It's been excruciatingly warm the past week. It rains at night, so I at least don't have to worry about being unable to sleep--but that doesn't make the fact that my skin's been drying up and my lips have been chapping any easier to deal with. I've taken to carrying around three essential products that I'd recommend to those going through hell right now too because of the heat:
1. Vanilla and Company's Pure Shea and Cocoa Butter Organic Whipped Buttercream
A friend gave me this and I remembered coming across this when it was lauded in Meg magazine's Best Beauty Products feature . I looked it up online and I couldn't find even a single bad review so I decided to use it. After all, shea butter has soothing, restorative and regenerative properties and cocoa butter, being an effective moisturizer, provides relief for dry skin. After merely a week of using it, I've decided to abandon my Royal Jelly and Pure Honey Moisturizing Lotion from Marks and Spencer. Vanilla and Company's Pure Shea and Cocoa Butter Organic Whipped Buttercream comes in a variety of (really, really, really) yummy scents (They have Marshmallows and Hot Fudge, Frappuccino, Peppermint Bars, Lemon Meringue, Olives and Vanilla and Strawberry Cheesecake among many, many others) and everything they put into it is organic. Because Vanilla and Company is a small enterprise, everything's meticulously mixed by hand and you can have scents, packaging and sizes customized.
I got mine in Vanilla Vanilla and I love their fragrant blend of Tahitian and Mexican vanilla. I lather it on (sometimes in very liberal amounts because the scent and the way it makes my skin feel is really difficult to resist) after showering and, even after an entire day of running around,the scent's still there. Best of all, my skin's soft and moisturized the entire day. Sometimes, in the middle of the day, I apply small amounts of it on my palms (I wash my hands a lot) and, when I'm in shorts and it's really agonizingly warm, I do a quick run to the bathroom and put a bit more on early in the afternoon. I don't really have to because it does an excellent job of preventing my skin from going dry but I don't like thinking the heat's turning my skin into sandpaper. :| I don't have the best skin out there so I have to at least keep it tolerable!
2.) Mentholatum Lip Ice in Grape Blackcurrant
Steph Co introduced me to Lip Ice years ago but I've been using Body Shop's raspberry lip balm since high school and I never saw the need to use anything else permanently. My lips chap a lot (and I bite off the flaking skin, so my lips end up bleeding) so I never leave the house without at least two pots of Body Shop's Born Lippy balm. I have a few tubes of Smackers and Nivea (in dark cherry) and a tin of Smith's Rosebud Salve in my vanity drawer, any one of which I throw into my purse when I'm running low on Body Shop's Born Lippy (which happens very rarely) or when I'm in a hurry and I'm not sure I transferred my pots into the purse I'm using (In the case of Nivea though, I bring it along when I think my lips need to be a bit darker. Body Shop's balm is tinted but the color doesn't last long and it's really light. I don't use lipstick, unless I'm going to a formal event.)--but I've been loyal to Body Shop since I grew out of Chapstick.
Occasionally, I ask friends from/heading to Singapore or Hongkong to get me Lip Ice when I know I have a trip to a non-tropical country coming up (Lip Ice is more resistant to cold that Body Shop's balm, as Carlo Cabrera made me realize in Ireland) but I've never used it for longer than a month or two. I discovered an old tube a few months ago when I was fixing my vanity drawer and my Body Shop pot sort of 'melted' (I left it beside my laptop and the heat made the balm all sticky. I had to refrigerate it.). I realized it works well in warm weather (In fact, the minty feel it leaves makes it ideal for tropical climes) so I felt bad when I used it all up. Thankfully, we went to Singapore a week later so I bought a couple. It moisturizes more intensively than Body Shop's lip balm and I don't have to use my pinkie anymore (and, if I misplace it because I put on balm every half-hour or so and sometimes forget to throw it back into my bag, I won't feel so bad because it's not as pricey as Kiehl's). The minty feel's strong and helps me feel the heat less. Most people prefer it in lemon but I love their grape blackcurrant variant best.
3. Vanilla and Company's Witch Hazel Tonic
The picture doesn't want to load. Anyway, I know most people prefer using Evian's Mineral Water spray, but I never saw the sense in blowing 15 USD (It's pricier in the Philippines because it's harder to find) for, well, water. I've never been a facial spray user but, like I said, I've never had to deal with heat like this on a daily basis so I had to find something. I came across this when I was trying to find locally available facial sprays (Vanilla and Company's getting really popular and I read nothing but raves about this product.) and my friend bought it for me along with the organic body butter. Its primary ingredients are witch hazel water, tea tree oil and Vitamin C extracts. That's definitely better than water.
Witch hazel prevents and cures skin inflammations, tea tree oil is antibacterial and protects from dust and pollution and Vitamin C promotes collagen restoration. And it's not BS too! I broke out a bit two weeks ago and it saved me from ugly scars. It has a hint of eucalyptus too so it leaves my face feeling really cool and refreshed despite the heat. You can use it as a toner too. I spritz it on my face (and even on my arms) at least three times a day, even when I have make-up on (It doesn't ruin make-up. In fact, it helps it stay on longer.). Of the three products on the list, this has to be my favorite.
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