Natural Beauty Inside Out
This is the second or maybe third product I’ve tried from Nature’s Gate. For some strange reasons, the brand never appealed much to me even though their formulations combine mostly botanical, herbal and floral ingredients. But because of the sale at Guardian, I decided to try their body wash. I almost bought their volumizing shampoo and conditioner as well but placed them right back when I remember I still have a number of shampoos sitting in my shelf, unused.
I had thought that I needed new face brushes but it turned out, there’s no need to purchase anymore! Thanks to all of you who have responded to my post last week, I found a solution to my problem of oily brushes! It was an issue with the cleanser I used and after using some of the solutions mentioned, my brushes are back to being fluffy again! So what did I do?
I noticed that on some days, my skin becomes exceptionally dry for unknown reasons. I use the same products and I don’t notice a major change in the environment so I can’t tell what’s the cause. Initially, I thought it was due to my hormones but recently, I wonder if it might be due to the amount of tea I drink on those days. I usually just down a cup in the morning but if I work at home, then I might down another two more cups of tea in the afternoon.
I did a fun experiment over the weekend, trying to determine the actual pH level of some of my skincare products using pH test strips. pH is a chemist’s term meaning “Potential of Hydrogen” and refers to the degree of acidity or alkalinity in our outer skin layers. It is measured on a scale ranging from 0 to 14 where the center of the scale (7) is neutral and a reading below 7 indicates that the substance being measured is acidic and above 7 is alkaline. Ideally, our skincare should have a balance pH level of 5.5 so as not to alter the skin’s natural protective capabilities as normal skin pH is said to be somewhat acidic and in the range of 4.2. to 5.6.
My work shoes are absolutely boring; always in black and of similar designs somewhat because I prefer them to be functional than stylish. Additionally, designs under those brands that I like are limited and inevitably, they do not look stylish. Wearing fashionable shoes during work aren’t important to me but wearing comfortable shoes are, because I spend a lot of time standing and walking so heels are always no more than 2.5 inches. But I do show more toes than most of my colleagues as I dislike wearing flat pumps and court shoes.
I'm Sesame and Viva Woman is a Singapore beauty blog with an interest in natural, organic skincare and cosmetics that is updated daily with a weekend edition of fashion commentaries. Established in 2006, this blog has also been listed as one of the top 25 beauty blogs globally according to Babble.com.
I appreciate that some of you find my articles interesting and wish to share them. There are many ways you can share, such as via social media but copying or lifting content is definitely not the right way. Please note that all material here is copyrighted and I have a copyright policy. 
Have a question for me? Have something interesting to share with me? Then contact me! You may like to send me an email to vivawoman[at]gmail[dot]com. I will try to respond as soon as soon as I am able to. Emails requesting for link exchanges or containing unsolicited sales messages will be ignored.