A few people have asked me how to best conceal birthmarks, redness, dark circles etc so I thought I'd put together a simple post to explain it. Although I am not a makeup artist I have dealt with most of these issues myself, so I do know a thing or two based off my own experience.

First things first, understanding the basic colour wheel:

The above image describes what each colour would generally be used for. Usually the colour opposite to the shade you are trying to "correct" is what you will use. For example, with redness you'd use a green concealer.

In this post I will address what I think are, the three main concerns people want to colour correct. Redness, dark circles and dull skin tones.

Redness/Acne

• Yellow or Green concealer
• Spot conceal
• Apply before foundation/normal shade concealer

Personally for redness I reach for a yellow toned concealer, despite what the above image states you should use. As I am on the fairer side I find a yellow concealer is a lot more forgiving and works just as well. If you have a deeper skin tone I recommend using a green toned concealer.

Dark circles

• Peach toned concealer
• It can be applied after foundation
• Follow with normal concealing and powder

My favourite corrector to use for my undereyes is the NYX Dark circle concealer.

Dull Skin Tone

If you are suffering from a dull complexion try a lavender or purple toned concealer/primer.

If you do not want to purchase colour correcting concealers or sticks you can opt for a primer. A number of brands make these such as Becca and NYX.

That brings me to the end of my post. Hopefully it was helpful and you're now able to colour correct anything you skin throws at you!

Tonight's post is inspired by Instagram making life difficult. I have seen a lot of people (myself included) notice a drop in engagement with their posts and a few others are paying to hopefully bring in new followers, likes, comments etc. Personally @thedailycatchup is a hobby. I don't want it to become a job or anything big, so likes and followers are just a bonus. However, I will admit getting under 100 likes is a little annoying because it takes time to take capture and then edit photos for the gram. I am sure many other agree that there is a lot of behind the scenes that go on. I feel like paid posts or having to join like/comment threads can take away the fun of things.

I have tested both a like thread and paying for an Instagram promotion purely to compare whether it is even worth paying for, in case you are someone considering it.This was only a one off thing for me so hopefully me doing this and reviewing it can be beneficial for others. Straight up I am going to be completely honest. I believe (based off my experience and stats) that joining a like or comment thread boosts your photos exposure way more than paying Instagram!

I promoted my post from yesterday for $1 which claimed I would reach 220-770 people. The promotion lasted 24 hours. I will attach a few screenshots of my stats over the 24 hour period.

This was the amount of likes I had when the promotion had just begun:

This was an update of my stats in the morning from the paid promotion:

Stats from the afternoon:

Currently how many likes my post has (not from the promotion at all!) and stats:

Overall, even though I have three hours remaining, paying to "promote" my post did next to nothing. It didn't reach the amount of people Instagram claimed it would. 220 people was their minimum and I didn't even reach that. Like I said, I won't be doing this again, it was purely for experimental purposes but I am pretty annoyed it didn't even gain me one extra like lol. If you are thinking to pay I wouldn't recommend it based off my experience. I suggest you join facebook groups to engage in like/comment threads and boost your posts exposure that way.

Instagram is definitely greedy and unfortunately it doesn't look like they're going to do anything about this engagement issue which is disappointing.

First things first, sorry for being absent from my blog once again. Life has been throwing a lot at me this year and I really had to figure out my priorities, which unfortunately meant blogging and Instagram got a little neglected.

If you are a regular reader of my skin diaries you would know I've been suffering from hormonal acne for years (8 to be exact) and it is still a constant battle. If you'd like to catch up, here are all my previous skin diaries. A quick summary of my health situation so this can all make sense, after all health and the appearance of your skin is connected. 8 years ago I started experiencing a lot of hormonal issues such as pain, nausea and of course, bad skin. This has continued up until present day. Fast forwarding to July last year (I may have mentioned this in previous skin diaries so I'm sorry if it's repetitive) a cyst was found on my right ovary. I knew because my period literally went missing for a few months, I had terrible pain and my skin was a nightmare. The solution was the pill and it was all and well while I was on it. The cyst went, I gained some weight, my boobs went up three sizes and most importantly my skin cleared completely. I decided to get off it because I'm someone who hates medication and I did not want to rely on a pill to balance my hormones. Assuming the cyst was a one off thing I got off the pill and focused on natural alternatives. Like cutting out dairy and sugar etc.

