Fun things to do with your face

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 5:48 am

Here's one: 1) Wink. 2) Try to open the open eye as widely as you can. It is a fun thing to do with a friend. It both looks and feels insane.

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 10:37 am

A facial!
I gave one to my person last night and he fell asleep with a green face mask on, lying on the couch. I had to wake him up to wash it off and let me pat oils and serums on, after which he promptly fell asleep again. Facials are relaxing.

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:15 am

That does sound fun. Tell me about serums.

alexshred420 · Post by **alexshred420** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:28 am

alexshred420 · Post by **alexshred420** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:28 am

Remember Jowling?

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:28 am

I think maybe potions is a better term?
I have a face oil I love that's made here in PDX by a friend- https://www.hellowildcare.com/shop-all- ... olar-serum

Then I have various little dabs by a brand called The Ordinary. You can buy single ingredient treatments that have no added fragrance or other bullshit and they are packaged very plainly and without much marketing, so it's very cheap. I alternate various acids (lol), niacinamide, vitamin c, etc.

I also like some Korean beauty stuff because there are brands that do simple and fragrance free stuff- I really really hate fragrance or essential oils on the face! Irritating. Right now I'm using a snail mucus potion that is literally just snail slime collected after they crawl around in glass containers. It's very soothing and also I'm not sure how I feel about using it? Should we just let those snails chill and keep their slime? The other thing that's really soothing is centella, which I found as a pure, single ingredient potion. It helps heal blemishes and stuff.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:38 am

I love The Ordinary! I use their AHA peel every couple weeks. The squalane is great too.

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:45 am

Yeah, it's so cheap and simple! You have to educate yourself about what the different things do, but I don't mind that. Mostly Sephora style skin products bum me out because they are full of shit that isn't good for your skin and are "pleasant to use" only via packaging, scent, and marketing claims.
I prefer choosing my single chemicals thank you very much!

I like azealic or lactic acid for my face, and the AHA for my body- it helps exfoliate dry spots on my shoulders. The body requires so much upkeep

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:47 am

[mention]alexshred420[/mention] that's very beautiful

marijke · Post by **marijke** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 6:13 pm

I have no skincare routine beyond scrub face and put jojoba oil/shea butter on it. What's a simple thing I can do to start? I know a childhood of skiing and boating in California has wreaked a lot of havoc, but I'm still a bad about sun. I know daily face sunscreen is a thing but they all seem so gross to me. Are there nice ones? The foundation I use (used really... who is wearing makeup now?) has spf, but I'm not using a real sunscreen every day on neck/chest/etc.

A friend gave me some borage oil from The Ordinary but when I put it on my face it smelled like dinner and I couldn't sleep. It smells like cooked chicken, but I guess it's good for your skin.

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Mon Aug 03, 2020 7:50 pm

i use a Neutrogena face sunscreen, I think it's called Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer W Sunscreen. I like it ok- it's definitely not as suffocating as many I've tried. I have heard that La Roche Posay makes really excellent sunscreen but I haven't tried it yet.

What are people washing their faces with? I don't love anything right now, it's all either too stripping or too moisturizing.

alexshred420 · Post by **alexshred420** » Tue Aug 04, 2020 8:21 am

I don't wash my face–just rinse with water in the shower.

I do moisturize my face every morning with this expensive shit, though:
https://www.liviaskincare.com/moisturiz ... skin-types

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Tue Aug 04, 2020 9:38 am

In the greater scheme of skincare that is not that expensive!! Also, it looks cool.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:42 am

Forgive me for how this sounds, but I’ve washed my face with an extremely mild creamy no-water milky liquid called Mixa Bébé that you can only buy in French pharmacies for my entire life (my mom also uses it exclusively). It’s very cheap in France and is for cleaning babies. I used to buy a half-dozen giant pump bottles every time I visited the home country. I’m almost out of my last bottle and will certainly not be visiting the home country again for god knows how long, and although it’s definitely the least of my worries in a post-pandemic world, I don’t know what I’ll do!!

alexshred420 · Post by **alexshred420** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 9:12 am

Have this homie mail you some, Claire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDmGp711GsM

marijke · Post by **marijke** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 10:08 am

I wash with cheap Acure scrub... but I am a dry skin person who needs a lot of scrubbing.I feel like I could get away with just salt and jojoba oil for my wash and stop buying a product.

