Milk of Magnesia

The oily T-Zone struggle is so real guys, especially in hot climates. Unfortunately, no one make foundation (or roll on…) that’s strong enough for this type of heat so we must rely on primers. In the blog post titled “Setting the Budget Slay”, I promised to speak on my experience with Milk of Magnesia as a primer alternative. As I mentioned in that post, primer costs an arm, a leg and a kidney. Case in point is the Rimmel Fix and Protect Primer which costs R99.95 for only 30ml at Dischem in South Africa. You could argue that this primer has SPF 25 and is actually meant to be used on the face, but still, R100 is a lot of money if you still have to buy your other monthly basics.

Product: Milk of Magnesia. I heard about this on YouTube and decided to try it out.

MAJOR DISCLAIMER!!!

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Milk of Magnesia is an antacid meant for consumption, not topical application in any way, shape, or form. Use at your own risk and discretion.

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Price: R46 for 100ml at Dischem.

Texture: Chalky milk liquid.

My Experience of Using It: It works. Just shake up the bottle because the contents do tend to settle. Apply on a cotton pad and pat onto oil prone areas of your face. Milk of magnesia is white, so you might be worried the ghostly look after it dries on your face. Don’t be worried, your foundation will cover that up well, and you will not have a grey cast/ flash back. The matte look lasts for quite a few hours, I’d say a max of 4-5 hours, but is not invincible. I guess a translucent powder might extend this time frame. Be warned that Milk of Magnesia does not contain sunscreen, so I’d suggest you try to stay indoors, or use a foundation with SPF. I had no after effects of using Milk of Magnesia as primer – i.e. no break outs, strange rashes, or skin discolouration. My skin is not sensitive. Milk of Magnesia will give you a matte effect, but not a smooth texture because it doesn’t fill in your pores. You can wash it off with your usual face wash. The best part is that this product is universally available, even in Zimbabwe!

Extra Information: Since this is not a face product, I do not recommend it for everyday use. I limit use to special occasions only, and these occur once in a blue moon for me. Some YouTubers recommend the Nivea Men’s After Shave Balm for Sensitive Skin (R85 for 100ml) as a very good alternative to Milk of Magnesia. At least Nivea is a skin product, so I’d give this a try as well.

Verdict: It works, just like they said in the YouTube videos. I’m going to try out the Nivea before a repurchase – but it is worth a repurchase.

Laid Edges

If your hair is of the African variety then you probably know the struggle of getting your hairline/edges to conform to your “hair objectives”. If your objective is to slick your hair back in a high-bun, then your edges are probably too short to play along. If your objective is to have a protective style like braids or a wig, your edges try to give up on you by falling out. When are we chocolate girls actually going to catch a hairline break? If you have un-processed African hair, you constantly have to fight the temptation to apply relaxer.

I recently embarked on a journey to protect and groom my edges. I started taking hair supplements (which I don’t believe actually work), and I’ve been taking a stronger stance on moisturising and grooming the edges using a combination of 2 kinds of products. To moisturise, I use various hair foods containing castor oil and peppermint oil and then to groom, I lay those edges down with some good old fashioned hair gel.

Vaida’s Super Sheen Hair Gel – Less than US$2

The idea of using hair gel was a little foreign at first for 2 reasons. Firstly and most importantly, I was NOT trying to look like I fell out of a 90s RnB music video with over exaggerated gel slicked edges. Even worse, that gel from the 90s usually contains alcohol that has dries your hair our and causes flaking – who actually wants to look ashy? Secondly, although I’d seen African Americans use edge control products quite well, I’d never seen those products in local stores, and I was convinced that they had slightly softer hair texture (easier to tame). The minute I saw an affordable water based hair gel at my local super-market, I jumped at the opportunity to try it out. It was Vaida’s Super Sheen Hair Gel. It contains glycerine, and vitamin E and promotes curls, even in natural hair.

After asking a friend (yes you Rufaro) about hairline management, she told me that she relied on a gel I’d have never considered – Super Dax Black Freeze Jell (Zimbabwe Variety). Considering that this gel is typically used for the “Gel-up” hair style that tends to look dry and crusty after a few weeks, I was a little sceptical. When I saw the gel during a recent shopping trip, the price shocked me and I had no choice but to try it out.

Super Dax Freeze Jell (Gel)

Claims: Strong hold. No flaking.

Price on at OK Zimbabwe: US$0.85 for 100g – yes that’s right, its less than a dollar!

Colour Pay Out:  As this is a black gel, I was worried that it would leave my scalp with black streaks. Fortunately that does not happen. It functions like a clear gel.

Texture: Like the jelly you would eat with your trifle. The Vaida’s hair gel has a slightly runny texture.

