Saving Face: Osea Skin Care

If it isn't obvious that I worship anything that comes from the ocean by now, you're blind, illiterate, or just incredibly unobservant. I am always trying to find things that blend the ocean with my everyday life, even if it's the stuff I put on my face. I have always loved seaweed infused skin care products, but as of late, the ones I had been trying just weren't doing it for me. I was worried that, like the Bonnie Raitt song, I can't make you love me, seaweed, if you don't. That was until I found out about a little company called Osea. 

Based and made in Malibu, California, all of their products revolve around highly nourishing organic seaweed that we already know, has a veritable buttload of minerals and moisturizing benefits. I needed a new moisturizer and was reluctant to change from my favorite Juara moisturizer, but the $49 price tag was a little steep at the time. After some researching, I found the Osea Atmosphere Protection Cream which is moisturizing, but lightweight enough to keep me from feeling oily and gross. It was also cheaper than my current moisturizer which is always a bonus!

When I placed my order, I was given the choice of different kinds of free samples with my order. I was fully expecting to get one dinky foil packet with barely enough to cover my forehead, but I was surprised with three decent sized face-mask samples!

I have so far only tried the red algae mask that is supposed to help dehydrated yet acne prone skin and it definitely felt really nice. The white algae mask is geared towards those with dry skin and rosacea, which is something I'm going to save until it gets really cold and my skin really needs it. The black algae mask is supposed to be a great exfoliator and good for repairing sun damage. It's never too late in the season for sun damage control, so I will be trying this one day when I need to just relax, nap, and wake up to a beautiful face! 

So far, the Atmosphere Protection Cream has been super awesome. I haven't had any weird breakouts, the herbal smell is really nice to put on, and I'm not oily throughout the day. My skin get incredibly dry during the winter, so I'm interested to see how well it does once it gets colder. I think it will do a good job, seaweed is a great moisture keeper and holds onto everything that it can. If you want an all-natural, vegan, and earth friendly company to get some goodies from, check out Osea and feel closer to the ocean!!

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Summer Skin Moisture Savers

Summer Skin Moisture Savers by elbonner featuring a la roche posay

Warm weather is great for the soul, but it can totally throw your face into an adolescent, oily, unmanageable breakdown. It's horrible, it's annoying,but it happens to the best of us. What we tend to forget when we get a little oilier in the summer is that we still need to moisturize because sun exposure leads to moisture loss! You're sweating out the water in your skin and it either needs to be sealed in or replaced. What can make the difference is a good moisturizer.

Combination Skin

 Juara Sweet Black Tea and Rice Moisturizer- This is my favorite moisturizer of all time. I use this all year round, but I feel like it was custom made for my summer skin. I used to struggle with oiliness during the day when in the sun, but dryness because of thin moisturizers I used to keep the oil at bay. This stuff works with me to keep me looking fresh, but not too moisturized. 

Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream- This works a  lot like the Juara one. It's a bit lighter for those on the oily end of the combination scale and smells like cucumbers floating in cool water. Just that alone makes it great for summer. Layers well under sunscreen and BB creams also!

Oily

Korres Pomegranate Balancing Moisturizer- At the height of my oil problem a few years ago, I was desperate for a moisturizer that didn't suck the oil from my face only to make it oilier out in the sun. I went out on a limb and tried Korres, a brand I'd never tried before and changed my skin for good! This stuff gives oily skin just enough moisture and packs in what can only be magic to keep all the shine away. I was blown away and recommend it to anyone with oil problems.

Alba Hawaiian Aloe and Green Tea Oil-Free Moisturizer- Great drugstore buy that I found very similar to the Korres moisturizer when I was low on cash and needed some oil control. It was very soothing if I'd had any sun exposure the day before and was very light/nicely scented. No breakouts and no problems!

Dry/Mature

Avene Hydrance Optimale Light Hydrating Cream- French skincare is always good. ALWAYS. Which is why I wasn't surprised when this skin cream from Avene moisturized my overly sensitive, newly dry skin when I was first having to change face products. My skin when from out-of-control oily to dry in what seems like overnight. I figured my skin was mad and went for something made for sensitive skin. This entire brand is based on the benefits of French mineral water and its soothing properties. It helped calm things down and was very moisturizing. I went with the light because it was summer time and thought any more and I would have been shiny. Go with the whole shebang if you're super dry.

