Hi Rosy Friends! I’m so glad to be back to tell you all the things I’ve been doing over the last while to overcome/beat/hide/understand rosacea. If you’ve been following me on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, then you know I’ve been up to quite a lot. If you’ve been following me exclusively on this blog, then clearly I owe you an apology!
My hope is that by making this a big-fat juicy post about everything I’ve been up to in living the Rosy Life, you’ll forgive me 😉
I’m not sure where to start, so instead of overthinking, I’m just going to dive in. Here’s what I’ve been doing to take control over my rosacea.
I’m a member of the National Rosacea Society!
If you have rosacea and you haven’t visited the National Rosacea Society website yet, then that should be your next stop (after reading this post, subscribing to this blog and bookmarking the link, of course haha).
The National Rosacea Society is a registered charity that provides rosacea patients as well as doctors with a huge amount of information about the condition. It includes everything from the very basics (what it is, what the symptoms are, etc), to guidance about treating it, covering its symptoms, and it even conducts studies regarding its impact on our lives, comorbidity (other conditions associated with it) and other important research.
I’m proud to be a member of such a fantastic organization and I’m looking forward to taking part in upcoming studies and doing my part to further the understanding of rosacea.
I launched the Rosy Life Kit
The Rosy Life Kit is a lifestyle box I created and curated to include products you’ve seen me review, test and love on my YouTube channel. It was my opportunity to share the experience of some of my very favourites with you.
I absolutely loved the entire experience of coming up with the kit and sharing it with you. It was far better than I could ever have expected. I launched it in one video and your enthusiasm was overwhelming! I’ve never had to ship so many packages at one time before. Thank you!
When I first had the idea to share the products I’ve found to be the best for my own rosacea-friendly lifestyle, I talked to some of the companies from whom I’d purchased my very favourite products.
There were lots of different things inside this lifestyle box. Some were skin care, others were sun protection, some were accessories, one was a very special surprise gift from me to you. All were sensitive/reactive skin-friendly and they’re all things I’ve reviewed in the past and have continued to use and adore. Valued at $50, I sold them at a fraction of that cost. The companies I spoke to were fantastic and supportive. That experience alone was inspiring. Since I paid for it all with my own money – and I’m a writer, so I’m not exactly swimming in cash – I put only a small number of Rosy Life Kit boxes together.
After only one launch video, they were nearly all gone! I didn’t even get the chance to mention them here on my blog (until now), and I barely even spoke about them on Facebook and Twitter. Holy cow! I’d expected to have to give them all to friends and family as Christmas presents haha. I’m thrilled that so many people were interested in testing out what I’d tried and liked.
I do have a very small number left because I deliberately stopped talking about them completely. Canada Post looked like it was going to go on strike this summer, and I didn’t want to sell boxes to people they’d have to wait weeks or months to receive. As it turns out, there was no strike, so if you want a Rosy Life Kit, now’s your chance because once they’re gone, they’re gone. They’re extremely limited edition, and I’m almost out of them.
I tested a huge number of rosacea skin care products
This summer was a huge time for me to test out a ton of rosacea skin care products, makeup products and other concoctions to apply to the skin or consume in order to treat, heal or hide rosacea symptoms.
I fell in love with SBT Seabuckthorn’s new Wellness Matcha and made up a ton of recipes out of it. They include everything from beverages to vegan ice cream and even mini-cheesecakes, each using this glorious powder.
I was swept off my feet by Celtic Complexion and its full line of different skin care products that are all safe for rosacea sufferers (full blog about these coming soon), including a sunscreen and (drum roll please) a facial scrub! It’s been years since I’ve been able to use an exfoliating product! The Calming Serum is also unlike anything I’ve experienced before and is more than likley the best product I’ve ever applied to a rosacea flare-up.
I still haven’t got the hang of Substance natural sunscreen because I get white stuff on everything when I use it, but it was well worth the try.
