Tag Archives: eczema

Spring Forward: Moisturize Dry Nose & Skin During Allergy Season

Hey Rosés,

Image via Getty

The Spring Forward Series provides tips and news for seasonal allergy sufferers to stay clear and beautiful during spring allergy season.

This morning, I woke up refreshed, excited for the weekend, and – achoo! I started getting dressed, made some breakfast then I – ACHOO! Ugh…warm beautiful spring weather means ugly irritating allergies for me. My sneeze attack was followed by a waterfall of a runny nose, and by the time I finished half a tissue box, my nose was dry and sore.

If you’re like me, you’re wondering…how in the heck can I keep my nose and skin from drying out after allergy attacks? And worse, how do I wear make-up over a Rudolph red nose? Whether you have dry patches, or rough tissues dry out your nose, today is your lucky day…

3 great moisturizers to keep your nose nourished and even with a touch of color and coverage:

1. Burts Bee’s Radiance Day Creme

Purchase: $17.99 drugstore.com

If you want all natural ingredients, this lightweight silky smooth moisturizer is perfect for quick touch-ups, spot treatments and all over moisture. It’s infused with royal jelly, which is great for eczema and psoriasis. I actually use it on my body when I see a dry patch.

Ingredients: aqua (water, eau), helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, glycerin, cetyl alcohol, parfum (fragrance), stearic acid, kaolin, royal jelly, prunus serotina (wild cherry) bark extract, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, hydrolyzed jojoba esters, lecithin, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, jojoba esters, pollen extract, mentha viridis (spearmint) extract, betula alba bark extract, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel extract, arctium lappa root extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, equisetum hiemale extract, euphrasia officinalis extract, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) leaf extract, humulus lupulus (hops) extract, pinus strobus cone extract, rosa canina fruit extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, salvia officinalis (sage) leaf extract, urtica dioica (nettle) extract, xanthan gum, alcohol denat., sucrose stearate, sucrose polystearate, phenoxyethanol, amyl cinnamal, limonene, linalool.

2. philosophy Hope in a Jar Oil Free

Purchase: $39 sephora.com

Your favorite nourishing moisturizer got an oil-free facelift. This soothing lightweight but heavy-duty cream contains no parabens, no sulfates and no phthalates. It’s perfect for normal and oily skin, but will also keep dry skin moisturized throughout the day. It goes on matte, so perfect to touch up your nose or rough patch before adding powder or foundation.

Ingredients: Water/Aqua/Eau, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Acacia, Decurrens/Jojoba/Sunflower Seed Wax/Polyglyceryl-3 Esters, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Methyl Gluceth-20, Lauryl Lactate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Lavandula Augustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Rubus Fruticosus (Blackberry) Leaf Extract, Squalane, Beta-Glucan, Arginine, Potassium Ascorbyl Tocopheryl Phosphate, Phospholipids, Polysorbate 80, Polysorbate 60, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Powder, Allyl Methacrylates Crosspolymer, Ppg-12/Sdmi Copolymer, Maltodextrin, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Benzyl Alcohol, Salicylic Acid, O-Cymen-5-Ol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol.

 

3. Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15

Purchase: $26 bloomingdales.com

This is the non-greasy liquid version of the oil-free hydrating cream that comes with a hint of color. Perfect for pre and post nose blowing, keeps your skin from cracking and covers any red irritation with sheer coverage and sunscreen. 

Ingredients: N/A

 

What moisturizers save your nose during allergy season?

Taste the beautiful life ~ Alicia

 

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4 DIY Beauty And Body T’ings From Jamaica

Hey Rosés,

 

Last week I got an early start to spring with a long weekend in Jamaica. Whiskey Ginger surprised me with a trip to the turquoise seas and white sand beaches of Negril! While relaxing on the beach and doing my best dutty wine at night, I was inspired by all of the natural beauty around me, and determined to recreate at home.

Take a look at 4 beauty and body t’ings I found in Jamaica and how to do-it-yourself at home:

 

1. Sand Exfoliates Your Feet

After just 5 minutes of walking on the sandy beach, my feet were transformed from Jack Frost dry to baby skin smooth. Even when we got our beachside massages, the dust of sand on our bodies mixed with oil called for a great body scrub.

 

DIY: Mix baking soda with your favorite face or body wash

Baking soda a.k.a. sodium bicarbonate is a product that can be used EVERYWHERE. In addition to exfoliating your skin, it’s known for clearing acne, balancing hair’s PH and removing dandruff.

