Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream

Hey peeps!

The other day I did another shopping trip madness at Bluewater and I didn't go mad on presents for myself...because I'm poor.
But I got a chance to go into space.nk and so er....couldn't resist?



Let me tell you the story of Yu-Be's moisturising cream. I remember when I went to my cousin's baby shower she had thank you 'goody' bags and inside was a very small tester for these. I didn't take much notice, tossed it into my drawal and didn't see it for months on end.
Then I had a cold sore and began to panic. Yes I used Zovirax and even aloe vera gel. But it didn't go down and not to mention my entire lips were dry and I was afraid I'd get more because of this.
So I rummaging through my drawals and came across this little yellow and white tube and I automatically assumed it was a lip balm- I didn't even look at the bottle. I put some on my lips and although I was a bit taken back by the medicated smell I just felt better that my lips didn't feel like they were going to shrivel up and die.

I soon noticed that it began to feel a lot better, the tingly was less and my lips were soft and hydrated. I soon kept using this and the cold sore seemed to go even quicker.
I soon finished the tester when the cold sore finally disappeared and then I've been left feeling helpless without it - until now.

NOW I HAVE A FULL SIZE TUBE OF THE STUFF.

Now the low down on the product itself...

Yu-Be (pronounced how it's spelt) 'is the #1 selling medicated, vitamin enriched skin cream in Japan'. It's to soothe dry skin and you can use this on hands, feet and even on your lips. It has a high concentration of glycerin which helps to hydrate and soothe dry skin, you can use this on split cuticles, cracked heels, calluses, burns and severe dry skin. It's also non greasy and keeps moisture looked in for hours.

So like I said I've used it on my lips, on my blemishes before I put on my foundation, on the heels on my feet and my cuticles. Yu-be also has a wide range of products that I have no tried but I am really interested in.

As for the smell I've mentioned- it's the camphor in it but the smell disappears once applied to the skin. It's a familiar medicated smell you get with a lot of medicated ointments in Asia.

The cream itself is a thick luminous yellow ointment that glides easy on the skin.



In the UK it can be bought at space.nk, easily found in central london or Bluewater. Go to space.nk's website to find more stores. The RRP is £12.00 for 33g/1.25oz.

If you want to buy it online you can find it at HQhair.com at £12.00 or Naruallyfabulous.co.uk at £10.00.
Alternatively if you are unsure about the cream (and from the USA) but want to try it out you can get free samples from the yu-be website.

I swear by this stuff - it's my holy grail for dry, broken or irritated skin.

The up and coming, inevitable and oh-so incredible Christmas is coming up so very soon and it’s this time of year I seem to take on the same ill-fate of a turkey and start to get fat, ready for the chop when it comes to January and I look in the mirror and want to cry.
I was thinking about my weight and how it’s crept up so soon having lost a lot of weight in the last year and I began to wonder why on earth I was thinking the same thing I’ve been thinking every Christmas. There is no way I’m going to let this happen again.
So in a bid to eat healthier coming up to Christmas (so on Christmas Day, I can cut myself some slack) my sister and I bought a tiered steamer so it’s quicker and easier to steam our meals inside. This is also convenient as it’ll be less washing up. I’m the main cook in the house and I know everyone’s health is in my hands when it comes to dinner so it’s important I take responsibility and cook healthier. This way we can steam fish, vegetables, potatoes and even steam eggs and rice.





At least when I'm only making a small amount of rice I can give my trusty rice cooker a break :)









Also my sister and I ventured into the cellar to bring out George. The George Foreman that is. I cleared out space in the kitchen especially for my two newest tools and I’m going to be grilling and steaming a lot more often as opposed to frying.



George helped me make grilled courgettes, chicken and sweet potato the other day which went down extremely well so today I decided to give the steamer a try. Inside I steamed rice which came out particularly well so now when I’m not making a lot of rice I can give our trusty rice cooker a rest.
When everyone gets together at home I tend to like to make big meals but obviously I’ve told everyone I’m not doing that anymore. This evening we had a simple and healthy soup stew which was packed full of winter vegetables.kidney beans and lean lamb.




I also like to have dessert and we seem to have got into habits of eating very fatty desserts so today it was a matter of steaming pears with dark chocolate. Yes I know the dark chocolate isn’t particularly good but let’s take this one step at a time.
So healthy eating is a matter of discipline; and this is something I’ve always lacked. But I’m going to keep it going, I’m not banning or depriving myself but I’m going to find alternatives in order to eat myself healthier.

