Skin talk

Ever since I could remember, I've had problems with my skin. Its not a feature I'm particularly proud of, but as of late, I've found that my skin has gotten a lot better. Not being ashamed of my skin is something I've never experienced, so excuse me as I indulge myself in a few barefaced close-up shots.  I'm not #flawless and to be quite honest, I don't think absolute flaw free skin is something that realistically obtainable or normal (if only 14 year old Mira was mature enough to realise this). I'll go through the specific problems I had in regards to skincare, and what I've found works well for me.

1. Oily skin

I grew up with visibly oily skin, and believed that my T-zone would never see a day without oil. I think having oily skin is a common problem in this climate, and one that leads to a plethora of other things (clogged up pores, acne, more prone to breakouts, etc). It turns out that, for me at least, the answer to this problem was simple and basic : moisturise! It seems a bit counter intuitive, 'My skin is already oily so why do I have to moisturise and put more oil on it?!?!' so I stayed clear of moisturising for a good part of my teen years and instead looked to more astringent products to help dry up my oil, or something like that. Right after high school, I gave moisturising a go, and I'm happy to say that excess oil is just not a problem for me anymore! Of course it didn't happen instantaneously, I've found that you need to find a moisturising routine that suits you. For morning use, you want to find a moisturiser that quickly absorbs into your skin, doesn't make your face look oily after a while, doesn't clog your pores and leaves your face feeling supple right after application. At night, I like to use oils. I was super reluctant at first, even after I started moisturising during the day due to my oily skin problem, but its made such a huge difference! A lot of my friends also notice a similar positive result after incorporating oils into their skin care routine, so I'd definitely recommend you to find a oil thats good for you if you haven't already. 

My best and current moisturising combo is Olay's Regenerist moisturiser with SPF in the morning, and Body Shops beautifying olive oil at night. My family has been using Olay for years, and when I gave the brand a go it worked wonders for me as well, so my tip is, maybe ask your mom what works for her. I'm guessing that somewhere in the science, you inherit positive predisposition to certain beauty products (?) and the regenerist line is the best line they have, in my opinion.

2. Breakouts

Acne for me always came in the form of small bumps. I've never had huge zits, but I've always had small little, sometimes red, bumps on my face. Currently, I have close to none of these little bumps. I feel like problems with acne and breakouts always go back to your cleansing and a good cleansing routine starts with a good facial cleanser. As a teen, I elevated to brands like Oxy, Nuteen and tea tree containing products. It took me ages to realise that those sort of products just don't work for me, and left my skin even more irritated, and hence, more breakouts. I feel like young girls do tend to go for those sort of products immediately after they break out, and I don't know why we do it, maybe its the marketing. So note that if something doesn't work for you, no matter how good your friends claim it is, or how good the ads look, stop it! You probably just need something different. I didnt stop it and spent years believing that my skin is just bad and always will be. No hate though on products of this type, it works extremely well for my sister, so I'm not claiming that its bad for everybody. Just be sure that its not bad for you. I've also tried cleansing brushes, the Clarisonic Mia 2 to be exact, and though cleansing tools seem to be good on a lot of people, it didn't really do anything much for me. Just be sure to wash your hands before you wash your face! So again, just get a good cleanser, everything else is just a plus point. 

THE BEST cleanser in the history of the world in my opinion is Herbalism from Lush. It is a green doughy textured face cleanser which does the trick for me, and more! Every time I start using it again, I'll get compliments on my complexion. I'm not too sure what the active ingredient is, but its all natural (even has an expiry date!) and seems to draw out my impurities. Even my nose is kind of black head free. If your looking for something good, try this. 

3. Acne scars

Scarring is a problem that I'd say takes the longest time to solve. It stays around even when everything else clears up! I still have some acne scarring but for the most part, its all gone and people who have seen my acne scars know that there is suchhhhh a big improvement. I've found that getting rid of scars needs a combination of things, but basically, you need to exfoliate and use oils to help with the scarring.

When it comes to exfoliating, you want to think gentle. If you are using a cleansing brush, don't use anything that has a rough texture with it, it'll be too harsh and you'll break your skin. Find an effective, gentle exfoliant and exfoliate twice a week. Also, you don't want to rub your skin too hard when exfoliating, just soft gentle circular motions, and the rougher the texture of your exfoliant the gentler you want to be in your rubbing. Herbalism is not a liquid, its more of a dough that you have to work into a paste, and even then it has a slightly bumpy texture. Since I use Herbalism twice a day, I find that it suffices as an exfoliant for me, so if your cleanser has microbeads or a rough-ish texture, pay attention to whether your scars are clearing up. If it does, maybe you don't need a separate exfoliant. A good exfoliant that I use whenever Im not on Herbalism is Simple's Spotless Skin Triple Action Face Wash with Zinc and Chamomile. 

