Less Is More

Having struggled with pretty awful breakouts on one side of my chin for about 6 monthly from September-February, I was almost ready to give up. Almost. I couldn't understand why the majority of my face was looking radiant, but my jawline and one half of my chin was constantly plastered in spots. I assumed it was something odd happening with one of my ovaries, so I saw a doctor, changed pills, changed my diet, and took up more exercise. The clear parts of my face only continued to get clearer and more radiant, but the breakouts in that pesky little spot just kept on coming. It affected my self-confidence and mood big time. And then it clicked.

I spent a few days at home, sick from work, wearing no make-up. I looked a bit tired, but at the end of those few days I realised that I hadn't had any new spots pop up. Overall that poor broken-out area was looking much clearer. It was at that point I decided to go back to basics. I got rid of the foundation and concealer and re-introduced two products that had fallen by the wayside since the summer.

The Mádara is for days I don't want an SPF. It is matte, golden and beautiful. The VitaZing is for days I want an SPF and something more moisturising - this one is a skincare product first and foremost. If I want concealing on a couple of blemishes, I'll use a concealer just in those areas.

The result is clear, happy skin. I'm just kicking myself that I didn't realise the trigger soon. Back to basics, Kat...back to basics... If you are having the same problem, I could recommend either of the above products. Or even if you decide to go with something else, it is more the advice to take a step back from what you are putting on your face. All the vegetables in the world can't make up for skin which is suffocating.

Madara Deco Face Sun Flower Tinting Fluid

This stuff is really lovely. I have normal/dehydrated skin and tend to gravitate towards very glowy products for my base, but this velvet/matte base feels very light on the skin, doesn't settle into fine lines and has a shimmer to it that does make the skin appear to glow. It offers no more than 10% coverage, so you will have to use a concealer on any blemishes/dark circles/redness, but it does offer an 'I've just come back from a refreshing holiday in the Mediterranean' type of golden glow.

Madara offers natural beauty products for the health-conscious. This is the first I've tried from them and so far, so good. The pros are that the ingredients are great and the product smells exactly like celery (if that floats your boat!). The packaging is very chic for such an 'eco' brand and the pump dispenser is very handy and hygienic. The cons are that the container is opaque so you have no way of knowing when you're running low and also it doesn't look particularly recyclable at first glance. Lots of plastic. Also, at £23, it certainly isn't the cheapest option out there.

On good skin days, this is perfect, but if you do need more coverage, I would say perhaps give this a miss. For me, it's the perfect thing to slap on for the weekend. I know I'm getting good ingredients onto my skin, whilst still offering a teeny bit of som'n som'n. You can find this over at Feel Unique if you're curious.

Let me know if you'd recommend anything else from the brand. OR any similar products?