Skincare Week: Moisturizers

MOISTURIZER IS A MUST.

I don't care what type of skin you have. You need to find a moisturizer in your lifetime. If you find one for morning and one for night, great! Just the one? Great!  Either way, find something and use it.

Ideally, you are cleaning your face properly, hydrating it with the help of toners and maybe even some serums or oils. Some of you may be skipping some steps. All of that is fine, as long as there is moisturizer somewhere in your life.

There's no hard and fast rules about moisturizers, but incorporating the steps and ideas I've mentioned all week, it will all help any moisturizer work better.

• Moisturize BEFORE SPF and Makeup
• Moisturize AFTER Treatments/serums/oil and Toning

My AM Recent Picks:

Olay ProX Age Repair Lotion with SPF30. The price of this recently dropped from $35-38 to $30. I think Olay was having an issue with their Pro X line's price point. Some things were in the 40's and none of it seemed to be much different from their Regenerist line, which is still more popular, maybe because the prices feel a little more doable. 

I used this lotion last year and had great results with it. It always made my skin look better, but at some point my skin became so dehydrated that this lotion seemed to separate on my skin and leave me very oily. This wasn't really the lotion's fault, this was my skin going hay wire. So I stopped using this as I went into defense mode but recently came back around to this when my skin started to normalize. I've been using it for almost 2 months now and I feel like it's keeping my skin protected and it locks in all the moisture of the toners. 

Sometimes this leaves me shiny. If I give it time to sink it, that goes away, but if i'm in a rush, I pat my skin with a towel and apply my makeup over it and my skin hasn't looked better! 

Last summer I was in love with the Bare Minerals Purely Nourishing Moisturizer. Both the normal to dry skin lotion as well as the normal to dry with SPF 20. These thin tubes are nice and lightweight and have 1.7oz per bottle. The pump dispenser keeps everything nice and air tight, but that's a bit of a pain if you're trying to get to the end. 

This worked great through the summer for me. But my skin became a mess last fall and this wasn't enough for me so I moved on to other things.   If you have normal to slightly dry skin, then this is a great facial lotion for you. 

My PM Picks:

Olay ProX Hydra Firming Cream, also marked down to $30 now. This was an interesting find. And it didn't wow me much at first. But this grew on me very much and I learned to love it.  It was very slick and sinks into the skin fast. It doesn't feel quite like a cream, but more thick serum-like. 

My skin always looked better in the morning when I used this, but certainly didn't my skin look good when I applied it.  But I held on because I felt like it was helping some. So I went through a few tubs of this.  

Recently I've switched to the Olay Regenerist Micro Sculpting Cream Fragrance Free $26. Not much cheaper than the Pro X. So why the "pro x"? I'm going to follow this to see if it lasts.

It wasn't until I began using the Bare Minerals skincare that I really started washing my face properly at night. I fully admit to being a horrible skin caretaker. But I'm trying to make up for it now. And since the B.E. skincare line, I've really been making it a habit to wash my makeup off at night.  So maybe it's that i'm taking better care in general, but it definitely feels like this cream is helping that.  It makes my skin look better immediately. No waiting over night. My night skin looks just as good as my AM skin! 

This feels more moisturizing and firming than the Hydra Firming Cream. This Regenerist cream actually does what I was expecting, and paying, Hydra Firming to do.  So far this feels like it will carry me through winter, but we'll have to just wait and see. 

This is a pretty new product but people are already giving it great reviews all over the internet and I'd have to agree with them.  A really good product at a higher end drugstore price. 

Skincare Week: Treatments/Serums/Oils

Caroline Hirons says this over and over, spend the money on a product that does one good thing rather than buying a product that does 10 things only slightly well. Makes sense, right? That's what treatments are about. Instead of the moisturizer that claims to do a billion things, why not just get treatments for the problems you want fixed??  

Things To Know:

• **You can layer treatments** That's right people. No one is going to jail for using more than one treatment at a time. Pile it on! Everyone's invited!
• If you use a facial oil, use the oil first, then top with serums, then moisturizer. 
• If you're layering serums apply them lightest to heaviest. Silicone based serums go last. Otherwise nothing else will go through. 
• Oils can be great even for oily skin. There are many facial oils that give a wide range of hydration, which we all know now, can happen to ANY SKIN TYPE.
• You can have AM treatments and PM treatments or ones for both.

