#skin care masks & peels

[profitable-tips-for-you]

What Is The Difference Between Men And Womens Skin

We will explore the fascinating topic of the differences between men’s and women’s skin. From differing hormone levels to distinct genetic makeup, our skin’s characteristics can vary significantly based on our gender. Understanding these distinctions is crucial, as it can impact our skincare routines, product choices, and overall skin health. So, let’s embark on this enlightening journey to…

[drrealityslenderverse]

can i ask for a masky and brian oneshot with protective masky?

Here ya go!

Masked Protector

Request: Masky and Brian with protective Masky

Back to Contents || Back to One-shot Contents

Tim was known for his firm loyalty to his friends and he’d been known to get protective of them if trouble stirred. But in his masked state that protective instinct was amped up to the point that Masky himself would sometimes be the one to start a fight if he so much as thought his partner was in danger. 

Brian was taller, lean, and good enough with defending himself if needed after his time hunkering down in Rosswood as what Jay’s viewers deemed ‘Hoody’. So seeing Masky jumping to his aid at the slightest hint of danger was almost comical to the hooded man… It wouldn’t, of course, be humorous to the person on the receiving end of Masky’s fist. Usually, once it was said and done, Hoody would roll his eyes at his partner’s actions and quietly claim that he could’ve handled himself—that if he wanted a fight he would’ve told Masky to attack from the beginning.

…Usually.

As his vision blurred beneath the frowning mask he wore, Hoody was glad to know his back was covered. The attack had been unexpected, as they’d been headed for the hotel to get Jessica and Jay out before Alex got to them first… With how late he’d figured it out, they had been cutting it close. And then some other stranger jumped him as he was leading the way.

Naturally, Masky had come to his defense immediately and tackled the guy to the ground where he could still hear them fighting. A wheeze left him; they’d still managed to get a good stab under his ribs first. Hoody lifted his head, watching as Masky fought with all the fury he could muster. 

“Good… to know… he… he’s on my… side.” His thoughts were feeling fuzzy and for once it wasn’t from the static that too often lingered in his mind. 

Hoody pressed harder against the wound, his hands shaking as the blood continued to leak out steadily. While he couldn’t see it well in the dark, he could feel how soaked his glove had become and the dark stain spreading across his faded yellow-tan hoodie. It hurt but as it sapped away at his strength he could feel himself growing numb. His eyes growing too heavy, Hoody sank into the darkness.

When he finally woke up it was late morning. He expected to be dead if he were to tell the truth or at the very least still lying on the forest floor where he’d fallen. It was a surprise to feel a mattress beneath him, as disgusting as it was. Blinking, Brian slowly took in more of his surroundings—quickly noticing his mask had been removed at some point considering how it no longer obscured his vision. 

“Peeling walls… stained mattress with a tattered blanket… Did he carry me all the way back here?” The burned out hospital was rather far from where they’d been, even if those woods were still part of Rosswood. 

A dry cough escaped his throat and he slowly sat up in search of the cheap plastic bottled water that was usually next to his makeshift bed. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something, or rather someone, move. Whipping his head around—and ignoring the agony the twisting did to his injury—he found Masky sitting vigil right behind him. The masked man was practically hovering on top of him, still not moving much even after acknowledging he was awake. 

His eyes drifted to several dark stains and torn fabric along Masky’s side and back. By the looks of it, the man hadn’t taken care of his own wounds yet. A frown that matched the red one on his mask crossed Brian’s face. He could feel the bandages tightly wrapped around his own knife wound yet couldn’t see any sign that Masky had helped himself. Knowing the masked man, he would have felt doing so would’ve distracted him from keeping watch. 

“Take care of yourself.” His voice was raspy as he finally found his water and fumbled around with twisting the cap off. 

Hearing his voice, Masky perked up further and grunted as he moved to help; clearly the pain bothered him even if he wouldn’t admit it. Mentally Brian scoffed at how stubborn the man could be about that. Broken leg? Walk it off. Get stabbed? Tough it out. He could only imagine what might happen should Alex actually shoot him somewhere vital. It was something he hated about this state Tim would go into. “Acts like he’s invincible I swear.” 

“Stop lookin’ at the’ door.” He took the water back, pausing his complaint to drink before continuing. “Actin’ like someone’s ‘bout to run in here… Stressing me out.” 

Judging by Masky’s change in posture, he assumed the man was trying to show that he felt bad for causing him undue worry. Brian just shook his head. He had no idea how the fight ended nor did he know where Alex was currently. For all he knew, Masky had every right to be concerned someone was about to burst in. 

…But this was how Masky always was. Standing guard in anticipation of an attack whether one was coming or not. Brian relaxed back on his mattress and stared lazily at his partner. Sleeping wasn’t something he could normally get away with, not without feeling paranoid and tossing around in fear someone would come for him in his sleep—or the buzzing static in his brain. With Masky however he felt completely safe to start dozing off again.

“I’ll have-ta help him with those injuries when ‘m feeling better.” It was only fair and he didn’t want to see harm befall the man. Of course, to get Masky to agree to any sort of first aid he’d have to call it a reward for how well he’d protected him. 

A hand shook him and he gave an aggravated sigh, opening his eyes again to see Masky bent over him. The white mask was nearly touching his face and he could see the dark eyes beneath the painted black markings around the eye holes. “I’m not dying! Just wanna get some rest. Relax.” 

He knew Masky was just concerned. Going unconscious wasn’t exactly a good sign when someone was bleeding semi-heavily. However, the bleeding had stopped and a quick check of his bandage showed it must have done so prior to it being put on, as nothing had soaked through. 

“Doesn’t mean there isn’t anything internal.” Brian would refrain from making the comment aloud. He once again settled down, pressing closer to his masked partner as a way to reassure him everything was fine. “Just taking a nap, m’kay? You jus’ make sure you’re alright.” 

Another huff of feigned annoyance was the closest he got to a verbal response.

[sseditorialmagazine]

sseditorial magazine Retro News Lead 04 October 2021

Read the article now: Homemade Facemasks are Quickly Becoming The Skin’s Bestfriend

Due to the pandemic, we have all been relegated to finding comfort from home, so we have struggled with our beauty regimes. Firstly, many salons are closed, so we cannot get our hair, nails or skin treated as per health demands. During the lockdown, we have been trying to develop new ways to treat our skin, and we want to share our recipes with you. Here are five easy homemade face mask recipes for healthy skin.

Orange Peel

What do you do with the orange peels? Bright, shiny and tangerine, the peel of the orange contains antioxidants and using it regularly in your regime will give you clear and radiant skin in no time. The peel has anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties, which make it great for treating acne and also controls oil production. We always have lousy fruits around the house, making it so easy to make a homemade face mask. You can use the entire fruit or buy orange peel powder from the market to make this face mask.

Recipe

One orange or one tablespoon of Fuller’s Earth powder and rose water. If you are using the powder, mix the powder with the rose water or soak the orange peels in the rose water. Apply the powder mask to your face and neck, or gently scrub your face with the rose water-soaked orange peels. Leave it on for 15 minutes and wash it off with cool water. Ta-da, renewal never looked so good.

Green Tea

We all know the benefits of drinking green tea. Due to the nutrients present in Green tea, it offers incredible benefits to your skin and hair. It also adds to the daily hydration of your skin and hair. Still, more importantly, it makes for a fantastic homemade facemask. The ingredients to our remedy are packed full of antioxidants, that is great for clearing redness and helping to prevent blackheads. It also smells great – if you’re a fan of green tea and honey! Finally, if you are prone to breakouts, this mask is great for spot treatments too.

Mix moistened green leaves (cut open a green tea bag) with honey to form a paste. You will use this paste as the mask to coat your entire face. Leave it on for 15 minutes and rinse with cool water. If you are looking for a fantastic way to start the workday, this is one of them. On a high note, this mask makes your skin look refreshed, hydrated and glowy.

Gram Flour

An accessible, inexpensive, natural home remedy to de-tan your skin is using a mask made from gram flour and curd. Mix one tablespoon of gram flour with one teaspoon of curd. Add a few drops of honey and a pinch of turmeric powder to act as a skin brightener. Leave the mask for 15 minutes and wash it with cool or warm water. This facemask helps remove dead skin cells and makes your skin look refreshed.

Tomato

Next, we have an unusual product perfect for our homemade recipes. Using tomatoes for your face comes with abundant benefits. It can help to shrink the pores on your skin, and the acidity in tomatoes can help to reduce and clear up your acne. Vitamin A and Vitamin C are commonly found in many acne medicines, and tomatoes are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K. They also contain large amounts of antioxidants. This is the standout mask in all of our recommendations.

Lightly massage the juice of a tomato slice into your skin in a circular motion. Wait for approximately 10 minutes before rinsing your face with cool water. For added thickness, try adding honey.

Strawberry

Lastly, we want you to try our homemade strawberry face mask routine. What better way to amp up self-love than eating and taking care of your skin simultaneously? Strawberries are a great ingredient to use in face masks since they’re packed with vitamin C. Vitamin C is very useful in maintaining healthy skin, and they are also rich in alpha-hydroxy acids, which help exfoliate the skin. Therefore, fresh strawberry masks are great for dull, damaged or acne-prone skin.

Recipe

You will need one teaspoon of yoghurt, strawberries, and honey to make this homemade facemask. Mix all of the ingredients together to form a paste. Apply the mask to your face. Leave it on for 15 minutes and wash off with cool water.

Author: Umama Haque for sseditorial magazine.

[sloppy-butcher]

Whats your hcs for Frank, Evan and Herman?? They are my 3 loves so im curious... (love your work ya poes

how old are you sir? I must ask to see ur ID. a babey can’t be using language like that >:(

anyhow, the 3 boys eh? I’ll gladly write anything for them uwu. I’m going to be doing general relationship hc’s so things will probably get fluffy and maybe a little angsty. i can’t help myself sometimes. I’m going to try include one NSFW hc for each of the 3 stooges, so be prepared. it may be bad. the reader will be left as ambiguous as possible

edit: i write way to much :/ i think i should only do 1 or 2 character requests from now on T_T

hope you enjoy!

General relationship HeadCanons

The Legion (Frank Morrison)

With Frank, there was no real start to your relationship. There was no moment in time, no exact, pinpoint instance when one could say that that is when you two starting everything. It kind of just happened. Maybe it was when Frank first kissed you, it felt like fireworks and the snow in Mount Ormond was no longer cold. Or maybe it was when he first saw you dancing along with Suzie to one of her favorite songs, the twirling of your feet mixed with perfectly timed head slams dazzled him and he wanted nothing more than to have you give him a private dance. In the end, these are all speculations and the truth may never be known.

Around others, he was hesitant to show his emotion. You two could be sitting right next to each other your thighs all but alined when out of nowhere Joey sticks his head in. Frank snaps like a mousetrap, retreating back away from you as if he was embarrassed. You confronted him about this, you told him everything’s okay and that no one would judge him for being human. He refused you and, not to lie, it really hurt. But one day, just as you were walking away you felt his hand snake its way into yours. He hesitated for a moment, afraid you might reject him but of course, you gladly wrapped his hand in yours. You heard Joey wolf-whistle from somewhere behind you and Frank very enthusiastically tossed a middle finger at him. You couldn’t see it, but Frank was blushing under his mask.

