no editing...again + infomercial

jacket: iisli
shirt: calvin kelin
skirt: dries van noten
shoes: repetto (need MORE of these)
belt: enzo angiolini
this accompanied by my green bag.


there's like a dozen pictures here....so sorry. so sleepy.  


cue unsolicited infomercial:
been on this all natural kick for a while now and wanted to share a bit. this is, after all, an online journal, and a forum for me to share my personal business with people i've never met from all walks of life.


so anyway, my skin has cleared some. nothing magical, but pretty impressive. it also feels much better now. looking at ingredients on the products i buy eats up soooo much time, but i find i prefer if i can identify and/or pronounce all the items in my hair and beauty products. i've also been trying to avoid spending an arm and a leg on products that i can make or buy much more cheaply in their natural form.


i have combination skin and it's been acting temperamental but i've got it mostly under control at the moment and have noticed considerable fading of old scars ('cause i can't leave well enough alone). i've been using african black soap (pure, bought from nigerian market) more frequently now because of how oily/sweaty my face gets during the day. i use it only once a day because it's pretty harsh. after this, i sometimes use a honey mask mixed with grapeseed oil. honey has great antiseptic qualities and is a wonderful humectant. so it moisturizes without over-oiling my face. lime or lemon juice are very useful for their toning/antiseptic qualities as well but i'm too lazy to squeeze a lime every morning and i haven't really pursued just buying a couple and refrigerating the juice. cuz...i'm a lazy bastard.


at night, i've been using this glycolic acid moisturizer. i love how it feels and it makes my face feel incredible in the morning. i wake up, dab rosewater on a cotton ball and use it (sometimes with a bit of lavender oil) to remove anything i may have shed/picked up during the night, and then apply vicco turmeric cream (also for scars) and this cosmedicine moisturizer. since it's hot now, i may apply some extra sunscreen for extra sun exposure, but for the most part, i spend my day indoors and the spf 20 in the moisturizer is sufficient until i leave. for days outside, i use this. it's super compact (dare i say cute??)none of these things are all natural, but at least i know what's in them, and thus far, it's been working for me. my skin is taut, smooth, and incredibly soft to the touch. caught myself just touching my face one afternoon constantly.


grapeseed oil was also my go-to for the oil cleansing method, which i was doing in the spring. my face felt incredible afterward but once it started getting warm, i felt that it was too much for my skin. will try to do it maybe twice a week now that it's so hot. STRONGLY recommend it.
for my hair, i'm mostly using stuff from my kitchen, essential oils or vegan products. i know many of the ingredients in this epic-length ingredient lists are just fillers or preservatives and i prefer to put a cup of honey or molasses and an avocado in my hair than a bunch of multi-syllabic tongue twisters. still working on whittling down the list to the most useful products so that i don't have a ton of products lying about.


anyway, i really like it so wanted to share with the class. sorry for uber long post. hope it's of use to someone.

thanks for your continued readership. all the comments really make my day. :) trying to keep y'all interested with new and exciting things. like grapeseed oil. win. how is your week going?