My Personals:

I started last year with this Olay Regenerist Frangrance Free Regenerating Serum $22 for 1.7oz.  I liked it. Very much at the time. But looking back, it didn't seem to help me all that much. It was very siliconey feeling and I wasn't totally sure what this was suppose to actually do for my skin, but I felt like I was old enough to get into serums, so I did. 

If you are looking for just a bit of moisture, this could work for you.  My skin did feel softer to the touch with this and had I been exfoliating properly, this might have worked differently for me. Mostly it felt like a silicone type makeup primer on my skin.  I eventually stopped using it because the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer I was using seemed to look gunky and runny around mid day when I used this serum. 

My next venture into treatments was the Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum. I received this small tube and cherished every drop of it. This really did fade dark marks and it made my skin look great! It's pricey, at $60 for an oz. But it's well worth the money if you've got some serious marks to fade. 

I used this to spot treat some marks to make it last longer but the nights I used it all over, I awoke to glowing skin!  My sister also had a great reaction to this product, however, The Indian did not. She told me it made her skin hate her, and I couldn't understand it!  But hey, different folks, different stroke, right?  Too bad, The Indian, too bad. 

Looking for a Murad substitute, I turned to the Yes to Grapefruit Dark Spot Correcting Serum $20 for an oz. I used at least 2 full bottles of this serum. Besides the wonderful grapefruit smell, this serum never interfered with my makeup and always sank into my skin very nicely, albeit slower than the rest. It gave my skin a tighter appearance, but it was a borderline tight feeling, which was corrected with moisturizer. 

I had to learn how to dispense the right amount of this because using too much would cause it to ball up on my skin when I put moisturizer over it. It did help fade some dark marks, not nearly as fast as the Murad but it helped. But that seemed to be the only thing it really did for my skin despite using it AM and PM. 

Bare minerals Active Cell Renewal Serum $50 for an oz, but I got a smaller size in a B.E. Kit. I really underestimated this product and thought it was the other things I was using that were helping my skin. As it turns out, this Cell Renewal serum gives my skin an intense dose of moisture! 1 time use noticeable. I also rationed out this serum best I could until it was finally gone. This is the serum I used when I felt a dry spot coming up, or if my skin looked dull. The intense hydration perks it all back up over night! 2 nights if it's super stubborn.   

I haven't made the plunge into buying a full size bottle of this, but I know winter is coming, and with that a number of skin issues could arrive.  This time I am prepared and the first sign of skin dehydration will mean a trip to my B.E. Boutique to pick this up! 

Now I'm using the Olay Regenerist Night Resurfacing Elixir $20-25 for .5oz.  This contains Glycloic acid as it's third ingredient. If you were paying attention yesterday, you know that glycolic acid helps exfoliate the skin. This also claims to bring great hydration to the skin. Can't hurt, right?

I've been using this as my night treatment after toning, for a few weeks now. I like that the bottle is lightweight plastic and that you can see how much product the push up dispenser has inside. The packaging says it's for smoother, tighter skin, and that's what i'm going for!  It's a clear, liquidly serum that feels slippery at first but then sinks into the skin very fast. The box says it needs up to 5 minutes for full absorption. Sometimes I wait the 5, sometimes I can't be bothered. It seems to be working either way. 

The information about this product tells you it replaces your moisturizer. Yeah, I don't agree with that. And neither does Caroline Hirons.  However, using this after my toners actually feels like I've put on a thin moisturizer so I could see why people would think it's fine to stop here but I still suggest using a moisturizer over this.  

The glycolic acid actually does make for great exfoliation and seems to also be helping fade some dark marks. Not incredibly fast, but it's at least helping and not hurting. I also feel like this is locking in some of the moisture I put on before this with my L'Oreal Hydrafresh Toner It's also adding a bit of it's own and every bit counts when you're talking hydration. 

If there is something about your skin that is bothering you, there is surely a treatment out there for you. Shop with your gut. If something is bothering you, look for things that will help. HELP. Don't expect things on a counter to 'fix' anything.  

And remember to know your store's return policy in case something doesn't work for you. Something something frog and prince story....      