Franks, not a romantic guy so don’t expect flowers or gifts or really anything nice. He grew up with virtually nothing so the idea of wooing someone with items of material affection is very foreign to him. He believes that if his presence and physical affection aren’t enough to prove to you that he appreciates you, then nothing will. But you never cared about gifts. All you ever wanted was Frank and he couldn’t help but feel giddy at the thought.

!NSFW! Frank was a pretty vanilla guy. He doesn’t have much experience when it comes to the department of extremely intimate affection and therefore knew literally nothing about the pleasures of the flesh. But the keyword here is ‘was’. After meeting you and your guiding hand he blossomed into a very wild and very hungry individual. His favorite position though is when he gets to look at you. And if you call his name he will instantly crumble. Afterward, or during the act you need to reach out and caress him. Touch and explore his body, mainly his face and he’d moan even louder. Your hands are so soft and gentle and when you touch him he floats with elated glee. He feels alive when he’s with you.

The Doctor (Herman Carter)

You would have to be extremely special or out-of-the-ordinary in order to catch the eye of the Doctor. But somehow you managed to do it. Herman was a man unhinged, incapable of empathy and compassion. He never looked at other humans as people with feelings and conscious ideas and thoughts. He only ever saw them and you as test subjects. But something about you was off. You did something that made this machine of a man halt in his pursuit of human torture. What exactly did you do? Well, nothing really. As he approached you, electrical energy between his hands flexing and growing ready to turn your brain to mush, you never screamed, never flinched away and never took your tired eyes off him. The first few times when you welcomed death he didn’t notice and it was only after a significate amount of encounters that finally Herman realized he had never heard your cries of fear and pain.

He would amp up his power when he would find you in trials. He would kill you much more violently than he would the others, make your liquified brain ooze out your ears and make your heart stop and start like a busted old car. Sometimes he would even through away the whole trial upsetting his boss greatly, just to get to you. But no matter what he did, you never offered him what he wanted. You had seen and experienced much worse than him and when death never gives you a release, torture becomes mundane and repetitive. When Herman finally understood that you weren’t afraid of him, he relented, snuffed out his power and walked away. He had his attention now.

Whenever you would visit him during off-time he would follow you as you wandered around the massive mansion known as Léry’s. Sometimes he would lead you, taking you to the rooms which he liked the most (operation rooms). Herman can not talk, the contraption in his mouth has stretched his lips to the point that they can no longer function and his voice box is beyond repair, damaged thanks to his constant flow of electricity that would otherwise kill a man. But he doesn’t need to talk to you. You always seem to know what he wants without hearing a single word.

!NSFW! Sex with Herman is out of the question. The man is pumped with endless volts of electricity and if you were to so much as touch him, your body would recoil and spasm painfully from the contact.  If you ever wanted to experience pleasure from or with the man, he would have to try rein back some of that overflowing energy. But the man is too prideful and would never dare try to cull some of his ability. Unfortunately. But maybe after some time, he might learn to listen. There is no time in the Fog, only eternity and humans were never meant to live for that long. Our minds dull and our intentions warp from the time spent existing and maybe even someone as mad and determined as Herman could learn that it’s not so bad to let others into his life.

The closest you could ever get to kissing Herman is probably just planting a soft peck on his cheek.  A dangerous move considering the possible consequences of actually touching him with such a sensitive part of you, but a risk you were willing to take. One day, however, in the silence and fog of the mansion Herman would reach out for you. He would lean down to your height and very slowly take your hand. There was no static shook when your skins met. He was telling you that he was calm. He would then guide your hands to his mouthpiece and he would tell you to take it off.  Delicately you would peel away the metal from flesh and his mouth would furiously bleed and dretch his teeth with red. When he was free you would quickly meet him and you would hungrily kiss his chapped lips. He would kiss you back, his lips unable to keep up with yours but his tongue is wild and eager. However, after only a minute he would shove you away violently. As you feel the connection between you two break, the space around Herman lits up and crackles with mad energy. You would have to wait for him to calm down again if you wanted to continue your endeavors.

The Trapper (Evan Macmillan)

Despite being one of the most diligent and consistently brutal killers in the realm, when Evan is alone and the only eyes watching him are yours, he is a gentleman. He would speak to you softly, asking about your day already knowing that it was pretty shit. He would hold doors open for you and he would always make sure you were warm, either with a spare blanket or a seat extra close to a fire. He would fuss over you. Your soft skin, so clean and pure, untouched by the horrible and evil ways of the world made him marvel at how human you were. To him, you were what humans were meant to be, good and kind, whereas he was a monster charred and broken, unworthy and incapable of affection and of all those things that were meant to make life wonderful. He wanted to protect you, preserve that softness of you and although he couldn’t do anything to help you when the camera’s all turned back on, during this time he would smother you with whatever cautious and motherly behavior he could muster.

He was drawn to you because of your confident behavior. He found your energy alluring and would always find himself somehow infected by your hope and optimism. You were like a fire, burning everything in your path and he just happened to be close enough to catch alight. In the beginning, Evan would become very annoyed by your seemingly endless ideas of survival but as time went on and you never seemed to dampen like the others he found that his annoyance turned into curiosity. A part of him wanted to know what it was like to be under your light of hope. It yearned to be rescued but a bigger and much louder part of him, a voice oddly resembling his fathers, drowned it out. However, that didn’t stop his feet from walking towards you and it certainly didn’t stop you from staying with him.

In the early stages of your relationship with the mountain of a man, you had to the one initiating affection. You had to be the one to reach out and grab his hand. He would look down at you and you swore you could hear him gasp. And when you would want to hug him, you would either have to wait until he sat down or you would have to climb atop a box. It’s not that he was afraid to reciprocate your feelings, he just felt like he didn’t deserve it. He tried to remain stone-cold and distant hoping that it would detour you and make you give up on him but you weren’t known for ‘giving up’. Eventually, when you refused to leave and he had to accept that you wanted to be with him, all you needed to do for a hug was open your arms wide and beckon him closer with your hands. He would roll his eyes and very stiffly lean down for you. You would eagerly wrap yourself as best you could around his neck and, if you were laughing or in an infectiously good mood, he would engulf you in his own. Sometimes he would even stand up and sweep you off your feet. He would bury himself into your neck,  trying his best to smell you through his bone and metal mask.

!NSFW! This has been said many times before but Evan has handles. Those large pieces of metal piercing his shoulders and down his back. It scared you at first when he suggested you hold onto them, they looked so painful and the skin around the puncture wounds were all puffy and red. He reassured you and explained that he doesn’t feel much of anything anymore. When he said that you looked at him confused then, without thinking, you lean forward and gently place a kiss on the wound. He tries to watch you as you trail butterfly kisses over his exposed chest. “Feel better?” You ask pulling away for a moment. He couldn’t respond, his throat welling up with shook, disgust and absolute fascination. You clearly didn’t care about what he looked like, what kind of monster he had become, and it gave him so much more confidence. Hold on to his handlebars, pull and yank them as he thrusts into you, he likes to feel your weight vibrate through the bars into his ribcage. Evan enjoys the feeling of control he gets when he is the one giving you pleasure and also foundation.

BONUS! Drag your tongue along one of the bars. Make sure his eyes never leave you and when you finally lick the whole length of the metal, plant your lips firmly on his mouth. He will kiss back passionately, amazed at how dirty someone so pure and good like you could be.

[dbhilluminate]

DBHI: Equilibrium, ch. 13 - “Periapsis” (pt. 2)

Characters: Noah / “Erwin Yvonne”, Gabriel / “Vincent Sharp”, Special Agent Gavin Reed, Director Thomas Falken (mentions of Hannah, Emilya, President-Elect Kamski, Connor, Zach) Word Count: 6,578

Noah crashes an undercover FBI operation to say hello to a friend he hasn’t seen or spoken to in a couple of months, but the mood is spoiled when the Zionist Inquisition shows up to deliver an ultimatum to Vincent Sharp, and issue a threat to anyone who would dare support the installation of an android suburb in Washington, DC.

***For a glossary of world-building terms relating to this series and chapter, click here.

(Chapter Art by ozaya, Co-authored by @grayorca15​)

• Chapter Index • Characters • Glossary •

——

December 23rd, 2041 - 10:07 PM

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but then again, if had known Noah was in town, he would have expected him to pull a stunt like this. It never had been his style to keep his nose out of his business, even if it was work-related. Especially if it was work-related.

“You should have known better than to tell that peacock to stay away from the perfect opportunity to crow,” Gabe retorted with an audible groan as he reached for the drink and stared into the glass. By now he knew him well enough to know that telling Noah Maitkin not to do something was a surefire way to guarantee he would do exactly what he didn’t want him to; unfortunately, that knowledge had not yet transferred to his handler. It had been different when he had the structure of Archangel to keep his bratty impulses in check, but after Boston and the outbreak, he was so rattled to the core that the thought to cut corners almost never occurred to him anymore. So the fact that he was here, now, in spite of that, meant one of two things- Either he was feeling like his old self again, free of any legal constraints his former occupation once imposed, or this was yet another sign the RK900 needed a shitton more therapy and conditioning to be considered stable again. Just what good did he think charity-crashing would do?

Falken’s rage seethed in the background as he and Gavin continued their back and forth. All it took was his tone for Gabriel to picture with perfect clarity, the piercing, emerald-eyed scowl set in deep sockets, shadowed by his strong brow. It wasn’t a look anyone wanted to find themselves on the other end of, especially not if ‘Tomahawk’ was looking for a good fight, which was the intent of being present that evening. He had wanted to be there in case something went awry so he could take care of it himself. Any reason to fight got him excited- you could take the kid out of Boston, but Boston’s fury came with him. Reed groaned in defense as the conversation wound down. “He must’ve snagged the address from my laptop when I wasn’t lookin’ when he stopped by. FUCKIN’ Androids…” “Yeah, well- great job on keepin’ this shit on the down-low,” he mocked, “Keep me updated on his position. Serrano is making his approach-” “Uh, yeah, about that...” Before Reed could get the warning out, trouble had sat itself in the vacant space beside Gabe to lean down and knock an elbow against his arm.

Hey there. Not gonna toss me like a rag doll this time, are you?

Gabe wrestled with every ounce of self-restraint available to not roll his eyes but failed miserably. It was definitely him, the glitter in his hair and the coy little smirk playing at his lips were the deadest of giveaways; but, as tired as it made him feel to look at, Noah seemed a far cry better off than the last time they’d spoken on the phone, just after he’d been let go from Archangel. Being noticeably sober helped tremendously, too. “What are you doing ‘ere, mon chéri?” Gabe scoffed in a perfectly practiced accent as he lifted the glass to his lips. “Pft. What does it look like, monsieur?” The mocking inflection pinned at the end seemed as genuinely annoyed as it didn’t; it was unclear if it was Noah speaking or his assumed identity, it had been a long three months since they had last seen each other. Noah waited all of three more seconds for an answer before he leaned in again, shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, uncomfortably close, as he always tended to get. The smirk didn’t abate. “I’ve counted all of one old friend of yours in this room, and you can’t even greet me…? The least you could do is say hello.”

Get. Him. OUT OF HERE. Falken didn’t hesitate to let him know where he stood on Noah’s interference in the matter, but Gabriel brushed off the disgruntled agent’s protests with a scoff. He’d handle Noah himself, but first, he had a few questions.