My Experience of Using It: It works like a dream. The claims it makes are true. It has the power tame my unruly edges and it does not flake. When I style my edges using this gel, they don’t get that superficial glossy look that makes then look fake and ghetto (for lack of a better word). The texture is the same as my natural hair. A little goes a long way. I just dab a little along my hair line and brush with an old toothbrush. At the end of the day, my hair line didn’t feel dry and crusty – in fact the hair in that area had a pleasantly soft texture. You can easily wash it off during your face washing routine.

Extra Information: You can leave out your delicate edges the next time you braid your hair. Instead, just slick them down with some Dax, and you’ll probably be able to keep your braids in for longer.

Verdict: You can achieve the relaxed baby hair look without using relaxer! Dax is cheap, has no side effects, and is readily available across the country. Some Zim girls living in SA even import it. I will definitely repurchase …. if it ever runs out.

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Brows On Fleek!

Every girl knows that in order to truly slay, your eyebrows need to be on done just right. Many products for shaping and filling in the eyebrows are available on the market. I’ve gone through my fair share of options as well, from the brow pencil, to brow powder, to dark brown eyeshadow, and of course to eyebrow gel. My mission – to fill in my brows but still have them looking as natural as possible.

Before brow gel, I relied on brow pencils that I hated sharpening. The twist out brow pencils weren’t ideal either because I could never tell when they were about to finish. The worst is when you’re in a rush to go somewhere but you can’t fill in your eyebrows because you ran out of liner and your back up liner is unsharpened! Brow powders, on the other hand, have always seemed unreliable to me.

I was happy to discover brow gel but of course, the gels that I found in the mainstream beauty supply stores were far too expensive. I eventually discovered a brow gel in a China store – the ADS Mesmerizing Eyeliner. Honestly, sometimes these China store are grossly underappreciated … emphasis on sometimes.  The ADS Eyeliner came in a set with two gels in brown and black and two mini brushes, one of which was an angle brush – talk about value for money! I can’t remember how much it cost but I know it was cheap and looked like this

ADS 2 in 1 Eyeliner Gel

 

The ADS eyeliner set was truly good to me, it lasted for a few YEARS, and I still have the black gel. It was easy to apply, could be manipulated easily, and didn’t dry while in the pot. The only drawback was that it was a little greasy.

When the brown gel ran out, I tried to repurchase it through AliExpress but I couldn’t find it. Reluctant as I was to try a new brand, it had to be done and I eventually settled on the USHAS Cosmetics Matte Eyeliner Gel. It also comes with an angle brush for application.

 

 

Ushas Brown Gel Eyeliner

Claims: Water-proof, long lasting, matte, quick setting.

Price on AliExpress: US$1.57 (free shipping via normal mail) Plus US$2 Post Office Handling Fee.

Expected Delivery Time: Maximum of 2 months.

Actual Delivery Time: Over 3 months – I think this may change depending on where in the world you live and when you place your order. An order placed during or just before the festive season or Chinese New Year will definitely take longer than expected.

Colour Pay Out:  Very dark brown that looks almost black especially if you apply to much. It would be visible on the darkest shade of African skin, but may be too dark for the lighter shades of African skin.

Texture: It looks thick and pasty but actually has a silky texture. Nowhere near the oily texture of the ADS gel. To be honest, the pasty look makes me feel like it will probably dry in the pot before it is finished.

Used Ushas Eyeliner Gel

Eyeliner Gel and Angle Brush

My Experience of Using It: Because of its pasty looking nature, my first experience with this brow gel was a bit shocking. I put a bit too much product on the angle brush and ended up with very stark looking brows – imaging an extreme version of Cara Delevingne! I tried to wipe off the excess, but this gel sets very quickly and really is water-proof as advertised. Since then, I’ve learnt to use a much lighter hand in my application and to work faster. The gel initially does give a matte finished as advertised, but the matte finish disappears as my T-zone oils start to seep through. The best part about this brow gel is that it is oil and water resistant – it literally does not budge. You never have to worry about accidentally wiping off your eyebrow and it lasts the whole day. It comes off easily when washed with facewash.

Extra Information: The angle brush that comes with the USHAS gel liner seemed sturdy at first, but as can be expected with most Chinese products, it’s not built to last. The top of the brush is not glued on securely to the handle of the brush. I’d recommend using another angle brush altogether or using some super glue to attach the head back onto the handle. The brush head itself is of decent quality.

Verdict: Your brows will be on fleek! And you can definitely slay on a budget with the USHAS brow gel. It’s cheap, has no side effects, and I see it all over town here in Bulawayo, so I assume it’s easily available in 3^rd world countries. I probably will repurchase it.

How my eyebrows looked after using USHAS Eyeliner Gel