Happy #thinkingoutloud Thursday! No idea what I’m going on about? Click here!
1. Can we talk about motivation and mental clarity, please? Why is it that it’ll sometimes take me an hour to write a few uninspired sentences, while other times I’ll get hit with something and manage to whip out 4 brilliant (if I do say so myself) posts in 1.5. What’s the deal, Brain?! Hmmmm?! Can we be a little more dependable please? Not take so many unannounced vacation days? K thx bai.
2. Speaking of brain activity (or lack thereof), check out my shopping list from the other day…
Apparently I was in need of some good old fashioned eyeball liquid. And before your brains go there (because mine just did), what I actually needed was plain old contact solution… only I couldn’t think of what the heck it was called while I was writing my list, and “eyeball liquid” was the first thing that came to mind. See #1 ^^
3. So I was stoked to see that so many of you were as skeeved out as I was by the crazy chemicals they put in our makeup… and silently glad to hear that I’m not the only one who struggles with cleaning up her beauty products and switching to more natural ones. It’s hard guys… it’s real hard. I do okay with skin, hair, and body stuff, but it’s the face makeup that gets me… mostly because it’s a pretty big challenge to find natural products that perform the way that the chemically-laden ones do. Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve really committed myself to testing out more natural makeup, so maybe things have improved since then. I dunno. BUT! I’ll definitely share any fabulous discoveries if I happen to come across them.
4. In other makeup news, Revlon went ahead and did the unthinkable – they changed the formulation of my ride-or-die foundation. I’ve been a huge fan of their Colorstay liquid foundation for years now, but when I went in to restock, I noticed that it now comes in a new bottle (with a pump feature – that’s nice) and includes an SPF 15. Uhm, no. Not okay. Not only does SPF foundation look horrible in pictures (it reflects light and makes your face look super white), but it’s more chemicals that I don’t want on my face. I know it’s super important to protect our skin from the sun, but sunscreen is another thing I’m a stickler about, and I try to avoid the ones with titanium dioxide. Sigh. Time to start shopping for new foundation…
5. Actually, I’ve had my eye on the Clinique Beyond Perfecting foundation for a while now, so I suppose this would be a good time to give it a go. Has anyone tried it? I’ve been hearing pretty good things about it in the beauty community, and my skin seems to like other Clinique products so I’m going to assume that it’ll like this one too. Let me know if you’ve used it! Or if there are any other good liquid foundations I should check out. I’ve also got my eyes on the Marc Jacobs Re(marc)able Foundation Concentrate, so I’m kind of trying to decide between those two second skins.
6. And we’re going to end things here with some long-winded real talk. I know I’ve briefly mentioned my struggles with eczema here and there, but I don’t think I’ve ever gone into any real detail or shown you exactly what it is that I’ve been dealing with… partially because it didn’t make a pretty picture, and partially because I’ve never really had an opportunity to. BUT! after receiving some e-mails following the improvements I mentioned in Tuesday’s chocolate hemp smoothie post, I figured it was time to share some deets.
So I’ve struggled with eczema on and off for basically as long as I can remember, and it’s made a habit of concentrating itself on different parts of my body. I went through phases where the patches would be on my legs, then on my face, then on my arms, and most recently, on my hands…
That was what they looked like towards the end of last year during one of their worse phases – really dry, swollen, inflamed, and itchy, with constant flare-ups that felt like there was a fire under my skin that I just couldn’t put out. And the worst part was that I couldn’t figure out what my triggers were. Eggs and dairy were pretty big ones – and cutting back on those really helped reduce the frequency of the flare-ups – but the skin still didn’t want to fully heal, no matter what kind of topical creams, ointments, oils, etc. I used.
And then about a month ago, I randomly stumbled across some articles talking about the important role that omega-3s play in reducing inflammation in the body and how they’ve been effectively used to treat things like allergies and skin conditions. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I upped the omegas in my diet (lots of hemp, flax, and chia), and this is what my hands look like after about 3 weeks.
Pretty crazy, eh? Obviously I can’t say it’ll work for everyone since eczema is caused by so many different factors, but upping the essential fatty acids in your diet is definitely something to consider if you’ve exhausted all your other options with only minimal success.
7. And that was far too long-winded for a random thought post, but I wanted to get it out there just in case it would be helpful to someone. Happy Thursday, friendly faces! ?
