Hi beauties!
So I know that this is one of my favorite things to see; I figured I would post mine for all of you...my fall skincare routine! As the weather gets colder my skin gets crankier, being that my dry spots get drier and my oily spots break out. Lately, the updated products I've been using have been keeping my skin feeling smooth and looking happy and healthy.
Some of these products are old favorites, but the rest are brand new and I'm absolutley loving them.
Morning:
1) Cleanse! I've been using the Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser. I take 2 pumps of this and smooth it all over my face and neck, then I use my Clarisonic to give myself a really deep clean. This stuff doesn't have any soap content to it, which is great for my sensitive skin and keeping it from drying out, but the foaminess gives you that squeaky clean feeling. It foams when you pump it out of the bottle, so you don't have to work it into a lather, potentially irritating your skin. Basically, this stuff is magic and it's fabulous and I recommend it to anyone with combination skin like myself.
2) Treat! I've been using the Peter Thomas Roth Gentle Complexion Correcting pads for about 8-9 months now...I feel like they get rid of any bacteria stuck in my pores. They have one exfolating side and one smooth side; the smooth side is meant to cleanse while the exfoliating side is made to tighten pores and loosen up debris. They smell like peaches (yum!) but have a 1/2% Salicylic Acid and 10% Glycolic Acid to keep acne away and fight signs of aging.
3) Tone! I've been using LUSH's toner waters for about 2 years now. I've tried all 3 in my skincare routine, but my personal favorite by far is Eau Roma water. It's basically just rose water and lavender water, so it's an astringent (super effective in keeping pores nice and tight) but it's very soothing. I suffer from lots of redness in my skin, so this stuff keeps it from being blotchy, too. I keep the big size around because I like to use it to refresh my face during the day as well!
3) Moisturize! I've been loving the Mario Badescu Aloe Moisturizer with SPF 15. It's oil-free to keep me from breaking out, and my skin loves aloe to keep it healthy. This stuff leaves me feeling hydrated but never greasy, and it has SPF which is necessary all year, so my skin is protected against the elements.
Night:
1) Remove makeup! I use LUSH's 9 to 5 cleansing lotion religiously to take off makeup forever now. It's dove orchid and almond oil, so it's super light and antioxidizing. It's great for all skin types, so while I use this as a "precleanse" so to speak, it won't clog my pores in the meantime. I just take a little bit of this on dry hands and rub it onto anywhere I want to remove my makeup. It's gentle in the eye area, too!
2) Cleanse! I switched back to an old favorite, LUSH's Herbalism. I had strayed away for a long time and went through a long, long search for an amazing cleanser that I could fall in love with, and I decided nothing worked the way this one did. It's got rice vinegar to mop up oil and rosemary to antibacterialize. It also has ground almonds for a very gentle exfoliation that you can do every day. It keeps my skin from flaring up, I've found that my skin tone is more even, smoother, softer...I don't have enough good things to say. It kind of smells like teriyaki sauce...but hey, you win some, you lose some.
3) Treat! I use the Peter Thomas Roth AHA/BHA Acne Clearing Gel. It's a lot like the complexion pads I use in the morning- it's said to have the same effects, it's just focused more on clearing up blackheads, whiteheads, and clogged pores. I use it at night because it feels much stronger than the complexion pads...it has a 2% Salicylic Acid so it's a little bit more potent than the pads I use in the morning. I swear by this stuff. My pores look so much better every time I use it.
4) Tone! I use the Eau Roma Water again. Holy grail. Love forever. Ugh <3
5) Moisturize! I had a love/hate relationship with the Ole Henriksen Nurture Me moisturizer for a while. I thought that was what was causing my awful breakouts on my forehead and sometimes cheeks, which had never happened to me before, but I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and continue using it for 2 weeks (that's how long it's recommended you use a skincare product to determine if it really works for you) and my skin is feeling fabulous. It's cushiony soft because it's more like a gel than a cream, so it absorbs really easily. It's awesome on my sensitive skin; it keeps it feeling hydrated but never, ever greasy because of the gel consistency. The only thing I don't like is the smell- it smells incredibly artificial...like a creamsicle. Don't get me wrong, it smells good...but I could see the scent in a body wash, not a facial moisturizer. Regardless, it feels great, so I'll probably repurchase it.
6) Eye Cream! I've been using the Tarte Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment for a year now and I love it. It doesn't make my eyes burn, it's velvety, it's smooth, and my skin around my eyes feels stronger and more hydrated. I suffer from very delicate, dry skin around my eye area, and this stuff has been beautiful. I'm sure there are other eye creams out there that are great, but I trust this one!
7) Lip Balm! I'm a lip balm junkie. It's a sick, sick obsession I have to find the perfect lip balm. So far, I have found 2. The Bite Agave Lip Mask, which I put on at night and leave it overnight OR before lipstick (then I blot with a tissue)...but my tried and true is always my Rosebud Salve. This is my go-to whenever I have a doubt in my mind about how my lips are handling the weather changes.
I also love the Soap and Glory A Great Kisser lip balms, but they're very sticky. I have to make sure I wear them when my boyfriend isn't around.
Thanks for reading, beauties! Let me know about your skincare routines, I'm a product junkie as you can all tell, so I love to try new things! Until next time!
Hi beauties! So I decided to write this post after my skin freaked out on me yet again, because I know many people struggle with those little blemishes that pop up right before important events. In my case, I have NYCC (New York Comic Con) on Friday, and I'll be wearing liquid latex to keep my mask on. (I'm going as Harley Quinn from Batman, I'll be the Harley with red hair in pigtails instead of blonde, in a black and red jersey dress with her costume's pattern and combat boots in case any of y'all see me and want to say hi...I'll also post pictures afterwards! :D)
So I know my skin is going to be incredibly unhappy with me, as it is showing me signs that it isn't too happy with me right now. So I've done lots of research on spot treatments, and here's what I learned:
There are plenty of spot treatments out there, but not all of them seem to get the job done. It's all what ingredients are in there and how your skin reacts to those ingredients!
When you're looking for a good spot treatments, look for ingredients that are going to antibacterialize the skin without drying it out. Sometimes dryness is good if your pimple is filled with lots of pus and producing excess oil around the pore, but most of the time, we need to keep our skin hydrated and that will help prevent acne because it is balancing the amount of oil that is being produced and pushed to the skin's surface.
Here's a list of some good antibacterial ingredients:
-Tea tree
-Witch Hazel
-Hydrogen Peroxide
-Honey
-Thyme
-Peppermint oil
-Grapeseed oil
-Grapefruit
That's just naming a few that occur naturally!
If you put tea tree oil or witch hazel on a blemish, it will help to detox the pore and bring down inflammation. Honey provides natural moisturization while still antibacterializing your pore...not to mention it tastes and smells awesome!
I would not recommend hydrogen peroxide for topical use on the face because it will probably be too harsh, however it does occur naturally.
Some other ingredients I have found to be helpful:
-Sulfur
-Salicylic Acid
-Aloe Vera
-Benzoyl Peroxide
-Kaolin clay
...It is said that benzoyl peroxide is too harsh on the skin as well and may cause redness and irritation as well as excessive dryness, but when I get acne I know that this stuff helps at least a little bit overnight and then I just add a little bit of extra moisturizer the next day.
Look for these ingredients in your spot treatments and you'll be set to treat those pesky pimples!
Just be sure to use moisturizer afterwards, because dry skin could lead to even more irritated, breakout prone skin!