I was also flattered to be sent two of the Cover Girl Katy Kat products just before they hit the shelves – the Katy Kat Eye mascara and the Katy Kat Matte lipstick. Both were a ton of fun to test out.
I tried the super-affordable RubyLux Light Therapy bulbs
At the start of the summer, a Rosy Friend asked me if I’d tried the RubyLux light therapy bulbs because they were unbelievably affordable and she wanted to know if they worked. I confessed that I’d never even heard of them so I couldn’t tell her about any personal experience about them
Then it dawned on me. Why wouldn’t I try these bulbs to help out my Rosy Friends? After all, if these could work as effective light therapy for rosacea, it could be much more affordable than the methods I’d previously been using.
I contacted the owner of the company and she (VERY generously) offered me the products for free if I’d pay for the shipping. That was unexpected and absolutely wonderful of her. I was more than happy to cover the shipping and soon I had a Rubylux All Red, RubyLux All Yellow and RubyLux All Blue bulb to test.
These bulbs were great (full blog about them coming soon)! I wouldn’t say they’re appropriate for the type of use I’d need to put them through simply because they’d take too long to treat my whole face. However, I can’t think of a better way to test out light therapy in an inexpensive way to see if your skin will react well to it. It’s the perfect option for a patch test. The RubyLux light bulbs are also a fantastic travel form of light therapy if you’d rather leave a more expensive device at home.
I’m starting a new rosacea light therapy experiment
After having such fantastic luck with red light therapy for rosacea and amber light therapy, too, I’ve taken it upon myself to test green light therapy. Unlike when I tested the Dual Care light therapy on my rosacea, back when it was just a prototype (though it has since become a successful and popular treatment for rosacea if my understanding is correct), I’m doing this experiment all on my own.
I already have a green light therapy bulb because I was using it indirectly for anxiety and insomnia issues about a year ago. After doing a bit of research and talking to a lot of rosacea sufferers, I started to wonder if green light might have some benefits for the rosacea condition, too. My hope is that it will help to cool down the sensation of red light therapy for rosacea (though I don’t have much of a problem with that, I’ve heard some other people do) and that it will help me with some of the lasting “permanent” redness on my face that just never goes away.
I started on September 10 and plan to do it every day for three months. Wish me luck!
I created a rosacea product review database
After wanting to take on something like this for a very long time, I’ve finally created a rosacea product review database. Several people have asked me to create a list of products I’ve tried, but every time I attempted to get one started, it just seemed too daunting. It wasn’t something that could fit on this website.
Instead, I created a sister site for this blog: https://rosyjuliebc.com/
It’s still a work in progress but I’ve added around 30 or more products, so far. The goal is to add every product I’ve ever tried and reviewed or discussed, regardless of whether I liked it or not. At the new site, I talk about what it is, where you can get it, what the claims are, what I said about it in my review (including text and/or video) and an ingredients list, where appropriate.
My goal in creating that site is to make it easier for you to look through all the products I’ve tried so it might be easier for you to find something that is appropriate for your own unique rosacea symptoms.
Just because something worked for me, it doesn’t mean it will work for you. Just because something didn’t work for me, it doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. But at least there is finally one place to be able to discover it all at once. I’ve broken it down into skin care, makeup and lifestyle products with sub-categories to make things easier to find. There is also a search feature in case you have something specific in mind that you’d like to find.
I’m continually adding to the site since I’ve now tried well over a hundred products. It will take some time, but I’m populating it as quickly as I can because I think this type of resource is sorely needed online. I’m thrilled to be able to provide it!
PHEW!
That’s just a fragment of what’s been going on over the last while. I’ll try to keep blogging much more frequently so my updates won’t be long enough to make your eyes burn from now on.
I’m looking forward to future posts that will give my full review of the many Celtic Complexion products I tried, of all the different colors of affordable RubyLux lights, and of my amazing new red-amber and green light therapy for rosacea experiment!