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I don’t know if you’ve mentioned this before, but have you ever been on the EWG Skin Deep site? I like to know what’s in my products too and I love that I can look up anything there and see what’s in it and how bad/good it could be for me or my children. Both of them have eczema, but not as inflammatory as yours was.
It’s so cool when foods heal 🙂 Eczema is rough, girl, I know. Glad to see that omega-3s are working wonders though!
And LOL at eyeball liquid. I will never say contact solution again.
I know exactly what you mean about using more natural makeup because they wear so much better and actually stay on! But, most people don’t think about this either when choosing makeup…a lot of makeup companies test on animals. Now, Im not like PETA or anything but I just can’t handle the fact that I might be wearing something on my skin that has been tested on animals or animal cruelty. So, just something I would throw out there and for others to think about! I’ve been using Tarte products and LOVE them! They don’t test on animals and have fairly decent ingredient lists. I like the amazonian clay liquid foundation!
Wow – your before-Omegas and after-omegas is remarkable! Amanda, I bet you are gonna have Omega companies vying for your testimony! I’ve been sneaking chia and flax into this protein bread I made that my daughter enjoys …shhh… hoping it does the trick in time.
And…I’ve noticed that as my age increases, incidents like #2 begin to increase too… GAHHHH!!!
Looking forward to hearing your discoveries on make up! It’s a little unsettling to think of all the junk we put on our faces!
I’m looking forward to hearing what your makeup discoveries are! It is a little unsettling to think about all the junk we’re putting on our faces!
UMM HAND TWINS! I have god awful eczema and have been a nazi lately about finding internal (food related) cures for it. wheat, gluten, nuts, soy, SUGAR, are huge flare ups for me. YEAST is another one, I do love hemp seeds and was eating them all the time over the summer so I’ll have to up them again!
I’ve heard that putting hemp seed oil on the places your eczema is really bad helps clear it up. I haven’t tried it personally, but I’ll definitely be picking up a bottle to see if it works!
I use the Clinique foundation in the winter and love it! It has great coverage and goes a long way. I’m also a huge fan of their BB cream (although that has sunscreen in it) and swear by their powder foundations in the summer. Great coverage and keeps my face from getting shiny!
By “eyeball liquid” I assumed you meant the really good eye drops this time of year in AB is always so dry. 🙂
That’s great to know about the Clinique foundation, Destiny! I’ll definitely be picking it up, so thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I’ve been using the Clinique foundation for about a year and a half now. I love it. First, the bottle lasts FOREVER! Second, it provides great coverage and is really long-lasting. I have found that you need to wear a primer underneath though, to help with rubbing off. Hope you try it!
I’m pretty sure that I will! Thanks for sharing your experience with it, Avery!
Oh my gosh my brain has the same problem. I’ve been feeling unmotivated to write anything for days now and I don’t know how to get inspiration to strike. Then sometimes I end up with 3 ideas that I want to hash out all at once. Blogger’s brain…
http://www.divaandthedivine.com
So true. I find it helps when I stop stressing about it and take the pressure off. When I tell myself “okay, you don’t have to write” is when I want to start writing 😆
Oh definitely review the foundations you end up trying! I’m always on the hunt for good foundations, but I’m so cheap to keep trying them out. I feel like my skin changes ALL THE TIME so as soon as I find a good one, my skin changes.
WORST. Have you tried using a primer under your foundation? That really helps since it kind of creates a barrier between your makeup and your face and evens the playing field. There’s one from the drugstore that’s awesome – it’s the L’Oreal Lumi Magic.
I for real almost spit out my coffee when I read eyeball liquid. Ha!!! I do things like that all the time. Yesterday I couldn’t think of the consistency and kept wanting to say consistentable. No lie. Also, totally relate to the mental clarity bit. I don’t know what to do about it though. Sometimes it just flows and other times it’s just not there.
That reminds me of the time I tried to say that the opposite of genuine was “ingenuine” 😆 Yeaaaaah, not so much.
Your poor skin. I’m glad you’re feeling better – here’s hoping the extra omega’s are THE antidote to your inflammation woes.
I know I need to make some adjustments/improvements in my diet… it’s a work in progress. I’ve had rashy breakouts & cystic acne on my mid & low back for the last couple years. I’ve been (mostly) gluten-free for a couple months, and despite a few slip ups, it seems to be improving. I’m not sure if THAT’S causing my skin woes though.
Made your hemp smoothie for breakfast today. Oh man, it’s so good. It was like eating chocolate pudding!