Westfield Shopping

What a hectic day! Today (15^th December 2008) I went out on what was meant to be a Christmas shopping trip to the newly open Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush. I was elated to find some birthday money from a family friend so I definitely knew where I was going to spend that money.

With all good intentions we marched into the shopping centre only to find that we ended up in MAC. What a surprise.
I’ve been wanting to buy a new foundation for a long time and with much discussion with the girls at the counters (who by the way were really intimidating and not very nice at all) we discovered that the Face and Body foundation is best for me as it gives very sheer coverage. I’m one for a very natural face which is why I’ve got into this habit of mixing my foundations with my moisturiser. Now I don’t think I’ll have to. The F&B foundation gives a very natural dewy glow; while it doesn’t cover up the few blemishes I have, it really does even out my skin tone and moisturise my face.

The water-based foundation is incredibly versatile in that you can apply it to the body. The texture is runny and when applied it feel like a moisturiser. I would certainly

recommend it for those who like the breathability of a tinted moisturiser but who also wants a slight more coverage and great even skin tone finish.

Here’s the deal of what happened. I was being assisted by a girl who I suspect was new to MAC and she didn’t seem to quite know what she was doing, she probably knew as much as I did (which is practically nothing). She somehow managed to convince me (I don’t know WHAT was wrong with me today) that I was a medium deep for the Mineralize skinfinish natural powder. This is definitely too dark; it'

s the same colour as my bronzer! I remember looking at it in the shops wondering why on Earth I was buying this. I even tried it on and I don’t know why but at the time it looked right. But I gave it another look and was comparing it to the usual Estee Lauder I use at home and just couldn’t work it out. Needless to say when I took it home I saw it properly and now I’m just a bit miffed.

But at the same time it’s a beautiful bronze colour and I know I could do a good contour with this. After all I still have my old powder left and if I have some money left over, I can still buy the right powder back at my own shopping centre (where the girls are really lovely).

Also from MAC I decided to buy the warm eyes palette which I have been dreaming of since it has come out. Out of the holiday collection palettes this was the best for me and I especially adore Real Drama (which is the gorgeous plum colour) and Grand Entrance (the luscious green at the bottom). At least I think that’s the names.

With much satisfaction (at the time) we headed off, convinced we were going to do some proper shopping, only to find ourselves

in none other than Boots. I’ve been a Boots junkie since I started getting pocket money which was probably when I was eleven years old. I didn’t want to buy anything seeing as I just bought make up and then I remembered I had about £20 worth of points on my Advantage Card. And with that, I headed off to look around.

Originally I wanted to buy more shadows from Urban Decay but although I do adore all the colours, I know it’ll be rare for me to use them and I would rather I invested it in products which I will use. I try not to collect items for the sake of it, all the items I have, I use, otherwise it’s a waste of money. Although those eyeshadows look amazing and I certainly wouldn’t say no to them as a Christmas present.

I ended up at Maxfactor which is one of my favourite make up brands. I’m a seriously big fan of their lipfinity colour & glosses and I purchased #58 Crystal Bronze which is a beautiful nude with a pink undertone, it also has a shimmery gloss to put over on top. These glosses are truly fantastic quality; they have amazing staying power and the texture is silky and not sticky. I absolutely adore them. I think next I will buy the Coral coloured one- it looks fantastic for the winter months seeing as I’m not a red lips fan so coral will be a lovely compromise.

I also got a Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in #14 Soft Pink. This is comparable to Mac’s Virgin Isle Cream Blush (I think that’s the one) but while the Miracle Touch cost something along the lines of £8.99 the Mac Cream Blushes are over £11. In saying this though, you get a hell of a lot more product with the Mac. The Miracle Touch is the size of a small eyeshadow.

With a purchase over £15 I was able to receive a free gift which includes a DVD , Nailfinity nail polish in Ruby Fruit 900, Lasting performance foundation in Natural Beige 106, mini kohl eyeliner pencil in black 20, colour collection lipstick in midnight plum, a mini mirror and an Earth Spirits eyeshadow in Onyx 110. Nailfinity Ruby Fruit is a deep berry colour which is a great twist from your usual reds and berry reds because it has a more plum/purple tone to it. I’d much rather wear a plum or a brown as opposed to a black or a red because these are much more subtle for the Christmas holiday- red can sometimes be too overbearing with everything decorated in red anyway.