I got inspired by this thread and ordered AHA peel. And I scrubbed and oiled myself up. I put borage oil on my arms and then had to put a crazy perfume on to mask the smell... Le Labo Oud 27. Someone gifted it to me and it's confusingly animalic. Not for your face exactly, but I've been very interested in perfume in recent years which is not something I ever thought I'd get into. What do people smell like?

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:38 am

I don't think manual scrubbing daily is encouraged? It's hard on your skin! These days "they" are saying that chemical exfoliations, like AHA and other acids, is best. Who are they? I'm not sure!

I'm intrigued by french baby wash, and properly horrified by dancing baby gif.

marijke · Post by **marijke** » Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:57 pm

Dang, I do love a gentle scrub. I am very late to this game, but at least I’m learning.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:34 pm

Instead of moisturizer, I now just use store-brand 2% salicylic cream on the top of my face and 10% benzoyl peroxide on the lower half. The benzoyl helps with hormonal stuff and the salicylic acid helps with what I think is some kind of psoriasis or rosacea. I have broken blood vessels on my pretty face from trying too hard to treat the redness over the years

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Mon Aug 10, 2020 7:35 pm

marijke wrote: ↑Mon Aug 03, 2020 6:13 pm I know a childhood of skiing and boating in California has wreaked a lot of havoc, but I'm still a bad about sun. I know daily face sunscreen is a thing but they all seem so gross to me. Are there nice ones? The foundation I use (used really... who is wearing makeup now?) has spf, but I'm not using a real sunscreen every day on neck/chest/etc.

I have a lot of skin issues, some of which (i.e. hyperpigmentation) are aggravated by the sun, so I went to Credo in Los Angeles and they rec'd Suntegrity. back when I saw humans IRL, I'd use their tinted Impeccable Skin. now that I don't really interact with people and don't want my mask to be covered in makeup, I switched over to the Natural Moisturizing Face Sunscreen & Primer, which absorbs well despite being a mineral sunscreen. usually only go for unscented things but the untined sunscreen has a very subtle and pleasant tangerine scent that doesn't linger. then for body I mostly use Alba sunscreens because it's harder to justify the $$.

anyone tried The Ordinary's hyaluronic acid or have another brand they like for that sorta thing?

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 12:39 pm

I'm weirdly reactive to hyaluronic acid, it makes me break out. I bought and tried the ordinary version but it wasn't good for me, and now I have to read labels and avoid products with that ingredient lest I break out again. Weird and unfortunate, I think most people tolerate and love it!

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 2:59 pm

How about full-on retinoids, y’all? I bought two tubes of generic Retin-A at a pharmacy in Mexico City last time I was there. It’s intense stuff. If you have the patience to get past the peeling stage there’s nothing like it. I guess quarantine is as good a time as any to commit to going through adjusting my skin to retinoid harshness, although I’ve found that my skin has gotten so much nicer since I’ve completely stopped wearing makeup and basically just do a water splash in the AM, gentle cleanser in the PM. No muss no fuss!

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 3:04 pm

I use the Kiehl’s Super Fluid sunscreen on my face though, and honestly...hate it. Kinda oily, def leaves that ghostly white trace and always gets in my eyes and stings real hard. I feel like I have to get through the bottle so I’m not wasting something fancy but it’s a slog. There’s a really thick mineral gunk SPF 50 La Roche Posay primer (Anthelios 50) that I will vouch for when it comes to serious sun screening. Interested in this Suntegrity!

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 3:32 pm

I'm dabbling in retinoids with something gentle right now. I haven't had much peeling, but again, I think it's a baby steps kinda thing. I've had samples of stronger stuff that definitely gave me a peel and it was pretty daunting.
How often do you use it? I'm just doing 2-3x a week.