Have you tried dairy? I know that’s a big one for a lot of people when it comes to inflammation and skin issues. And yay! I’m super glad that you tried it and liked it <3
Thank you for sharing your eczema struggles. I deal with that too. Omega-3s have helped a lot, though I still have issues with flare-ups now and then. Stress is a big trigger for me, for better or worse. I’ve found that keeping yoga as part of my regular week has helped me respond more calmly when life gets crazy, but between the purell I have to use at my clinical job and washing my hands so much when doing cooking for recipe tests, there’s only so much I can do!
Stress and heat are two other big triggers for me as well, but I’ve found that if I keep the skin in pretty good shape, then the flare ups aren’t too bad. Eczema is a real bugger 😕
So interesting about the omegas helping your skin condition – my mom has eczema and notices that it gets better when she eats less acidic foods… weird. I am glad you found your own solution! Also, totally feel you on the brain thing. Sometimes I can write like there’s no tomorrow and other times I stare at my screen blankly. Hence why I don’t post every day 😛
It’s crazy how much of our overall health stems from our gut health! And I’m currently in a slump after riding a bit of a high, so I might have to take tomorrow off. Le boo.
I’m so glad that you found something to help ease your eczema! That first picture looked so painful 🙁
I always make notes for myself that don’t make any sense but at the time I’m like “oh yeah I’ll know what that is” instead of just fixing it. I blame auto correct.
Oh geez. One time I wanted to try out some Fructis shampoo, so I wrote that into my list and was too lazy to go back and fix it when autocorrect changed it to “fructose.” Then I was in the store and couldn’t remember what the heck I was getting at 😆
Callum (almost 2 year old) has eczema too. I have psoriasis so I can KIND of understand, but not quite. Good thing I have that hemp smoothie waiting for him in the fridge this morning! So good to know that those oils help. I was told they help psoriasis too. I eat a lot of fat in my diet but mostly animal fat. I need to switch over and see what happens!
Definitely give the omegas a shot! They’ve been credited for reducing inflammation in the body, which is what’s behind a lot of those chronic conditions that seem to plague us!
Wow, your eczema was no joke! I get little patches in between my fingers occasionally but it’s never been that large. That has to hurt like a biatch! I’m so glad the healthy fats have helped clear it up.
You know I feel the same way as you with the natural face makeup. That’s the one place I struggle with. However, I recently bought a foundation from a company called Koh den Go (I’m pretty sure Sephora sells it). It’s the aqua foundation, and it’s not totally natural but it’s made without most of the major toxins. I’m super impressed with the quality! It’s just as good as the Dior foundation I was using before.
I’ve heard some good things about that foundation as well! I’ll look into it the next time I’m in Sephora. Watch me walk out with all 3 of those 😆
I hate it when companies change their make up formula, or discontinue stuff I’ve loved for years. Like OPI. I love colors that always seem to be discontinued. How am I supposed to find that same color again?
Ohhh I know. That’s the worst. Especially when something was in a limited edition collection and you can’t grab it anymore.
I’m glad you found a solution! it’s amazing what food can do. I have a big problem with bags under my eyes and have found that reduced sugar + more red meat makes a world of difference. I’ve been all over the place lately with the mental clarity. Words just don’t come out. Sometimes I’ll be talking and realize what I’m saying is essentially gibberish ha
It’s pretty amazing how much our diet affects us, and pretty frustrating trying to figure out what the heck is going on.
Wow, I’m pretty happy to see just how much your hands have healed. That is AMAZING! And writing down eyeball liquid sounds like something I might do. 🙂 It’s true that it is ‘eyeball liquid.’ 🙂
Very true 😉 I hope it doesn’t get any worse. Otherwise one day I’ll be writing “that yellow fruit that I love” instead of bananas 😆
I had eczema on my eyes that spread to my entire scalp- for two years- and had to stop wearing makeup entirely- for a mom, with crazy dark circles under my eyes, that was really hard. It is the worst- and nothing, nothing helped (even tried an elimination allergy-free diet). The thing that I think did it was, I doubled the Omegas and then also added Vit-D by prescription- thyroid function and hormone balance were way off from excercising a lot (marathon training). It eventually tapered and finally went away, but I have a TON of empathy for fellow sufferers- Whatever works, you will do it! Advil if nothing else to help with major itch because of the inflammation thing that you mentioned.
Oh that’s so great to hear that you found something that works! Omegas seem to be a big one for a lot of people, but I didn’t know about the vitamin D. I take a supplement of that daily, but it’s nothing crazy – just 1000iu.