Monday, May 25, 2015

Kigelia Africana the Miracle Fruit


One of the newer brands that we have gotten in the pharmacy is Kimovi, it's a danish brand with few but effective products in their line. And when I say new we have had it for about a year, but since we don't get new brands often, it stills feels pretty new.

The brand doesn't really live up to my "clean" standards, but the gel contains a very few ingredients compared to other products that are not natural and/or organic. And since starting the accutane treatment my skin has been breaking out in rashes and eczema weekly( even now that I'm done my skin is super sensitive). The Kimovi gel soothes the itchiness immediately and calms the skin thanks to the kigelia africana plant extract, which has anti inflammatory and antibacterial effects (that also gives it a not so nice brown color, as you can see in the above picture), it also lays a very thin protecting film over the skin. That's why it's soothes eczema and the anti inflammatory and antibacterial properties combined with the salt in some of Kimovi's products actually make it super good for people (like me) who has got acne. The salt doesn't only fight acne but psoriasis too, they have studies with remarkable results after just a couple of weeks.

You can go to their website and read more about their products here.
There is a whole page where people that has bought the products share their experiences.

It's the only thing I have found besides hormone creams my doctor prescribes that can calm my skin. I would have liked to use the more moisturizing cream from their line. But I like the gel for it's few ingredients. So for now I add on my Pai comfrey & calendula calming body cream for extra moisture and calming effect.


Mint Green Nails

If you guys follow me on Instagram you know that for easter I had the most appropriate bright yellow nails, but since my nails are super dry and brittle it didn't last for long when I apparently decided to smash my nails against the counter top and break not one but two of them. And of course the polish chipped right off. So I decided it was time for a new spring color.

And that makes the perfect reason to share my nail-care routine with you guys, which have gotten quite complex post accutane, since they are still super dry I incorporated a couple of extra steps.


I always start by prepping the nail bed. I file them down to the desired shape, sometimes I even cut them first if they are too long. Even though right now it's impossible for me to grow my nails long, because they are so brittle. I then start with a cuticle remover, this one is from Ciaté. I use a cuticle pusher to push them back and then wash my hands.Then I apply cuticle oil to moisturize and condition the area around the nail, I use the Ciaté's "Love Me Oil" cuticle oil. When  the oil has absorbed the first step is to use the Malava nail hardener and then I add OPI's Nail Envy, I switched to the one called "Dry & Brittle" instead of the original. Since my nails are so brittle I try to make up for that with the Mavala to harden them and I try to give them a little moisture with the OPI Nail Envy for dry and brittle nails.

And then it's time to put some color on. I choose this beautiful, pastel mint green from Essie, called "Where's My Chauffeur?", I really like this for spring (for some reason the color doesn't look the same on my nails as in the bottle).  I always put on 2 coats, that makes a much smoother manicure. Top it off with top coat and your manicure should last for days. I love Ciaté's Speed Coat beacause it dries so fast, which makes the risk of ruining your nail polish while it dries so much smaller. It has saved many of my manicures, including this one.






Sunday, May 3, 2015

Recycled Bookmarks | DIY


As you guys know I am a big fan of the Pai Skincare products (I'm obsessed! See here and here), not only are their products great, all natural and organic but they're packaging is super pretty too!
Since buying the first product I have been saving all the packaging for the products, just couldn't make myself throw them out. I generally don't like throwing things out.
So I decided to make bookmarks out of them, I love reading so it was the perfect fix. And of course I will share with you how to, it's super simple.


You need:
  • Scissors
  • Ribbons in your preferred colors
  • A lighter
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Perforator 
  • Sharp cutting knife
  • Cardboard piece of your choice
You can also skip the knife and lighter, and still get a nice result.

If you have a bigger piece of cardboard you need to cut it smaller to handle it better, or like in my case, cut the packaging open.


After that, mark the part you want to cut out for the bookmark, I choose the part with the flowers, and since it's printed on both sides, it's gonna be pretty front and back.


Then it's time to prepare the ribbon to stop it from unraveling, first cut it diagonally and the sear the ends with the lighter if you want to, to make 100 % sure it wont unravel, you can leave it without searing, cutting it diagonally should do the trick too.
Cut a hole for the ribbon in the cardboard piece you cut out, put the middle of the ribbon through the whole and put the ends of the ribbon through the loop that is created. 
And you have a beautiful bookmark!


If you guys make some, I would love to see them! :)


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