Review: Alba Un-Petroleum Multi-Purpose Jelly

I know this is not the most exciting product ever and the name makes it sound pretty weird but I HAD to post my review of this product because it has become one of my beauty staples and I have been using it literally every day for the last 9 months!

A bit of background info: I used to apply Vaseline to my lips every night before bed and would sometimes even put it on my hands or my face as well if my skin was particularly dry. In the summer I became more informed about skin care products and started researching some of the ingredients in products that I was using every day. I already knew that Vaseline is a petroleum biproduct, but many of the articles that I read described how Vaseline basically sits on the surface of your skin like a layer of plastic instead of absorbing into your skin and having a moisturizing effect.

Because I did not want to keep applying ineffective petrochemicals to my skin, I sought out a more natural product. Alba Un-Petroleum Jelly is what I found and boy I am glad I found it!

Instead of using synthetic petrochemicals, Alba Un-Petroleum makes use of natural ingredients such as castor oil, coconut oil, beeswax and vitamin E. It is unscented and has a texture that is remarkably similar to Vaseline but the best part about this product is that it ACTUALLY MOISTURIZES my skin and lips!

Instead of just masking the dryness, this product actually absorbs into my skin and lips so that they feel smooth and soft the next morning. I now apply this product every night before bed and it has really helped prevent chapped lips throughout this extremely cold and dry winter that we have experienced where I live.

And its not just for lips! Here are some of the ways that I use this product:

-Sometimes I mix this with my night cream if I need some extra moisture on my face over night. It does not clog pores! If you need some extreme moisture on your face you could apply this directly to your face overnight.

-This is now my favorite eye cream! I know it does not have any anti-aging ingredients but it is the only product that gets rid of the dry, flakey skin that I sometimes get on my eyelids (weird, I know!). I apply it around my eyes a couple of times a week before bed and when I wake up my eyes feel so smooth and look brighter too!

-This product works well as an eye makeup remover! It is oil-based so it can blur your vision for a few seconds after you use it but it removes even waterproof makeup very well.

-When my feet are really dry, I spread a thin layer of Un-Petroleum Jelly on my feet, put on a pair of socks, and leave it overnight. It sounds kind of gross, but when I wake up my feet feel so soft!

-I also use this product on dry elbows and cuticles. You can use it basically anywhere that you have dry patches!

Besides being a truly amazing product, Un-Petroleum Jelly is 100% vegetarian, hypo-allergenic and best of all cruelty-free! At $5.99 for a 3.5oz (100g) bottle, it costs a bit more than Vaseline but I little goes a long way so one tube lasts me months!

I know I rambled on a fair bit about this product but I really, really love it and wanted to share all of the different ways I use it on a daily basis! I definitely recommend this to pretty much anyone, especially if you have dry skin and lips or are looking for a natural alternative to Vaseline.

Thank you so much for stopping by for some Cosmetic Confessions! Have a beautiful day!

xoxo, Caitlin

Skin Care 101

This thoroughly exaustive post is meant to complement the skin care video that I put up on my youtube channel. You can check that out by clicking here!

This is going to be quite a long (somewhat text book style) post because I am VERY passionate about skin care! This post should give a bit more in-depth information about skin care products and their uses for those of you who are interested! So lets get started!

The first thing that I wanted to mention was that I switched to an all-natural skin care regimen about 4 months ago and it is working wonders for my skin! Although I do not suffer from acne, I have always had issues with sensitivity, redness, and irritation. Since eliminating all of the products containing irritating (and potentially carcinogenic) ingredients from my skin care regimen I have seen a great improvement! Some of the things that I try to avoid include parabens, pthalates, sulfates and petroleum by-products.

Now, moving on to the actual skin care products and why they are important:

Cleanser removes dirt and impurities from the face and prevents clogged pores. I recommend using a milky cleanser if you have dry skin or a foaming cleanser if you have oily skin.

