YOUR QUESTIONS : Skin and Health : Acne problems after 20's !

YOUR QUESTIONS : Acne problems after 20's

Hallo everybody ! 

I am really glad to get messages on my facebook profile and emails with your questions and suggestions ! It's really motivating to know that some of you got already helped somehow through my articles, so i am here to give you my advices and answers on  your questions ! :)

So , today's question is : " How can i get rid of acne ? " asked from a girl after teen ages .

At first it's important to mention that there are many different types of acne and also there are many different possible causes of the problem , so it's impossible to find a solution to all of them since it's impossible to know what type of acne does anyone have . Since we talk about acne after 20's it's irrelevant with teenage hormonal changes so it's possibly caused by stress , period , eating or hygiene habbits etc . The following tips don't replace a visit at the doctor but it worths it to give it a try in a natural way ! Hope some of them will be helpful ;)

TIPS FOR PREVENTING ACNE 

• Don't forget to wash your face ( and skin in general ) often using an anti-bacterial soap . It's important that the soap is appropriate for your skin and it doesn't cause any irritation ( wounds and irritated skin are like ''open door'' for bacteria )

• Drink enough water EVERY day

• Cut down on eating oily food ( the extra oil in your body increases the sebum production )

• Avoid wearing heavy make up . The skin needs to breathe .

• Stay away from foods [ or at least reduce the portions ] that turn on the insulin secretion in your body ( bread,potatoes,rice,spaghetti,corn,sugar )

• Increase D-vitamin production . It works amazing on your immune system since it helps on destroying the bacteria . What you have to do is to be under the sun for 10-20 minutes per day as long as there's a pro-vitamin D under your skin and it's getting activated with the sunlight !

But every enemy needs to be fought both indoors and outdoors ! So after following the tips above for boosting your immune system and preventing acne but you still have some pimples you have to work on the skin as well ! So here you are ! ;)

TIPS FOR APPLYING ON ACNEIC SKIN

• Keep your skin clear and wash it often .

• Keep your hands away from your skin ! You can not even imagine the number of bacteria you apply on your skin with every single touch.

• Apply some chamomile on it , it helps to control the oil production

• Use some slices of lemon and massage them on the acneic skin. The tip here is not to rinse it away but let it work on your skin for as much as possible . You can do it before you sleep and let it work all night long . You wash it out when you wake up :3 .  WARNING ! Don't do it really often and avoid it completely if your skin is super sensitive ! 

• Use products ( soap , creams or even your make up ) that contain salicylic acid ! It's super helpful and it makes pimples go dry and dissapear .

• Give your skin a peeling once a week ( if your skin is oily do it twice ) . You can find many home made recipes with sugar or salt ( i prefer salt , it works better for acne ) 

• Aloe vera , mint & spearmint products and leaves also help 

So that's it for today ! Hope this tips will help you get rid of acne and boost your confidence by giving you a clear healthy skin ! If you tried a combination of the tips ( both categories ) and it didn't work , then your acne may be caused by hormonal problems and you should better visit a doctor .

Good luck !  

Thank you so much for viewing my blog and i'd be glad if you can keep in touch with your questions,suggestions and much more on my emails and skype (you'll find my info below) ! If you like my blog , feel free to share it out there ! Come back soon and stay tuned for more :3

Hugs , 

Irina  

Contact info :

emails : irina.alexopoulou@hotmail.com & irina.rhoads@gmail.com

Skype : irina.alexopoulou

YoutubeChannel: 

https://www.youtube.com

/channel/UCoJa8c0GJ4nWce2z_BaUp8w

S

Styling : Spring ideas for your mood , clothing , manicure , hair and make up !

Styling : Spring Ideas for your mood ,clothing , manicure, hair and make up !

Hallo everybody ! :)

Today's article is mostly a photo-presentation of some ideas i liked and tried on me in order to make up my mood after a long and busy winter ! :D 

 There is a variety on issues you can experiment with and express your creativity such as mix and match clothes and accessories , explore new tastes and hobbies , try more colourful make up , have a crazy manicute etc or even a different haircut/haircolour ! Refresh yourself ! You deserve it :D !

So here is a gallery of some changes i made in my life and appearance this Spring that helped me find my lost happy spirit and filled me with energy and possitive thoughts! 

New hobbies !

MARTIAL ART COURSE :

This spring i decided to start taking a martial art course ! It was super effective because after a stressful winter, full of responsibilities and exams all i needed was to express all this stress in an intense way that keeps me also healthy physically !

DIY ( Do It Yourself ) :

Face-paint drawing preview

Even though i like shopping I got also super interested on expressing my creativity on making new things ! I made my own custom Valkyrie dress for a masquerade party and a preview drawing of how i imagined my Valkyrie face-paint . I also spent some time on custom clothes and jewellery :) ! I had really much fun with all these and i now have some unique pieces in my closet ! 