So much is going on right now, and I’m very excited to share it with you. Until then, I hope I’ve shared enough with you to be helpful in your own efforts to combat rosacea symptoms and live the Rosy Life.
See you soon!
Living the "Rosy Life" 
Congratulations on earning your status as a ‘Rosacea Goddess.’ 😉 I am *seriously* impressed by your dedication, creativity, sheer hard work and openness to experimentation as a ‘rosacea guinea pig.’ THANK YOU for all of your hard work!
LikeLike
Thanks Aunt Cathryn. Always great to feel appreciated by family! 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Julie, I came across you by accident, but have been following your light therapy experiment with interest. I have had issues with redness and flushing for over 30 years and have tried just about everything there is including IPl and various lasers with no real improvement in the flushing which is my primary concern. I have static redness but fortunately my texture is really good and have the odd breakout here and there. I have terrible warm room flushing and also wake up very flushed. I’m very hypersensitive. I have the soothing rain low level red light therapy but still no real change. I thought infra red was problematic for rosacea? Anyway I have been thinking about the Amber light. I know we are all different which is the problem, but what is your verdict now on this particular therapy?
LikeLike
Hi Jane. I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through this struggle, too. In answer to your questions, I don’t really know anything about infrared light therapy as I’ve never tried it. I’ve definitely enjoyed the difference that visible red/amber LED light therapy have made to my own symptoms (subtypes 1 and 2) both in healing them and preventing them from coming back. So far with the green light, I think I may be seeing a difference, but it hasn’t really been long enough to tell. I made a video about my progress a short while ago – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6YrumDHm9g. I’m hoping to keep this up for three months before I try to fully decide whether it’s working or not.
The reason I want to wait before deciding is that I find a lot of therapies start off well or start off terribly and then change direction after a few weeks of use. I’ve had treatments start by giving me a massive flare-up, only to clear everything up and work wonderfully after the first couple of weeks. I’ve also had products (including prescriptions) work fantastically for the first 4-8 weeks, only to stop working or start causing side effects.
So in the name of fairness, I’m trying to give the green light a fair shot before I say for certain that it has or has not worked for me. So far, though, I feel that visible red and amber light therapy has been quite effective in my case. I plan to continue it into the foreseeable future, regardless of whether or not that includes green light, too.
I hope that answered your questions. If not, please don’t hesitate to ask me more 🙂 Have a great weekend!
LikeLike
Thank you so much for your prompt reply Julie. Yes, I agree with absolutely everything you say. I wonder what the difference is between visible and infra-red light is. Did you feel the combination of the red/amber on your skin was hot when using it? I personally struggle with anything that creates heat! Do you have problems with flushing and have you noticed a difference in that since using the lights?
LikeLike
To be honest, when used normally (at around 8-10 inches from my face) I didn’t feel that the red/amber combination produced heat that I could sense, but that did happen when I was using the red light on its own. I’ve talked to other people that have been sensitive to the red light on its own, too. They’ve all been people whose rosacea symptoms react to any little bit of heat. Usually when the red light was used from a greater distance, that went away, but that wasn’t always the case. I’ve talked to one person whose skin was so sensitive that any tiny bit of heat was enough to set it off.
For the sake of my research with green light, I’ve been trying to deliberately produce the heat reaction with my face, so I’ve been using the Dual Care light closer to my face than I typically would. I’m using it at the minimum recommended distance (6 inches from my face). At that distance, my skin does look a bit more red once the session is finished, but it cools down in around 20-ish minutes. I don’t know if that fast time is because of the green light or not. In retrospect, I should have tested it at that distance for a couple of weeks without the green to see if it cools down as quickly. I might try that for a couple of weeks after I’m done my three months with the green light to see if that makes a difference.
To be clear, heat is one of my rosacea triggers. It creates one of the fastest responses. Even walking from cooler weather into a heated building can cause my face to flush. The red light did it because of its intensity, but the red/amber doesn’t really seem to do it to me unless I use it at the closest distance and the longest time.
I hope this info helps you!