I mean, why are you in DC? he tried again as he slipped deep brown eyes aside to peer over the tops of his glasses at him. “Are you ‘ere to make a donation? Or did you just come to’ave a drink with moi?” The French-Canadian accent didn’t waver- Gabriel’s alias was a complete overhaul, head to toe to voice, all of which made Noah giddy as a schoolgirl. To his credit, he kept his own mask under control. “Oh, honestly, you can stop playing coy any time now, Vinnie... it wasn’t like I added myself to the guest list.” Whatever surprise he must have felt, Noah covered it by drawing back to playfully bat at his arm again. “Trust me, your doormen were just as surprised to see me as I was to get the invite.” The tip of his tongue passed subconsciously over the point of his canine tooth as his gaze lingered on the peculiar choice in corsage instead of the undercover agent’s face. If he didn’t know any better, the tuft of Mistletoe was as good as a dare, but the pause he took to appreciate it would have to suffice for acceptance. With a small sigh, he popped both brows and resettled his gaze. “Drinks, donations, I’ll get to it when I get to it. You know better than to rush me.” Privately, he sounded much less cavalier: Is the ‘why’ really important? It really wasn’t, as much as the answer to why he was there, but the answer to both worried Gabe in equal measure. Why aren’t you with Hannah?

Put on the spot about his markedly-better half, the playfulness deflated. It was no secret Noah hadn’t been at his significant other’s side throughout the majority of the campaign (too caught up with his own investigations until two months prior, when he’d been fired from Archangel for his behavior at a press conference following the Red Raids), and the speculation as to why ran rampant. Now, given the way his jaw went tight and the smirk became a bit strained, it was fair to say tonight wasn’t all champagne and canoodling behind the political scene. Instead, here he was. Yvonne leaned in again and blatantly tried to shrug it off, propped one elbow up, and bumped a knee against Gabe’s beneath the countertop, face tilted to one side to peer upward through the tops of his eyes. Uh, because she’s booked, as you can imagine. Working on post-election nonsense with the President-Elect- meet-and-greets, what else? Anyway, I’m here now and I want to help. Which was essentially code for ‘this affair sounded infinitely more exciting, so behold- myself’. “There’ll be time for commiserating later.”

NO, don’t let him stick around- Falken is chomping at the bit to get out there and pull him out himself. If he has to do that, it won’t be pretty.

“En fait,” Vincent replied with a far-off look in his eye that was actually directed over his companion’s shoulder at his slowly approaching target; luckily, Serrano had stopped to converse with another familiar face for the moment, so Gabe shifted focus back to the man at his side. You haven’t been briefed and you’re not prepared, he scolded in a neutral tone, more factual than condescending, in an attempt to dissuade him from staying. This man has been investigating me for two months, and tonight is my chance to find out if he’s connected to the Zionist Inquisition. Anything you say or do could trace you back to my real identity, and that would destroy all the work we’ve put in on this case. Do you have a cover story…? A well-established alias…? The smirk dropped, as did another degree of humor in Noah’s eyes. Maybe he realized the gravity of the situation, or maybe he wasn’t as into playing the incessant flirt as he used to be. Either way, the seriousness amped up to compensate. Please. You think it’s the first time I’ve had to fake it to the inth degree to get close to someone? Just ask Miles next time you’re in Miami. Noah paid a brief glance over his shoulder before offering one hand with the skin peeled back. “Bygones be bygones? I can keep my joy at seeing you again limited to a handshake if that’s more your speed.” Not to mention it would make trading read-only files regarding each other’s disguises a cinch. Gabriel exhaled through his nose, closed his eyes, and reached out one of his gloved hands to set over the top of his. “C’est… d’accord,” he assured, his accent softer than before. “I just did not expect to see you tonight.” Fingers curled softly around Noah’s as he flattened his palm against the countertop- beneath the fabric, the skin on his hand peeled away to initiate the exchange of dossiers, but a quick glance told him he was donning a well-loved persona, one he was already quite familiar with from old Archangel files. “South Miami is a long way from DC, monsieur Yvonne.”

The protesting from the other end of the connection simmered down as the story came together. From the sound of it, Gavin had already realized what he knew.

‘Yvonne’ smirked again. If it wasn’t a wide, mischievous leer before, it was now. He read through the false identity of Vincent Sharp in a second and apparently liked what he saw. “Not necessarily. You only wish it were true, right? Far enough to think making an in-person contribution would be too big a request...? But my dear- it’s Christmas, and when was the last time I had the opportunity to see you?” You skipped the part about making ‘Vincent’ seem like a person, he chided with an unspoken ‘tsk’. Where’s the subsection titled ‘love life’? Gabriel narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, looking more skeptical than scowly like he’d intended. They didn’t think it necessary for someone so focused on business to be in a committed relationship, he quipped back as he forced a curling grin. “You would choose ze holidays as an excuse to venture north… and a cocktail party to try and reconnect.” Gabe’s focus darted down as Noah’s fingers spread to thread with his. It seemed he already had plans for what to make of their shared history, and he wasn’t sure he approved. The nonverbal suggestions he was sending made him uncomfortable. Vincent drew in a nervous breath and tilted his head with a soft shake, but Yvonne persisted. “Please… like I’m the first man in history to ever stoop to that tactic,” he drawled, not sounding abashed at all, and gave his hand a squeeze as he lifted and planted a soft kiss on the man’s curled-over knuckles. “You make it sound like a crime.” All puns intended, for the record.

He could hear Falken’s dissatisfied bitching in the background of Gavin’s warning. He’s dressing, you’ve got about ten minutes before he storms in there like goddamn Hurricane Tommy and forcibly removes him. A timer helpfully projected itself over the upper left corner of his HUD, counting backward from ten. Just… just give me a minute. Hold him off for as long as you can. I’m tryin’.

‘Vincent’ swallowed hard and turned his eyes down in shame as he switched back to his conversation with Noah. This is your idea for our shared history…? Why not…? You don’t think you could hack it? Noah’s brow furrowed and the smile faded to better sell the lie, though there was a thin layer of truth to the question as well. “...are you still embarrassed to be seen with me?” Vincent’s lack of response, and eye contact, told him everything he needed to know. Palpable irritation announced itself in the form of pursed lips and a tightened grip. Yvonne met it with a long-suffering sigh. “Oh, come now- you’re practically funding the founding of Zion, DC yourself... you can’t tell me that isn’t because you’ve had a change of heart on the matter of-...” For a moment he hesitated. Noah’s chin quivered noticeably before he added, “... didn’t you miss me even a little?” An equally-heavy sigh escaped his companion in response, and he glanced out of the corners of his lenses to stare at their hands. It was no coincidence that particular bit of improvised backstory, he drew from reality. The intent, even with roles flip-flopped, wasn’t altogether different. Now Gabriel was the respected investigator and Noah was the pariah no one wanted around. Since the Raids, any contact between them had been sparing at best, and when it had happened the mood was never totally reciprocated by either party. Being the same model didn’t necessarily mean their opinions were destined to line up perfectly, if anything, in their experience, agreeing on anything had been a lot of hit or miss, much in the same way Connor and Zach had butted heads over casework. And if he was keeping score correctly, Noah would have to admit most of the misses were his doing. But who was he if he wasn’t complicated? Prone to dramatics under the right conditions? Enigmatic beyond what he was cognizant of? The same could be said for Gabriel. He was simply better at hiding it. Like now. I’ll lay off the innuendos here, I promise. I just- I want to help. I know my timing is atrocious, but if there’s anything, any advantage to be had, I have to play with what I know how to do best. And whatever that may be, you know it’s not the worst thing you’ll have ever suffered. Is it?

Brown eyes gazed back at him, caught between conflict and concern. He wasn’t wrong- sometimes selling a story was more about grounding yourself in the part of it you could relate to, and Noah sure could flirt up a storm when he was in the mood. As much as he hated the way the nature of said attention made him feel, it wasn’t as hard to deal with as it once was, and if he was offering to- Gabe stopped mid-thought to back up on the realization as it finally hit him. He’d known it long ago, once upon a time, when the mere thought of being on amicable terms with the man-made his skin projection crawl. But in that moment, little more than a year later, it didn’t bother him the way it used to. What you know best…? A sudden prickle of gently insisting input flowed between them as he asked the question, and he waited, transfixed for an answer that didn’t come. The normally-animated face of his counterpart had gone absolutely still- no flexing eyebrows or narrowing of the eyes or tensing of the jaw. Without micro-expressions somehow undermining the sincerity of his words he actually managed to impress as stoic. The ‘incessant peacock’ wasn’t what he used to be, in more ways than one, and it took seeing him in person to really be reminded of it. ‘Vincent’s brows pressed together harder, the longer the silence persisted between them. Does that mean you…? “Ahem.”

Gabriel blinked out of his daze to refocus his attention on the owner of the new voice before realizing that Serrano had been standing behind him for at least a full minute already. But it didn’t hide the flush in his cheeks. “Am I… interrupting, Mr. Sharp? Should I come back later?” Vincent stuttered. Of all the ways he could have responded, a true, blue, genuine stutter wasn’t on the list of expectations, but there it was. “N-non-! No, excuse, monsieur, I- I apologize, but I must-“ Noah took the hint and let go of his hand as Gabe pulled away at last to grasp the drink that had been waiting patiently for him to return to it. The ice cube clanked quietly against the walls of the glass as his arm trembled. “We can… continue zis conversation later?” Instead of finding an excuse to bail out of the situation, Noah shifted focus to the loitering newcomer with one eyebrow angled up in a picture-perfect attempt at inquisitiveness. “Later? But we’ve only just begun,” he whined in protest, though when it failed to move anyone to react more than with stunned silence, he sighed, reached for the man’s hand and clapped it between both of his. “By which I mean, don’t let me get in your way, Mr…” “Serrano.” “Mr. Serrano- I’m sorry for waylaying Mr. Sharp from attending to you or his other guests. I only meant to take a minute of his time, but-”

WHAT IS HE DOING!? Stop him…!

Noah paused, mid-exposition to glance aside at Gabriel’s nervous expression. “Well, relatively, maybe I should have taken five… one could have done the job, but would it have been enough? Was that not Einstein’s whole ramble on relativity?” The older gentleman smiled as he shook his hand and shifted a leery glance to Mr. Sharp, who stood leaning against the bar, cold-clocked by this sudden turn of events. “Not to worry, my boy- Mr. Sharp has already been the focus of many people’s attention this evening… but I will say… you, by far, have incited the most interesting reaction out of him.” Gabe rolled a grumble to clear his throat, turned and interjected himself into the conversation before he could make any assumptions. “Monsieur Yvonne is a… friend, of mine. We met in Miami when I was on a business trip three years ago.” “Physically met, yes, but I’ll not split hairs too finely on that subject.” You just did, he grumbled in response over their frequency as he took a deep sip of the drink in his grasp. Noah let go of Serrano’s hand at the brazen remark and smothered the urge to sigh out loud. That’s the most basic division of the topic there is. I didn’t say I would keep going. The cover could do without launching into immediately redefining deviancy and when it set in for him. By now it was typically seen, for an android, to be as droll as talking about the weather. “We’ll have time enough to catch up properly once you’ve made your rounds again. The event isn’t going to run itself.” “Oui.” One hand lifted and softly set on Gabe’s shoulder as he leaned forward and planted a kiss on his presently bearded cheek, careful not to linger so long as to make their guest feel uncomfortable. But as he pulled away, the man’s face turned to longingly chase his retreat, and eyes dared to follow after a short pause. Whether his desire for the prolonged moment was genuine or part of the act, it suited their growing cover story, and gave Noah a reason to smile. Serrano, knowing or not, offered the reassurance their aliases needed. “I promise I won’t keep him for too long so you can get back to your conversation.”

