I figured I would post how I take care of my skin. Just some information: I don’t normally break out. If I do, I don’t break out all over; it’d just be like one or two little pimples. I leave them alone (don’t pop them! If you do, they could cause scarring) and they go away pretty quickly. I have pretty normal skin. This is what works on me.
I wash my face with Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple, which is one of the only things I use on my face now that cannot be purchased at the drugstore. I’ve been using it for three years. I used to use Clearasil and Clinique facial soap waaaay back in the day, but I switched, don’t really know why, but I’m not looking back. Anyway, I love this stuff. It’s so gentle and it removes the make-up on my face quite well. I also like Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser and Bliss’ Fabulous Foaming Face Wash. Both smell good and also clean my face.
About two or three times a week, I exfoliate with Burt’s Bees Peach and Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub. I love how this makes my face feel afterwards. It feels like I exfoliated and moisturized my face at the same time. I also like how it’s 98.43% natural. I’ve used St. Ives Apricot Scrub for years prior to this, but nothing leaves my face feeling quite as nice as my Burt’s Bees scrub. I also like Aveeno’s Skin Brightening Daily Scrub as an alternative. [I still use St. Ives Apricot Scrub, except I use it on just my elbows, knees, and heels. Flip flops and flats are my footwear of choice, which can be harsh on the feet; however, when I go to get a pedicure, the manicurist always comments on how my feet are nice and soft.]
In the morning, I moisturize using Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion with SPF 15. It’s really important to protect your face from the sun’s harmful rays. This gives both UVA and UVB protection, and contains vitamins E and C. The packaging leaves a lot to be desired, but the product is great. It’s pretty cheap too. My mom used to use Olay for her skin and it looks nice. She looks much younger than she is, so if it worked for her, why shouldn’t it work for me? I used to use Philosophy’s Hope in a Jar as a moisturizer for both day and night and it was a good moisturizer, but it’s on the pricey side, plus I didn’t like the scent too much, so I switched. I think it was a good decision.
At night, after washing my face, I use a toner to ensure my face has no make-up residue. I used drugstore toners back in the day and all I can remember is Sea Breeze, but it stung my face. Then, when Sephora was available to me, I ended up switching to Boscia Balancing Facial Tonic and, while it smelled good and had a pretty pink bottle, I really didn’t see it do anything to my face. It’s not like I really expected it to do anything more than clean my face, but I had been feeling like I needed a change. Out of the blue, when I finally ran out of it and after having used it for about three years, I switched to Boots Botanics Complexion Refining Toner, which can be found at Target and CVS [and maybe other drugstores]. At about $8, it’s cheaper than Boscia’s $18 for their toner. I don’t know if it’s really doing anything to my face, but for some reason, I feel like my skin is nicer than usual.
I use a different product to moisturize with at night. I use Burt’s Bees Radiance Day Creme with royal jelly, which is 99.02% natural. I chose this to replace Hope in a Jar because it was natural and it was from Burt’s Bees. Since I was already a fan of their lip balm and their exfoliator, I decided to try their moisturizer. Yes, it is a day cream, but I read once how Kevyn Aucoin said there’s no difference between day creams and night creams. It’s true. Think about it, what could it possibly do in the day that it doesn’t do at night and vice versa? Makes sense to me. This stuff smells good and my face feels [and smells] amazing.
Sometimes when I get really lazy and/or tired to take off my make-up at night, I end up falling asleep with it on, which is so bad for your skin. I bet I’ll end up paying for it years from now. Just recently, I finally decided to get some facial cleansing cloths for those lazy nights. I just went to CVS and grabbed the generic kind since I was feeling cheap, but I’ve heard really good ones about the Neutrogena and Pond’s ones, so when I run out, I’ll go try those. It’s just cleansing cloths after all, but who knows, maybe there’s a difference. The CVS ones can be a little rough on my face, actually, but nothing I can’t handle. These ones work for now and they do remove all the junk I put on my face.
One last thing I’ve been using for the past couple of months is Benefit’s Eyecon, which is supposed to help fade dark circles (believe me, I need it; I have really dark circles at my age). I don’t feel it’s doing anything to them, though, so I wouldn’t repurchase this. It kind of makes me sad because it was basically a waste of money. I am still on the lookout for good eye creams and I think the next thing on my list will be M·A·C’s Fast Response Eye Cream. I hope it does a better job!
That’s about it for me. What’s your skin type and how do you take care of your skin?