As for oils, if you moisturise with oils at night, it should help with the scars. I sing praises for Bio-oil. Like everything, effective skincare comes down to consistently doing something so if you don't see improvement after a night of bio-oiling, just keep at it. Unless you break out or show signs or irritation, you probably just need to give it time to work its magic, and bio-oil basically is magic.

4. Dull & Uneven skin tone

These two problems normally come hand in hand, and for me, all you need is to drink enough water and get good sleep. My skin tends to look duller when I have less than 4 hours of sleep in a day, so I feel like your skin really does bear the burdens of your all-nighters ! I've also noticed that when I eat omega-3 rich foods like chia seeds, my skin looks less dull. I don't dare say its because of the chia seeds because correlation does not equal causation, but chia seeds can't be bad for you. Exfoliating also helps a lot with combatting dull skin!

5. Skin picking!

I have such a bad habit of picking at my imperfections, and it causes me to have more breakouts and scars. If you're having the same problem, I know its tempting but good skin is worth just being a litttttle bit more disciplined with yourself. Some tips I have for all skin pickers out there is to avoid the mirror when you feel an urge to pick, or feel particularly sad. Find something else do to with your fingers, like drawing on your skin. Also, admit to people that you pick at your skin. Admitting it out loud to people made me really want to get rid of my habit, and it sort of worked. This is an ongoing struggle though, but one that is not impossible. Leave comments below if you have any other tips!

So there you have it. If you combat excess oil, break outs and scarring, most things just fall into place after that. But one huge thing that a lot of people undermine is your attitude to caring for you skin plays a big role in how good your skin becomes. Its important not to take the stance of hating your skin whilst improving it, and also to be patient when waiting for progress. Don't hurt you skin for fast results guys! Media has made us believe that flawless blemish-less problem free skin is the norm and made us hate ourselves for the littlest imperfections. Truth is, that isn't the norm, and we can't bring ourselves down for not being unable to reach a unrealistic standard of beauty. Skin wasn't made to be marble or porcelain or glass, its made with glands that secrete sweat and hair follicles and pores because its meant to first and foremost protect your insides. So its okay if your skin isn't clear like water, its not meant to be water! 

You gotta love your skin to care for it, and you gotta care for it if you want it to be the best version it can be. 

Hope this post helps, and that everyone reaches a point where their happy with their skin.

Love,

Mira

DIDA for women velvet matte lip creme

I love trying local beauty products, so when my best friend Saida introduced me to DIDA for women, I was hooked. DIDA is not only a Malaysian based company, its products are also cruelty free! As of now, they've released one product which is their velvet matte lip creme, and I'm please to report that its amazing! 

The lip creme comes in this cute packaging, and theres a lot of product (the box says 0.25 oz). The shade Saida got for me is called Tango, and it translates to a bright orangy coraly color which dries matte. Orange is not a color I usually use, but I'm glad I have this color in my makeup kit now because I think it compliments my skin tone quite well.

This is how the products looks within 15 minutes of application. Like I've mentioned, it dries matte like most trendy lip cremes, but it didn't sink into the little cracks in my lips or dried my lips out or anything like that. I also didn't have to apply lip balm or scrub my lips first, though it might be useful to know that my lips are pretty, well, huge, and they aren't dry to begin with. Saida has slightly dry lips and she mentioned she'd use lip balm first just in case, but still, its better than most local matte lip products that just dry you out (or so I've heard). While it dries it does feel a little like its going to be really dry, but after it sets, its fineeee. I daresay 10/10 for not drying out ness whilst remaining totally matte.

The other thing to note is that this lip cremes staying power is beyond amazing, seriously guys, staying power better than any boy I've met! We swatched a few different shades in the store and after washing our hands, it didn't budge!!! So I decided to do a little experiment and see how long it would last. Note that although it was Ramadan, I was on my period so I had lunch as usual and ran some errands with Saida. After lunch and about 4 hours, this is what it looked like:

AMAZING

Now I've tried colourpop's matte lip cremes, but in comparison, I think think Dida takes the cake in terms of staying power. I proceeded to go to the bazaar, have dinner and went out for coffee, and 11 hours after application, I came home with my lipstick still in place. No budges! I was documenting my lipstick progress the whole day on snapchat, but I forgot to save it, but I assure you, it looked the same after hours and hours and hours and I didn't reapply in the slightest. Upon coming home, I got ready for bed and washed my face and all that, and only then did my lipstick flake off a little. Even then, most of it was still pretty intact, which kind of scared me... but its all good, cause all I needed was a little oil based makeup remover (or just oil, like the one in your kitchen) and it came right off.