In January this year my weight literally dropped off. I think I lost a total of 12kg and I was already on the skinny side so it was not good. I didn't reach out to doctors at the time, instead I saw a naturopath but I didn't really openly admit my weight loss. It really affected my mood and I had no idea why the weight went away (so did my boobs, back to an A cup for me). Additionally, my skin broke out like crazy, it was like I went backwards. I went to a doctor and asked for a hormone blood test, I was rejected and told "I'm too young to have any hormonal issues that need checking" so that was that. The naturopath helped me to start balancing my hormones but as you'd notice in previous skin diaries it wasn't as big of a success as i'd hoped. I know natural alternatives take a while but deep down I knew something was wrong with my hormones. Around June/July when I noticed I was really struggling to put weight back on (my weight just kept dropping despite me ensuring I was eating around 2,300 calories) I went to the doctors because my wrists began to hurt. I was advised to take calcium & vitamin D tablets as well as alter my diet. Altering my diet helped me gain weight, roughly 2kg within a month, which was a lot better than it going down. I then saw another doctor because my naturopath wanted me to check my thyroid. I ended up getting a blood test and found my thyroid was hyperactive. That somewhat explained why my weight was dropping however when I had a one month check up my thyroid was back to normal and the doctor wanted me to have more tests because there wasn't much of an improvement with my weight, periods being regular or my skin. He had a feeling there was something off with my reproductive system. He requested an ultra sound as a check up because I had a cyst in the past, so I went to do that. During my ultra sound I discovered I had another cyst (which made total sense because my skin was badly breaking out at the time) as well as being told I have a mild case of polycystic ovary syndrome. The doctor had to clarify through a blood test but when I found out that this was most likely the issue I had all these years I was so relieved but also disheartened. I knew my hormones were imbalanced and I knew the symptoms weren't for nothing so I was glad to finally have a name to what was going on with my body. However, another curve ball. For some reason my blood test results didn't line up with my symptoms or what was seen on my ovaries so I'll need to go to the hospital to do further tests to see if it is polycystic ovaries or some other issue. Although I most likely do have the condition.

Anyway, that's an update on my health this year. It was necessary to explain because it is why my skin is the way it is as well as the reason for my absence. Of course the pill is the immediate response to the condition however it can't actually ever be cured so I thought, what's the point of a "bandaid" fix when I can try to eliminate or at least lessen the symptoms naturally. I've seen a dietitian but wasn't happy so now I will try a nutritionist where my naturopath was located. I will include that experience in my next update. Hopefully now that I pretty much know the cause of my acne I can achieve clearer skin.

I don't really have much of a skin "update" for you all but I do have the reason behind it all so I thought it was important to dedicate a post to. Like I said above I will update on the diet in the next skin diaries but for skin care and beauty this is what I'm using.

Skincare

• Palmer's Cocoa Butter Gentle Facial Cleansing Oil - the same as my other skin diaries! Although I do want to purchase the face halo and remove makeup with that.
• Nourish Skincare Kale 3D cleanse - I love kale, when I saw it was in a cleanser I immediately knew I'd love it. It is a colour changing cleanser (goes from silver to green when you mix it with water and use on your face) that is super gentle. It lifts impurities and detoxifies the skin. I prefer it over the previous cleanser I was using and am trying to use it 2x daily. I am guilty of only washing my face once a day, in the mornings I like to use warm water but I see more improvements when I use this cleanser twice.
• Nourish Skincare Radiance Firming Facial oil - I replaced rosehip oil and my sukin moisturiser with this oil. It is very lightweight and doesn't clog my pores. I've really enjoyed using it especially in the mornings under mineral makeup because it helps hydrate my skin. I did purchase another facial oil to use after this one so I look forward to seeing which one I prefer. I'll definitely update in my next post.
• Tea tree oil - I've been using this to spot treat any cystic acne I get and it works wonders but new pimples love to pop up so its a constant battle lol. 

