Summer Refresher – Yes to Cucumbers Review!


Back when I was 14 and used to squeeze lemon in my hair for the sun-kissed look and tried mum’s facemasks out for size, slices of cool cucumber over the eyelids was the next step for ultimate beauty afternoons. I’m not sure the lemon or the anti-aging mask worked on my wee self, but the cucumbers always had a soothing element that did some good on puffy eyes.

When the Yes to Carrots range came on the market, I signed up for the Cucumber variety designed for sensitive skin. I’m always wary of rich and creamy products after a particularly nasty rash was encountered after a face cream trial – which means I always end up going for the “sensitive skin” products just in case.

I’ve been using the Daily Gentle Cleanser ($14.95) and Daily Calming Moisturiser ($23.95) for a month now and have had great results.

To be fair, I’m in the latter stages of pregnancy and my skin has been pretty good to me since the second trimester so this has had a positive influence. However, the cleanser does a thorough job despite being “gentle” and there has been no residue on my facial towel while drying my face. The moisturiser is gorgeous and you only need a small amount as it goes far. The only issue is, I have to leave it longer than usual to put on my make up over the top in the morning as it doesn’t sink in as fast as my usual moisturiser. On the plus side, my skin feels hydrated all day long and I don’t see any flakiness after a day a made up face in an air-conditioned office. The sweet almond oil and aloe inclusions are supposed to provide a healthy glow and I do feel it provides a lovely, plump look once it’s settled in.

I also got to try the Calming Body Wash ($12.95 for 500mL), which is so refreshing in the summer heat. It’s also not a particularly feminine smell so I’ve gone through it at an alarming rate and my husband smells suspiciously cucumbery upon exiting the bathroom each morning…

Have you ever tried any of the Yes to Carrots products?
Cucumbers over the eyes?
Love to hear your thoughts!


Written by Lisa O’Neill, slowing down a little more every day but still trying to keep the healthy glow alive!

Be well,

xoxo

Product Reviews: QV Purifying Mask & QV Day Cream with SPF 30+

QV Skincare have done something marginally wonderful in recent years: they’ve branched, and reinvented, and started to carve out a place for themselves beyond the moderately daggy babies-and-skin-problems niche.

QV Purifying Mask

This mask is a creamy, very pale brown, smells faintly of clay (surprise) and is one of the maybe three masks I’ve ever used that didn’t immediately have some stingage as it went onto my skin. It’s so mild I can actually layer it on right up to the edge of my nostrils, i.e. one of my really sensitive areas.

It does this thing, initially that makes me squirm like an idiot – it tickles. Luckily this stage passes fairly fast, and when it dries, you’ll have a vision of your older self when you look into the mirror. It dries sort of translucent, but hugs into your wrinkles and dries you out. With this mask on, I can guarantee you’ll look older – but not bad enough for it to immediately register that you’re wearing a mask. This mask has spooked the bejesus out of my boyfriend, lets put it that way.

I find it’s best removed with a wet flannel – lukewarm water is fine, warm would be nice in winter – and be prepared to rinse that poor towel within an inch of it’s life. Kaolin clay clings to material like you would not believe.

The mask seems to operate primarily as a neutralizer – on my oily, blotchy and occasionally pimply skin, it calms, de-oils, reduces inflammation and leaves my skin soft and smooth. In drier gals, it seems to add some moisture and plump up the skin. It’s also so incredibly hypoallergenic you could use it every day, and wetting your face beforehand will ensure you need very little for a lot of effect. Awesome stuff.

QV day cream with SPF 30+

Oily ladies have a perpetual issue – sunscreen. Because we have to wear it, especially us Australians, especially us ultra pale motherland Australians. And sunscreen, by design, is oily. And because it’s loaded with zinc oxide (the bit in sunscreen that does the sunscreening) which blocks the pores it can cause breakouts, blackheads, and make your poor face sweat horribly. And no one wants a sweaty face. No one.

I’ve been battling the sunscreen issue for years now, and seem to have sidestepped it totally by just not going into natural light between 10am and 4pm, but I know it’s not addressing the issue, and ultimately I need a sunscreen. I have met the occasional marginally successful foundation with a 15+, which is probably fine for most parts of the world, but for Australia? You really need to start at 30+.

So QV’s day cream with SPF 30+ is a small miracle. It’s not 100% there – I do need to point that out – but it’s damn close, doesn’t irritate or break me out, and leaves no white cast. And it doesn’t interfere with my makeup application, and in fact I struggle to put on makeup properly without it. It leaves just the right amount of slip on my skin for easy application, and a little bit goes a long way. For those with facial sunscreen issues, I’d suggest giving this a whirl. It’s a cheap gamble and I guarantee that at the very worst, nothing bad will happen. Bless these baby-friendly products.

If you’re in the unenviable position of being sensitive skinned, or excessively anything (oily, dry, you know), I can’t stress how much it’s worth paying some attention to QV and their Face line. And even if you’re not – sometimes you need a basic scentless, cheap, stable product, and these are totally that.

Surely I’m not the only oily-as-sin pale lady? How have you coped with your skincare as the months have gotten warmer?

Review by Suzanne from Don’t They Know Who I Am? A highly silly and irreverent beauty and skincare romp. Come and visit Suzanne for indie, drugstore and high-end cosmetics and skincare. And the occasional unrelated rant. Or else follow on @HogSandwich for daily tomfoolery!