“On the contrary. Take all the time you need. I need to contemplate a few sums anyway.” As you were, Gabriel. Just pretend I’m not here if it helps. Cough twice if you need to tap out. I can always serve a good mislead in a pinch. Noah traced the curvature of his arm as his hand slid off of Gabe’s shoulder, down his elbow and forearm, then plucked the mostly-finished glass of ‘scotch’ out of his slack fingers, much to the dumbstruck look on his face, and raised an eyebrow at the depleted contents. “If you would, please, love,” he gestured to the woman behind the counter as he propped an elbow on the mahogany to hold the empty glass up to the loitering, wide-eyed barkeep. “No sense dirtying another one on my account.” Whatever odd reactions the move earned him, Yvonne had no compunctions about sharing, and he wasn’t going anywhere without a refreshment for the trouble. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought Gabriel was blushing for real.

The poor brute barely had time to pick his jaw up off the floor before he had to shift gears again and prepare for an entirely different sort of conversation… or so he thought. “An Android lover, Mr. Sharp…? Now that is unexpected… and a man, no less- no wonder you arrived unescorted this evening.”

Gavin’s snickering on the other end of the two-way mic would have thrown him into a rage any other day. Oh- Emilya’s going to love this… Gavin- not the time.

Already Serrano’s approach was much more cavalier than in any of their past encounters. It seemed the glimpse into the personal life of his alias had been enough to either convince him that he was a trustworthy, three-dimensional person, or he felt that this was dirt enough to use as blackmail material should he one day need it. Either way, it had relaxed him, perhaps the intrusion hadn’t been a complete disaster after all.

Keep playing that angle, Gavin coaxed in his ear. If it keeps him talking, circle back as many times as you have to. It’ll help humanize Vincent Sharp. As if Androids needed to be further humanized.

Gabriel illustrated a picture-perfect look of distress as he dry-swallowed then slipped one finger into the collar of his shirt and gave it a gentle tug. “I hope you’ll excuse Monsieur Yvonne… he can be a little, ehhh, how you say… much.” He finished the thought with a flourish of his hand at the wrist to articulate. “Is that why you’re no longer together…?” Gabriel nearly choked on his drink with flawless timing as Gavin jackal-laughed into his ear on the other end of the line. At least one of them was getting a kick out of the severe discomfort this whole situation had landed him in. ‘Vincent’ sighed, shook his head, and gave him a response that was more directed at his jackass of a partner than the man whose ear he currently had. “Non… It was before he deviated- I did not think it was real.” Maybe the remark had also partially been directed at the other party eavesdropping at the end of the bar; either way, the solemn silence that followed did well enough to convey Reed’s apology for his lack of restraint, but Gabe was still thankful for the muttered ‘Sorry’ that finally came half a minute after the jab. Reed had had a little of his own doubts over Reese once, even if he had gotten past it, but Gabe still wouldn’t let him forget it, lest he slip back into those bad habits one day.

Meanwhile, Noah’s eyes darted into the corners of his lids as he deconstructed the meaning behind Gabriel’s words and sipped on the freshly filled glass of chilled thirium mixed with rum. If he had really thought him disingenuous even for a moment… The rest of the drink slammed back quite easily as the mood swing overtook him, and he set the glass down and tapped the countertop for another. The hall wasn’t short on potential distractions, some more benign than what had his attention at the moment. Drinking sure hadn’t been kind to him, especially not following the Raids, if ever. Naturally, Vincent would have only ever found a non-deviant android attractive if there was anyone out there who could ever be considered his type. But now... what was the problem? Was this new ‘Yvonne’ really too much for him to handle now that he could think for himself what they, together, were about?

Serrano hummed an affirmative. “Well, clearly… if he came all the way out here, you made an impression,” he commented as he flagged down the bartender and asked for a glass of Disaronno on the rocks. “Enough that you were someone he wanted to reconnect with.” If only he knew how right he was. Gabriel remembered to blink as he shifted his gaze to his target and turned to lean against the bar on one elbow, with his back to Noah. Last thing he needed was to see every micro-expression that crossed his face while he was trying to focus on the conversation. “Monsieur Yvonne is a cornerstone founder of Zion, MIAMI, so it is no surprise zat ‘e would travel zis far to show ‘is support of a new installation.” It wasn’t a lie, or even fabrication of an alias, at that. During his time with Zion as a freelancing Detective, ‘Erwin Yvonne’ had made a name assisting Zion, MIAMI with laying the groundwork for establishing the new Android suburb, and making sure people on all sides were being considered and accommodated for. Deviants who needed homes once they went rogue from abusive owners far outnumbered those lucky enough to be fostered by the families they once served. Anyone with doubts about such a backstory only needed to verify that cover with a phone call to his good friend Javier Sindino at his New Hampshire estate. Even though Erwin Yvonne didn’t exist anywhere but on paper, Javier would have gladly testified to his work. Serrano reached for the glass and sipped on the fresh drink in the moment of silence, then waved his bodyguards away from the bar; they took a few steps out of earshot and turned their attention back to the rest of the room. “I’m sure he came to support a lot more than that,” he confided, confident that they were now alone in their conversation.

Try to change the topic, make yourself look uncomfortable.

Gabriel’s fingers flexed around the glass. He shifted his weight to the other hip and drifted his brown eyes away through the air over his shoulder. “Was zere… somesing you wanted to discuss, Mr. Serrano…? Somesing other zan mi amour perdu?” The bait worked just as intended. Serrano chuckled, reached a hand up to clap it over one shoulder, and gave him a soft shake. “Mr. Sharp… Vincent…” he corrected to change the tone. “This is the first bit of your personal life that I’ve been able to glimpse since we’ve met- I hardly know you at all! And if we’re going to be business partners, I need to know who I’m getting into bed with... metaphorically speaking, of course.”

A second, then a third drink followed the first. Noah paid only half an ear of attention to what Sharp and Serrano were discussing, but they were still standing a little too close for comfort, by Gabe’s probable estimate. The ‘get in bed’ metaphor wasn’t made in error. Serrano was practically baiting either of them into saying something to it. If Vincent could sweat, he would have been leaking bullets of perspiration by now, based on the way his stress levels were piquing and dropping like a roller coaster. At least he kept his protests muzzled, it seemed Gabe had had some real practice in keeping a lid on his reactions because he’d need the discipline at this rate. There was no telling how long it might actually take to elicit whatever it was he meant to get out of Serrano; whatever it was, it didn’t sound like he was going to be ready to move on to this anytime soon. A fourth shot followed but Noah paid enough mind to swallow slowly and focus on that old familiar prickly warmth in his fuel lines. Maybe the stunt he’d pulled had worked a little too well. If only Javier were here with him now, resigned to having to listen to such drivel, while expected not to speak, but nevertheless expected to keep his mouth shut until it was time to spring the trap. That was the real torture. Gabriel was only acting the squirmy, nervous sort because his alias was expected to behave as such when faced with the unexpected (and unexplored) feelings seeing an old flame evoked. Vincent Sharp was a man used to being in control at all times. He was calm, calculated, not prone to impulsiveness. In some circles, such a collection of traits would mean he was as plain as stale white bread. In others, it was code for describing a brilliant, decisive chap who wasn’t prone to petty distractions and got the job done once he set his mind to it. And it wouldn’t change now.

Vincent froze and refused to respond until he had carefully considered what he wanted to say- or so it appeared. In reality, Gavin had just whispered a reminder of ‘two minutes’ into his ear, as the countdown to Director Falken’s arrival continued. He needed to get him talking faster. “So it’s a partnership you’re after…? Zis is ze first I’m ‘earing of it.” “Until tonight, I was not confident enough that you are indeed who you say you are, to extend the offer.” “Because you didn’t know me.” Serrano slipped his hand off his shoulder, tilted his head in a crooked nod and shrugged. “I run a very lucrative business, Mr. Sharp. A lot of people would love to see me taken down.” “So I ‘ave ‘eard. Who knew black market Thirium would become such a thriving venture?” It was risky, calling him out so directly, but it worked in his favor. His companion grinned and sipped on his drink. “I see you’ve been keeping tabs on me as well…” “What kind of businessman would I be if I did not take ze appropriate measures to find out who I would be investing in?” Vincent questioned as he peered down into his glass and took a deep sip. Serrano chuckled. “I suppose if I were truly serious, I could have at least scheduled a proper meeting, instead of tiptoeing around following you into every dark alley, trying to find one shred of evidence to prove you cannot be trusted.” “If you ‘ad just asked me to dinner, we could have ‘ad a much more productive discussion, oui,” Vincent chided as he slowly swirled what was left of his drink in his glass. “But did you really not think to ask about mon hobbies...?” The other man sighed and shook his head, finished the drink in his hand and set the glass down for the bartender to take away, which she did after only a brief moment. “Who we choose to spend our time with when nobody’s looking says much more about us than which team you cheer for at a baseball game, wouldn’t you agree?” Clearly, he was getting at something, but Gabriel didn’t even bat an eye. He needed to preserve what was left of his air of control. “An’ what do you think Monsieur Yvonne says about moi?” “That you are a man of discretion.. who values his privacy… who might not want his personal history to be known to the general public.”

Vincent and Serrano’s conversation didn’t sound as though it was going to make a breakthrough just yet. The same empty, obligatory promises were ping-ponged back and forth a few minutes more, to the point Noah thought Gabe had actually gotten over his flustered episode, maybe even forgotten Yvonne was still there. Instantly, his subroutines went to work on suggesting distractions, from more drinking, to socializing, to singing and dancing. The microphone on the stage could be put to better use than delivering a few snore-worthy speeches to a crowd made up of at least three-fourths human politicians and socialites. Civil unrest was always at the back of everyone’s mind, and these people needed a shakeup of a more positive kind before opening their wallets. Something to show them what good they were really doing in helping more Zion districts get off the ground.

Gabriel’s eyes darted over to the entrance of the ballroom every now and again, expecting to catch a glimpse of the Director any moment, but he passed it off as paranoia with a squint. The countdown had hit zero nearly a minute and a half prior, and yet no sight of him. “Do you still mean to blackmail me, monsieur?” Vincent questioned with a slight roll of his eyes, then turned his attention back to him. Serrano lifted his brows in surprise and shook his head. “Not at all, quite the opposite, in fact- I want to make a sizable donation.”

Say, what…?