LikeLike
Julie, You Are Awesome!!! Keep postin cause you are always helping someone out there.
LikeLike
Thank you very much!!! 🙂
LikeLike
Hi Julie,
Just wondering about how you are going with the amber light therapy? just interested in your experience and where you are at with that.
Thanks heaps in anticipation.
Regards,
Jane
LikeLike
Hi Jane,
I’m still using amber along with red and I absolutely love it. I’ve been using a combination red/amber bulb for about a year now, and I feel that using it in combination with trigger avoidance and proper skin care has let me stay on top of my rosacea symptoms. I still get the occasional flare-up but they’re much shorter and far more rare.
Over the last three months, I’ve been testing out a green light after the use of my red/amber light therapy. I feel it’s verrrrry slowly helping to reduce the permanent redness I have on my face, but it’s the red/amber that is doing the main job of healing any problems and preventing new ones from popping up.
I hope that answers your question, Jane. If it didn’t, please feel welcome to let me know what I didn’t cover 🙂
Take care.
LikeLike
Thank you so much Julie, I really welcome your feedback. I have used the soothing rain red light therapy for some time with not really noticeable results. I have been in touch with Louanna from this Company and she has suggested trying just the amber. I must admit I am a bit scared of the red light as I don’t want a flare up as that is what I am trying to avoid. I still get the occasional really bad flare up which is mainly due to warm environments and stress and it is that type of flush which I would like to be able to alleviate on the spot. Have you tried that with the amber light? trying to sooth it when it happens. I stilll have some static redness on my face, it is mainly the flushing which I want to control. I am so scared of having an intense flush that I think the anxiety is the main trigger. I think I would feel much calmer if I know there is something I can use on the spot that will calm it down as that feeling terrifies me!
LikeLike
Hi again, Jane,
Louanna’s super-nice, isn’t she? She’s always given me friendly thoughts on what might work for me whenever I’ve emailed with questions about the products.
I haven’t tried amber alone on a flare-up, but I have tried red and amber combined. In fact, I recorded it once and put it on YouTube in case you’re interested in watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iUwb3PR-is The flare-up just happened to align with the time of day that I’d usually do my light therapy so I decided to record it to show what happens. Please keep in mind that I’d been using the bulb for months by that point so my skin’s response to it was much faster than it was at the start. Over time, my skin seems to respond more quickly to the light for some reason I can’t explain. I did tell Louanna about that, but I can’t remember what her reply was and I can’t find the email even though I know I still have it. I just wanted to add that extra point so I don’t mislead you about how fast the light can work.
In my case, I find that the red/amber combo works because there is red but it isn’t as intense as red on its own, and the amber provides a gentler effect so that helps to soothe at the same time. I did test out amber on its own for a while, but it didn’t do quite enough for what I was hoping. It worked, just not as completely as I need it to.
Anxiety is a big trigger for me, too. I have social anxiety disorder and panic disorder. I’ve had them for at least a couple of decades, but likely longer. I’ve always blushed deeply, but rosacea seems to have upped that game.
I don’t usually use the lights as a spot treatment. I use them as a daily treatment/maintenance on a regular schedule. The reason is that there is only so much energy your skin can absorb in a day. After that, it’s maxed out and basically you’re shining a light on your face for no additional purpose. It would be like putting too much lotion on dry hands. After a certain point, the added lotion doesn’t do anything at all (except make it impossible to open a door haha).
It was actually Louanna who explained that to me. She wrote a blog post about that here: http://lighttherapyoptions.com/why-are-your-red-near-infrared-treatment-times-so-short/
I feel for what you’re going through. It doesn’t seem fair that your main trigger is anxiety and trying to treat your symptoms is only causing you anxiety!
I’m sending you a digital hug.