Kiehl's Abyssine Cream + SPF 23- Super rich, super luxurious, and complete with a sun protectant. Sometimes, I find that putting a mineral sunscreen over a moisturizing cream can actually suck out all the moisture (the minerals act almost like a mattifyer) and render your expensive cream useless, I say! Go with one with an spf. This cream is formulated with deep sea minerals that live in the most extreme and damaging conditions on earth (thermal vents moving boiling hot water from the earths core, science whoa!) and are able to withstand damage from extreme heat. Great for the summer! Super thick and luxurious, I would only recommend this to the driest of skins.

Wildcards! Summer Face-Issue Helpers:
Acne: La Roche Posay Effaclar DUO Dual Action Acne Treatment- Pimples and summer go together like family barbeques and drunken uncle speeches. This is a much-loved acne treatment for those unwanted guests that works without excess drying or peeling.

Irritation/Sun Damage: Korres Greek Yogurt Advanced Nourishing Sleep Facial- Get all the benefits of a greek yogurt facial at night without ruining all of your sheets and pillows. This super nourishing mask is great for a day spent too-much in the sun or just general irritation from over cleansing (which we all tend to do in the summer, i.e. removing sunscreen). Since it's used like a night cream, you get eight hours (ha! I wish) of treatment rather than, say, 15 minutes. Another great from Korres.You really can't go wrong with them!

I hope this helps prepare for the oncoming onslaught of skin-bummers that come along with the changing of the seasons.Just remember to sunscreen up, don't over exfoliate, and have fun in the sun without worrying about your face!

Things That Heal

Things That Heal by elbonner featuring ahava

It's getting to that time of year when you're going to be showing off a lot more skin than you have in months. If you are anything like me, you may have neglected your skin a bit in favor of sitting, eating, and watching X-Files reruns all winter, but it's time to soak up that vitamin D! My skin is neglected; if there were skin protective services, they would have taken my skin away to a home that could better care for it a long time ago, but not before I bust out my secret "blow your nads off" spring/summer skin savers! 

1. Lucas' Paw Paw Ointment: A bit like petroleum jelly, this stuff helps heal cuts and scrapes while also providing a protective moisture barrier for cracked skin. I have horrible dry skin left over from a winter full of work-related hand washing and this is helping mend the cracks.

2. Burts Bees Coconut Foot Cream: Not so much a cream as it is an ointment, this stuff needs to be put on with the idea that you need to put sockson afterwards. It's sticky, but really does the trick.I put this on before bed, throw on some socks, and wake up with smooth feet. Because ain't nobody want to see your crusty feet ruining a cute pair of sandals!

3. Earth's Best Non-Petroleum Jelly: I don't like using petroleum jelly because it's a byproduct of crude oil refinement aka the sludge at the bottom of the barrel. Luckily, there are a bunch of plant-based products that work in the same way, but without using petroleum as a base.

4. Badge Balm Bali Balm: If you are a person with skin, you will ecru some sort of sun damage this spring because everyone assumes that sunscreen is for summer, not spring. WRONG! If you do screw up and get burned, slather on some of this stuff and keep your skin for peeling and get to healing (so proud of that one). Badge balm is great for all sorts of stuff. I bring their sore muscle balm when I go backpacking to sooth angry shoulders and every one that I have tried has been awesome. 

5. Lush H'Suan Wen Hua Hair Treatment: I bought this on a whim about 13 years ago, before Lush was even available in the US of A at the location in Cambridge whilst visiting family in England. From then on, I was a Lush convert. This stuff, after placed on dry hair and left on for about an hour, made my frizzy mess of heat damaged hair super soft, shiny and manageable. Get some, you won't regret it!

6. Aveeno Skin Strengthening Body Lotion: I try and try to find body lotions that keep my ungodly dry skin from looking like a drought-ridden corn field. I try expensive stuff, I try hard-to-find stuff, but I always come crawling back to Aveeno. It really is the only lotion that keeps me moisturized for 24 hours and this formula helps thin skin (check) beef up a bit.

7. Ahava Mineral Hand Cream: We use a similar formula to this hand cream at my office and it moisturizes and heals the hell out of your hands due to the dead sea minerals. It stays on after at least one washing and helps keep you from getting cracked knuckles. I keep this by my bed, and when I remember I put it on so that once I get toasty warm it will really sink into my hands.