So staying power is crazy good, but that also means you have to be really careful in application. And you have to be sureeee that you want to use that colour because, honey there is no turning back. If you were in a rush, or applying your makeup in the car, um, I'd wish you the best of luck but I wouldn't dare if it was me. Still, I'm super duper impressed. 

If any of you are interested, you can check our their instagram ( @didaforwomen ) or their website : https://www.didaforwomen.com Its priced at RM 45, which for the size and the quality is great value for money. You can order on their website or check out their showroom at Publika ( B2-3A-2 Block B2) 

I can't stop singing praises about this lip creme. Its like my favourite thing in my whole makeup kit now, and I'm sure you would love it too.

Love,

Mira

My everyday makeup

Makeup is something I've experimented with for quite a while now; I started wearing eyeliner when I was 13, which is not unusual, I think. I've been through no makeup phases, heavy makeup phases, and time where I felt like red was my everyday colour. Now, like pretty much everyone else, I'm into that natural, barely there, my face but better look. I felt like it would be fun to show my readers what I put on my face on a day to day basis, since I think I've developed a standard routine, and its the same products I reach for now. 

First thing I do to my face is moisturise, and I use this moisturiser from the Olay Regenerist line. I've talked about it in my March favourites post linked here if you want to check it out. I put it on my face and neck, because hey, necks need protecting too!

Next I use a CC cream from Glowing & Goodness. For my day to day use I'm not really looking for something to conceal everything, just something to even out my skin tone, brighten my skin and help protect my skin from UV rays. This CC cream doesn't have great coverage, but my older scars are pretty much blurred out when this is on. It does the job to brighten definitely and even out my skin tone, so I love it. This also has SPF and UVA and UVB protection.

On top of all that, its a local product and really reasonable priced. For me, a product I'm going to use everyday shouldn't be too expensive, but should be of good quality, and this CC cream ticks all the boxes. 

Top most is before CC cream, and bottom most is after. I only used a little amount, one tiny squeeze and t was enough. You can see that I have a cluster of newly pick pimples (lol) which is not concealed by the product, but I don't mind much. I feel like everything else about my skin looks better with it on.

Next step, and the most important one of all, is my brows. I've been using this eyebrow colour from IN2IT, and the little brush comes with the palette. I actually use the darker shade more often now, but a younger Mira thought the middle shade could be used as eyeshadow *cringeeee*  I love this product and swear by it. I don't like eyebrow pencils, and most other brow powders and gels are too creamy for my liking, making it really hard not to overdraw. This product is more powdery that creamy, but still not a powder, and its my go to brow product, all the time.

With and without brows

Sometimes I stop at my brows, but nowadays I go on and add some colour to my face, with blush and some lip colour

For blush and highlight, I use the things in this Balm Jovi pallete by The Balm. I brush the pink blush (the one in the largest square) on the apples of my cheeks, and use the highlight (largest circle) on my cheekbones, brow bone, and occasionally the bridge of my nose and my cupids bow. The highlight is actually the Mary-Lou Luminizer by The Balm, and I really like the gold shimmer it gives. As for lips, I found this beautiful nude colour from Silkygirl's Matte lipstick range. Its in the shade 01 Nearly Nude, and is nude with a slight tint of coral. It does a shit job at staying on though, so I pair it with this brown lip liner from Catrice. On its own, its quite dark and Dina says I look really ugly, but under a coral-y lipstick, it becomes a really nice nudish brownish shade which I really really like.

                                             

I end up going out looking a little like this. I don't put on mascara because I have literally close to no eyelashes, mascara isn't even worth it especially since taking it off is the worst. I don't go out with powder either, because the CC cream and my moisturiser does a good job at balancing my skin, and my once really oily skin isn't so oily anymore, and I don't find the need to blot, or anything like that. 

I thought you guys might be interested, this is my makeup at the end of today, after I spent a day out, performed my prayers which means I had to wash my face for ablution, and took a nap snuggled under my blanket. No touch ups. Lip color has faded and my cheeks aren't as rosy, but my brows are still good. Main thing though is my skin, I mean, it doesn't look like Ive had a layer of gunk on. With other drugstore BB creams, foundations and concealers, I've noticed after a while you can tell that someones been wearing base product, because it turns almost greyish and like, it looks like its not sticking on the skin anymore. But this CC cream still looks good, so I'm definitely sticking to this. 

