minutes.

– Press it into the lips so it’s all gone, then apply a nourishing lip balm of your choice.

Comvita_UMF_5__Manuka_Honey_1367393290_main

I would love to recommend a bunch of great lip balms at this point, (I won’t be recommending a certain red tube which is petroleum based and although great for cuticles, bites and rashes, is not healthy for or useful for the lips) but to be very honest, I’m pretty disenchanted with the whole category. None seem to work for me, and I have tried, I would think, more than the average woman due to my job/travels/the first question I ask any skin or makeup expert what they use and then buying it.

Currently I am using Lanolips 101 ointment which I like for its thickness, and I also have a Lavera stick in my bag for when I inevitably leave the Lanolips in a pocket, or on the floor of the car. And I like the Mecca Lip De-Luscious SPF 25 too, it’s creamy and a bit shiny and glossy, although generally I don’t wear ones with SPF at night.

Lanolips 101 Ointment

MECCALIP

What do you use?

Why?

Will it fix me? 

Responses to this drivel: 104 Comments
07
Jun

The worst facial result, ever.

I had a facial this week. It was delightful: a relaxing and nourishing Kerstin Florian facial at Aurora spa in Melbourne. My skin looked glowy for the second round of Amazing Face app how-to videos I shot yesterday and I’m very happy.

A makeup blogger from Singapore, Juli (AKA Bun Bun) however, didn’t fare so well after her facial this week. In fact, she fared about as well as a kilo of electric spinach at Denpasar.

She had what was a fairly innocuous facial at a regular salon, no needles, no peels, no fancy machines. But over the next few days, rather than plump, radiant skin, she has been through a nightmare of epic skin proportions.

She went from this…

My-Skin-Ravaged-Allergic-Reaction-After-Facial-Experience_day-1-after-facial_2

 

To this…

My-Skin-Ravaged-Allergic-Reaction-After-Facial-Experience_day-3-after-extraction_1

 

To this…

My-Skin-Ravaged-Allergic-Reaction-After-Facial-Experience_day-4-after-extraction-4

To THIS.

My-Skin-Ravaged-Allergic-Reaction-After-Facial-Experience_day-4-night_5

It looks like severe cystic acne, but in fact is an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients used in the facial, most likely a plant extract. Yes, it can happen, and no, it’s not easy to know if you’re allergic until, well, you’re allergic.

The second doctor she saw (the first was, rather the like the clinic who gave her the facial and then erroneously popped all of the pus bumps as a cure, therefore making it far worse and making her liable to scarring – top work guys, take five!) advised that this can sometimes happen and although it will settle, she will have hyperpigmentation for many months.

And a morbid and nightmarish fear of facials forevermore, I expect.

Poor poor girl. Read the full post on her terrible and rapid reaction here (but maybe skip it if you are the queasy type).

I feel for her because her face is her trade, but also because this kind of enormous, swift and unsightly descent into angry all-over pustules would be a fucking huge blow, not to mention incredibly scary, except for the bit where I did mention it, because that’s exactly what it would have been.

I had my own allergic reaction in a skinclinic back in 2010 which I’ve never written about MOSTLY DUE TO EXTREME ANGER AND AN INABILITY TO WRITE ABOUT IT WITHOUT SWEARING and not wanting to take down said skin clinic in flames, even though they deserve it. Can’t say something nice, rah rah rah.

In a nutshell (probably a highly allergic one, like a peanut) my face blew up to Will Smith in Hitch proportions within about three minutes after some anaesthesia was applied. The nurse took one look at me, a bad, scary look, and then left the room. She returned with the Doctor a few minutes later (I’m in full panic mode by now) and without a word, he quickly administered Phenergan (and anti-histamine) intravenously, then made me take two 25mg Phenergan orally. “Are you allergic to anything?” he asked.

“I didn’t think I was…” I said, touching my face which was easy since it was about a km further out that it normally was. (They refused to give me a mirror.) (Really.)

Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever had Phenergan, but one 10mg tablet sends me straight to sleep. So you can imagine how cool and together and alert I was at that stage, having never had it before, and with no concept of its T-Rex tranquiliser effect on my body.

After 15 minutes, they let me DRIVE HOME, (!!!!) looking like a child’s inflatable toy, terrified, and sleepy as a bear. They gave me no phone number for after hour care and told me it would be fine.

Next day, worse. I waited til 9am then called in a panic and was told to take more Phenergan and it would go down. Also, ice it.

No apologies, no call us if you’re worried, sweet fuck all.

Five days I had that swollen face. Couldn’t go outside, felt like a monster, couldn’t write my book I was on deadline for because I was so doped up. Skipped several events and spoke to my solicitor who advised unless I was seeking damages (i.e.: loss of income, so, say, if I’d been booked to host an event and couldn’t do it because of my face) the costs of legal chasing would cost more than we could hope to earn. I was so stinkin’ angry. The aftercare was a farce, and the fact they let me drive home high as a kite was disgusting; I could’ve had 10 car accidents and to this day am thrilled, shocked and grateful I didn’t. I was also embarrassed. I’d tried to make a good, young face “better” and this was my result.

I don’t know exactly what my point is, except that I guess I thought if a beauty editor with the power of the media behind her can’t get decent treatment and is sent away when her face looks like a beach ball, then what hope do the general public have for good care and intelligent proceedings when a freakish allergic outcome occurs? Poor Bun Bun suffered a deluge of terrible advice and knee-jerk reactions with hers, and it absolutely made everything worse.

One of the comments under Bun Bun’s post was “don’t fix what is broke,” which is a hard pill to swallow when your job is to review facials and have good skin, but it was the exact same thing my then boyfriend/now husband said to me after my mess, and the reason I won’t touch lasers and so on now.

(On the plus side, I learned what Phenergan was that day, and now try to procure them to take on 14 hour flights.)

Have you had a horrible, terrifying facial experience? I feel like today might be the day we all share them…

 

Responses to this drivel: 40 Comments
05
Jun

Finally! Proof that sunscreen DOES keep your skin younger, longer.

Not that I generally need proof of course, I usually just roll with my opinion and say it in a convincing enough manner so that you all believe me.

HAHAHAHA! As if. I say it an aggressive manner so you’ll believe me. Different.

But seriously. This is the kind of proof I like best, because it pertains to probably my biggest and loudest piece of beauty advice I can give to any one, of any age, and is always my answer when people ask me what my number one best beauty tip is, and that is, (sing it with me now):

NEVER USE SCRUNCHIES UNLESS IN IRONY.

There is also this one:

WEAR SUNSCREEN EVERY DAY, WHETHER CLOUDY OR SUNNY, AND YOUR SKIN WILL LOOK YOUNGER, FOR LONGER.

And it’s so nice to have that yelly little sentence finally backed up in a scientific fashion.

Because oh sure, we all know the power of sunscreen when it comes to lowering the risk of cancer and sunburn, that has been proven extensively, but this, this is a purely cosmetic finding, because they* were measuring only the photo-aging of the skin, which means the visible aging of the skin in the shape of wrinkles, loss of skin firmness and of course, a shittonne worth of pigmentation or age spots.  Those in the four-year long study who had not used sunscreen regularly showed severe photo-ageing. Those who applied sunscreen most days had no detectable ageing of the skin. Simple.

Yes, the skin will age over time. This is inevitable, unless you are Kris Jenner. But we now have Real Life Lab Coat proof that it needn’t age quite so fast, and quite so visibly, with the use of daily sunscreen.

Other terrific facts to fall from this folder:

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO START TODAY. Even those who began applying their sunscreen “most days” (Not Enough! – Zoe Foster Blake) from middle-age reaped the benefits.

MOISTURISER WITH SOME SUNSCREEN ISN’T ENOUGH. Your foundation, BB or day cream may have some sun protection, they do not typically have the same long-lasting effect as sunscreen, Dr Adele Green, who performed the study, says. In my opinion, a BB cream should be fine for a regular (in office) day with less than 10 minutes sun exposure, but any more than that and you should use a full-strength sunscreen underneath.