8. Egyptian Magic: BEES! Bees make life possible and everyone should worship them. If it weren't for bees there would be now Egyptian Magic cream! Supposedly based on something Cleopatra liked a bagillion years ago, it's full of royal jelly and olive oil to help moisturize and heal things like cuts and sunburns. Honey is known to be very healing and this stuff has a cult, almost hive-like following! (I really can't help myself)

9. Burts Bees Lemon Cuticle Butter: Slap this stuff on your cuticles before bed and wake up to lovely nails. I never knew I had bad cuticles until a very vocal Korean manicurist told me how dry they were, over and over again, I decided to invest in this cream. Smells like a lemon bar too!

10. Mary Kay Satin Hands: This is a great set for people who want a hand-care system all together in a cute tote bag. If Mary Kay leaves you with memories of powder pink compacts and blue eyeshadow-filled neighborhood makeover parties, throw that all aside.This system is great for your hands and my mom and I have sworn by it for years, I tell you! It contains a vaseline-like cream, and exfoliator, and a final hand cream. This makes your hands super soft and smelling like peaches (or nothing if you like to be boring).

Hope this helps get your entire being back into tip-top shape before you force people to look at your naked skin all summer. Make the world jealous of your radiance and get it on with some dermic healing!

Body Oils: How I Fake Healthy, Moisturized Skin

Body Oils by elbonner featuring omorovicza

Girl, my skin is DRY! For real though, this time of year shrivels and flakes me up like a bag of dates I forgot about in the back of my pantry. It's not pretty, and that's why I turn to what I think is the best kind of moisturizer you can put on your body: OIL. Sweet, glorious oil that comes from a variety of sources, natural ones only! I have compiled a list of body and bath oils that I like to use when I'm feeling itchy and scaly.

1.  Nuxe Huile Prodigieuese OR- This stuff is good in the summer because it's a dry oil that has lots of bronze glitter, but this is great for nights out when you want to look sparkly and fabulous. 

2. REN Moroccan Rose Otto Bath Oil- This is something you're supposed to add to your bath to make it moisturizing in the water as well as out. This smells like roses (duh) and feels lovely after a bath because you're not doused in oil, it just rests nicely on the skin. Also available at Sephora.

3. The Body Shop Pink Grapefruit Body Oil- Smells like grapefruit: SOLD. Nice and light, good for the daytime when you want a fresh smelling body oil that keeps you soft.

4. Aromatherapy Associates Perfect Partners- Two mini bath oils, one in a zingy citrus to wake you up and one in a soothing herbal scent for night? SIGN. ME. UP. These are great for travel when you're in a different place and just want something to help you wind down. Also great for business travel when you're just tired of watching America's Got Talent alone or stressful holiday trips to your new in-laws house and you're sick of spending time with people.

5. Origins Ginger Gloss Dry Oil Spray- This stuff smells like a goddamn ginger snap and makes you look like a Beyonce album cover: smooth, glowing, and "Sasha" fierce. Great scent for winter and summer; this is a dry oil spray so no greasiness, all fabulousness.

6. Heritage Store Aura Glow Skin Lotion- I use this as a makeup remover, moisturizer, and shave oil. It comes in like 15 different scents and in sizes from teeny tiny to dear-god-that's-a lot size. Needless to say, this is an all-around good oil for lots of things. This is made from peanut oil and is super moisturizing. Wouldn't recommend it for daytime use because it can get oil stains in your clothes (aka ruin them), but great before bed because it really soaks in when you're warm!

7. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil- You can get this stuff just about anywhere nowadays and I always have a jar in my house (two at the moment). I use this like I use the Aura Glow. It's a bit lighter than the Aura Glow and way better for hair. It's good in smoothies and for frying and baking. Just get a jar already!

8. Omorovicza Three-Oil Coffet- Swag, luxury, and high-end body oils. I just named three things I don't have, so this pick is more of a wish-list item. This company is super expensive which makes me think these oils make you a supermodel, look 20lbs. lighter, and magically speak fluent French. It probably doesn't do this, but I like to tell myself it does.

If you've got disgusting dry skin (like me!) go out and get a body oil. Your body moisturizes itself naturally with oil, so what better way to augment your poorly functioning oil glands by giving them a nicely scented boost!