Milk Gave Me Acne

I know that's a bold statement but in my case, it's true. I am one of three children in my family and the only one to have had 'bad skin'. My parents never suffered from more than the occasional spot and it hasn't ever been a problem in their entire lives, so why me? 

When I was 16 and going through my IGCSE's my dad (and little shy me) had had enough and we booked an appointment with the dermatologist. 6 months later and I was at my wits end, nothing was working. No creams, ointments, low-fat diet changes...nothing. That's when I did my own research and found a blog post about how a girl in her twenties gave up dairy and her skin improved. Being a skeptic I didn't believe removing dairy from my diet could help my skin, how is dairy related to spots?! So ignoring the research I continued to eat dairy until I'd finished my A-Levels, by this point I didn't ever go out without make up on...ever.

When I moved across the world to university (and a much colder climate) I noticed that eating dairy made me bloated and ill. As such I removed dairy from my diet, under the assumption I had a lactose intolerance, and low and behold my skin slowly, but surely improved. The science behind it is a little bit complicated and honestly, chemistry/biology are not my favourite subjects so after some research this is what I've found in plain, simple English.

Milk contains hormones that turn-on oil glands.

Oil glands release oil and often become 'plugged' with dead skin/dirt etc.

This creates a spot.

The more hormones you have in your body the higher the chance of clogged pores

What does this equal? More spots.

Obviously, milk isn't the only factor that creates spots. Bad hygiene, allergic reactions to face products, a fatty diet and stress can all break people out, but milk products are the main factor for me. It's something that my dermatologist never mentioned to me and I only stumbled across it by fluke and the development of lactose intolerance for me to actually try it out.

Life: Granddad

On the 24^th December 2013 I was sat on the sofa beside my dad watching a movie, or a TV series or maybe even just regular TV and I looked at him and noticed he was crying. My dad, like I’m sure most people’s fathers, doesn’t do emotions other than happy and angry. He’s mostly happy and occasionally if you slam the car door shut too hard, gets angry. He just doesn’t cry. I got up and asked my mum what was wrong with dad and she told me that my granddad wasn’t very well at all, stage 4 cancer, that kind of not well.

My parents and I, my mum especially, are super close. They’re my best friends, truly. We go shopping together, laugh at each other’s outfit choices and confide in each other how work/university etc. is going. We decided not to tell my brother and sister until after Christmas, my dad needed a couple days of normality before it all changed.

Christmas was how I think Christmas will be from now on, no magic. I know it’s silly and I know that certain aspects of Christmas are no longer real and Christmas does stop being magic as you grow older until you have your own family, but that really was the first Christmas it felt that way.

My dad flew back to the UK not long after Christmas and my mum, sister and I followed on New Years Eve. The beginning of a non-eventful New Years Eve tradition began in 2013. I’m lucky that I got to see my granddad while he was still able to hold conversation and crack jokes like he always did. On the 6^th January I flew up from Exeter to Edinburgh and never saw my granddad again.

On the 27^th of January 2014 I was at a hockey training session with my flatmate Sarah when I checked my phone during a quick break and saw a missed Skype call from my grandma. That morning my dad had let me know that granddads nurse had warned him that the end was close, as we all knew it was. Maybe its just hindsight or maybe gut feelings really do exist but I remember seeing the missed call and thinking, crap…I should have answered that.

Just after 12pm on the afternoon of the 28^th my granddad passed away in his bed surrounded by family and loved ones.

Very few people know about my granddads passing, it wasn’t something I wanted to talk about and largely; I just tried to forget it. Grief is mysterious, the first couple of nights where painful. A literal pain that engulfed my chest and hurt my head. It stopped me from talking to my family for a while because I didn’t know how we could all put on a brave face and continue life, how do you answer a simple “How’re you doing?” when part of your world ceases to exist.  

On the 14^th February my granddad was laid to rest. 2014 was the year that I experienced my first real loss, a loss that I will feel for the rest of my life and never fully get over. It’s set a path that, although unintentional, has changed so many aspects in my life, from the holiday season to trying to take as many photos of even the simplest things as I can.

