Gym Makeup you say?…

What does a makeup junkie wear on her face to work out?

Hmmmmm…

Sounds stupid to some I’m sure, but I definitely can understand why some ladies want to wear makeup when they work out. They like the way it makes them feel or because for themselves they choose to never step foot outside the house without makeup, so why for them would the gym be any different. It may be that wearing makeup makes them feel comfortable or confident or happy who knows. I don’t think anyone has the right to judge another for wearing a full face of makeup at the gym or for that matter going bare faced. It is personal preference. Either way we need to support other women no matter what their choice is, and whatever makes someone happy and isn’t hurting others is what is important.

With the training I was doing last year, there is no way any kind of bulletproof makeup would have stayed on my face, it was high intensity in a hot un-ventilated shed, and by the end of the hour and a half sessions my gym gear was soaked in sweat. ICK! Waterproof mascara wouldn’t have stood a chance in hell! But what about the air-conditioned environment of a gym class, weights room, zumba class, yoga class even?

I have listed the 6 beauty essentials I cannot and go without to the gym. It’s not a full face of makeup and that’s just my personal preference, you may choose to add more, less or none.

Firstly before I go into this I always follow my usual skincare regime and ensure my skin is  well mositurised. You want to ensure you have removed your makeup from the day, cleansed, toned and mositurised your face. When you sweat you loose moisture and you don’t want your skin suffering. I always ensure I spritz my face with plenty of Rose water to ensure its well hydrated. (You can also take this in your gym bag and spritz your face in between reps or workouts if you feel you need a pick me up to the skin or slap of hydration).

Numero uno! Instead of foundation for the gym I choose to apply my ChiChi CC cream, its a light weight colour correcting formulation, that gives you that natural radiant glow to the skin. I use my real techniques complexion sponge and press it into the areas of my face I feel I need some correcting. It has a long list of vitamins and minerals and botanical extracts too. Bonus alert, it has SPF 30 to protect your skin if you happen to work-out in the outdoors. I also happened to  have used this on my holiday in Bali, its slightly more humid than where I’m from and I found foundations during the day were just melting off my face. This CC cream gave my skin such a nice natural glow…I am almost empty and will definitely be re-purchasing this one again. It’s around the $30 mark from Target; I purchased mine when Target had a 30% CHi CHi Cosmetics sale. Another Chi Chi bonus, they do not test on Earth’s beautiful creatures 🙂

Number Two, say hello to waterproof mascara, its is a must when sweating, we don’t want Panda eyes. So I use the Define-a-Lash by Maybelline, its not over the top for the Gym or work for that matter, and gives my lashes a nice defined look without clumping them up and looking like I’ve stacked a bunch of fake lashes.

Three…For my lips I use the Autopilot Lip service by Napoleon, this mositurises my lips like nothing else and a little goes a long way, it gives them a nice natural glossy sheen to the lips too. And staying true to Napoleon style it has vitamin E! This is also a good base for liquid lipsticks to protect your lips.

Four….The other thing I cannot live without, anywhere or anytime is my brow wiz from Anastasia Beverley Hills, and I like to set my brows with a brow gel or a spoolie with hair spray, so they don’t budge for the gym. Defined brows make or break a makeup look and also give your face character. Even if I don’t do anything else I have listed here I will definitely have my brow game on.

Number five is for after the gym. I keep a set of makeup wipes handy in case I feel the need to remove what ever I have on my face after the workout. Don’t leave the sweat and bacteria settle into your pores for too long!  Also if you need to re-apply your makeup after the gym to go back to work or somewhere else, these also can come in handy. I have no set particular favourite brand of these.

Lastly WATER. I’m super guilty of not fulfilling my daily water requirements. I can see my boyfriend’s face when he reads this, because he is forever reminding me to drink up. I’m like a camel seriously. If  somehow we had to ration our water intake because of our depleting world water supply to like 2 cups a day, there would be people complaining and in mass hysteria, and I’d be like Kermit drinking from my mug like “meh whatevs”. So girl, take that water bottle and drink up. Water is your number one beauty essential. Without it your skin is likely to suffer. I will be taking a tablespoon of my own advise and making sure I guzzle that stuff down. I use Tupperware drink bottles as they are BPA free, easy to clean, can go in the dishwasher and good for the environment. Best of all they come in pretty colours.

