I don’t know about the rest of you but when Fall hits my skin starts to get dry and a little splotchy. I’ve probably tried thirty different products on my face, some which work temporarily and others which are a bit more long lasting. I promised a second ‘Au Natural’ post a while back and never delivered….so here it is ladies. The things I do during the week to make sure I’m not only nourishing my mind and my body, but also my skin. 

This morning I couldn’t sleep so I crawled out of  bed and treated myself to an at home oil cleanse using my Elabloom facial oil. I’ve been using Elabloom for about two years now but I had a hot stint off of it ( only because one of the beautiful creators moved away and I didn’t re-order in time!). I recently received two new bottles – the facial oil and the body oil and have been using them religiously for the past two weeks. Oil cleansing is pretty special for someone with dry irritated skin. Essentially you’re giving yourself an at home facial with yummy smelling oils- there’s really nothing better on a crisp Fall morning. 

All you need is Elabloom’s Nourishing Body Oil, a facecloth and hot water.

1. Put a bit of oil in your palm and rub it together between your hands to warm it. 

2. Start massaging it into your skin, focusing on any of your more dry or ‘problem’ areas. 

3. Start to soak your facecloth in hot water and ring it out. 

4. Place hot towel on your face and just sit back and breathe. Big deep belly breaths to let all those amazing smells in. When the towel gets cold, wipe your face gently and remove the cloth.

5. Soak the facecloth in hot water again and repeat step 4 two more times. 

6. If you have extra dry skin like me, I like to finish off the cleansing by massaging a few drops of Elabloom’s Facial Oil into my skin (which I use anyway after showering or washing my face).

In general, I tend to prefer oils post showering/bathing than cream. Don’t get me wrong, I still feel like there is a place for cream (ahem, HANDS!) but for my face and my body I much prefer oils. I feel as though they really penetrate my skin and last until my next shower. The only downside to oils is if you’re in a rush. Because the oils need time to absorb, if you need to quickly throw on a pair of pants, the oil can feel pretty gross against the fabric. Try to make sure you leave enough time to let everything soak in before you have to get changed.

My favourite body oils are:

– Elabloom Nourshing Body Oil

– Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba Oil (I prefer to use this in the summer)

-Aura Cacia Organic Protecting Sesame Oil (I prefer to use this in the winter)

– Any type of coconut oil 

My favourite scents are: 

– Anything by Province Apothecary. I tend to prefer musky scents so I gravitate towards No.14 but really all of them are delicious. 

– I also have been a long time wearer and fan of Nemat’s Vanilla Musk. Nemat is an Indian based company that deals a variety of essential oil/natural musk perfumes that are all alcohol free. My favourite by far is that dreamy vanilla musk – part sweet and part manly! Sometimes TNT in Toronto carries it but I’ve had the most success on Amazon. 

My favourite beauty products are: 

– RMS Lip2Cheek for a little bit of colour on the cheeks or the lips! I love ‘smile’ personally! It’s a bit more on the coral/pink side but I feel like it does the trick. I might have to switch it up come winter when I don’t have a tan but we’ll see! I like that it’s a cream as well so it doesn’t dry out my skin! 

– Ilia’s Mascara so far is my favourite of the naturals, I like ‘nightfall’ and ‘asphalt’ personally. I was a longstanding fan of Estee Lauder’s mascara and I can’t lie when I say that was hard to give up! I haven’t tried this one by Storq but I am curious about trying it! 

– For the lips, I will either use Ilia’s lip crayon or lipstick. I prefer the crayon I think because I used to love Nars’ lip crayon. I don’t find it quite as long lasting but I feel way better putting it on my mouth!!

– I haven’t found a bronzer replacement. I am still using Guerlain’s Terracotta Bronzing Powder which is filled with bad stuff! I will make it my mission this fall to find a replacement! If any of you have a favourite please pass it along.

My favourite shower/teeth cleaning/body products are: 

– I’ve never died my hair or had any wild issues so I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to shampoo and conditioner. I switched to Live Clean about 2 years ago and haven’t looked back! I especially love their ‘clean air’ and ‘argan oil’ sets! It’s a really affordable brand that they sell at Shoppers Drug Mart if you’re in Canada. 

– For the body I usually just use a really simple body soap bar that has something nourishing in it like oatmeal. I also love anything that has body oils or essential oils in it so it doesn’t dry out my skin! My favourite thing is to jump right out of the shower and slather oil on though so I never really get to the dry itchy skin stage! 

– In the toothpaste department I’ve had a really hard time. I love whitening toothpastes but just found that there was nothing in the ‘natural’ department that was doing the trick. I tried Tom’s Natural but it did nothing for me. About a week ago I started using Desert Essence Natural Tea Tree Oil Whitening Plus which I’m really loving so far. I am still oil pulling in the mornings so I’m feeling good about my routine but will keep you posted on how things go after using it for a month! 

– My favourite deodorant ( to date) is Crawford Street Lemon Deodorant Cream. I was an avid user of my husband’s deo for five years. When I started eliminating harmful toxins, this one unfortunately had to go too. As much as I love musky man scents, my body comes first! I have tried Tom’s Natural, Desert Essence and Green Beaver’s deodorant and none hold a candle to Crawford Street’s so far. It’s a bit more awkward to put on because it’s more like a paste that you have to rub into your armpit, but I think it lasts longer and leaves you smelling ( a little ) better than if you were wearing nothing!! 

– And finally my most favourite past time in the world! The bath! I love love love pouring oatmeal into my bath. It’s a super easy hydrating and comforting trick. When I was younger I used to get terrible eczema so my mum would put me in Aveeno Oatmeal baths all the time. This is essentially the same thing, but home made!  I buy organic oat flour and add a cup to a hot bath. You can obviously buy your own oat flakes and then grind them yourselves but this is less of a hassle. I then add any oil I want to the bath – olive, jojoba, coconut and some essential oils. It creates a really hydrating and relaxing bath.