About Me

After graduating from college, I found myself in a bit of a lull between my graduation date and the start of my next adventure as a teaching assistant in the TAPIF program in France. So what did I do? Naturally, I got hooked on YouTube's beauty bloggers. Watching girls from all over the world show me their favorites, I became really interested in the different brands I was seeing, but didn't find a comprehensive way to see what was available where. So I'm hoping - fingers crossed! - that I can provide some sort of introduction to foreign brands for newbies like me through my travels and writings on International Beauty Discovery. Although I am by no means an expert, I am an avid consumer and want to share what I uncover with all of you!

Being a drugstore girl in the United States, I'm not particularly familiar with foreign brands except for the products that L'Oreal puts out stateside :/. I do, however, have general skin and beauty preferences, which I thought I'd talk about below, so you have a frame of reference for my opinions or reviews on products in the future:

Skin: Sensitive and Combination. I usually stick to unscented, hypoallergenic things for my face and body. I'm currently using the prescription Acanya for the more acne prone areas of my face and it seems to be working, but we'll see!

Hair: Wavy - Curly? My hair texture has varied over the years with hormone changes and new haircuts. I've lately been wearing it wavy with the help of texturizing mousses, balms and sea salt sprays. I also prefer products without sulfates, as I'm allergic to sulfur and my doctor advised me to stay away from sulfates to prevent irritation and itchiness.

Beauty: In general, I am open to all types of makeup provided that they fit into my budget and don't irritate my sensitive skin, but I do have a few personal biases against certain things that may skew my point of view on new products.
  1. I prefer powder foundation to liquid. I don't know what it is about liquid foundation, but it makes me feel like I have oil all over my face. Perhaps its that I haven't tried the right brand or formula, but at the moment I like to stick to powder. We'll see what I find abroad, though!
  2. I don't really know how to make my lower eyelashes work (?). I know, sinful admission! Personally, I just think that I look like a clown when I have too much on my lower lashes, and putting eye liner on my lower waterline usually just makes me self conscious about dark circles. Is it me? Does anyone else have this problem? I guess its all chocked up to facial proportions and personal preference. Mine is to leave the lower lashes simple.