My Skin Care Routine

Hi all!

Sorry it's been a while. I haven't really been in the writing happy happy joy joy mode lately. 

I've been getting asked about my skin care routine a lot lately so I thought I'd do a post about it rather than trying to explain it to several different people on several different forums. So for those of you that care, keep reading. For those of you that don't, peace out!

First you should know I have very picky skin. I break out from anything it decides to hate. I'm super oily in the summer and crazy dry in winter. I have some large pore issues and am starting to see some fine lines under my eyes. So I mainly try to balance out my skin, and keep my wrinkles from getting any worse. I've tried (and continue to try) a ton of products. I've found a few things that have really worked for me and I keep going back to so I'll post them here.

The main face wash I use is the Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser in the pic below. It gets off all of my makeup, doesn't leave a film, doesn't break me out, and doesn't make my skin look so dry it's scary. It works great for just a general washing and removing makeup, but I do always use an additional cleanser afterwards too. 

After using this to remove all of my makeup I either exfoliate or use a pore unclogging product. Here are the two I use:

                                                      

The Michael Todd is amazing! My skin feels like a babies you-know-what after I use it. The St. Ives is an old habit I just can't break. Luckily it seems to work well without causing any problems so I stick with it.

Now comes the time consuming part. While just washing your face daily takes about 3 minutes, this next stuff takes closer to 10-45. Yes, it can be time consuming and yes we all get lazy but taking care of your skin is a must! I wish I had started earlier, I'd probably have a lot less wrinkles and age spots but hey, better late than never right?

Ok so next comes moisturizers. Yes that's plural. You need more than one, at least in my opinion. Which if you're still reading this, you obviously care about. I start with a serum. If you're not familiar with serums their purpose is to make your moisturizer actually sink into your skin instead of just sitting on top of it. They also help to give your skin a more even appearance. My absolute holy grail serum for 3 years now has been the Lush Full of Grace Serum Bar. It melts into my skin after about 5 minutes, doesn't clog my pores, doesn't make me oily and doesn't break me out. Mine usually lasts about 3 months. I keep it in a little tin and put it on as soon as I get out of the shower. I let it sink in while I put on my body lotion and generally am just hiding out from my kids in the bathroom after the water turns off. C'mon you know you do it too sometimes!

Then I reach for my moisturizer. I have two that I go back and forth between depending on how dry my skin is. The one I reach for most is the Aveeno Positively Radiant. Again, it does it's job and doesn't break me out. When my skin is extra dry and just generally gross and flaky I reach for my Philosophy Hope in a Jar. This stuff is SUPER thick and takes a while to sink in but your skin will thank you for it! And hey, if it's good enough for Oprah it's good enough for me!

                  

        

Next comes eye cream. Yes I use them, no I don't have a favorite yet. I like the under eye roller ball things but they aren't as hydrating as I need them to be. I'm currently loving one by Origins, if it ends up really working well and I decide to stick with it I'll let ya know. 

Last but not least are masks. Yes I think you need them. If for no other reason than they make you feel all pampered and spa-like. I have a hydrating one, a crazy deep pore cleaning one and an oil control one. 

Here they all are:

        

The Glam Glow is the craziest thing you will ever put on your face! You can actually see it unclogging your pores! It's so gross it's actually cool. Seriously, say buh-bye to all those blackheads on your nose! I also use little dabs of this as a spot treatment if I do get a pimple.

Oatifix is my holy grail for dry flaky skin. It smells like bananas (thanks Gwen Stefani for always making it easy for me to remember how to spell bananas) and super hydrates the skin without making it overly greasy. The cupcake smells like your spreading chocolate frosting on your face. If you get tempted to eat it, go ahead, it's 100% natural! I use it in the summer when I tend to get more oily. It breaks up the oil without drying me out. 

So now that you've read this crazy ass long post you may have noticed I tend to lean more towards organic products. I've really found as I've gotten older and done way more research that putting more chemicals on your face to take off the other chemicals (like the ones in makeup) just isn't good for my skin. My skin stays healthier if I stick to paraben free, sulfate free, and fragrance free products. That's what works for me but you have to find what works for you. The most important things to remember are, know your skin type, ALWAYS moisturize (yes even if you're oily!) and wash your face before you go to be and in the morning. At night gets off all the pollution from the day and in the morning gets off all the ick from while you were sleeping. It's ok, everyone drools on themselves while they sleep. 

I hope this helps give you some product ideas or just some new info. If you have any other questions you know where to find me.

Till next time, peace out g funks!