I don’t know if anyone else thinks the same but, I really hate the Max Factor Blush packaging. Some of their packaging is great but some of it looks so cheap and tacky... that really puts me off. Sorry that was such a random thought.

I also ended up at Shu Uemura which was in House of Fraser and I purchased the UV under base which is supposed to even out skin tone, balance oils, lock in moisture, protect the skin from UV rays and prime the skin ready for make up.

The assistant told me that he is a freelance wedding make up artist and this product really keeps make up looking fresh all day and I think that really pusuaded me. Originally i was going back to buy the Complexion enhancers because I loved it so much but he said to me he recommended I buy the base as it does the same job but even more; especially as the enhancer is for those with lots of red blotches and I don’t have too many (but does he knows I was wearing make up and concealer?). I decided to go for the base in the mousse form at £21.50. I will do a review soon.

I also purchased the High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Fresh 450ml. This product will be used in place of a make up removed and face wash in the evening. I was told this does wond

ers and my sister has tested it tonight and we were delighted at how refreshed her skin looked afterwards and that there was no trace of make up left. While i have not tried it myself i cannot give an opinion except that I have tried a sample cleansing oil before and it did a great job of balancing the oils on my face, removing make up and keeping moisture locked into my skin. The great thing about this product is that you really get good quality and you get what you pay for; you don’t even need to tone after this it’s so brilliant. I shall do a review on this soon too. I also got a few freebies too :)

I think that on all was my haul. I realise I don’t update my blog half as much as I should but now that I’m on holiday I can and writing this entry has made me remember how much I love writing. Or typing I guess.

Happy Holidays all!

Helen

Um so all this time..?

So I was flicking through my monthly read of Healthy magazine and absorbing the information (as you do) and I came across this page which was talking about how to keep your hair healthy in winter.
So I was browsing through it because I knew most of the stuff i.e. conditioning and then I came across some shock horror stuff.

So APPARENTLY, says Healthy magazine, that washing your hair everyday IS A GOOD THING. Healthy magazine, I quote, says "WASH IT DAILY - you might have heard that washing your hair too often can cause greasiness or impair its condition but this is wrong"...by this time my eyes almost fell out, "Your hair can get as dirty as your face during the day, and imagine how grimy your face would feel if you didn't wash it daily". At this point, my head was nodding. "Contrary to popular belief, your hair doesn't begin to cleanse itself if you don't wash it".

I was livid.

All this time people had been lying to me? Or is Healthy magazine trying to be controversial? I regard Healthy magazine as quite a reliable and trustworthy source of information so I'm feeling inclined to believe it. BUT COME ON. I suppose the notion that your hair can clean itself did always baffle me.

And then I realised...so those days I didn't wash my hair because I was afraid I was doing it too often was for nothing? I looked like a greasball for...nothing?

The second thing I read in this particular article said that heat styling does not mean we're damaging our hair in the long term. "using heated appliances to style your hair won't cause long-term damage". I was feeling quite happy about that until I read "Using a hairdryer, straighteners and tongs on too high a setting is what causes damage, because excessive heat can cause the hair protein, keratin, to soften too much". I took a look at my straighteners and it was at it's max.

Shit.

My coldsore is alot better. It's barely visible but its tingly and sore. I'm finding putting aloe vera gel is helping to soothe it. I know I seem like I'm obsessed with aloe vera gel but I swear by it. You know how some people swear by cold spoons for puffy eyes and fry-ups for hangovers? Well aloe vera is for anything that needs healing. Serious.

I've had a sudden influx of subscribers from Youtube and it's been lovely. Yeah..that's all I have to say about that.

xxx

A new blog...again?

I've had so many blogs in life and I just can't awa from them. I try to stop but I just can't.

So here I go again...and I can't WAIT.

Writing is another way of expression as well as my mindless doodling and rampant ramblings and I think writing is more powerful in the way that I can write things I can't say or draw. If I can't draw something I just scribble...and if I can't say it I get tongue tied...if I can't write it....I look in my thesaurus :P

Many of you reading may come from youtube or have stumbled across. For that reason I invite you all to stick around, browse my channel on youtube if you have an appetite for nonsense and make-up. But mostly nonsense.

It's great to be writing again x