My handmade Valkyrie costume and hat

Bracelets for my little niece ( right ) and some bracelets for a friend ( left )

TRY A NEW MUSICAL INSTRUMENT :

As a true music lover i couldn't refuse learning how to play another musical instrument so after flute ( since 5 years old ) and keyboards ... i decided to play the guitar :D ! I am really honoured to have such a great teacher that his patience and talent combined with my desire to learn , made the whole process very pleasing and motivating ! Every musical instrument is a long journey and i can't wait to continue !

EXPLORE NEW PLACES :

A really effective way to get rid of the daily stress , is coming closer to nature :) You can change the aweful Mondays by going for a walk or fill your weekends with adventure through exploring a new place around or far away from your house ! You can also combine your walk with a second hobby (ex. photography )  ! If you set a plan for your walks you will have something to expect the whole week and once you let nature be a part of your life you will be amazed with its effects ! For those who have limited free time , parks and beaches are perfect places to relax ! It doesn't matter where you are , alone ,with company , if you are perfectly good at something or not . Just feel free to do whatever makes you happy ! :D

START READING A NEW BOOK :

This month i read a really interesting book , called ' In the name of three demons ' of Dieter Breuers and i got impressed ! I didn't read any book

( except of scientific and college books ) the last years and this book motivated me to read more ! The book is mostly historical and the case is about witches during Middle-Ages , so if you are interested in this issues , this book is totally recommended for you !

APPEARANCE CHANGES !

I am a change maniac so this is definitely my category ! There are also people who don't dare to get extreme changes and prefer something temporary and easy-removed. So even if you don't feel comfortable with more permanent changes such as getting tattoos (my sin!!) , hair-colouring ,hair-cutting etc there are also ways to refresh your look and as a consequence to boost your whole mood and self confidence ! ( At least i feel nice after a small or bigger change :P ) . 

You can try a different hairstyle comparing to the one you usually have , get a '' crazy '' happy manicure , try bolder/lighter make up and create your own unique style based on your own sense of matching so that you will feel comfortable in it ! 

Here are some ideas :) ( If you have low budget or just want your style to have your own signature you can make some DIY custom clothes or accessories ;) )

So here i present some of my personal choises on clothing , make up , hairstyles and further stuff. 

CLOTHING  

( It's preety normal if you don't like some of them , i am crazy :P )

MAKE UP  

LE HAIR   ( here is a compilation of recent and old photos )

NAILS ( the 3rd is a pink-orange ombre - you can check my tutorial for it here http://irina-beauty-advices.blogspot.gr/2013/08/nails-ombre-summer-look.html)

 OTHER SUGGESTIONS

• Workout
• Decorate your house with objects that make up your mood ( I put posters and flowers )
• Try different recipes ( Mediterranean food is my favourite ! )
• Meet new people !

So that's all folks for now ! Hope you enjoyed my article and found at least one of my ideas inspiring enough to try new things :) Thank you so much for viewing and come back soon !

If you found my blog and article interesting feel free to share it out there :)

You can always leave comments and send me your messages with questions,suggestions,tutorial requests and your photos ( if you try anything from my blog ) ! 

Contact information :

emails : irina.alexopoulou@hotmail.com + irina.rhoads@gmail.com

Skype : irina.alexopoulou

Don't forget to subscribe on my youtube channel for upcoming video tutorials after request!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoJa8c0GJ4nWce2z_BaUp8w

Kisses ,

Irinä :)

Hair and make-up : Get an Ancient-Greek style look

Hallo people ! :D 

After a really long break due to my studying responsibilities i am finally back , full of new ideas to share with you ! :D

At first let's welcome Spring officially and celebrate this wonderful season through setting new goals , keep our motivation up and spread this refreshing mood on our appearance as well :) 

I noticed latetly on social networks and internet in general , that so many people love Ancient-Greek spirit, food and beauty standards and this made me really happy and proud as a Greek woman , so i thought that a modern version of an Ancient-Greek inspired look would be the perfect idea for this article in the beginning of Spring ! So here we go ! :D

MAKE-UP : 

At first get started with a really deep face-cleaning process to remove any make up and natural oil from your face. A clear face is the best base for a nice make up . ( You can also check out my past articles for recommended products and tips on cleaning . ) 

Ancient-Greek look is based on natural beauty so you should keep on mind that the final result shouldn't be heavy and bold .

STEP 1:

Apply your foundation and concealer : 

I suggest you to use a proper brush to apply your foundation ( one in light liquid format is perfect ) for better application . Your brush applies more product than your fingers do . I used Tommy G , CC Cream , 2 , for oily skin .

One light layer of foundation is enough for this look .