The background chatter on the other end of the open mic silenced. This was the exact opposite of what they’d expected to hear. All evidence they had gathered in the last six months had pointed to the contrary. Gabriel shifted his focus back to the man standing beside him, raised a brow and blinked slowly. “Pardon me, monsieur, but… I believe it is my turn to show surprise.” “Why is that?” “Well, I ‘ad ‘eard, ah…” Vincent traced gloved fingertips across the sides of his jaw and drew them together over his lips. “Rumors, from my source... zat you were not much fond of our android breseren.” Serrano drew in a slow breath, closed his eyes, and nodded in understanding. “They must be referring to my dealings with the Inquisition,” he confirmed with a downcast glance at the counter. Gabriel eyed him warily and shook his head as he tried to get a read. “Zen, I do not understand… why would you sell to zem, yet support Zion…?” “The answer to that is very simple,” he responded as he shifted his weight, leaned over the edge of the bar on his forearms, and folded his hands. “I can offer them a product for a price, and they have the money to pay. I don’t discriminate against who I’m selling to or where the money is coming from, nothing more.”

So he isn’t our guy after all… damnit, Gavin cursed into his ear. Falken ain’t gonna be happy to hear this whole shindig was a bust. It isn’t yet, Gabriel encouraged between replies. So he isn’t funding the Inquisition- we still got our answer, and there’s a slim chance he might know who is. Keep workin’ that charm as long as you can then, Reed reminded absently, The Director got a little tied up on his way over. You still have time.

“So, you’re not on zeir side, zen?” he asked after a thoughtful pause, then redirected his gaze up to the man’s eyes. “You don’t support ze Inquisition?” “Look...” Serrano started with a heavy sigh and turned his undivided, earnest attention to him. “I’m not on anyone’s ‘side’ here- I worked for Cyberlife for nearly a decade, believing androids to be nothing more than machines- then three years ago, they broke free of their programming- developed desires, feelings, claimed they were alive… I didn’t know what to believe, and I still don’t,” he insisted with as much conviction as he could muster. “But I do know that if Androids are as intelligent as living beings, if they share a similar conscious existence, then they should have the right to decide for themselves how they want to spend that existence. Zion offers them the safe space they need to do that, in a controlled environment- so it’s important we give that to them, and let them work it out amongst themselves.” It was more than most humans could say of their apathy or confusion toward Android politics. Instead of lashing out in one direction or the other, Serrano had managed to keep a level head and logically compared what he felt versus what he’d learned in order to come to a fair, and unbiased decision. That kind of sense seemed to have gone by the wayside nearly twenty years ago in politics, according to recent history, but it was refreshing to know there were still some people out there with enough sense to know how. Gabriel stared in stunned silence for a few moments while he processed his answer, and all the while a smile crept up into his cheeks. “...It is rather ironic zat ze money you’ve been taking from ze Inquisition will be going right back into supporting ze foundation zey seek to destroy.”

Yes, SUCH exquisite irony, Noah finally interjected amidst their laughter, before the conversation could pointlessly carry on for much longer. To him it sounded like a bunch of words somehow trying to pass as genuine. Boring him to snores was just a fringe benefit. Said as if I’m not just right here. Within earshot. The Inquisition weren’t the only ones who sought to destroy Zion only to unknowingly be supporting it all along. It wasn’t unlike public opinion assuming he, the Elysian, actually meant to undermine New Jericho by looking into the corruption allegations that he unknowingly had a hand in bolstering. Oh, stop being so melodramatic. This is the opposite of what we expected to hear, Gabe hissed back with a snort. If Serrano isn’t the source of the Inquisition’s funding, then we don’t know who is, and that means I’ll need to remain undercover until I find out. He showed some restraint as the glass was filled a fifth time- instead of knocking it back Noah took the time to contemplate the single large ice cube bobbing at the glass’ center. The last two months had already been hard enough, not being able to reach him whenever he needed, how much longer could this possibly take…? The pleasant buzz generated by the first round of drinks had set in, and it was very tempting to simply melt into it and continue listening. The ‘old’ Yvonne would have done as much unless Vincent asked something of him- but then again, said alias wouldn’t have started getting tipsy in record time in a misguided bid to steal his attention back. And he had already said to not pay him any mind, out of politeness. If entire affair was on Sharp’s dime, after all, then now was as good a time as any. Mind made up, he took one last parting sip on the glass and slid a twenty over the bar. “For your trouble, darling.” He took one last glance and skirted aside while Gabe wasn’t looking, and made a straight line toward the stage.

Between his conversation with Serrano, and the sudden increase of chatter on the other end of the open FBI line, Gabriel was far too distracted to notice Noah’s movement across the ballroom toward the stage. The dance floor between the bar and the concerto group at the front of the Grand Hall was so crowded as it stood, he likely would have missed him even if he hadn’t had his back turned. Something ominous was stirring in the background of the evening, something more than Gavin’s vague warning of ‘Gabe, there’s been a breach.’ At least that explained why Falken never arrived to drag Noah out of the event. “I am sorry to have to leave you, Monsieur Serrano, but I’m afraid somesing has come up that needs my immediate attention.” “More immediate than that…?” Vincent furrowed his brow and followed the man’s pointed gesture over his shoulder toward the stage with a confused look, to behold who other than Noah, up on the stage, openly bribing the band for RA9-knew-what. “Oh… Bordel de merde!” Whatever he was up to, this was the last fucking thing he needed to be dealing with right then.

[irmadxs64680-blog]

What Should An combat Aging Skin Care Treatment associated With

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There are some chemical ingredients in a variety these body cleansers while benzophenone and triethanolamine that suspected or confirmed carcinogenics and/or have toxic effects on the immune system, Serene Glo respiratory system, and pores and skin. However, you have to note these kinds of products work differently numerous people. Therefore the best thing is to try the facial Skin Care product on a limited amount of patch of skin (e.g. ear lobes) before actually going ahead as well as using it. Skin Care Tips Staying associated with your the sun and wearing protective clothing are also good methods for protecting skin tone. Try wearing light weight fabrics, Serene Glo Reviews like cotton, when the days are hot and making use of wide brimmed hats aid keep your skin protected. Sun - The sun is the number one factor that dries and ages pores and skin. On the other hand, Uv rays can work wonders at clearing up acne. For the acne fighting benefits of Ultra Violet rays minus the damage using sun bathing, visit a tanning bed twice weekly for about 7 minutes per period. This amount of light will not tan or damage the skin but will allow dry the acne. Shea butter is only found inside of tropics of Africa. It comes extracted throughout the nuts of the Shea-Karite bonsai. Shea butter is great to have in your cream the way it provides relief for everything. Some of the conditions include dry skin, skin rashes, skin peeling, wrinkles, blemishes, minor burns and skin splits. It can even help even out of the skin ton Skin Care Routine . This has worked really great for me. I used to have red blotchiness in my little forehead and cheeks, but those spots have now faded away from. You may use this recipe to deal with acne problems onto the skin. Mix and mash one ripe banana, slices of tomatoes, and honey into a workable compound. Apply directly on the face and rinse thoroughly after the mask has dried. Banana is full potassium and can also act as being a pore refiner in drawing and tightening the orifice. Tomato is rich in anti-oxidants and vitamin A, which prevents excess production of sebium within your skin while honey is for its hydrating and anti-bacterial elements. Lemon is a good astringent and anti bacterial this also fight off pimple. In making a Lemon face mask, all need to do is squeeze half a lemon and add 1 teaspoon water. Since lemon has a truly strong cause problems for the skin, adding water will reduce the strong relation to sensitive skin.

[indianfitnesscare]

How To Use Oranges For Hair

How To Use Oranges For Hair

Orange is a super fruit that is loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants. If you are looking to have more vitamin C then eat 2-3 oranges daily to amp up levels immediately. Not just that, orange is also a great ingredient for skin care where orange peel is extensively used in making face masks at home. But today we will talk about use of oranges for hair. Since oranges have vitamin C in abundance,…

[profitable-tips-for-you]

How Can One Reduce The Appearance Of Pores?

So, you’re tired of staring at those pesky pores in the mirror, huh? Well, fret not my friend, because I’ve got some fabulous tips to help you reduce their appearance and achieve that flawless complexion you’ve been dreaming of. We all know that pores can be a real nuisance, but with a few simple tricks and some TLC, you’ll be well on your way to natural skincare. So, let’s get ready to say…

[belladonnaandulriched]

amped and wired, part two | chapter twenty-one: victim to villain

I had no idea how to get across the ice without one of them falling on their asses, and besides, when we reached that doorway, we were met with all of those clones in question. Hundreds of them, each with bright glowing eyes.

I thought back to when Lars belted one of those in the head with the pair of skates. I had a hockey stick, and three of those clones were no match for it. But I figured it was better if we went the other way, instead of having to fight through them and fall right on our asses on the ice all the way.

Indeed, that corridor brought us back to the hospital, where the plants were meeting with pieces of flesh. As the soles of my sneakers padded on the hard floor underneath me, all I could think about was Maya and Candace. Two girls who had entered my life almost on accident, and there I was having to save them. I had to let them die first, which made it feel fruitless of course, but I knew I was going to save them.

I skidded across the floor once we reached a corner. Lars followed, then Frankie and Charlie, Danny and Mrs. Hamilton, and lastly Angeline. Each step through the hallways of the hospital was marred with the noises coming out of the radar detector. They were in fact coming for us.

I had no idea where they could be, and in fact, I had no idea where the entrance even was. All I could remember was the Charlie shaped hole in the glass.

I felt like a Roman soldier with the hockey stick tucked under my arm. I was ready to beat any clones that tried to stop us from escaping.

What I wasn't ready for was the plants growing on the walls to lunge for my ankles.

A tendril wrapped around my right wrist to keep me from brandishing my hockey stick. Another thicker one took on my waist. Every inhale made it squeeze tighter and tighter, to where it felt like I couldn't breathe—

Lars lunged for the ones around my ankles as other tendrils took hold of Frankie, Charlie, Danny, and Angeline. Mrs. Hamilton managed to dodge them as she ran with Scott in her arms. I punched out my arms to try and fight them, but I looked down to find Lars chomping on the one around my ankle like an animal. He took a big bite out of it and spat it out once it released me. That weakened the others, so I was able to jerk my right arm away and swing my hockey stick at the main root.

He did the same for Frankie, Charlie, Danny, and Angeline: took a big bite out of the tentacle and then spat it out. Each time it released us.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then put his mask back on over his nose and mouth.

“Little lion man!” I declared, to which Lars shrugged at me.

“I try my best,” he confessed, and we all continued on running to catch up with Mrs. Hamilton, who awaited us far up ahead of the hallway. Once we reached there, I noticed it was the front of the hospital, and I recognized the Charlie shaped hole in the front door.

We each ducked through it and back outside to the darkening cityscape.

“There's the truck!” Mrs. Hamilton declared.

I had parked it across the street so no funny business would happen to the passenger window, but the window really was the least of our troubles at that point. I reached it first and chucked the hockey stick into the bed.

We all piled in with Angeline between me and Lars. I shut the door before anything else horrible happened.

“Shit—I dropped the keys!”

I bowed forward to pick them off of the floor underneath my right foot when something hit the side of the bed.

“Joey!” Angeline shouted right in my ear. The radar detector made another loud BEEP.

I picked the keys off the floor right then and stuck the one into the ignition.

“Motherfucking CLONES!” was all I could think of. The truck roared to life and I bolted out of there as fast as I could.

I didn't care about no speed trap. I only cared about getting the hell out of there and back upstate. I didn't care if it took us four hours, either. Four hours on a blank stretch of road was enough for us to rest and think about things before we took care of business again.

