Garance Galore

I’m not really one to buy a lot of cosmetics for all sorts of reasons, one of them being that when something works for me, I stick to it!

Today I want to share with you my all-time favorite products. They are cheap, natural, and quite versatile.

Shea butter

I use shea butter for absolutely everything. It’s the best moisturizer I ever had, does wonders for my hair, is a great alternative to lip balm, and it is the most effective foot mask!

You cannot go wrong with this, but make sure you get raw 100% shea butter to get all the benefits it has to offer.

Baking soda

When I was seventeen, I got braces, and since then I began taking really good care of my teeth, which meant doing yearly cleanups, flossing, and scraping my tongue regularly.

I honestly think I traumatized my ex-flatmate with my never-ending teeth brushing, causing us to almost miss our train in Sofia, Bulgaria (but that’s a story for another day).

I don’t know if it’s just me, but sometimes I need a deeper cleanup, something a little more extreme than just flossing. I want my teeth to feel clean and smooth – that’s when the baking soda comes in!

Two times a week, or, truth be told, whenever I feel like it, I will put toothpaste on my brush and dip it in baking soda, brush my teeth normally, rinse, and brush again with only toothpaste for a few seconds (to get rid of the unpleasant baking soda taste).

Now, I need to warn you about this trick:

• Don’t do this every day! It could and probably will make your gum more sensitive. So if you already experience sensitivity, forget about this tip!

• The goal is not to whiten my teeth. I sometimes see people advising others to use baking soda to whiten their teeth. While having cleaner teeth will probably make them look brighter, I would not expect chocking results. 

• Talk to your dentist! I started doing this when I got braces on my dentist’s advice because I was scared I could not brush effectively with the braces. But everyone is different!

Tea tree essential oil

When I was younger, I had acne, very heavy acne. But since then, my skin has gotten much better. I still have some, but I wouldn’t dare to call it acne because it’s nothing compared to what I used to struggle with. Not on my face, at least.

All of that to say that tea tree oil is one of the reasons I was able to get out of this dark circle, it helped me with acne scars and dark spots.

Now, tea tree oil is NOT a magical remedy for acne, but, to this day, I looooooove using it! 

I put a drop of oil in my regular moisturizer before bed.

Make sure you buy concentrated tea tree oil; it has to be the only ingredient, and there is no need to spend more than 8 euros on it – in France and most European countries at least!

NEVER use essential tea tree oil on its own. It always has to be diluted with lotion or water. You do not need more than one or two drops for your entire face.

BE CAREFUL IF YOU HAVE EASILY IRRITATED SKIN – the oil is strong. The best thing is for you to do your research and maybe test it on your hand or arm first, just in case.

Garance xx