Makeup

I have made the conscious effort to use more natural ingredient makeup on a daily basis. I have a natural/organic cosmetics series coming soon including reviews and favourites so I won't go into detail but I'll list a few i've been using.

• Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation spf 15
• Physician's Formula Organicwear CC Cream
• Scout Cosmetics Organic Healthy Glow Fluid Foundation

Here are some photos of where my skin is at lately + comparison from last skin diaries:

July (previous skin diaries) - Pictures were taken roughly a week or so before my period. Possibly closer to ovulation time which is always when my skin is at it's worst.

(These photos were taken indoors and the next images were taken outdoors in natural sunlight. Natural outdoor lighting does make my skin appear "clearer" whereas indoor lighting tends to make it look worse, so keep that in mind. I will try to remember to attach some indoor lighting photos again for a more accurate comparison.)

20th September - Taken a few days prior to my period (I forgot to take photos at ovulation time when my skin completely broke out). A couple of hormonal breakouts along jaw, cheek and temple although at this point mostly were starting to clear up.

6th October: my 11 day period finally ended and this is how my skin is looking.

In my next update I will discuss my diet in more detail, especially the changes I've made over the past two or so months. I just want to have an appointment with the nutritionist to get more advice so I have more to share with you all. Have a lovely day/night!

The last week of uni is over and now I just have two weeks of placement. I can finally get back into regular blogging!! 

This weeks post is a foundation review. Foundations are one of my favourite makeup products to try out because I feel like my skin is very difficult to work with, so when one works I know it's good! If you didn't know I have dry, acne prone, sensitive and scarred skin. I like my foundation to look natural but still cover well enough for me to feel confident. Does the SCOUT foundation live up to my standards? Read on to find out.

SCOUT Cosmetics claims the foundation to be soothing and moisturising with a light fragrance. It is perfect for all skin types and leaves skin fresh, radiant even toned.

Before jumping into the pro's and con's of the foundation I will include a few images I took on the day I wore it for 10+ hours.

Before and after of SCOUT Cosmetics Luminous Finish Foundation

Close up of SCOUT foundation

How I wear the foundation:

I apply the foundation with a brush to get more coverage and I do not use primer. To prep my skin I rely on whatever moisturiser I am using at the time. In the above photos I am not wearing a primer either.

You may notice that in the second image of just the foundation applied to my skin it doesn't cling well and leaves a weird patch. I have no idea why that happens but once I applied powder it fixed.

Pros

• Doesn't need to be set. Especially if you have dry skin it won't leave a weird sticky feeling so you can easily get away without applying any powder.
• Medium coverage and buildable.
• Doesn't settle into pores. Even without a primer it sits fairly nicely on my skin, despite my scars. If you do have deep pores or scars a pore filling primer can diffuse this.
• Lasts hours and hours. I can easily wear this all day long without worrying about it or touching up. This could be because I have a dryer skin type, but it isn't overly "luminous" (unlike the name claims) so I could see it working with oily skin too.
• Natural finish. Although it does get more "luminous" over time.
• Lightweight and undetectable.
• Organic/natural. A liquid foundation that is actually good for you!
• Doesn't crease in fine lines. Nor does it settle in my smile lines.
• Quite affordable for a natural foundation, similar to Mecca prices.

Cons

• Can ever so slightly cling to dry patches. This could be avoided by wearing a hydrating primer, I just don't bother on a regular basis.
• Sometimes sits funny/patchy on my skin but again that could just be my skin at the time or a lack of primer.
• Not a very luminous finish, its more natural matte in my opinion. It does get more of a glow the longer you wear it, like I mentioned above.

Overall I do really like this foundation. I feel comfortable wearing it on more of a daily basis because I know it isn't made from chemicals but still covers my skin. The only major downfall for me was that it can be patchy but when I tried it again with a primer this problem didn't occur. I'd definitely recommend this if you're after a new liquid foundation. 

