do it yourself: apple cider vinegar toner

I mix 1/3 apple cider vinegar, a few drops of tea tree oil and a few lemon drops with all together with some water to dilute it. This is important, otherwise it will be to concentrated. Here are the alleged benefits of these ingredients:

Apple Cider Vinegar: Has antibacterial properties that help prevent skin infections. Also helps balancing your skins pH levels so that it won't be too oily or to dry. When you wash your face it's very easy to strip your skin of its natural oils - ACV helps balance the pH level again. Can also help dimish scar discoloration.

Tea Tree Oil: This has antiseptic properties that help treat blemishes and its antibacterial properties control the formation of new ones.

Lemon: Help dimish discoloration caused my scars. Also has antibacterial properties to help prevent further breakouts. Can also slightly brighten the skin to show off a more healthy complexion.

Keep in mind that your experience may differ simply because we all have different skin that reacts differently. This toner gives me a smoother all over look to my skin.

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APRICOT OIL

This litte thing came with my second iHerb order ever, in January this year. So I've had this for quite a while, still I have about 2/3 left in the bottle. Why apricot oil? This is what NOW Foods says about this product: "100% Pure Apricot Oil is a rejuvenating natural oil that's ideal for softening fine lines and restoring a healthy glow to skin. Rich in essential fatty acids, this gentle oil has excellent restorative properties that promote soft, radiant hair and helt to soothe irritated skin. Similar in structure and function to almond extracts, oils derived from apricot kernels will naturally nourish and moisturize your skin". Doesn't that sound good? 

Well at first when I got it I was unsure about what I was going to use it for - I'm a bit yes/no on putting a bunch of oil in my face. But when my skin feels really dry, I can always put some of this on and it will feel soft again. My main use for this is as an eye makeup remover, it works perfect. As most oils do, really. Since this is supposed to make fine lines appear softer it's great to use under the eyes. I always feel moisturized in the under eye area afterwards, when using this. You literally need the tiniest amount of this to remove eye makeup. It's natural, no need for fancy and expensive eye makeup removers. This costs $3.18, I've had it for almost a year and I still have about 2/3 left - awesome. 

Get up to $10 off your first iHerb order with this code: CJN164

WHAT I WASH MY FACE WITH..

Dr. Bronner's 18-in-1 Hemp Green Tea Castile Soap: I use this to wash of the makeup oft my skin every night. I recently decided to try and change up my overall skincare routine to try to incorporate more natural products. Dr. Bronner's soap was one of the products I wanted to try after first seeing it in a video on CloudyApples. It allegedly can be used in 18 different ways, I'll have to list them for you. It's a very versatile soap if I may say so. The soap is organic and it's a quite strong soap, it can make my face dry sometimes, but it definitely cleans the makeup off my face.

Avalon Organics Vitamin C Refreshing Cleansing Gel: After I wash off my makeup I use this cleansing gel from Avalon Organics to be sure that my face is really clean from any dirt or makeup. So I basically use this after washing my makeup off at night and in the morning I also cleanse my face with only this. Vitamin C is good for your skin because it helps your skin repair itself and gives skin its firmness and strength. I like this because it calms my skin over night, I can go to bed with red noticeable marks and wake up with them looking less red and less noticeable. It also feels gentle to massage into my skin after using the Castile soap. First off I was using the cleansing milk version, but accidentally picked the gel instead of the milk cleanser when I was going to repurchase from iHerb. Clumsy thumbsy. But it was just as great - even a little better for me as cleanser.

THE BODY SHOP TEA TREE BLEMISH FADE NIGHT LOTION

My sister bought the Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion a while back and she recently repurshased it. Tea Tree oil is one of those things that are really good for keeping blemishes away because it's antibacterial. The product description says this a lightweight, soothing gel-cremé for blemished skin. It is supposed to replenish moisture overnight, leave skin looking matte, provide anitbacterial action and clinically proven to give clearer-looking skin. I have tried this a couple of times and I like it, I think it does improve blemishes over night. They look less red in the morning. But this doesn't improve my skin in the long run - that's why my next step is trying pure tea tree oil. Simply because it's less expensive than this lotion and hopefully more effective.

YVES ROCHER SKIN MASK

Yves Rocher Purifying Skin Mask: Lemon Zest Extract £6.50

 Me and my sister are big fans of Yves Rocher and their fresh products. My sister we're buying makeup and she was offered to buy a few things that they had a special offer on. So we decided to try the 3 Minutes Face Mask. When she bought one for herself she bought one for me to, I believe they we're half off in store at that time. Friendly sister! We both love lemon and I really like using freshly scented face products that feel natural to the face. This is a tiny tube of 50 ml - this has lasted me several uses and there's still about half left. This is one of the products that I regularly use for my face. I put this on once or twice a week when I feel in need of refreshing my face. Let's see what Yves Rocher say about this product on their website:

"Fresh and clean skin in 3 minutes. Sparkling pleasure for clean an purified skin in just 3 minutes. This facial gel mask with its fresh and luscious texture leaves a radiant glow on the skin. The purifying properties of lemon essential oil enliven the complexion with luminosity. The skin breathes! 

 The Plus: Its luscious and sparkling texture with purifying lemon essential oil.

- Tested under dermatological control
- Neutral pH"

It does leave my skin feeling clean and fresh, the scent also adds to the fresh feeling of this. It's a gel mask and you don't need a lot to cover the whole face. This cools the skin and doesn't dry. When washed up my skin tends to get a little dry in some places, but nothing major. Overall I'm pleased with this product and I would buy it again.