The mixture: 1 teaspoon of Sweet Almond Oil, 1/3 (ish) teaspoon of Castor Oil, 2 drops Lavender essential oil
The method: The usual massage, though I'm sitting down to maximize my "massage until I get tired" routine. I'm a big girl. I like to sit down. You don't have to. I only steam/remove once, otherwise my face starts to feel too tight and dry, which is not the goal here.
The verdict: So far, so good. A little "scrubby" action, great relaxing scent of lavender, no major breakouts.
Additonal benefits: My BB cream goes on like a dream in the morning, my cheeks are now a pearly shade of pink instead of Female News Anchor Red, and I've noticed that my forehead and T zone have lost a lot of their oil slick resemblance as the day goes on. My BB cream is very nearly the same dewey finish it was when I put it on this morning. (Incidentally, I'm using Holika Holika Watery BB Cream for its soft peachy-beige finish. I will post about all my BB cream adventures just as soon as my tube of Holika Holika Peach Girl gets here.)
So, judging from this, you'd think I'd be telling all of you how freaking wonderful OCM is and how you all have to go get some type of natural body oil and castor oil RIGHT NOW to start trying this wonderful face cleaning method, right?
Well, I'll say that OCM is working well for me. I don't know if it will work well for you, because you are not me, and I am not you. I am not a believer that one size fits all or that any one regimen is the right one. I will say that if you want to try OCM and you don't have the dough to invest in a bunch of oils, this is what I would do - I'd find the nearest Food Co-op or health food store near me, and go talk to the person in the natural care aisle about getting a few samples of oils to try. They usually have them in bulk containers and will sell them by the ounce. You won't need much, maybe an ounce of Castor Oil and an ounce or two of a carrier oil. This way, if you don't like OCM, you haven't lost much.
If you do try OCM, let me know how it works for you. If you want to tell me why you don't like OCM, I'm more than willing to give you the space to do that, because I think that's just as important as a glowing (heh, made a funny there) endorsement online.
Wonderfully helpful as always! I look forward to hearing your experiences with the Holika Holika BB creams, cause I just got the Clearing Petit at the beginning of this week, and I'm...mixed on it. It has a lovely finish and my skin looks flawless, but I'm very peach-toned and it's a bit too pale/beige-y for me, so I *have* to layer my foundation over it, which was a step I'd hoped I could skip by using a multitasker like BB creams tend to be. I was wondering if the Watery or Essential ones would be closer in tone, or the Peach Girl. Which shade of Peach Girl are you getting?
ReplyDeleteI am getting Peach Girl Shade 1. After much researching online, I find that I am closest to a MAC NW15, which is at the darker end of the pale spectrum. I'm probably half a shade or so darker than Phyrra, as she can use Holika Holika Orange and look fantastic, where I can't.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming that the Peach Girl sample I tried was Shade 1, that seems to be the usual way they're packaged. I guess I'll find out when it gets here. I had enough of my sample to use it for two days to tell me that it was my favorite (and still is).
The Holika Holika Watery is my next favorite shade. The peachy beige tone really makes a difference for me.
I really need to just go get matched at MAC so I'll have that number for reference! I know I'm between a 2 and 3 in Meow foundation shades, but I have no clue how that translates to MAC. Also where'd you get your hands on a sample of Peach Girl? I wanna try it but it's $20 a tube, which is a bit much for me to toss on a 50/50 guess of shade!
ReplyDeleteSorry to pester you with so many questions, lol.
If I didn't want questions, I wouldn't write a blog, however infrequently. :P
ReplyDeleteI did my MAC matching online. I took three shades of foundation that I knew worked for my skin tone for a good statistical sample, then went here and looked 'em up on the chart. They all came up NW15, so I figured that was pretty damned close.
I got my sample of Peach Girl in with my purchase of Holika Holika Orange (that I have since sent on to Phyrra, where it will be loved and used). I tried it, and spent the next two days staring in the mirror and saying "Wow!"
I don't have quite the same love with Watery, but it's a very near thing. Tell you what, if I get another Peach Girl sample with this order, it's all yours, okay?
You're so sweet, thanks! :-)
ReplyDeleteOoooh, now that foundation matrix is quite helpful! I think I'll still take the excuse to run to the mall and bug the MAC people, but that's awesome! From that, I'd guess I'm around a NW20ish, maybe 25. Good reference, that.