 Right after , use your concealer under your eyes to cover any discolouration areas, acne and black areas [ but without round movements , this will make the dark circles more noticeable ! Try forming small triangles on applying it and then tap the product gently until it's blended nicely with your skin ] . Also apply concealer under your eyebrows ( this will lighten up your eyes and highlight the whole eye make up ) .

Now your face is ready for the eye make up !

STEP 2 : 

Eye make-up :  

At first apply a light grey eye shadow across your whole eyelid and then apply some light beige eyeshadow ( i chose one with a little glitter inside ) on the inner corner of each eye as you see in the photo below :

For the outter corners of the eyes i chose a dark green eye shadow , it reminds me of the olive trees , a special feature of Greece . So , use a thin brush and apply the dark green eye shadow on the outter corners ( forming a horizontal '' V '' ) and also above the moving eyelid to achieve a deep-sight effect as displayed ( photos 1 and 2 ) . Right after , use some concealer under your eyebrows for highlighting ( photo 3 ) and then use a thicker CLEAN brush to blend gently the three eyeshadows together and smooth the previous brush lines ( photo 4 ) . 

For the eyebrows i chose just to brush them , this look's success depends on how natural the result will be .

Use a well pointed dark brown eye pencil and draw a thin line across the outter half of your eyelash line . Then make it a little thicker until you reach the end of inner corner but be careful with the shape. We want a deviation on the line , not a flat one . Also keep it as thin as possible .

Draw a thin line on the outter half of your lower eyelash line ( photo A ) , then bold the inside part of the inner corner with your eye pencil ( photo B ) and add some black mascara ( photo C ) . Don't apply many layers of mascara , it will make your look heavy and fake . Your eye make up is complete !

Final look : 

STEP 3: 

Blush :

Choose the right blush product colour for your skin . [  TIP :   For really light skin use one with pink base , for a really light skin with hazel eyes you can also blend the pink blush with a peach one , this tone will make a nice contrast with your eyes . For medium light skin , peach and coral based blushers are ideal and for tanned or dark coloured skins , a blusher with a light brown/bronze base will be perfect ! ] . 

So i used a pink one with a little touch of peach :) Use a big fluffy brush to apply your blusher under your cheek bones , under your chin and on jaw bones and ( ONLY ) on the corners of your forehead . 

STEP 4: 

Lips : 

( SEVENTEEN Lip pencils are recommended here , their dry format is ideal for this blending )

Use a lip pencil that has exactly the same colour as your lips one and draw carefully the outline of your lips - I used NO. 21 ( Picture A ) . 

Then , use a darker pink lip pencil but not too dark , you don't want a big contrast with your lips - i used number 23 - be sure it's pointed enough, and draw again the outline of your lips. Fill the inner corners of upper and lower lips ( picture B ) . 

Draw a vertical line with the same pencil on the middle of the lower lip ( picture C ) . 

Now use the first lip pencil - the lighter one - and fill your lips with horizontal small movements on a direction from the corners to the middle. Then fill also vertically blending the darker outline with the lip . ( picture D )

Lipstick moment ! Apply a pinkish light lipstick on your lips and then add some lipgloss on a lighter peach tone ! Results are displayed in zoom-in and zoom-out photos below :D 

Aaaaaand the final hit for lips ! Sink your finger in really light beige eyeshadow and tap gently the middle of the upper and lower lip ! This will give them extra glance and make them look bigger :) 

LE HAIR 

Hair : A natural look doesn't require a heavy complicated hairstyle , so my personal choice for this article is a regural ponytail with a braid wreath around the head ! It's extremely simple and easy !

Seperate two large strands of hair ( one in each side of the head ) and braid them . Fasten each one on the opossite side of the head using metal hair clips that match your hair colour ! Another great idea is twisting the hair sections instead of braiding them , but i think braids are more steady and safe if you are about to go out ^_^

Now brush the rest of the hair and catch them up on a nice ponytail ! Don't use any straightening machine , natural hair will look perfect in this look :) Voila !

Further styling suggestions : Try to keep it as simple as you can , if you want you can use some gold jewellery or to add a golden ribbon around your ponytail as i did . According to the clothes , a white dress or top will be perfect for this look ! I chose an one-shoulder white top with beige patterns :) 

So this is it ! Hope you liked my article and you got inspired to spread the Ancient-Greek spirit all around the world ! Thanks for viewing and stay tuned !!

If you found my blog and article interesting feel free to share it out there :)

You can always leave comments and send me your messages with questions,suggestions,tutorial requests and your photos ( if you try anything from my blog ) ! 

Contact information :

emails : irina.alexopoulou@hotmail.com + irina.rhoads@gmail.com

Skype : irina.alexopoulou

Don't forget to subscribe on my youtube channel for upcoming video tutorials after request!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoJa8c0GJ4nWce2z_BaUp8w

Thanks for viewing ! Till next update , take care and stay tuned !

Hugs, 

Irina