LikeLike
I’m sorry for this late reply Julie, I have had so much trouble with my computer lately and I have only just found this response!! I really appreciate your in depth replies, it helps so much. I really can’t decide which option to go for, the dual or just the amber. Louanna said to try the amber seeing as I have the LLLT from soothing rain, which I have not noticed any difference with since using. I have probably asked you this before, but is this infra-red light or the low level red therapy? I have read so many reports that infra red is problematic for rosacea, even though you have not experienced this obviously. Sometimes I think I would like the added benefit of using maybe a blue light for just a spot treatment, but not sure about that either. I have read the green light which I thought was mainly for soothing, is actually for pigmentation issues. Have you ever tried IPL or V-beam or any other lasers for that matter? I have had several of all of them. My skin is pretty good when it calm, but it is so reactive to temperature in particular, and of course stress. These are my two biggies, which are very hard to avoid. Rooms where there is no circulation is just terrible for me. I usually like to sleep with a fan in my room and hate extremes of whether conditions. It can be so difficult to manage and hence that is where the anxiety kicks in. You are probably sick of my questions, it’s just that I get myself so confused! Sending you right a virtual hug!!
Kindest regards,
Jane
LikeLike
Hi Jane,
I’m very sorry to hear that you are struggling with finding the right light therapy for you. I’ve never tried any of the Soothing Rain products, so I can’t speak from experience about how their products work or how they work in combination with Louanna’s products from Smarter Lights.
I can tell you that I’m using combined red and amber light therapy in the Smarter Lights Dual Care product and have previously successfully used separate red and amber Smarter Lights. For me, it helps to keep the vast majority of my flare-ups under control. I still have them on occasion, but that’s usually because I’ve been lazy in avoiding triggers…or because it was Christmas and I binged on cookies…
I’ve never used infrared. I’ve read too much about side effects from infrared for me to be brave enough to test it, especially when I’m having success with red and amber.
I have tried blue light therapy from RubyLux. While I did find that helped me to heal actual acne-type pimples (not rosacea papules/pustules), I didn’t find that the blue light made any difference to my rosacea symptoms.
I recently completed a 3-month test of green light therapy, which I documented on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Z31pnS-jA I found that green light was soothing to use (I also found it had a calming effect on me emotionally, in case that matters). I don’t know if green light did anything for my flare-up symptoms because I was still using the Dual Care at the time, but I feel that green is sloooowly reducing my permanent redness. I’ve continued to use it and am hopeful that this effect will continue.
I’ve never tried IPL or laser because I’m having too much success with lifestyle changes and high power LED light therapy. IPL and laser is also more expensive than my budget allows, and I’ve heard that it is painful both during the procedure and during recovery.
However, I did interview a dermatologist named Dr. Nisith Sheth, last year (https://treatrosacea.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/a-dermatologists-answers-to-my-top-rosacea-questions/), and he shared his thoughts on laser. His practice is in London, England at Cedars Dermatology. When speaking of IPL and laser, he said “Published literature suggests you can get a 75% improvement over 2 treatments. In reality most people need at least 4 treatments leading to a 60-80% improvement. 100% improvement is possible but not common. Published literature suggests improvement in symptoms for 3-5 years but again in reality most practitioners I speak to say 1-5 years with many patients needing a top up treatment annually or every 2 years. Whilst they are not cures IPL or lasers can dramatically improve quality of life.”
I sleep with a fan in my room in the summer, too, but in the winter I use a cool-mist humidifier, instead. It still provides a bit of air circulation but it stops me from drying out like a prune. I’ve found that makes a difference because I live in a place where winters are very cold.
I completely understand the struggles with anxiety. I have social anxiety disorder and panic disorder, and I just seem to be a regularly stressed-out individual. The slightest thing happens and I can feel the heat/redness climbing from my neck and shoulders up to my face and then it gets to my rosacea. Stressing about finding the right treatment only makes it worse (argh!!!).
I wish I had more answers for you but I can only share my own experience as I’m not an expert in any of this.