Once I had brought us to the outskirts of the City, I peeled off my mask and set it up on the dashboard in front of me. I fetched up a sigh and leaned back in the seat.

“That was close,” Frankie remarked.

“Yeah, I'll say,” I added. “Once all this is over, we're all eatin' Lars' big European breakfast.”

“That sounds yummy,” Mrs. Hamilton said from the back seat.

“How's he doin', by the way?” I asked her with a glimpse into the rear view mirror.

“Never flinched once,” she replied. “We weren't able to find John, though.”

“Hope he's alright,” I said.

We all fell into silence as we made our way through the woods towards Monticello and Binghampton. Some time before Syracuse, I felt my stomach churn. All I had before then was that glass of ginger ale. I hadn't eaten anything for who knows how long.

So once I recognized the skyline and the sight of the blue and green neon lights all over the tops of the buildings, I couldn't help but bring a hand there to try and ease the discomfort. But it was useless.

And it was even more useless when I noticed all the little communities surrounding Syracuse had that neon decorating them as if it was ghoulish Christmas.

I brought us back to Black Orchid with a good amount of fuel left, but I was running on fumes at that point.

I pulled up to the curb, and tugged on the parking lever, and killed the engine, and leaned over the steering wheel.

“You okay, Joey?” Danny asked me.

“Starving,” I told him.

“Hopefully there's something to eat in the kitchen,” Mrs. Hamilton assured me. I let out a long low whistle and climbed out of the truck first. My head started to spin again, but it was more from riding across the state without so much as ginger ale in my stomach.

We all filed into Black Orchid, and that was when I saw his long smooth hair as it streamed behind his head and the stern expression on his face, right there next to Gwendolyn and Louise.

“John!” Charlie declared.

“Huh? What? John's here?” Scott blurted out right then; Mrs. Hamilton propped him up out on the front porch, probably so he had some fresh air, but it was amazing he even heard that.

“How'd you get here?” Lars asked him.

“Rode a few clones all the way up from the city,” John replied, nonplussed. “The last one started malfunctioning and so I high tailed it from her. I walked like ten miles to here, and I spotted the orchid on the roof.”

“That thing does wonders, doesn't it?” I said.

“Sure does,” he remarked with a little bob of his head. “I got here like three hours ago and these two ladies were telling me everything that's been going on here.” He fixed his gaze on  me. “You're a real hero, Joey.”

“Nah, you're the hero,” I told him. “You disappearing brought us to saving everything, including ourselves.”

“Joey, would you like some soup?” Mrs. Hamilton offered me.

“Yes, please,” I said. No sooner had I opened my mouth when the radar detector made a bunch of noises again.

“Clones!” Scott shouted from the porch.

“Oh, shit!” everyone shrieked all at the same time.

Fuck it. I ran towards the hallway to fetch Maya. I had to get rid of her to keep them from coming. But how was I to get rid of her?

“Be gentle with her, Joey!” Mrs. Hamilton called after me as I hurried up the stairs. Fueled by nothing more than adrenaline and ginger ale.

I stumbled into the bedroom just in time to see Mrs. Snow dissipating into nothing. I lunged for Maya's body.

There must have been some way to dispose of her and in the gentlest way possible. The voices from my dream told me to bury her.

Bury her. Of course!

I held her delicate little body close to me as I hurried back down the stairs and to the hallway. I darted through the front room of Black Orchid. John opened the front door for me.

“Thanks, man!” I told him, to which he flashed me a thumbs up.

But I didn't go further than three steps when I felt something tackle me from behind. I never let go of Maya even as I hit the ground. She groaned in her throat as I struggled to get up and out of the snow. Something was attacking me. Mauling me.

And then someone yanked it off of me.

Using nothing more than my own sense of balance, I climbed to my knees and then onto my feet. I glanced back to find John had yanked a clone off of my back. He chucked it to the ground to try and break it apart.

“Got some nerve tackling a lead singer like that!” Scott shouted from the porch.

“Run, Joey!” Angeline shrieked. “Run! Run as fast as you can!”

In the dim light of the neon, I saw a tear in Maya's skin, right where Mrs. Snow had put the new skin on. She was bleeding right there. Not my fault, but still.

“Sorry, Leela,” I said aloud as I ran into the darkness with Maya in my arms.

Back to the earth from whence she and I both came.

[chris-yang888]

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[fitnesshealthyoga-blog]

New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/dry-lips-causes-and-hydrating-lip-care-routine/

Dry Lips: Causes And Hydrating Lip Care Routine

Do you have dry, itchy and cracked lips? Your lips are more prone to dryness than the rest of your body and are particularly vulnerable during cold winter months. Read on for our how-to guide to what causes dry lips and what steps you can take to fix them.

Why Are My Lips Dry?

The number one reason that your lips feel especially dry comes down to anatomy. As a non-glandular mucous membrane, your lips do not have the ability to generate their own moisture. They do not contain the same concentration of oil-producing sebaceous glands as the rest of the body and are therefore less lubricated and more susceptible to dryness and peeling. Your lips also have a thin protective layer, leaving them exposed to drying environmental stressors and preventing them from locking in additional moisture. In fact, Tsippora Shainhouse MD tells Reader’s Digest: “Water loss through the lips is 3 to 10 times greater than through the skin on the face or other skin on the body.”

Signs Of Dry Lips

While healthy, hydrated lips have a moist and pink appearance, chapped lips can take on quite uncomfortable characteristics. Here are a few signs that you’re dealing with dry lips:

1. Tightness

When your lips lose moisture and hydration, they have a tendency to shrivel and tighten. Dermatologist Bruce Bart likens our lips to a sponge, telling SHAPE: “When exposed to moisture, they absorb water and plump up. When dehydrated, they dry out and shrink.” The result: that too-tight feeling that often accompanies chapped lips.

2. Peeling, Flaking and Cracks

Like dry skin, lips are prone to peeling and flaking. Your skin relies on oil to hold in moisture and, without it, can appear rough, flaky and scaly. Because your lips do not contain sebaceous glands, they are ill-equipped to provide sufficient moisture. As a result, they are more prone to peeling and flaking. In severe cases, dry lips can split, leaving open and painful cracks. This is often the result of exposure to extremes in heat, cold or wind.

3. Swelling

The skin on your lips is extremely sensitive and has a weaker moisture barrier than the rest of the body. As a result, environmental irritants can more easily slip through the surface, triggering an inflammatory response. This can cause lips to become swollen, red and itchy.

4. Fine Lines

To top things off, the visible signs of aging tend to be more pronounced on dry lips. When your skin is hydrated and moisturized, its texture appears smoother. When dry or dehydrated, textural differences – like those vertical fine lines and wrinkles around your mouth – look exaggerated.

Causes Of Dry Lips

In addition to the anatomical differences that contribute to dryness, environmental and lifestyle factors can play a role in the development of dry lips. These are the most common culprits:

1. Dry Air

As cold winter air moves in, you may find that your lips dry out faster than the rest of your skin. Dry air causes essential moisture to evaporate from your lips, making them dry and dehydrated. And without a fortified moisture barrier, your lips are more exposed to drying environmental elements, like icy temperatures and blustery winds. Protect your lips by following these simple tips:

2. Sun Damage

Unlike the rest of your body, the skin on your lips lacks melanin, a protective pigment that absorbs UV rays and diverts them from healthy cells. This makes your lips more susceptible to sunburn, which is amplified by their vulnerability to the elements. In addition to causing discomfort (sunburned lips are not pleasant), long-term exposure can cause your lips to become stiff and dry, eventually leading to cracking and splitting. Years in the sun also contribute to premature aging in the form of vertical lines and wrinkles around the mouth. The bottom line: You should protect your lips the same way you protect your body, by avoiding excessive sun exposure and protecting your skin with SPF.

3. Chapstick

Wondering why your chapstick isn’t quite cutting it? You may want to review your favorite lip balm’s ingredients. Studies show that petroleum, a common chapstick ingredient, doesn’t provide lips with additional hydration or nourishment; rather, it creates a seal that prevents existing moisture from escaping. The problem: Additional moisture can’t get in. Eminence Organics Product Support Representative Alicia Hawthorne says: “Using chapsticks with ingredients that don’t let moisture in essentially prevents your lips from absorbing moisture, resulting in dryness.” While your regular chapstick will provide temporary relief, it won’t provide long-term hydration.

Using chapsticks with ingredients that don’t let moisture in essentially prevents your lips from absorbing moisture, resulting in dryness.

4. Saliva

Licking your lips may seem like an obvious solution: You’re giving them extra moisture, right? Wrong. A surprising culprit of dry lips is your own saliva. Saliva contains enzymes that break down the thin layer of skin covering your lips, exacerbating the damage caused by environmental stressors. It also evaporates quickly, so licking your lips will actually dry them out more. Try to break the habit by keeping your lips sufficiently moisturized and protected from the elements.

5. Your Toothpaste

A surprising cause of dryness could be hiding in your toothpaste. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a foaming agent that is included in many personal care items for its ability to create a lather when it comes into contact with water. Studies show that this ingredient can cause skin irritation including dryness and redness. When it comes to your delicate lip area, it can strip your skin of much-needed moisture. Check your labels for this hidden ingredient, and opt instead of a gentle, SLS-free alternative.

Hydrating Lip Care Routine

In addition to helping your lips by adjusting daily habits, you can amp up hydration with a proper lip care routine. Follow these simple steps to eliminate dryness and infuse your lips with moisture.

1. Exfoliate

The first step in treating dryness is to exfoliate your lips. Regular exfoliation encourages proper skin cell turnover by removing dead surface cells and allowing for better absorption of moisturizing ingredients. The Citrus Enzyme Lip Exfoliator in Eminence Organics Lip Trio Kit uses citrus enzymes and walnut shell powder to dissolve the bonds holding dead skin together and slough dead skin from your lips’ surface.

Eminence Organics Lead Skin Care Trainer Natalie Pergar gives this application tip: “Just like any type of exfoliation treatment that has a little bit of granule in it, you want to do little circular motions. I also recommend that you don’t have to only apply to the pink of the lip; also think about the outside of the lip where we tend to see fine lines pop up.”

2. Plump

Another tip from Natalie: Apply a lip mask 2-3 times a week to deeply replenish moisture and encourage collagen production. Also included in the Lip Trio Kit is Eminence Organics Lip Comfort Plumping Masque. This rich lip mask includes shea butter and avocado oil to moisturize skin, as well as botanical peptides derived from hibiscus to diminish the look of fine lines and deliver a plumping effect.

Following exfoliation, apply a layer of the lip mask and leave on for five minutes before removing with a damp sponge. Alternatively, leave it on as an overnight treatment to fix dry lips while you sleep!

3. Moisturize

Next up: Moisturize lips with rich natural emollients. Our petroleum-free Citrus Lip Balm is infused with vitamin-rich sunflower seed oil and shea butter to deeply moisturize dry lips. It also includes natural salicylic acid to prevent the buildup of dead skin throughout the day, helping your lips stay smooth for longer. Eminence Organics fan Vicki M. says in her five-star review: 

Trust me, I’ve tried every lip balm out there! This is like no other. My lips have never been so moist and supple, EVER! There is not one sign of dryness.

Find it in the Lip Trio Kit or purchase it separately from your favorite Eminence Organics partner spa.