 

 

2. Waterfall Mist + Humidity = Natural Moisture

At YS Waterfalls in the jungle, atop the hidden lagoons were beautiful small and large waterfalls cascading to underground springs. The soft mist from the falls gave my skin incredible moisture and kept it hydrated even while we hiked and rode the zipline.

DIY: Mix a few drops of witch hazel with water in a spray bottle

Witch hazel is a natural astringent that is nectar to anyone with eczema, psoriasis or rosacea. It cleanses and conditions skin without removing natural oils, and can even be used to refresh existing make-up.

 

3. Beach Hair Blowout

I LOVE my naturally curly hair at the beach. The humidity kept it soft and the sun air-dried it quickly. The strong winds gave my curls volume and actually stretched them out to new lengths. Even though I usually go for a smoother curls, I liked the ruffled look adding to my “curly hair don’t care” attitude!

DIY: Volume & Length: Mix a volumizing foam with your favorite curly/straightening cream and blowdry hair upside down

Attach a comb (straight hair) or diffuser head (curly hair) to your blow dryer. Flip your head upside down, lightly pull your curls or brush through your strands in sections as you blowdry. Gravity will stretch your curls “up,” giving the effect of more volume.

 

4. Soothe Heat Rash From The Heat Blast

Not only does the intense sun cause wrinkles, it can create itchy dry sun-burned patches “heat rash.” In just 3 days, my skin went from bronzed sun goddess to skin so sunburned and bumpy it looked like braille. To combat the sun’s damage ALWAYS use sunscreen, and to soothe any after-burns or rash, try this:

DIY: Buy an aloe vera plant and apply to burns

Nature is best served…natural. Throw out your store-bought aloe gel and get a potted aloe plant. Aloe can be a soothing ointment but also drying gel, so mix it with shea butter and a little water to make a lighter lotion consistency and use this under any lotions or make up. It will comfort your burns and provide a light primer.

 

Where is your next vacation?

Taste the beautiful life ~ Alicia

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3 Body Butters To Whip You Into Spring

Hey Rosés,

 

 

Happy 1st Day of March…this means spring is just around the corner!

Wait…are you sure those cracked feet and scaly elbows are ready to strut peep-toes and sleeveless shirts? Thought not. If you are still battling winter’s dry skin or looking to prep your skin for springtime freedom, here is a great guide, for a variety of skin types, on body butters that keep you moisturized without leaving that greasy, thick residue behind.

Image via Target

1. Shea Moisture – Organic Lavender & Wild Orchid Body Butter

Purchase: Target

Shea Moisture’s body products are as nourishing as its natural hair products. This beautifully floral scented butter is more like a deep conditioner for your body. It is sodium lauryl sulfate free and paraben free. Apply lightly for a lotion feeling, or massage deeply to hydrate even the most cracked crevices.

Ingredients: Shea Butter, Lavender

 

 

2. Decadent Body – Body Butter in Chocolate Cream

Purchase: $10-15 decadentindustries.net

Brooklyn-based beautypreneur Nikki creates a compilation of all things moisture in this no-fuss mixture. It hydrates like a rich shea butter, but glides on smoothly like a light oil, keeping your skin glowing and touchably soft well past the afternoon, requiring no touch-ups for the evening. The chocolate-cocoa essence melts on your body giving you an appropriate scent for day and night.

Ingredients: shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, beeswax, fragrance oil

 

Image via Savannah Bee

3. Savannah Bee Company – Royal Jelly Body Butter

Purchase: $24.70 savannahbee.com

This southern Georgia favorite is filled with royal jelly, the stuff that literally makes up a Queen Bee and a known natural ingredient to help heal psoriasis. Its lightweight formula is gently scented with blackberry and pecans, and did make my skin feel more elastic. Excellent natural ingredients, also include “no artificial colors, no petroleum-based ingredients, no parabens or preservatives and no synthetic fragrances.”

Ingredients: Royal Jelly, blackberry

 

Taste the beautiful life ~ Alicia

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Sunscreen’s A Beach In The Winter

Hey Rosés,

Now more than ever, daily sunscreen is important year-round. On the east coast, this winter has been a beach (compared to Snowmageddon last year) which has brought more sunshine in 2012 than even the Mayans could predict. You could get sunburned, and those naughty UVA and UVB rays will certainly irritate most skin or add further complications to any eczema-psoriasis flare-ups or acne breakouts.

To keep you safe, here is a list of face and body sunscreen options for the winter, whether you’re walking through the city or hitting the slopes.