Anthelios was the sunscreen I've heard about- interesting to know it's a heavy duty tool. Might not be for me.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 5:46 pm

I think there are less gunky Anthelios ‘screens—mine is the mineral tinted primer, I bought it when we went to Cambodia and I wanted something really serious that could double as makeup so I wouldn’t have to think about it. It’s SUPER thick, like a paste, but it smells nice and blends on smooth without feeling heavy.

My gold standard tinted sunscreen was an SPF 20 Kiehl’s thing I wore every day from the ages of 17-26, or whenever it was that they inexplicably stopped making it. Friend of the board Jac Delorey and I mourn it often.

marijke · Post by **marijke** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 11:12 am

I put the vampiric Ordinary AHA goop on my face last night. Is this what y'all do for fun?! Terrifying.

Just ordered la roche-posay and suntegrity... will report back. Also this all just seems like a money-sucking scam... we're all just going to get old, right?

Long ago I ordered a silk pillowcase in a spell of aging anxiety. Are micro tears real? It seems like the best thing I could do for my face is replace frizzante wine with water.

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 11:34 am

I am a cold water and occasional 5 euro Hema unscented sensitive skin spf 15 face lotion girl for the most part. If I take a night shower then there is a night face oil that comes out. Makeup makes me feel like there is stuff all over my face. I never worked past it somehow? I do like a purple lipstick sometimes.

It looks like The Ordinary ships to the EU from the UK, which means it is an available thing to me. Thinking of picking up some Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane and Marine Hyaluronics for a little quarantine fun. Are these the right choices? Help!

infopetal · Post by **infopetal** » Fri Aug 14, 2020 8:29 pm

[mention]meadows[/mention]—so tragic that hyaluronic acid does that for you! the effect it has for me always felt fleeting but was nice for a special event to look extra fresh and rested.

I have prescription tretinoin (aka retina-a) that I apply nightly. what's the % of the generic retin-a you got [mention]yourfriendclaire[/mention]? mine is also combined with niacinamide and tranexamic acid… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

lemme know what you think once you try the suntegrity [mention]marijke[/mention].

[mention]m o l l y[/mention], I am jealous that you have a hema!

p.s. just gonna leave this tweet here…
https://twitter.com/jaboukie/status/961719743320244224

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Sun Aug 16, 2020 1:31 pm

We're all decaying no matter what.

Putting stuff on my face is definitely a mechanism to fill the void for a little bit and soothe my ego r.e. aging. I don't care about it.... but then, I do?

Also, it's a little bit like cooking or painting.

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Mon Aug 17, 2020 11:46 am

[mention]m o l l y[/mention] who knows! It's all a big experiment! Sounds reasonable and fun to me though?

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:11 pm

Thank you for that [mention]meadows[/mention]. I'm lost without confirmation. I'm excited to put marine bacteria on my face.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:35 pm

Another fun skincare thing: has anyone F'ed with the more advanced exfoliants offered by Japanese and Korean skincare brands?

For a long time I was real into Cure Aqua Gel (https://cureaquagel.com), a "water-based exfoliant" promoted by the Make Asobi in Little Tokyo as "the number one selling skincare product in Japan," which at nearly $40 a bottle initially seemed like a bit of a plunge, but...it is miracle. It's this milky aqueous lotion you rub onto your skin that--without burning, scrubbing, peeling or really even feeling like it's doing anything serious--almost instantly begins sloughing off dead skin. As you rub it in your skin literally starts pilling off your face in little rice-sized balls. Kinda like when you get a scrub at the Korean spa (GOD I MISS THE KOREAN SPA SO MUCH) and after you're done they have to hose wormy ropes of your skin off the table.

There's a less expensive Korean version called Dr.G Peeling Gel that's $14 on Am*z*n but (at least in pre-COVID times) I usually bought at the Palace Beauty in Koreatown.