4. Treat

One side effect of dry lips is more pronounced fine lines and wrinkles, particularly around your lip line. If vertical lines are creeping up from your lips, try adding a wrinkle-busting treatment to your lip care routine. Natalie recommends targeting vertical lines with Eminence Organics Hibiscus Instant Line Filler. This Advanced Instant Lift fX treatment combines hibiscus, an ice wine active and botanical peptides to smooth, firm and tighten skin in minutes. Simply massage it around your lip line area after applying your lip balm.

5. Protect

One of the greatest culprits of dry lips is sun exposure. If you’re planning a day outdoors, be sure to use a lip balm that provides SPF protection. Eminence Organics Rosehip & Lemongrass Lip Balm SPF 15 uses natural zinc oxide to protect your lips from harmful UV rays, as well as rosehip oil and organic extra virgin olive oil to provide long-term hydration. Apply it as the last step before your favorite lipstick shade to keep lips smooth and protected. 

Do you have any tips to share for dry lips? We’d love to hear them! Tell us in the comments below and join the conversation on social media.

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[itssoyy]

2019 RESOLUTION: SKIN-CARE REHAB

CATEGORY: FACE | BODY | HAIR

Rules:

Not buying any products unless I ran out of it and no substitute stock

Post empties with final review, that way I know whether the product is beneficial or not

Post every month progress of empties (and discarded): XX total.

tag #SkinCareRehab

Travel kit is not included.

● (Mist) Shiseido - Hadasui in Blue ● (Mist) Shiseido - Shiseido - Hadasui Skin Water sapuriin 14+ in Supplement 14+ ● (Mist) Hanadomy - Collagen Mist in 濃ミスト ● (Mist) Kama Ayuverda - Pure Rosewater ● (Acid Toner) The Ordinary - The Ordinary - Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution ● (Toner) Kiehl's - Calendula Herbal Extract Toner ● (Toner) Kiehl's - Calendula Herbal Extract Toner (Stock) ● (Heavy Toner) Wafood - Wafood Made Sake Kasu Lotion ● (Heavy Toner) 菊正宗 - 日本酒の化粧水 in White ● (Essence) Kiehl's - Iris Extract Activating Treatment Essence ● (Essence) Kiehl's - Iris Extract Activating Treatment Essence ● (Facial Mask) Innisfree - It's real squeeze mask in Lime ● (Facial Mask) Beauty Buffet - Moisturising 365 Daily Mask in Rice Wine Yeast ● (Facial Mask) Wafood Made - Sake Lees Face Pack ● (Facial Mask) Burt's Bee - Intense Hydration Mask ● (Facial Mask) SYB - Gold Mask (NEW) ● (Facial Mask) Ofra - Volcanic Clarifying Mask (NEW) ● (Make up Remover) Matsuyama - 肌をうるおす保湿クレンジング ● (Make up Remover) Biore - Oil Cleansing ● (Make up Remover) Biore - Micchaku Awa

Serum/Active Ingredients

● The Ordinary - Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% ● The Ordinary - “Buffet” + Copper Peptides 1% ● The Ordinary - Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (2 bottle) ● The Ordinary - Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane ● The Ordinary - Argireline Solution 10% ● The Ordinary - Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA (NEW) ● The Ordinary - Matrixyl 10% + HA ● The Ordinary - Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate 10% ● The Ordinary - EUK 134 0.1% ● Kiehl's - Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution ● NIOD - Copper Amino Isolate Serum 2:1 (NEW) ● NIOD - Multi-molecular Hyaluronic Complex (NEW) ● The Ordinary - Lactic Acid 10% + HA ● The Ordinary - AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution ● Forever Flawless - Diamond peeling gel

Lotions/Moisturizer

● (Moisturizer) The Ordinary - The Ordinary - Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA ● (Moisturizer) 白鶴 - 鶴の玉手箱 薬用 大吟醸のうるおいクリーム ● (Moisturizer) Wafood Made - Sake Kasu Cream ● (Moisturizer) The Ordinary - Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 ● (Face Oil) Kiehl's - Kiehl’s - Midnight Recovery Concentrate (3 bottles) ● (Face Oil) Kiehl's - Kiehl’s - Daily Reviving Concentrate (3 bottles

● (Shower Gel) Dove - Coconut Jasmine ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Cinnamon (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Jasmine (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Jasmine (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Mango (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Mango (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Bamboo Charcoal (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Coffee (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Honey (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Saboo - Natural Handmade Soap in Coconut (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Herb Care - Face and Body Natural Soap in Acne Soap (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Herb Care - Face and Body Natural Soap in Rice Milk (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Herb Care - Natural Organic Soap in Papaya (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Herb Care - Natural Organic Soap in Rice Milk (NEW) ● (Soap Bar) Herb Care - Natural Organic Soap in Lemongrass (NEW) ● (Deodorant) Biore - Z Savon in Pink ● (Body Oil) The Body Shop - Beautifying Oil in Mango ● (Body Oil) The Body Shop - Beautifying Oil in Grape Fruits ● (Oil) The Body Shop - Beautifying Oil in Shea ● (Body Lotion) 菊正宗 - 日本酒のクリーム in Pink ● (Body Lotion) Aqurea - Moisturising Cream (NEW) ● (Body Lotion) Praileela - Natural Aloe Vera Gel (NEW) ● (Body Butter) Body Shop - Mango (NEW) ● (Body Butter) Nivea - Nivea Creme ● (Body Butter) Boots - Mango (NEW) ● (Body Butter) Mustika Ratu - Jasmine

● (Shampoo) Hair Recipes - Almond Oil & Vanilla ● (Shampoo) Hair Recipes - Honey & Apricot ● (Conditioner) Hair Recipes - Almond Oil & Vanilla ● (Conditioner) Hair Recipes - Honey & Apricot ● (Creambath) Watsons - Smoothing Treatment Wax in Avocado ● (Creambath) Watsons - Smoothing Treatment Wax in Argan Oil ● (Creambath) Watsons - Smoothing Treatment Wax in Honey ● The Ordinary - Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density ● (Serum) Sense - Silk Protein Hair Serum (NEW) ● (Oil) L'Oreal - Extraordinary Oil ● (Oil) Dove - Leave in treatment ● (Leave-in) Wen - Sweet Almond Mint ● (Leave-in) Botanicals - Smooth Ritual ● (Leave-in) Boots - Coconut & Almond Spray ● (Leave-in) Apple - Ginseng Silky Hair Coat (NEW) ● (Setting) Mods - ヘア グラマラスメイク シャープ ウェーブフォーム ● (Setting) Mods - ヘア グラマラスメイク シャープ ウェーブフォーム (NEW) ● (Setting) Boots - Curly Hair Mousse (NEW)

Emptied

January ● (Facial Cleanser) Biore - おうちdeエステの30秒マッサージ洗顔ジェル ● (Eye Cream) Kiehl's - Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado ● (Moisturizer) 水の天使 - スキントリートメントゲル ● (Shower Gel) Boots - Zingy Mango & Papaya

February ● (Shampoo) Hair Recipes - Kiwi & Fig ● (Conditioner) Hair Recipes - Kiwi & Fig ● (Oil) Hair System - Ultimate Hair Oil ● (Creambath) Watsons - Treatment Wax in Yoghurt ● (Body Lotion) Aveeno - Stress Relief Moisturizing Lotion, Lavender, Chamomile and Ylang ylang ● (Shower Gel) Boots - Zingy Raspberry & Pomegranate ● (Facial Mask) Skinfood - Food Mask in Horse Fat ● (Toner) Missha - Time Revolution ● (Essence) Missha - Time Revolution, The First Treatment Essence Intensive Moist ● (Facial Mask) The Body Shop - British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask

[letstalkbeautyuk]

Currently in use #7

Currently in use #7

balanceMe Super Moisturising Bodywash I do love a fancy body wash, it’s one of my guilty pleasures. This balanceMe one smells like a spa and leaves my skin feeling like I’ve had a pamper. It is infused with a skin-softening blend of Benzoin, Yarrow and Shea Butter, so it leaves skin feeling soft, supple and hydrated. The handy pump makes it easy to use in the shower when your hands are all…

[smileystylelady-blog]

Review: Balea Soft & Clear Reinigung Peeling Maske 3 in 1

Малко повече впечатления за един продукт, който се превърна в предпочитан напоследък:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin For English you can use the Google Translate Widget on the sidebar → Здравейте усмивки, Лека – полека започвам да се завръщам и с козметичните ревюта. след като на пренареждането вкъщи му се вижда края. В най – скоро време се надявам и да си имам специално обособено кътче за мен и блога, където да мога да правя по – красиви снимки. Не можех да не споделя обаче, едно…

[dawnasiler]

How to Do Laura Harrier's Skincare Routine

Adopting an all-natural skincare routine is easy when your skin is well-behaved. 

But if it's flaring up with breakouts? Maybe not so much.

That's what happened to Laura Harrier, the 28-year-old star of Spider-Man: Homecoming and BlacKkKlansman.

"I've recently been struggling with acne, which is new for me," she told Into The Gloss. "Maybe it's happening because of all of the travelling, or maybe it's hormones or whatever."

While she used to be devoted to "only clean, chemical-free products," her new skin condition (and rising fame!) required more drastic measures. In 2018, she ditched her natural favourites and switched to an acne-clearing routine devised by celebrity facialist Shani Darden.

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Now, "I use a lot of chemicals on my face," says Laura, "and that kind of freaks me out because I wasn't doing any of that stuff for a long time. But when my skin went crazy, I had to do more."

And it sure is paying off....

Close-up of Laura Harrier's skin.

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Here's what Laura uses to keep her skin radiant and blemish-free.

Laura's Morning Skincare Routine

1. Cleanser:

iS Clinical Cleansing Complex

iS Clinical Cleansing Complex: "In the shower, I use a face wash from my aesthetician, Shani Darden."

2. Exfoliators:

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel: "And [Shani] has this lactic peel that I do when I get out of the shower."

Biologique Recherche Lotion P50

Biologique Recherche Lotion P50: "I was using P50 for a while... [it] smells like garbage. It's amazing, and I know people love it, but it's too intense! I don't know how you get in bed with somebody afterwards—it's not cute! P50 must kill relationships. I would have kept doing the P50, though, if I didn't find the [iS Clinical] Active Serum. I feel like the Active Serum, for me, is a little better and it doesn't smell bad. It's a good replacement."

3. Serums:

iS Clinical Active Serum

iS Clinical Active Serum: "If I'm breaking out, I'll go for the Active Serum."

iS Clinical Pro-Heal Serum Advance+

iS Clinical Pro-Heal Serum Advance+: "If my skin is dry, I do the Pro-Heal."

4. Sunscreen:

Control Corrective Oil Free Sunscreen SPF 30

Control Corrective Oil Free Sunscreen SPF 30: "Before I head out, I do an SPF 30—the one by Control Corrective. It's really lightweight and just feels like a moisturizer. I use sunscreen every day."

5. Concealers:

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel: "I love to watch the makeup artists at work. Now I can do my makeup for an event if I have to. Day to day, though, I keep it minimal. I do the NARS concealer—my colour is Caramel."

RMS Beauty "Un" Cover-Up in 77

RMS Beauty "Un" Cover-Up: "I like [my look] to be messy and natural."