 

1. Sunscreen Spray

Recommended Product: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock SPF 30

Purchase: $7.99 drugstore.com

For your body, use a spray sunscreen rather than a lotion. It contains the same amount of oil, but goes on much lighter and spreads more easily. Sometimes I do a quick spray in my hand and pat my face for extra protection without the greasy look.

Active Ingredients: Avobenzone (3.0%), Homosalate (8.0%), Octisalate (4.0%), Octocrylene (2.35%), Oxybenzone (5.0%)
Inactive Ingredients: SD Alcohol 40 2 (68%), Isobutane, Diethylhexyl 2 6 Naphthalate, Trisiloxane, Dimethicone, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, PPG 5 Ceteth 20, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C), Retinyl Acetate (Vitamin A), Cyclopentasiloxane, Acrylates/Dimethicone Copolymer, Fragrance

 

 

2. Tinted Moisturizer with Sunscreen

Recommended product: Sheer Focus Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 

Purchase: $30 Sephora

During the day, tinted moisturizers with sunscreen add a great layer of protection with just a touch of color to even out your skin tone or cover any blemishes. Look for an oil-free kind like Smashbox above, but beware of the greyish tint the sunscreen can leave behind.

Ingredients: N/A

 

 

3. Face Lotion With Natural Sunscreen Alternatives

Recommended Product: Burt’s Bees Radiance Day Lotion SPF 15

Purchase: $17.99 drugstore.com

If you get irritated from the typical ingredients found in a majority of sunscreens, there are brands that use natural ingredients, like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, that are known for blocking UVA and UVB rays just as effectively as synthetic blockers.

Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (sunscreen), Zinc Oxide (sunscreen)
Inactive Ingredients: Water, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor Seed) Oil, Glycerin, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Sucrose Distearate, Royal Jelly, Sucrose Stearate, Acacia Gum (Acacia Senegal), Calendula (Calendula Officinalis) Flower Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Hydrastis Canadensis (Goldenseal) Extract, Symphytum Officinale (Comfrey Root) Extract, Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Citric Acid, Fragrance, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol

Stay warm out there!

Taste the beautiful life ~ Alicia

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Do I Have A Skin Condition?

Hey Rosés,

 

Over 90% of people will get irritation from a beauty product at least once in their lifetime. Whether it’s a tingle, a pimple, or pizza-face looking blotchy spots, we all eventually fall victim. But if you are constantly seeing skin irritation or particularly troubled areas, you could actually have a skin condition. Instead of getting frustrated, get educated…then get treated.

There are many types of skin conditions, let’s read about three popular variations:

*Quoted terms are citations from WebMD, if you are experiencing any or all of these see a doctor immediately

 

ECZEMA a.k.a. Atopic Dermatitis

What is it?
“A group of medical conditions that cause the skin to become inflamed or irritated.” The cause is unknown, but is linked to an “overactive response by the body’s immune system to an irritant,” and “families with a history of other allergies or asthma.”

Symptoms
Itchy red patches on ‘folds’ (inner arm & knee, neck, upper lip, eyelid, etc.) of the skin. “Affected areas usually appear very dry, thickened, or scaly. In fair-skinned people, these areas may initially appear reddish and then turn brown. Among darker-skinned people, eczema can affect pigmentation, making the affected area lighter or darker.”

Treatment
For mild flare-ups over-the-counter hydrocortisone creams. For more intense treatment prescription creams and oral medicine.

 

PSORIASIS

What is it?
“Skin cells to grow too quickly, resulting in thick, white, silvery, or red patches of skin.”

Symptoms
“Normally, skin cells grow gradually and flake off about every 4 weeks. New skin cells grow to replace the outer layers of the skin as they shed. But in psoriasis, new skin cells move rapidly to the surface of the skin in days rather than weeks. They build up and form thick patches called plaques (say “plax”)…They most often appear on the knees, elbows, scalp, hands, feet, or lower back”

Treatment
Creams, medicines, and ultra-violet therapy can be prescribed by a doctor

 

CYSTIC ACNE

What is it?
This most severe form of acne vulgaris is a common term but truly only refers to those who develop cystic lesions (cysts).

Symptoms
Cysts are fluid-filled pimples deep under a person’s skin that “develop most often on the face, neck, or upper body.” They can be hard or soft, and are typically red and tender.

Treatment
Prescription acne medication. Also, antibiotic treatment to prevent further lesions and infections

 

My main recommendation for anything concerning the inside or outside of your body is to ALWAYS see a doctor or dermatologist. They can uncover problem areas, run tests, and give prescriptions.

Do you have a skin condition? Tell us about it!

Taste the beautiful life – Alicia

 

*Image via Getty Images

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