I hope you enjoyed this post, its a little different, but hey, there's a girly side to me too. Till tomorrow!

Love,

Mira

March Favourites

Hey guys!

I know its been agesss since I've last posted here, and I'm so sorry! With A2 and trials and just life happening, I could never find the time. But that aside, I've put together  list of things for this months favourites, though, I've been loving some things on here since January. First-3-months-of-the-year favourites maybe ? In any case, its my first favourites post so let's just cut to the chase. I have quite a few items so bear with me.

 1.  Herbalism, LUSH

Now, I kind of have bad skin. Not the worst, but I do always have the odd bump and a few pimples on my skin and I have a lot of problems with scarring. Never really have had clear clear skin (and starting to accept that maybe I never will?) I used to have major major oily skin problems, but its went down a little now, so just your average amount of oil. But anyway, I heard Lush was good so I went on into the store while I was in New Zealand and told the sales assistant all this, and she recommended Herbalism to me. I didn't watch any reviews prior to coming into Lush so I really just bought whatever it is she told me lol, but I was very very pleased with my purchase. Herbalism is a facial cleanser. I've used it all up so I can't show you, but its a green paste, and smells kind of like bread and herbs. Its not a foaming cleanser like I'm normally used to, and you're supposed to pinch a little off, work it into a paste with water and then pretty much just massage it in like a normal cleanser. 

When I started using this, I noticed I broke out much less often, and a lot of my usual redness was gone. Its quite gritty in texture, so I guess it must have had a sort of exfoliating effect, cause my skin looked less dull and more glow-y too. And I got so many compliments! 2 people purchased Herbalism online after I told them I was using it. My skin just got so so much better. It did everything the sales person told me it would, prevent breakouts, clear up redness, help with oil and grease, and it didn't sting to use like harsh cleansers or make my skin feel super dry after washing. I'm definitely repurchasing this. The only thing is, since all Lush products are made fresh, it is best used immediately. If you're not used to Lush, then you have to take note of the expiry date on the side on the pot, and stick to it. Two days before the expiry date my product started smelling bad, and I was breaking out a little around that time but I don't know if thats was because I was at the break out part of my menstrual cycle, or because of the product. I threw it out, but there was only a day's use left anyway. I daresay this is the best facial cleanser I've used, so if you have mildly oily problematic skin, I'd highly recommend this product to you. My 100g pot lasted me over 2 months, and if you are interested, you can visit lushxmalaysia on instagram (they're a reseller!)

2. Olay Regenerist revitalising hydration cream with SPF 15

 Next on my list is a moisturiser. Growing up, I never moisturised. I had oily skin and I was one of those ' Why would I add more oil on my oil?!?!?!' kind of people. But eventually I got out of those dark days (lol) and learned that oily skin is a negative feedback reaction cause your skin is not hydrated enough and all that. It made sense, but I never ever found a moisturiser that worked for me. Everything felt really greasy and to me, it made my acne scarring more prominent. I discovered Olay's Regenerist line because I'm in a boarding college, and I hate transporting my own stuff back and forth so I steal my moms skin care products all the time. She was using the whole Regenerist line, because it actually is an anti-aging line (lol, I'm 20 trying to anti age myself to 4) but it really worked for me! Like the whole line works for me, but I finally grew up and bought my very own pot of cream, and it was this day one with SPF. I love moisturisers with SPF, so I love this. The formula is non-greasy, even though it is your usual creamy- cream as you can see from the picture above. It didn't clog my pores and felt very lightweight, and did its job at keeping my skin hydrated. My cheeks even felt supple! Also, it smells reeallllyyyy good, and I've noticed helps with my makeup application. Just makes it smoother, ya know.

You can get the whole Regenerist line from pretty much any pharmacy. It's reasonably priced, if I'm not mistaken, its around RM 50 and I've had mine for over a month and there's still plenty left, like more than half kind of plenty, so its good value for money too. Apparently all the women on my moms side grew up using Oil of Olay, and they all have really smooth, fair skin (don't know where I got my breakout genes from tbh..) so I believe in Olay as a brand. Try out their stuff guys!