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 12:47 pm

I have not, but now I want to! I also want to go to Palace Beauty and the korean spa RIGHT NOW.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:31 pm

Me too :~(

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Fri Aug 21, 2020 1:36 pm

Hey turns out my French baby milk is on Amazon, dang.

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:20 pm

My face is COVERED in marine bacteria.

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 2:52 pm

how's that feel?

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:42 am

I mean, the bottle is basically full of water? It feels great though, because I KNOW.

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:49 am

I used it again. It isn't water, just waterY. Your face immediately feels tight. I'm into it. I like this stuff. No stupid smells!

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Tue Aug 25, 2020 3:51 pm

it might all just be water ?

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Wed Nov 25, 2020 2:40 pm

ok I bought a new potion and it seems VERY cool: PYCNOGENOL
it's extracted from the bark of some specific french pine trees and has all kinds of antioxidant benefits.
$7 from the ordinary- https://theordinary.deciem.com/product/ ... ml?ccvis=1

i like it already and just think it's very romantic to put some tree juice on my face every day

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Thu Nov 26, 2020 2:59 am

ooh fun And on sale. I too like the idea of skin care being microbe sea water and pinetree juice based. Nice find.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Thu Nov 26, 2020 10:56 am

I'm having fun these days "shopping my medicine cabinet" to use up all the lotions and potions I bought in the before-times. It takes a long time to get through a whole bottle of something, actually! Almost done with this silly Moon Juice adaptogenic "shroom serum," which is...cumlike but undeniably moisturizing.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 7:58 pm

My skin is so sensitive, I have bright red rashes around my nose and mouth because I’ve been applying tissue to my face. The last couple of days I have really been missing David and i end up using tissues or a wet cloth to dry my face.

Can any of you babes give me advice to reduce inflammation and marking? I drink extra water to balance out the dehydration.

Ps @myfriendclaire I also enjoy shopping my medicine cabinet when I make a seasonal body moisture serum with various oils and spritzers. Leftover lotion, dump in the potion.

astral hellion · Post by **astral hellion** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:49 am

@RCH I too have unbelievably sensitive & rash prone skin — I got a CRAZY face rash early in pandemic days from constant mask wearing (& stress) — as well as a tendency to cry myself raw. Not sure if you know already if you have reactions to these, but the things that work best for me are either: straight shea butter on any raw/inflamed parts, or else straight castor oil. The castor oil is very goopy & runny, I would advise it as a before bed application. Shea is good any time, though of course it will melt & you will be very shiny, but it calms my skin right down, plus has a sort of plush soothing feeling, which is especially nice on chapped skin.

marijke · Post by **marijke** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:53 am

A second for pure shea butter, it is a dream. A rose water spray calms my face when hot and inflamed also. Gentle cool water spritz.

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:42 am

Thank you, I appreciate the Shea tip! Very chapped face vibes, especially at the corners of my mouth and under nose, like a filthy child.

Friends, this desert rose spray I just got from Backcountry Botanicals (Etsy) is so heart-soothing. It has the mild scent of little wild roses, but with a very big honey quality!! I love the smell of honey, kind of clean and medicinal but sweet.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Mon Dec 14, 2020 1:27 pm

I always get a thing in the winter season where the corner of my mouth cracks slightly and then, if left untended, gets scabby and inflamed. During a stressful period of my life this once bloomed into a baffling bacterial infection called Impetigo, usually found only in children. The scab grew crusty and yellow and covered half my mouth! It was horrific. Now I'm so aggressively anti-chap that I lather nearly my entire face in vaseline at night in the winter season. I know it's a petroleum product but it works.

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Tue Dec 15, 2020 1:17 am

As I was reading about your corner crack, I was thinking oh, Claire's gotta dollop vaseline on that puppy! I get them corner cracks now and then when I'm stressed/cold/drooly and a blob of vaseline on it before sleep does wonders. I also like how it is said in Dutch, which is like: Vah-sel-een-eh

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:10 am

I get that too on occasion. I think it's stress related and I maybe read somewhere that large doses of vitamin c can help?