Also, it doesn't claim anywhere that it has SPF and I didn't notice any major flashback, only slightly. For me this is more of a day time foundation, rather than night. You could also sheer out the coverage if you were to apply it with a sponge.

Disclaimer - This product was sent to me to test out for myself. The review was my idea and all opinions are 100% honest and based off my own experience. I only work with companies I would personally support or purchase from myself and generally use products for an extended period of time before writing a review. For more information click here - disclaimer

Greetings fellow beauty lovers. My beauty related trash seems to piling up quite quickly lately especially because I haven't really bought any new makeup (other than what I run out of) for 3 months! My main focus is to downsize my collection and use up products I own before they go to waste. Anyway, this trash talk is different to usual because I've actually came across a recycling organisation. I'm very excited to share it with you all because cutting beauty packaging out of our landfill makes me happy.

The organisation is TerraCycle. Their aim is to "eliminate the amount of waste by recycling the non-recyclable." This is not a sponsored nor partnered post, I have just always been into taking care of the environment ever since I was young. I am that person that will pick up litter and put it in the bin even if it's not mine. The whole reason I even googled if a recycling program existed for cosmetic packaging was because of these Trash Talks. I noticed a lot of excess plastic, packaging or whatever products are housed in were mostly going straight into the garbage bin. TerraCycle have various free recycling programs however the one I am doing is the Beauty Products Recycling Program. L'Oreal actually teamed up with TerraCycle to get this program underway which is very impressive (although they still test on animals!!!). Cosmetics, hair care and skincare packaging are accepted in this program. You pretty much put all your trash together, ensuring all left over product has been cleaned out, put it into a box, download their label and drop it off to your closest Australian post office. It is also free to post!!

Here is their list of what is accepted:

• Cosmetic packaging: used lipstick, lipgloss, mascara, eye shadow, bronzer, foundation, eyeliner, lip liner and concealer (they don't need to be L'Oreal either, their are no brand restrictions, yay!)
• Hair care packaging: used shampoo & conditioner bottles and caps, hair gel tubes, caps, hair spray and hair treatments.
• Skin care packaging: lip balm, face moisturiser, face and body wash, soap dispensers and tubes, body lotion dispensers and tubes and shaving foam.

Now let's get into my trash reviews and what I'll be posting over to be recycled or upcycled!

Sukin Sensitive Facial Moisturiser

I have already repurchased this. Other than oils my skin is very sensitive and weird with moisturisers. They usually make my skin itch or turn red with a rash. Thankfully that doesn't happen with this one. I am on the search for a more natural/organic ingredient moisturiser but this is still a good one!

Palmer's Ultra Gentle Facial Cleansing Oil

This is always in my trash talks. It is my absolute favourite way to remove makeup. Already has been repurchased.

Nude by Nature Natural Mineral Cover*

I have been more into mineral makeup lately as it is a lot better for acne prone skin. I repurchased this in my summer shade and have a few from other brands that I like. You can easily build up to a full coverage which looks natural as long as you really buff it into the skin. It features in one of my reviews here.

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Night Pads Extreme*

If you suffer from little bumps on your skin then this really helps decongest those! The only reason I won't repurchase is because I am trying to stick to natural/organic products only and keep my skincare really minimal. If you don't mind so much about ingredients then this really does work wonders.

Plunkett's Certified Organic Aloe Vera

I was using this as my nightly moisturiser for a while. It did help to hydrate my skin but I didn't find it improved my scarring very much. I will probably repurchase or try the juice from an actual aloe plant in the near future.

Uni Organics Forever Tan Gradual Tan Moisturiser

This is my favourite tanner/gradual tanner. Every single other one I try breaks me out in bumps or a red rash so I have to be very selective when I want to use them. This one I could easily use daily or really pile on over a fews to get a deep colour. I have a full review here and I will be repurchasing.

Life-flo Pure Rosehip Seed Oil*

Another product that always comes up in my trash talks. I won't get into it as you can click on any of my others to read my thoughts.