Toner restores the skin's ideal pH. Cleanser is basic but the skin functions best at an acidic pH of about 4.5-5.5. Toner converts the skin's pH back to its ideal acidic pH. It also removes any residue left behind from cleansing and reduces pores. Toner should not be applied to the eye area. I also recommend avoiding toners that contain large amounts of alcohol or witch hazel as these are very harsh/drying on the skin.

Moisturizer helps to hydrate the skin. If you have dry skin try a moisturizer that has more moisturizing properties but if you have oily skin look for an oil-free moisturizer. I recommend using a thinner moisturizer for the day time and a richer moisturizer for overnight.

Eye cream moisturizes the delicate eye area. Eye creams often contain anti-aging or brightening ingredients in them. I like to use an eye cream at night for moisture and an eye gel in the day under my makeup. It is actually necessary to wear eye cream in addition to regular facial moisturizer because the molecules in facial moisturizer are too large to be absorbed by the skin in the eye area.

Sunscreen is very important! If you want more info about sun protection, check out the post I did a while back.

Exfoliators/scrubs remove any dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. They can improve the complexion, making it smoother and brighter looking. Avoid exfoliators that are too rough as they can damage or irritate the skin. I recommend using exfoliators with microbeads in them, as they do the job but they aren't too harsh!

There are many different types of facial masks available, including moisturizing masks, clarifying masks, and exfoliating masks. I like to use masks containing clay, as the clay extracts your pores by sucking all the stuff out of them. Sounds gross but it works!

Acne treatments often contain salicylic or benzoic acid to kill acne-causing bacteria.

Serums usually contain high concentrations of anti-aging ingredients or vitamins to nourish the skin. I don't think that serums are necessary for everybody (I don't use one!) but they can be useful if you are having issues with your skin or if you want to fight wrinkles!

I know that was very long but I hope it was helpful! Check out my skin care video as well for my product recommendations and skin care routine! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!

xoxo, Caitlin

Sun Protection

I know its a bit late in the summer season to be posting about sun protection but this is a topic that is VERY important to me and I think that we should be conscious of sun protection all year long because UV rays are emitted from the sun all year, not just in the summer and not just on sunny days.

First off I want to say that I am by no means an expert on this topic but I have done a lot of my own research on this topic simply because I am very concerned about sun protection. So lets get started!

The first and most basic thing to know about the sun rays is that they emit ultraviolet radiation (UV), which causes premature aging, cancer and damage to the eyes. This is why it is necessary to protect yourself from the sun's harmful rays.

The sun emits both UVA and UVB rays. UVB rays cause sunburns while UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply, causing premature aging (such as wrinkles and age spots) and cancer. So its UVA for Aging, UVB for Burning (at least thats how I remember it!).

To protect yourself from UV radiation sunscreen is a must! At the very least, SPF 15 sunscreen should be worn on the face, neck, and backs of hands on a daily basis, even in the winter or on cloudy days. Remember to use broad spectrum sunscreen to protect from both UVA and UVB rays. Sunscreen should be worn no matter what your skintone is. Although darker skin tones are less susceptible to skin cancer, they are still at risk.

On sunny days spent outside such as on a beach day, at least SPF 30 should be worn on all exposed areas of the body. Don't forget to apply to the feet, hands, and backs of knees, and reapply throughout the day. Lip balm with SPF should also be worn. Sun burn on lips really hurts!

For additional protection from the sun wear a hat to protect your face and scalp, and sunglasses with 100% UV protection to protect your eyes. I know a lot of this seems like common sense but so many young people neglect many of these things and they regret it when they are older!

Tan safely with gradual sunless tanners to achieve a safe and healthy glow! They are so many great sunless tanning products available now that are easy to use without turning streaky and orange, which is great unless you're going for the Snooky look!

This post is meant to compliment a video that I made concerning sun protection where I share some of my favorite sunscreens and products for achieving a sexy glow and tan safely. Check that video out here!

Phoof! That was a lot of writing! Hope you found some of this information useful, I tried to summarize as much as I could so that it wasn't too boring! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! Have a beautiful day!

XOXO, Caitlin