The strangest acne minimiser.

As a teenager I had mild- moderate acne. Most teens get it, but it always made me super self conscious, especially when all my friends had next to no acne at all. 

I tried all of the on the shelf acne creams, cleansers and toners that you could think of. Then 

I tried Duac, a prescribed and medicated cream, which worked fantastically, that was until my skin decided to develop an allergic reaction to one of the chemicals used in the cream. I was almost tempted to try the famous Pro-Active, but my local chemist warned me that it is prone to completely dry your skin out, especially on people with sensitive skin. She then offered me Az-clear products, which were medicated, but didn't have strong chemicals. It worked for a while, but my acne still seemed to burst through.

Now I'm a young adult (nearly 23), and my acne is now adult acne. It drives me crazy. It's worse than teenage acne for sure! So a few weeks ago, I decided to do some internet research. Home made face masks made my skin feel a bit more moisturised, but I didn't find much worth in them, because they didn't do much for my Acne. With a bit more research I found my new favourite product.....

.... Tee tree oil!.....

I have no idea why I hadn't thought of using it before! 

Here's the trick.....

I've done face steams in the past: where you fill up a deep bowl or a jug with boiling water, and then lean over it with a towel over your head...It's like a mini sauna, but for your face. Breathing in the hot steam is good for clearing your sinuses, and it also opens up your pores. It is quite a relaxing experience. Ten minutes of that, and I feel like falling asleep! Now that I've discovered my love of tee tree, I have made my face sauna even more blissful, by adding a small amount of the oil into the bowl of water. Since tee tree is a great wound healing product, I love that while the steam is opening up my pores, the tee tree is cleansing. 

Straight after that, I grab a bit of cotton wool, or a swisper, and I put some of the tee tree oil on it, to dab on my pimples. It can sting a little, but the sting doesn't last long. 

If I've done both of those things before I go to bed, I wake up with a lot less bumps and redness all over my face. It slightly dries the skin out, so don't drench your face in pure tee tree! I also usually put on a good oil free moisturiser in the morning before my makeup, which really helps my makeup go on better if my face is dry.

I hope this helps someone else with acne. Seriously, try it!

My bucket list

Love them

As Christians, we are called to love...

During my teenage years I found myself being far from loving. I wanted to follow the crowd, and I tried to do that as well as follow Jesus. I knew little theology, and when I found the courage to talk to my friends about Jesus, I made stuff up in order to be "right". I told my friends that I was right, when in fact I was wrong. I wasn't wrong in saying that Jesus is for real, but I argued my faith without anything to back me up. On top of everything, I didn't even follow any of the immature advice that I was giving!  

Matthew 7:3-5

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

I was a hypocrite. Sometimes I argued rubbish, and sometimes I simply ignored my faith as though it didn't matter. I am thankful that God placed people in my life to correct me.

 In the past few years, I've spent a huge amount of time on the internet arguing my faith, with theologically correct facts. The problem is, fighting isn't helping. I've always believed in standing up for what I believe in, but I have started to wonder if I'm actually making a difference by forcing my faith onto an atheist (who will most likely ignore all that I say). It's probably fine If you can accurately (with enough proof) and politely correct an atheist who has the facts wrong, but mindless arguments are useless.

God's love is unending, unrelenting, and unconditional....

Ephesians 5:1-2

1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 

2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

.... To be imitators of God, we need to love those who try to fight us, and continually pray for them, instead of fighting back! 

Thoughts? 

50 questions that will free your mind (questions and answers) -question twenty three

Question twenty three-

Have you been the kind of friend that you want as a friend?

I try to be, but admittedly I made a lot of mistakes in my teens. I didn't treat some of my friends with maturity or respect. It's a lesson learned though. 

50 questions that will free your mind (questions and answers) -question twenty two

Question twenty two-

Why are you, you? 

Because God made me who I am. There is no other explanation. 

50 questions that will free your mind (questions and answers) -question twenty one

Question twenty one-

Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyfull simpleton? 

Joyfull simpleton. Pretty much what I am now hahaha! Nothing wrong with the "simple" life :) 

Beauty in creation.

Photography is my hobby. I'm certainly not a pro, I'm self taught, but I admit that I do have a skill for seeing the right things to capture. To me, photography is a beautiful art. I like to draw as well, but sometimes I can't draw what I feel, yet in photography I always feel. I'm still learning about how my camera works, and what settings I need to capture the best photo. I have a long way to go, and it's exciting that I'm improving. I love the clicking sound my camera makes, I love everything! I'm in my happy place when I take photos, and I'm sure most or all photographers can relate. 

(C) 2014 Elissa Collett        Taken at New Farm Park, Newfarm Brisbane.

Most importantly, I see creation. I love to take pictures in sunlight, because it makes everything glow. I am a tad bit proud of the photo above, because of the focus on the flower, and the reality of it. You see, it isn't just a flower. God made that flower unique. There are flowers that look like it, but when you look carefully at the finer detail, you understand that no flower is the same. Every flower is just as unique as our finger prints. If you focus on a flower long enough, you will see the detail that God has poured out into his creation. 

(C) Elissa Collet 2014.        Taken at Mount Glorius in Brisbane 

I've always hated walking into webs. They are sticky and there is always the uncertainty that a spider may have been in it, and could be now crawling in your hair.... Brrr.

However when I started taking photos of them, I realised that they aren't just an icky spider creation, they are quite beautiful (most of them). 

When you think about it, photographers are always taking photos of unique things. Even buildings and objects that are created by human hands or machines are unique. A lot of buildings look the same, but the minerals used to make the materials for buildings, such as steel, concrete and glass, have their own special place. 

Do you see what I'm getting at? 

God is in everything. God created the minerals, used in building materials. Yes, humans created the buildings, but God started it :) 

How can photographers and artists not believe in God, even though they are capturing the most mind-boggling things?