Hey Friends,
When I arrived back in Ontario after 3 months in Europe my skin, I am shamed to say, was a mess. Berlin was our last stop and it was hot and dusty there, sweat mixed with hot post-soviet-ruled dust just couldn't help but get all up in and occupy my pores...get it occupy....like Russia did.
Anywho, when I arrived back in my beautiful but humid as fuck city my skin got even worse, on my face, neck, back (a.k.a backne) and chest. I started a strict regimen of exfoliation, cleansing and moisturizing, but the bacne persisted. I then turned to tea tree oil derived from the Australian native tea tree. This stuff "has beneficial medical properties when applied topically, including antiseptic,antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral action, and is also believed to have beneficial cosmetic properties" (Wikipedia) ...ya this stuff is good.
The tea tree oil helped, but it has such a distinct odour that sometimes it was too much to take on its own....I needed somthing that was tea tree oil "infused".
I headed down to 799 Queen street and met up with Ann from TVAL for a bit of a consultation. TVAL specializes in Mineral make up and also organic personal hygiene products like deodorant and delicious enough to eat soaps. www.TVALskincare.com
I have oily skin as it is, so I need something that could clear away that oil, but still not completely dry out my skin! I opted for the Cleansing Gel with Cucumber & Rhubarb and even got Ann to add some tea tree oil to the gel. They make all their own products in small batches at the store, so it was no problem adding more hand selected ingredients. It's pretty cool knowing what everything is, and the benefits of it to my skin before I rub it all over my face. The cleansing gel is 240ml and costs $18.
For lotion I opted for the Oil-free lotion with Strawberries & 2% Salicylic acid (sounds scary, but has been proven in the fight against acne and blackheads). The lotion is very light, and doesn't require a lot for full facial coverage, which is good because the tiny 60ml bottle will run you $16 a pop. It smells like delicious and sweet strawberries, almost making me think it was too scented to be used on my face, but the smell is refreshing and Strawberries are rich in Vitamin C which has smoothing and toning properties which help to reduce enlarged pores (the bottle told me that).
I've been using both products for about two weeks and my skin has never looked better. It's well balanced right now, not greasy or dry... goldilocks would have loved my face.
Get your own face fix-its and other fun stuff (mineral make up, organic soap and deodorant) at their tdot location at 799 Queen Street West (near bathurst), or online at www.TVALskincare.com.
Love and kisses and clear faces,
TaCaGo