 Lucky for you I did a post about return policies right HERE. 

Skincare Week: Toners

You can't believe I'm talking to you about Toners, do you? I know. Me neither. Once we finally got rid of the Sea Breeze commercials, I thought we were done with this part of life. I was wrong. Besides my beloved Washcloth Method that I learned from Caroline Hirons, using toners (correctly) is the biggest piece of advice that has changed the course of my skin forever.

Some notes:

• Toners are not meant to 'finish cleaning' your face. Disregard those old Sea Breeze commercials of the 80's that showed us that astringents and toners were the way of life and got rid of all the dirt and makeup from your skin. Toners are not cleansers. Cleansers are cleansers. 
• Toners do NOT strip your skin.  If you're using the right ones.
• NOTHING should leave your skin feeling 'squeaky clean'. Ever. If this is happening you need to stop using or doing whatever you are. 
• Toners are not just alcohol and/or witch hazel. It's 2013, people.
• Toners are the next step after you cleanse. They are the dryer sheet to your dryer. They are the conditioner to your shampoo. They are the beer to your pizza.
• Anything containing an acid has to say to keep away from the eyes. But toners with acid are perfectly fine to use around your eye. But obviously, be smart about it. If it burns...stop. 
• You can use more than one toner. At a time. You can layer! This is allowed. Who's going to stop you??

Why Tone?... 

Balancing: It is said that toners reblance the ph in skin that is thrown off after cleansing. Your skin will do this on it's own, but the toning makes it happen much faster, translating into better skin.

Exfoliating: An exfoliating toner is one that has acids in it, such as salicylic or glycolic, which exfoliate your skin without using anything grainy and rough, which, by the way you should NOT be using. Beads and grains scratch the surface of the skin which is just asking for a world of trouble.

Penetration: Toners balance the skin which prepare the skin for maximum penetration of treatments you put on top and even allows you to use less product!

Hydration: Caroline Hirons confirmed a theory of mine. That even oily skin can be dehydrated. Dehydrated skin has nothing to do with your skin 'type', it has to do with your environment and health. Dehydration is also the #1 plague of skin because people don't spot it or aren't taking the right steps to correct it.


What I've Been Using: 

Aveda Botanicals Kinetics Exfoliant $20 for for 5oz. 

 It's soothing. It's refreshing. And it's far more powerful than I realized. 

Within the first 2 days I noticed the change in my skin. The area around my nose that was clogged and started to give me concern is smooth and clear now. The surface of my skin is smoother, more supple looking, and even softer to the touch. And any trace of patchy dry skin has been erased as if done by live Photoshop.

I use this morning and night AND I use this around my eyes.  Caroline said I could.  So I did. And it's been amazing. I never realized just how much my eye area needed to be exfoliated!  I was scared that using an exfoliant more than once a day would be too much, but it's not. Afterwards, my skin doesn't feel stripped or dry, it feels soft and smooth. But slightly tacky. Not bad, but not something I would put makeup on.

Aveda sells this in a 16.9oz bottle for $48. That's seems like a lot, but that's a lot of product. And having been using this twice a day for over a month, I can say I would give them my money.  And because this works soooo well, I will pretend I don't cringe at every Aveda commercial that mispronounce Indian words in chalkboard-nails ways.

L'oreal HydraFresh Toner $6 for 8.5 oz.

I got this L'oreal toner for under $6 and before the Aveda purchase. I figured it was a good place to start. I'm not totally sure why, I guess I was price blinded. Single Digits!!! I used it after my PM Cleanse using Clinique Take Off The Day.  I swiped it on my face, over and around my eyes, using a cotton round.  The scent was sweet and fresh and I kind of dug the pink liquid. It's a nice change on the counter. But I was not prepared to love this as much as I did. As I do.

This simple solution that costs less than a Starbucks Coffee concoction made my skin soooo soft. I could tell by just looking at my skin it was softer. After using this in the AM and PM for 3 days, moisture level in my skins completely changed. Between the balm night cleanser and this, my skin felt, and for the first time, looked hydrated!