While I’m not religious in the slightest sense, I do believe that death is just a chapter in a never-ending story. One that will hopefully lead us all back to those we’ve lost and those we never met that impacted our lives in some way or another.

 Rest In Peace Granddad.

Recipe: Oreo Cake UPDATED

Super easy cake that tastes best the day after its made, perfect for early preparation for a party!

Ingredients
3/4 cups of plain flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda (slightly heaped)
1/2 cup of sugar (slightly heaped)
1/2 cup of sour cream (slightly heaped)
1/3 cup of vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Method
Pre-heat the oven at 170 degrees C
Sift all the dry ingredients into one bowl
Combine all the wet ingredients in another bowl
Slowly combine the two together
Pour into ONE regular 9" cake tin
Bake for 20-25 minutes
Leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then remove and place on cooling rack
Once cooled cut the

For the icing

Ingredients
50 oreo cookies
4 1/2 cups of double cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Set aside 6 oreo cookies, cut them in half.
With the remaining 44 cookies cut them into tiny bits (smaller than in the photo) as this helps to make the 'icing' process a lot easier Update: It works a lot nicer if you crush the oreos, put them in a bag and get out a rolling pin and smash them into little pieces. Using a knife is harder and takes a lot longer! 
Whip the cream, sugar and vanilla so the cream JUST forms soft peaks (don't over whip!)
Then add the 44 oreos that are finely cut. Mix through.
Ice the cake as you would any other cake.
Leave in the refridgerator.
Before serving take the 6 oreos (cut in half) and place them on the cake where analogue clock numbers are.

Note: You can use any chocolate sponge recipe you want, if you feel like the above isn't quite to your taste. The second time I used this I halved the sponge recipe for a Hersheys Chocolate Cake (recipe here) and it worked perfectly. For an 'adult' twist on this add some Baileys or Irish Cream to the double cream (as much as you like) and then continue as above!

UPDATE - NEW PHOTOS BELOW.
The photos are of the above updated recipe with the added Irish Cream to give it more of an adult taste. I had Oreos left over so I cut them in half and decorated the bottom of the cake, it also makes it look neater! 

Review: S&G Fab Pore Moisture Lotion UPDATE

Those of you that have followed this blog since May time you'll know how much I love this product. I recently went to Boots in need of a re-purchase of my favourite moisturiser when I realised that Soap & Glory has momentarily (hopefully) lost their minds. Most of my S&G posts mention my love for the vintage packaging and guess what they changed? Not just the ingredients but also the packaging.

I went looking for this bad boy here in two Boots shops near my home town, it resulted in me NOT finding 'Clear Here' but finding the 'Fab Pore Moisture Lotion' which seems to be the same thing but re-branded and slightly modified (like those new and improved ideas).

My first complaint is that I loved how the packaging was cute and retro (before) and now it looks like something that a doctor prescribes you that has a 50 page leaflet detailing what you can and cannot do while on this medication in 84 different languages.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has realised that beauty brands tend to update the formulas of only the best selling products they do. I get that the beauty market is dynamic and everyone is constantly trying to out compete the other but some things are better left untouched. The new formula isn't actually that bad but it isn't that great either. They've fiddled with some chemicals and changed a couple components but the result is that not much has changed. I found that I don't have to use as much now, literally a 5p sized amount is plenty for my whole face. The downside to this is that it seems they've 'diluted' it which means while there still is that amazing moisturising/blemish fighting aspect it isn't as good as previous.

That being said it's still my favourite moisturiser out there on the market because 1. It doesn't break me out. 2. It isn't expensive .3. It does what it says it does.

NOTE. If you go on the Soap and Glory AND Boots website this product doesn't 'officially' exist, you can still buy 'Clear Here'. I'm not sure if this is a temporary product or the 'way forward' so to speak. I'll keep you updated!

UPDATE. S&G now do a 'grown up' version of their products that you can find in most big beauty stores, this range is targeted to older customers!