In fact, just dingin’ do it anyway! Do it, for God’s sake. Daily face sunscreens have come along way, and are several planets away from the gloopy, thick shit we used to get served. Ideally, choose a daily moisturiser with high broad spectrum (UVA and UVB – crucial, especially since the ageing stuff comes almsot solely from UVA) SPF 30. There are millions out there, and even the very inepensive – Neutrogena, Nivea, SunSense – do a terrific job.

Nivea Light Veil

I enjoy the (hydrating) Ultra Protective Daily Moisturiser SPF 30+. Feels lovely and does everything I need.

Ultra-protective-daily-moisturiser-spf30_-hydratin

Remember: 

Sunscreen should go directly onto clean skin, not over the top of your moisturiser.

Also remember:

That thing I said about scrunchies.

 

*Dr. Adele Green from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and colleagues analysed data from 903 adults younger than 55 who were followed from 1992 to 1996. Half of them were told to put sunscreen of SPF 15 or greater on their head, neck, arms and hands every morning, and to reapply when necessary. The others used sunscreen according to their own discretion.

Responses to this drivel: 26 Comments
31
May

Leave the filter off your selfie today.

Just for one day.

Oh COME ON. I will if you will. In fact, I will anyway, as my Instagram and Twitter will prove.

It’s all part of #filterfreefriday (which of course you should hashtag your picture with, because otherwise you won’t feel part of the movement and no one wants to feel un-part of a movement.)

It’s not a big deal. After all, we used to not even have filters and effects for our photos! I know. Madness. Who can even remember those heady pre-2010 days.

What #filterfreefriday is about, is this: Trilogy skin care, who you will remember from my many thumbs-ups for their terrific Rosehip oil, have launched a 100% Unretouched campaign, to cement their love and preference for honest, natural beauty.

It started when they used an unretouched model in their advertising campaign recently, and received a Texan truckload’s worth of positive feedback because of that decision.

Trilogy

So, they’ve now made unretouching their thing, and promise to only use honest, natural images in all their campaigns. No, they’re not the first to forego the digital magic, or even the first to state a preference for ‘real beauty’, but what Trilogy’s move says to me is that there is a bigger movement at work. A backlash of sorts.

I was asked by the lovely ladybirds at Trilogy to support the 100% Unretouched campaign which I was thrilled to do, because A) I like their products and their philosophy, and B) It makes sense that a natural skin care brand promotes natural beauty in their advertising. Also, it’s skin care, not makeup: let’s see the dang skin.

It should be noted that I am not against retouching. I love slapping a filter on my Instagram. But I support Trilogy’s stance on not retouching in their campaigns, because they are taking responsibility for their own part in what the media portrays as “beautiful,” and I salute that.

And, you know, why shouldn’t we strip the filters for one day? Might be nice to see what we all look like without the aid of ’70s contrasting and mellow saturation for 24 hours.

To that effect, I got to pose (retouch-free, obviously) in their campaign imagery. Here I am. Yes, there was makeup, yes there was hair sassing, but there was no retouching.

ZoeTrilogy

And here’s the group shot. I am smiling happily alongside the wonderfully effevescent and funny Jenny, who is the Australian Biz Manager for Trilogy and quite a barrel of fun, and Amanda, the model from the original campaign. Here we are, having the time of our lives. (I kept the t-shirt. Quite love it. Makes me sing A Certain Song.)

TrilogyUnretouched

 

If you support Trilogy in their 100% Unretouched campaign, then for the love of Lo-Fi, snap a selfie and tag it #FilterfreeFriday today. And then maybe scarper over to the Trilogy Facebook page and upload that filter free pic on their special Facebook app, so you can get a 100% Unretouched badge on it, and maybe win a skin care pack, too.

If you don’t support the campaign and would in fact like to see MORE retouching, then here’s a treat, just for you:

Www.eroglamour.com-1-cb-retouching

Responses to this drivel: 5 Comments