I've used countless creams and lotions on my dry skin. I've been on a constant moisture battlezone since I can remember and so many times I thought I figured it out. Just to go back and realize it was temporary or a fluke. This time I can actually see the results!  The lines around my eyes look less because my skin is hydrated and more plump. It's honestly more plump! So much so that I just used the word 'plump' to describe my skin. MY skin!

After realizing just how well this was working, I got my Aveda Exfoliant and incorporated the 2 into my AM and PM routines. After cleansing, I go right in with my Aveda Exfoliant, and then spray on my L'Oreal Hydrafresh, having poured some in a tiny spray bottle from CVS. Once the Hydrafresh toner dries, my skin looks and feels as if I've put on really expensive moisturizer. It even feels that way too!   Now my skin is more hydrated and healthy pre-moisturizer than it was in my entire 20's combined.


Mentions: Some of Caroline's Hall Of Famers
Pixi Glow Tonic: An exceptionally affordable exfoliating toner. Unfortunately, it's only been available in their brick and mortar store in London.  Bollucks.  But I just recently discovered that they are adding it to their online store very shortly!! Eek!
Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner. This exfoliating toner is not available on the Clarins site in the US, but it's available at the Macy's Clarin Counter and other American online retailers. It's also $38 bucks for just over 4 oz.


I may not be able to tell you scientifically why or how this all works, but I can tell you that with my own eyes I have watched these tips and solutions work for me.  Never again will I scoff at the idea of a toner. But I will probably watch old Sea Breeze commercials on the interweb and laaaaugh and laaaaugh.

Skincare Week: Cleansers

I know....I disappear a lot. It's not on purpose! I'm not avoiding you, I swear.

Where have I been? Oh the usual...being smacked in the face by the arrival of autumn.  Really, how does it always get here so fast??  I've also been busy overhauling all my beauty. I'm talking all new skincare, all new makeup, all new...stuff!! Since my week long blog subjects seem to be on the popular side (and keep me more on track for you guys) I'm declaring this week...

SKINCARE WEEK!

Back in August, I made an adult-like decision to take better care of my skin and to also maybe get ahead of my dreaded Winter Skin Cycle. Which consists of 2 months of me combating all the eczema riddled dryness and patchy skin that my face becomes when the weather cools down, just to finally get it in order for the weather to change again.  Le sigh.

So through the power of the internet and studying The Skincare Bible, aka, Caroline Hiron's Blog for 2 weeks late at night when I should have been blogging (lo siento!), I have a whole knew skincare routine, backed with knowledge that has taken me from Bad Skin to Ok Skin in just weeks!!!!  This is beyond huge, people. Beyond.

I'm going to break all this info down by routine step. Starting today with CLEANSERS.

Before you go any further, in this blog post, in life itself, get yourself familiar with The Washcloth Face Washing Method that I've talked to you about HERE and HERE.

Learn this. Live this. If you change nothing else about your skincare in your lifetime, do this one thing. 

 ^^^^ THIS IS VITAL INFO^^^^

Things I learned from Caroline Hirons:

• You need to cleanse in the AM. To take away any dead skin, sweat, and to prep your face for makeup or SPF. 
• You MUST cleanse in the PM to remove makeup, dirt and other bad things from the day.
• You should have a different cleanser for these different reasons. Having only one cleanser is like having 1 pair of shoes, says Caroline.  Your AM cleanser should be something lighter, you aren't taking off SPF or makeup (or shouldn't be). Your PM cleanser should be something capable of taking off your makeup, SPF, etc. *Please note* if you can't afford 2 cleansers, then don't buy 2 cleansers. But do read on and make an informed decision about the 1 you do come home with.
• YOU MUST CLEANSE IN THE PM. - This was a hard one for me, but it's become actually really enjoyable and now I look forward to my nightly routine. Who am I??
• USE THE WASHCLOTH CLEANING METHOD.  Every. Time.  I've even been traveling with washcloths. I regret nothing. 
• Always apply cleanser to DRY skin.  It doesn't matter what the packaging 'says'. It 'says' a whole bunch....disregard. 
• Don't wash off with water....again...this is what the washcloth method is for.  
• Do NOT use cleansers that say 'foaming'.  'Foaming' agents strip your skin of everything it needs. Back in the day, soaps didn't lather and foam. They worked. But then people had to market things, so people added lathering and foaming agents to soap products to make for an 'experience'. Well that new 'experience' has lasted so long that now we think it's necessary. I assure you, it is not.  Save face. Skip the foaming. Pun intended. 
• Always Double Cleanse. If you don't have makeup or sunscreen on, like in the AM, you can do a single cleanse. SPF or makeup on....Double Cleanse. 