That said, please don’t ever think that you’re bothering me with your questions, Jane. I wouldn’t be keeping up a blog and YouTube channel (or facebook page, or twitter…etc) if I didn’t want people to contact me. I’m not trying to hold a one-sided conversation with the world. I welcome questions, comments, recommendations, and so on. I don’t have all the answers. No one does. The only way we, as rosacea patients, can figure out our strategies is to talk to people, educate ourselves and try things out.
Sending you a virtual hug back!
Julie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Julie, just lost everything I typed!! Just one question for now, this is definitely not infra-red?
LikeLike
Oh dear! I hope you hadn’t written too much, Jane. That’s so frustrating for you!
If you’re referring to the Dual Care light, it’s definitely not infrared. It’s regular red and amber.
The product page is here: https://www.smarterlights.com/product-p/lto-007.htm?Click=2273 If you scroll partway down to the “technical specifications” tab, it shows that the red is 637 nm and the amber is 590 nm. The infrared part of the spectrum starts at 700 nm, so the Dual Care is way back in the regular red range 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Julie, yes I had written a bit of an essay! Never mind. I just wanted to really clarify that the dual was definitely not infra-red, which it obviously is not. I have also been looking at the Celtic Complexion range too, are you still using this? It looks good, I just worry that it might make my skin break out. I have seen your reviews, are you going to post something about it again soon as I would be very interested in your thoughts. By the way, Happy New Year!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jane,
Happy New Year!
Glad I could answer your question about the infrared 🙂
Also, it’s so funny that you should mention the Celtic Complexion line. I don’t know if you saw my most recent blog post ( https://treatrosacea.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/starting-2017-with-a-rosacea-friendly-spa-evening-at-home/?preview_id=519&preview_nonce=4ceb4dc072&post_format=standard&_thumbnail_id=-1&preview=true ), but I did drop a mention in it saying that I’ll be releasing a full review of every product I was given from Celtic Complexion, in my next blog post! I’m hoping to publish it next week.
So to answer your newest question: I will absolutely be reviewing all the products I tried in the very near future! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Julie,
Your spa treatment looked very impressive! it is so important to nurture yourself for sure. I am pretty keen on this Celtic complexion range and am looking at giving it a try when my own skin care range is starting to run out. I am very much into aromatherapy so it appeals to me on many levels. I might just get a kit to try it out first. I struggle very much psychologically with this condition. I have allowed it to control my life as it impacts every waking moment and every decision I make. We are full on summer here at the moment which is not great for my skin, just as winter isn’t. I won’t go anywhere where there is no air conditioning and humidity is just so difficult. Winter is just as bad with cold weather conditions and hot rooms. I start panicking when I find myself somewhere where there is no air circulation. I suck on ice when I am out and overall really struggle environmentally.. I don’t really know whether the rosacea causes the anxiety or vice versa, a bit like the chilcken or the egg! Unless you have rosacea, no-one really understands the day to day impact it has on your life, which is true of whatever you happen to suffer with. I have allowed it to really restrict me and I have a real fear factor thing going on with my skin, almost like it is the enemy and some separate entity I am fighting with constantly. That sounds pretty weird but that is pretty much how I feel about it. I would love to have a coffee, sit in front of a fire, go on a tropical holiday, have a glass of wine etc. There are so many people 100 times worse off with far more debilitation I know and I am very sensitive and caring to that, but sometimes I get the woes with what I see is a constant battle. Sorry, vent now over!! Hope you have a fantastic weekend. x
LikeLike
Jane, I wish I could hug you right now. I can relate to so much of what you’ve said.
The way you expressed it is so raw and real, I feel like you plucked some of it right out of my own thoughts and feelings. I think of anxiety-or-rosacea symptoms as the chicken-or-egg scenario, too.
I also sometimes feel as though rosacea is this “thing” that is independent of me. I used to think it was something with which I was continually fighting a losing battle. Now I’ve moved on to a phase where I am sometimes very frustrated with it and other times I can embrace it as a part of my life.