3. The Body Shop : Olive Beautifying Oil

This next item I got from my close friend AJ ( visit her blog here guys!) Soon after I started believing in moisturising, I tried my hand in using oils before bedtime. I tried Josie Maran's pure Argan Oil, and although argan oil does a lot for AJ, it didn't really do much for me. But anyway, AJ had a bottle of this olive oil she purchased which she found out she was allergic to, and handed it to me. I use it as my night moisturiser, and again, this one smells good, like delicious. For an oil, its very lightweight. I can go out and get food and not look like an oil slick, because it absorbs very well. When I wake up, I've noticed, my skin looks the absolute best, and I don't know if its the oil working (I don't use any night serums or anything) or just the way my skin works, but this oil does great stuff. Sometimes when my hair is dry I'll run this through my hair too. It claims to  ' Moisturise, smooth and illuminate'  which might be stretching it a little, but I'd second it. It makes me glow, which is a good thing in my books.

4. Safi Shayla; Smooth & Manageable Shampoo

 I don't have a picture of this one sorry, but its because its another one of my stealing-from-my-mother finds. Guyssss, omg this product, spend all your money on it seriously!!!!! Its SOOO good. It markets itself as 'Syampu wanita bertudung' but damn it works. It smells good, and the smell transfers to your hair. I can whip my hair a little a my boyfriend smiles extra big and he doesn't know it, but ITS THE SHAMPOO. One day, I used it before attending a birthday lunch, and I didn't blow-dry my hair or anything because who has the time for that but 3 people asked if I went to the saloon before hand. My mom gets the pink bottle for shampoo, which is the smooth and manageable one, and the purple one for conditioner. It hydrates, it tames flyaway hairs, it is the best shampoo ever lah. I love this, I will bring a suitcase of this to the UK when and if (insyaAllah) I go because I don't want to live without it. So impressed with Safi for this product, and its super cheap? So go go, go get yourself a bottle, your hair will thank you.

4. Coconut Lime Candle, Typo

I picked up my dad's love for scents early on, so I have a candle corner in my room hehe. But my most recent find is this candle from Typo (of all places!!!). I found it tucked away and discounted to 20 ringgit, so I kind of bought it because it was so cheap for a candle. But I fell in love with the smell! I didn't use to be a big coconut kind of girl but this candle changed that for me. Now I have coconut toppings on everything, I have coconut oil in my hair as we speak, and my favourite candle is this coconut lime one. I normally settle for Lavender and more, spicy herby almost christmas-y scents, so coconut is way out there for me. Im really sad because I have a feeling this isn't in permanent production for Typo, I mean, they aren't known for their candles, but I hope I find another one tucked away when I finish this one. I have to admit, the scent got much weaker the more I used it, but still enough to smell, you know? Will look for more coconut candles, hate the ones from Bath & Body works, so if you know any, please let me know!

5. Baby Powder reed diffuser

My house is littered with reed diffusers. My dad always gets them. He had a dinner recently, and gave away these diffusers as gift bags, and they were from some unknown brand (apparently he got them from some home tech store in mitsui?) but I love it! I used to scoff at reed diffusers, but I have one on all the time in my room now. And this one smells of BABY POWDER. Oh my, baby powder! So fresh so clean so adorable. I find scents like these really work in rooms where I have to be more productive, and its got me sprinkling Baby Johnsons on my pillow to intensify the smell when I sleep you know. I loveeee babies, and now my whole room smells of baby powder (and uh, coconut) and I am a happy happy happy girl.

6. Chia seeds

The last one on my list is a food one. I've gotten into adding chia seeds into my drinks, my oatmeal, my anything I can really. They're pockets of omega-3, and you can leave them into water to soak. They're one of those super foods that are supposed to reduce the likeliness of heart related diseases and a bunch of other things. They give off a slightttttly nutty taste, but its hardly noticeable. But anyway, they look like biji selasih once they've soaked up water, but I googled, their two different things. They have a lot of protein, veryyy good for hydration, so if you're like me and have trouble drinking your 8 cups a day, these would help! I like them because well, they sort of make me less hungry, if Im hungry but its not lunch or dinner yet I add this to some water and my hunger goes away a little. I've also noticed my scarring is reducing, and I did read that it helps with your skin, so I guess it could be an effect. It also gives a nice crunch you know. I got my jar from MBG, and I take about 1-3 tablespoons worth when I feel like it. Got pretty much my whole family on it now, so heres to healthy living!

So thats all for this post. I'm in the middle of my trials exams, and have approximately a month left of A levels! Time is moving so so so fast. I really do hope to write more, but I can promise you, once I got my exams out of the way, I should have so much more time to write. Also, I'll be going to the UK to do my degree soon InsyaAllah and my oh my does time fly. AND IM TURNING 20 SOON TOO?!?! okay like a month and more away but its huge. My life is taking me by storm guys, and I hope to share it all occasionally with all of you. Thanks for tuning in.

Love,

Mirr