What I've Been Using:

A.M. Cleanser: Bare Minerals Purifying Facial Cleanser $20 for 6oz. 

I've been sticking to my Bare Minerals Purifying Facial Cleanser. This is easily one of my most favorite products of Bare Minerals. I love the fresh scent and the ease of this cleanser. You don't need much, but it works without being harsh, drying or foaming. 

This leaves my AM skin clean and refreshed and ready for any look I want to put on top.   

It's also so gentle that I can rub it into my eyes without worry of irritation at all, with or without contacts. It does a great job of eating through makeup and because I can put it over my eyes, it takes off my eye makeup without a separate remover!

That is...until Mac Feline came around. That stuff is no joke and though BM Cleanser means well, it is no match for it and I do have to use a remover to take off some after this cleaners.  

P.M. Cleanser: Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm $28.50 for 3.8 oz.

 

Caroline swears by a few trusted balm cleansers that she says is the best thing for nighttime cleansing. These balms are thick and oily and eat through makeup, dirt and oil. After much research into her favs and what was available here in the states, and in my budget, I decided to try out a cult classic.

I. Am. In. Love. 

From the very first try, I knew we were going to have a very long love affair. 

Caroline calls this the basics of all balm cleansers. It's the one every woman should have in their kit because it's a no nonsense get in, get out cleanser.  In fact, they should make a new word for cleanser for this because this is amazing.   

Lard-like.

The tub opens up to a milky white lard looking substance. It's not appealing. It's not enchanting or appetizing. It's not even scented. This is like the old no nonsense grandma of the cleanser world.  You scoop out a small amount with a finger and you see it comes up really easy. It's not like hard butter, but like really soft frosting. And the second it hits your face, it turns into oil. 

I know...that sounds gross. But trust me, it's not.  It's not a runny, thick or sticky. No, instead it's very slick, almost like butter, but smoother. The oil immediately pursues every trace of makeup on your face and eats through it in record time! Waterproof liners, mascaras...even Mac Feline....everything is GONE in about 2 seconds with this cleanser! 

There is no scent. There is no tingly feeling or minty after anything. But the slickness of the oil consistency this takes on makes it feel like you're giving yourself a facial massage every night! 

Then when you wipe it off with a hot washcloth, you're left with amazingly clean, yet still hydrated skin. This balm cleanser has actually made me get into a very strict nightly routine because i honestly enjoy using it so much.  And since I've started using this, I haven't touched a makeup remover. 

I can't believe I never used this before. But now I will never be without. 

If you're looking for something with a little more flash and scent, Caroline recommends the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm. It's more than twice the price of the Clinique, but the tub is also much bigger, so it's up to you and your budget.  

The Body Shop also has a cleansing butter, which is on sale right now for UNDER $10! but Caroline did give a mention that this one might not be the best for people who tend to break out easily, so I skipped this and went straight for the Clinique which has resoundingly favorable reviews online, and for good reason. 

Honorable Mention:

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Purifying Creme Cleanser $21 for 5oz. 

I've got my hands on a trial supply of this and I've been really loving it. It's a very runny milky consistency that doesn't feel like it's doing much until you wipe it off. Then you realize just how refreshed your skin feels, yet also really soft. 

This actually feels like it's giving some moisture back into the skin.  

The smell wasn't my favorite when I got this. It reminds of  very old Indian cologne smell, which isn't my thing, but after a while of using this off and on, I've grown to like the smell of this.  However, this most certainly stings when it gets in your eyes. Which I always forget because my go to Bare Minerals doesn't give me that problem.  

Compared to the bare minerals purifying cleanser, Aveda is much more moisturizing, but Bare Minerals feels more clean and refreshed. I still use this on the mornings I'm feeling more dried out, but there isn't much left. I would definitely consider spending on my money on this for the winter months if i felt my skin needed a little more help. 

** Tune in tomorrow when I talk about toners. That's right, I said toners. And I'm not even joking!