Blogging, making videos, etc has been like therapy for me. Hearing from people like you and being able to talk about it has made a huge difference to my ability to cope. I may be frustrated with it now, but I don’t have meltdowns from it anymore like I used to. I hope you can push through and reach a less anxious phase, too. It’s such a difficult place to be.
What you said about the tropical holiday/coffee/wine, etc reminded me of the challenge I had booking my last vacation. I was going away for only 4 days and all I wanted to do was try a spa for the first time. I went to a town that is known for its amazing spas but all the treatments involved facial products I couldn’t use or therapies involving heat. Finally, I was essentially forced to choose options that would do the least damage and just accept the fact that I’d be flared up the whole time. And yup, I was flared up the whole time. I still had fun, but a considerable component of the trip had to do with controlling the burning/redness and so on. I feel like you genuinely understand what that’s like. It makes such a difference to me to know someone else out there gets it. I only hope I’m bringing you at least some of the same comfort you bring me when you share your story. For this reason, please don’t ever feel that you need to apologize for venting it out now and again.
I am working on my huge review of all the Celtic Complexion products right now. I think it should be ready and published by Wednesday. That said, I did review a bunch of them already on my YouTube channel in case you want to hear me babbling about my experiences with them before you read about it (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4eyHgRRpEIJSsNfc3PhSw/search?query=celtic+complexion). I’ve also posted quick reviews of some of the products I’ve tried on my product review site: https://rosyjuliebc.wordpress.com/?s=celtic+complexion.
As a bit of a “spoiler”, the Calming Serum was absolutely wonderful for me and even provided all the moisturizing I needed for the summer. The Tinted Moisturizer and the Sunscreen made an amazing difference for me last summer, too. I think of those two products as being very similar except that the sunscreen made my face look whiter than the Tinted Moisturizer. The Tinted Moisturizer gave my skin a more “natural” complexion. The two products have nearly the same sun protection factor (SPF), so it really depends on the finish you want.
Whether you’re hoping to try one of the sample-size kits (there’s even one specific to Rosacea skin care) or full size, I’ll let you in on a “secret”…you might want to hold off until my review is released as I will be offering a coupon code. I told the owner of the company that I would be reviewing her products (just to give her a heads up – I’m not affiliated with the company in any way and I don’t make any money if they sell products), and she was generous enough to give me a coupon code to offer all my readers a great discount on their orders. So if you can wait until later this week, there will be a way to test out the products at a cheaper price. I just thought I’d let you know because I’d feel guilty if I didn’t tell you if you decided to order something and ended up paying the full price.
I hope you’re having a better day today, Jane. Stay cool! 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Julie, yes it is great to be able to share with a like-minded person who actually gets it. You really need to be in the situation to fully get the day to day trials, ups and downs and just the feelings that this evokes. Just going to work can be an ordeal, I am forever adjusting the heating/cooling which unfortunately does not always make you top of the popularity stakes!! I have a little fan near my computer which serves me pretty well, but I find when I concentrate and/or get flustered these too can be pretty good triggers for me. Needless to say most of my energy goes towards establishing my environment and keeping calm, quite exhausting by the end of the day! I have had a look at all of your stuff on you-tube which is really helpful and I have also investigated the Celtic Collection website pretty thoroughly. I like to gather all my information before I make a decision, especially when paying out a bit of money. Like I said previously, I would hate to think how much I have spent on my face over the years, its heaps. Thanks for the heads up about the promo, that would be great. I just topped up my skin care so I want to use a bit more of that before I purchase simply because it was so expensive and I can’t bring myself to waste it. It has been pretty good on my skin, just so super expensive. I am a very holistic person by nature, so these products line up more with my philosophy.