Lottie London Soap Star

I loved the packaging concept of this. It made swirling and cleaning my brushes a breeze. I may actually mould my own soap into this to reuse. If not it will be added to the TerraCycle pile. I probably won't repurchase because I liked the packaging more than the actual product so if I can reuse it myself then that would be perfect.

Lush Yuzu and Cocoa Shower Cream

Lush actually offer their own recycling program and I am able to recycle the cap to my nearest Lush store while the bottle can go in my recycling bin. I really love the ideas and values of Lush which is what makes me want to purchase from them more! I won't repurchase this actual product because I think I am more of a bar soap person but it smelt amazing.

Non-cruelty free items I've used up and WILL NOT repurchase!

Can we just take a moment to mourn the loss of NARS. I cannot believe they have taken a massive step backwards in 2017 and have chosen to test on animals.

• Nars Sheer Glow*
• Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet*
• Batiste Dry Shampoo*
• L'Oreal Telescopic mascara*
• Avon lip liner*
• Rimmel stay matte powder*

I've completely cleared out my non-cruelty free makeup. They have been rehomed or I just used up the last of them so yay for not having to include them in these posts anymore 🙌🎈🎊

Products marked with * are the ones I am sending to TerraCycle - the others that aren't are already recyclable.

You may have heard, our skin is the largest organ of our body. It absorbs over 60% of anything we apply to it and it then goes into our bloodstream. Think about how many makeup products you apply to your skin on a daily basis and then take a look at the ingredients. You are most likely applying over 100 chemicals straight to your bloodstream.

Personally, I am slowly transitioning into more natural products when it comes to makeup. When I use something up I will replace it with something "green". I already use natural/organic skincare so you can check out the related posts here.

So, what is 'green' beauty?
Green beauty simply means it is made from natural ingredients (sometimes not exclusively) and can have a very low percent of synthetic ingredients that are still safe and healthy for us. Organic beauty is a mix of natural and organic ingredients. Look out for brands that have the label 'certified organic' to ensure they are actually made up of organic ingredients as there is no law against companies stating they are "organic".

Benefits of making the switch:

• Generally 'green' also refers to being good for the environment. Some brands use recycled or recyclable packaging, other brands may offer refills to cut down on waste. Additionally, by choosing products that are naturally derived you are supporting "chemical" free farms.
• A massive bonus of switching over is that your skin will thank you for it! The products have nutritional value to actually boost your skin health. Also you know what you're putting on your skin (it is not a bunch of numbers and chemicals) so you can feel better about what is being absorbed.
• Skips out on parabens - this is a preservative that actually mimics estrogen (possible link to breast cancer - some studies have shown this but you can conduct your own research)
• Skin irritation is decreased as synthetic ingredients such as colours and dyes won't be present.

There are many other benefits but I don't want this list to get too extensive. I will attach a few links below if you're interested in learning more.

My recommendations:

I do have a blogpost dedicated to my natural beauty favourites however it is a little old and I will definitely do an update. Lately I have purchased more safer cosmetics, I just want to try them out before including them in blogposts. At the moment these are my two favourite brands that I swear by:

• Inika Organic - I own a few products by them and they're definitely one of my all time favourite green beauty brands! I'd recommend their BB cream if you are after a base product. It offers medium coverage, is lightweight and lasts all day.
• Adorn Cosmetics is another great brand. They offer samples so you can trial products before committing to the full price. I really like their lipstick sample pots because you get a lot of product at a lower cost. Great for someone who is new to green beauty.

I will have a new post coming soon showcasing more products so keep an eye out for that.

Here are a few sites where you can purchase natural/organic cosmetics (or other things if you wish!) -

iamnaturalstore

iHerb

Nourished Life

Naturally Safe

That brings me to the end of the first blogpost in the "Green Beauty" series. Definitely keep an eye out for more reviews and recommendations coming your way! Have you ever tried natural/organic makeup or would you be interested to?? Let me know in the comments.

References:
Top 4 benefits of using organic beauty products
What is green/natural/clean/organic beauty?
Why should you switch to organic makeup?
Why switch?