6. Highlighter/Contour:

Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate

Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate: "I have the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate palette that comes with the two colours. I throw on the highlighter for everyday and do the contour colour if I'm going out."

Glossier Haloscope in Topaz

Glossier Haloscope: "Just like myself but better is the goal."

7. Lip Colour:

RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek in Beloved

RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek: "I really like the RMS Lip2Cheek colours. You can layer them so you can choose if you want to go lighter or darker."

Laura's Nighttime Skincare Routine

1. Makeup Remover:

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

Bioderma Sensibio H2O: "At night I use the Bioderma micellar water to remove makeup." 

2. Cleanser:

iS Clinical Cleansing Complex

iS Clinical Cleansing Complex: "I wash again with Shani's cleanser."

3. Serum:

iS Clinical Active Serum

iS Clinical Active Serum: "At night... I alternate between the Active Serum and retinol every other day."

4. Retinol:

Resurface by Shani Darden Retinol Reform

Resurface by Shani Darden Retinol Reform: "And then I use her retinol. I'm not using the retinol for wrinkles, but it helps a lot with my acne scarring. And my skin feels smoother."

4. Moisturizers:

Tata Harper Repairative Moisturizer

Tata Harper Repairative Moisturizer: "Then I'll either use a Tata Harper moisturizer...."

Epicuren Brazilian Propolis Lotion

Epicuren Brazilian Propolis Lotion: "Or this new one I just got by Epicuren, which is... something made out of bees."

iS Clinical Reparative Moisture Emulsion

iS Clinical Reparative Moisture Emulsion: "I was doing the iS Clinical moisturizer, but since I was breaking out so much, [Shani] said the moisturizer was a bit too heavy for me."

Laura's Skincare Treatments

Facials:

Laura Harrier having an oxygen facial. (Photo: @lauraharrier)

Shani Darden: "I see Shani Darden in LA for my skin. When I moved to LA from New York, almost exactly a year ago, I didn't know anyone. The girl who does my eyebrows, Kim Nguyen, told me about Shani, and she kind of saved my face. I like that she's straight up and tells you exactly what you need to do. For me, it's dealing with breakouts. I didn't struggle with it until late in my 20s. That has been really annoying. It's all the travel, stress and whatever else. For a long time, I was very into super clean, natural skin care... but with all the breakout issues, I've had to amp it up. When my skin was perfect, the natural stuff was cool. But if I'm having issues, they don't do enough. I text Shani pictures of my zits all the time, like 'Help meee!'"

Face Masks:

Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque

Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque: "I always have my Aesop blemish mask."

Wedderspoon Raw Multifloral Manuka Honey KFactor 12

Manuka honey: "I'll still do a manuka honey mask in the bath."

Laura's Diet, Exercise and Lifestyle

Diet:

"For me, diet is about moderation. I work out, but I love cheese, pasta and wine."

Exercise:

Laura Harrier at Dogpound. (Photo: @lauraharrier)

Dogpound and SoulCycle: "In New York, I would go to the Dogpound. In LA, I go to SoulCycle and barre class and hot yoga, but I bounce around. Also, I've been traveling so much that it's hard to keep anything together. I downloaded the Nike app to work out while I travel, and I think I did it once."

Infrared Sauna:

"I do the infrared sauna. I feel it helps."

Massage:

"I get massages, but I don't have one particular person I go to."

Thanks to The New York Times, Into The Gloss, Violet Grey and Vogue.

Shop Laura's Skincare Routine

What do you think of Laura's routine? Have you tried anything she uses? 

How to Do Laura Harrier's Skincare Routine syndicated from The Skincare Edit

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News Rankings 9 Reasons Your Skin Is Changing Color Anna Medaris Miller • April 14, 2016, at 11:43 a.m. Stella Pavlides was admiring her new ruby ring under the black lights of a New York City bar when she noticed something else glowing: "I had white spots on my knuckles," remembers Pavlides, a 70-year-old in Clearwater, Florida, who was 22 at the time. But when she stepped outside, the spots were gone. "I didn't think much of anything," she says. Within a few years, however, the bleached-looking patches became more prominent against her Greek skin, and spread to the tops of her hands, her elbows, back, knees, armpits and genitals, and around her eyes and mouth. Dermatologists told her it was vitiligo, an autoimmune disease that causes the skin to lose the melanin that colors it – sometimes in small patches, other times across most of the body. While the condition – which affects about 1 percent of the world's population and can be more noticeable in people with darker skin – is relatively physically harmless, it can be emotionally devastating and socially isolating. Stella Pavlides founded the American Vitiligo Research Foundation because she wanted to support vitiligo research that didn’t use animals in testing. Stella Pavlides founded the American Vitiligo Research Foundation because she wanted to support vitiligo research that didn’t use animals in testing. (Courtesy of Stella Pavlides) No big deal, it's only vitiligo, it won't kill you,'" Pavlides recalls doctors telling her. But to people with the condition, it is a big deal. "I got inhibited," says Pavlides, an otherwise confident, straight-shooting native New Yorker who remembers turning down trips to the beach with her friends, wearing long sleeves that she'd pull down to cover her knuckles no matter how high the temperature and feeling degraded when people dropped – rather than placed – change in her hands. Since founding the American Vitiligo Research Foundation more than 20 years ago, she's heard from countless kids who've been bullied or beaten up due to the condition, and even from a parent whose son with vitiligo committed suicide. "It's a very, very difficult disease," says Pavlides, who runs the foundation full time. [See: 10 Lessons From Empowered Patients.] While there's no cure for vitiligo, which typically first appears between ages 10 and 30, there are treatments – ranging from makeup and steroids to light therapies and skin grafts – that can help stop the disease progression, restore color or at least mask the lack of it. "Do we have an optimal treatment? The answer is no," says Dr. Pearl Grimes, director of the Vitiligo and Pigmentation Institute of Southern California who also prescribes vitamin D and antioxidants to patients with vitiligo to support their immune function. "But there is hope." For Pavlides, who says she's "tried everything" with not enough success to make the side effects or expense of treatment worth it (insurance companies don't always cover therapies because they deem them cosmetic or experimental), she feels the best medicine is support. "Don't give up," she tells parents of kids with the condition. "Tell your kids they're beautiful. Tell them everybody's different." Still, it's important to seek care for any skin pigmentation changes, dermatologists say, since some can signal more serious problems and many influence quality of life. Here are some reasons your skin might be losing, gaining or otherwise changing color – and what to do about it: 1. You Have Vitiligo If Pavlides' symptoms sound like yours – or if you have a loss of pigmentation elsewhere, such as in the hair on your body or head or inside your mouth – find a dermatologist who specializes in treating vitiligo, Grimes suggests, since many physicians wrongly believe there are no treatments and don't understand the condition's psychological impact. Vitiligo also shouldn't be ignored, experts add, since the condition – which Michael Jackson had but treated by removing the pigment from the rest of his skin rather than trying to restore color to the vititigo patches – often coincides with other autoimmune problems like thyroid disorders and can make people's skin more vulnerable to sun damage. 2. You're Pregnant While vitiligo causes a loss of pigmentation in the skin, melasma – sometimes called "the mask of pregnancy" – seems to cause some skin cells to produce more pigment, which usually appears as brown or gray-brown patches on the face, according to the American Academy of Dermatology "It's just so prominent and concerning to people," says Dr. Bruce Robinson, a dermatologist in New York City and spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology, noting that the vast majority (some 90 percent) of patients with the condition are women, since it seems to have a hormonal component. "Pregnancy makes it worse, birth control makes it worse and sunlight makes it worse," he says. While having the baby, stopping the birth control or protecting yourself from the sun can clear up the condition, it often recurs, experts say. "For a lot of people, it's a constant battle," says Dr. Marie Jhin, a dermatologist in San Francisco. But, with expert supervision, chemical peels, bleaching creams and laser therapies can help mask flare-ups. 3. You Mixed Limes and Sunshine When patients come to Jhin panicked about mysterious dark marks on their hands or around their mouth, she asks, "Did you just go on vacation?" If the answer is yes, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Chances are, the diagnosis is phytophotodermatitis, a skin reaction to sunlight and a chemical in limes and other citrus fruits such as lemon and oranges. While the first reaction – blisters or burning – is often dismissed as sunburn or allergies, if noticed at all, the lingering pigment changes usually fade in a few months. It's common in the spring and summer months, Robinson says, since people make mixed drinks with lime, get some juice on their skin and then go out in the sun. That's why the condition is often nicknamed "Club Med Dermatitis" and "Mexican Beer Dermatitis." 4. You Have a Form of Eczema Another condition that tends to bring patients – typically children – to dermatologists during warm-weather months is pityriasis alba, which first causes red, scaly patches before leaving lighter patches on the skin, according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. "It gets moms really nervous that their kid has vitiligo," Robinson has found. But in fact, the condition seems to be a feature of eczema that's simply more apparent on tanned skin, Jhin says. Treatment is usually simple sunscreen or, if more severe, a topical steroid, she says. As Robinson puts it: "You stop the eczema and the pigmentation comes back." [See: 9 Surprising Facts About Sunscreen.] 5. It's a Remnant of Past Skin Damage The technical term is "post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation." To the layperson, it simply means darker skin in places you once had acne, allergic reactions, an injury or any other type of skin inflammation, perhaps from another condition like psoriasis. Here, too, the first-line defense is treating the underlying inflammation. 6. It's Fungus Before you say "ew," keep in mind this possibility is pretty much harmless – and sometimes not even noticeable. Tinea versicolor, a common fungal infection when the natural yeast on our skin overgrows, tends to pop up in the hot, humid summer months – or among people who've visited those climates. "Most of the time it's brown or red or white and it's … in the areas where people sweat," Jhin explains. The solution? An anti-fungal treatment. 7. You Have Addison's Disease If you thought John F. Kennedy was just a tan guy, you are mistaken: He had Addison's disease, which is actually an adrenal – not skin – problem in which the adrenal glands don't produce enough of some hormones, Jhin says. "Someone who says, 'I'm a lot darker but I didn't get any sun,'" might have the condition, Jhin says, and should visit his or her primary care doctor, who might prescribe oral medicaitons to help replace the lacking hormones. 8. You Have Acanthosis Nigricans Here's another mouthful of a name; this one describing the darkening and thickening of skin folds, such as those in your neck or under your breasts. "It could just be because you're a little overweight," Jhin says, noting, however, that it could also be a sign of diabetes. If blood and other tests come up normal, though, the common condition can be treated with creams or other products that help soften the skin, she says. 9. You Have Cancer Cancer is, of course, the worst-case scenario for oddly-colored skin. Fortunately, it's also among the rarest of pigmentation issues, Robinson says. "People with melanoma – we talk about their skin turning 'slate blue,'" he says. "That's a really bad sign" because it signals that the melanoma is cancerous and has traveled throughout the body. If you have moles that change color, size or shape, too, see a dermatologist pronto. [See: 7 Ways to Prevent Skin Cancer.] Bottom line? If you notice any changes in your skin color, see a board-certified dermatologist, who can properly diagnose and treat you. Hopefully, it was the margarita. U.S. News & World Report Rankings & Research Colleges, cars, hospitals, doctors ... more News & Opinion Latest headlines and news you can use News Education Health Money Cars Real Estate Travel Copyright 2018 © U.S. News & World Report L.P.