I love the healing benefits of essential oils. I really appreciate all you do, it really is true, a problem shared is a problem halved. Still trying to keep cool! xx
LikeLike
Hi Julie, It’s great to have someone who can relate so well, it is not the easiest journey to be on, but everyone has things that are difficult to cope with. It’s just good to be able to share with someone who genuinely can relate. My story is extensive and I could go on for days, fill a whole book with my experiences both physical and emotional, it has been and continues to be such a journey. I really admire you willing to try so many different things in the quest to help others. I, on the other hand am terrified of trying anything in the name of experimentation for fear of the results. I have had lots of laser and IPL with some measures of success as far as lack of progression of symptoms, but they all still terrify me every time!! I have watched all of your you-tube vides and have found them to be really helpful. Like I said, I am very interested in Celtic Complexion because the whole organic philosophy resonates with me because that is pretty much how I live anyway. I never compromise my beliefs unless it comes to my skin. If someone tells me something will work I will go down that path like I have with my current skincare. It is extremely expensive and my skin seems ok with it considering it comprises AHA’s and Vitamin A. I just always worry about the chemical component and my deep held belief that mother nature knows best. Anyway, thanks for the heads up about the promo, it could be timely to give it a go even though I have just stocked up on my current products and don’t want to waste them. I should probably think about insuring my face, all the supermodels with some part of their anatomy!! Anyway, still trying to keep cool, hope you are coping with winter over there. xx
LikeLike
Jane,
You’re very right that rosacea is quite the emotional journey.
Thank you for the kudos you gave me for my willingness to experiment. I think I’m doing it more out of desperation (and stubbornness) than any kind of bravery. I’m determined to get my symptoms under control. I know I’ll never be entirely free of the redness, but I want to do everything I can to make sure it’s as faint as possible and that I don’t need to deal with the burning, itching, bumps etc that my rosacea also likes to share.
If you do try the Celtic Complexion line, I genuinely hope it works for you, too. I wish I could tell you with certainty that it will, but we all seem to react to products in different ways. Some of us find one solution to be perfect while others of us will find that same product to be a symptom trigger.
I can definitely say that it’s one of the best lines I’ve ever tried, particularly the products specifically made with rosacea in mind.
In case you are hoping to use the coupon code, it’s ROSEYJULIE and it saves you 30% off anything on the Celtic Complexion site except the Celtic Jewel product. The coupon code is good until January 20.
(please note that I don’t make money if you use this coupon code. It’s just something nice the company offered me to share with my blog readers. So I’m not trying to sell you anything by telling you about it)
Also, I love your comment about insuring your face like celebrities do with their body parts. That really cracked me up. Hmmm, maybe we should talk to an insurance company about coming up with a “Rosacea Insurance” policy 😉
I hope you’re still keeping cool. I’ll send you some digital Canadian snow to help out!
LikeLike
Thanks so much for your reply Julie, it’s just great to share with someone who genuinely understands. I do intend trying Celtic Complexion but I need to use up (very expensive) the skin care I currently have, I just can’t justify or afford to waste it. I think I will get the trial pack in a few months to test it out (unfortunate that I will miss out on the discount, but I would have lost a lot more had I wasted my products. I just had a v-beam treatment which went ok. I never notice a huge difference but it does stop it from progressing. My skin is quite patchy now, so when I am calm you can definitely see patches of fair skin. I complain about the weather here, but I just spoke with a friend who has come back from Canada visiting his family and he was saying it is FREEZING, from what he was describing there is no way that would be a good environment for rosacea at all. You must find it tough in those kind of conditions. Our winters are no where near anything like that. Temperature is one of my biggest triggers and also one of the hardest to control because most of the time it is out of your control!! I just saw where you have released a magazine, how great is that!! I’m not tech savvy at all, so had difficultly enlarging it to read from the rosacea society link. I will need to figure it out.
Anyway, keep doing what you are doing because you are really helping others such as myself. This is such a tough thing to live with, but having someone like you waving the flag for us with such wonderful sharing makes the journey so much easier. So continued kudos to you! xx
LikeLike
[…] I will be reviewing the Celtic Complexion line of products, the Alon Labs Rewind Lotion, and I have several big things in the works to share with you in 2017. See you […]
LikeLike