And that wraps up my beauty essentials for the gym. Happy sweating

xxLumoo

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From top left to right: Maybelline Lash Define Mascara, Chi Chi CC Cream, ABH Brow Wiz, Napoleon Perdis Lip Service, Simple Facial Wipes, Tupperware drink bottle (BPA free & easy to clean too)

Lets be Frank

Well hello beautiful lovelies. The other morning I went to check my post office box very early with the kids, and found I had a parcel waiting for me, and what a parcel it was. Honestly Frank have the best packaging for their products. From the express bag covered in pretty Frank icons, to their natural coloured paper sachet bags full of body scrub goodness, to their user friendly inviting product pamphlets. Honestly these guys have branding down pat. Their product pamphlets are so easy to read and without any nonsense, straight to the point and beautifully laid out. Ive put a pic here for you to see what Im talking about. Hello Amazing right?

So easy and enjoyable to follow and they look great!

Enough about packaging, my sister always said I’m a sucker for branding, I just love pretty bottles and packets and labels, its part of the experience! See, I mean check out their express bag below….

The Frank express bag

Anyhoo back to Frank. If you haven’t heard about Frank, then let me be the bearer of excitement….I came across Frank a year or so ago. A close friend of mine told me about Frank original body scrub, in fact I picked her up from the airport and she had only on board baggage and had packed her Frank with her. She gave me a cuddle, and straight away zipped open her bag to show me this amazing product. She told me about the way her skin had improved and her kids used it too! She told me its even helped with her scarring and stretch marks. I had to try it.

I ordered an original body scrub from the Frank website, honestly their online shopping site is one of the best and user friendly too, it cost me around $15, and it came so quick, I think turn around was 3 days. You use as much as want and scrub your entire body with it. Entire!! like everywhere!! You then leave it on to dry for 5-10 minutes and wash off. Afterwards you feel and smell amazingly lush, and so does your shower!There is a slight mess, but beauty is pain ladies and gentleman! And I’m happy to clean my shower more often in exchange for luscious skin. Frank is so lovely and luscious that  my boyfriend got hooked pretty quick. I Frank usually 2-3 times a week. But my boyfriend Franks more than me, its a personal preference. And I must say he always smells amazing 🙂 Your skin just feels rejuvenated and free and moisturised. Its a coffee based body scrub with the added benefits of vitamin E and sweet almond oil. They have since added other body scrubs to their range including, coconut, peppermint and even cacao. If anyone has tried these please comment and let me know.

Original Body Scrub

The boy and I Franking away!

So the other day I went to order more body scrub and came across their facial products. You can use the body scrub granules on your face, but when you are not in the mood to scrub I thought the facial scrub was a great alternative. I bought the face scrub, facial wash and mosituriser in a bundle pack. I think all together with the body scrub it cost me around $80-$90. When you think about it 4 all natural Australian made beauty products for that price is actually a really good price point.

How pretty are they?! The Frank face products and the Body Scrub

The creamy face cleanser smells amazing, and is safe to use morning and night it has so many amazing ingredients; Coconut, grape seed and sweet almond oils which are packed with vitamins and minerals. Green coffee extract which is good for targeting acne and rejuvenating the skin. Marshmallow root and echinacea extract which reduces skin puffiness and inflammation, helps dry skin and aids in the healing process of acne scarring. I loved the feel of this on my skin whist applying it to my face, and also after I had washed it off. It has charcoal added to unclog your pores and draw out anything left over from your makeup or other impurities.

Frank Creamy Face Cleanser

The facial scrub smells like a creamier version of the Frank body scrub and gentler. It is recommended to use 2-3 times a week, and leave on for 3 minutes after applying before washing off. The amazing ingredients in this include Koalin clay, rosehip oil, ground robusta coffee, and again those same amazing oils found in the face wash. I love the feel of this on my skin, I tend to use my body scrub on my face but now I will be using this little baby!

The daily moisturizer is recommended morning and night, and has a light fragrance to it. Which is good for me as I don’t really like a lot of fragrance to my face considering the amount of other products I will add in my morning make up routine. I struggle to find a moisturiser I stick with, and at night use my own blend of facial oil as mentioned in my previous post . The moisturiser contains green coffee extract, those three oils again as listed in the scrub, Vitamin E , and cocoa & shea butter. This moisturiser is so gentle, it’s also an excellent product for people with sensitive skin.

Frank daily moisturiser

All in all my skin feels amazing this morning, soft and hydrated, and I feel like this Frank facial range is here to stay in my household along with the Frank body scrub. I know I know its early days, but usually I will know if a product feels good on my skin or not.

Frank if you’re hearing me I’d really love a rose water spray and luscious eye cream added to your collection and then I would be a content woman!

In the meantime if anyone knows of a natural, light and not overly expensive eye cream please let me know in the comments below 🙂

Happy franking 🙂

xxLumoo