My Skin Care Routine

Skin care is super tricky.  Not only does everyone's skin behave differently, but your skin also changes throughout your life.  Which is what makes it so difficult to pin point your skin care needs.  And the fact that there are hundreds, thousands of products out there doesn't make it any easier.

The advice I'm about to give is simply my personal trial and error.  I'm not a skin care professional!  And understand that we're all different.  What works for me may not work for you.

When I was in high school, I did not take care of my skin.  At all.  I slept in my makeup...every night.  The best part--my skin was flawless.  I was blessed with a near perfect complexion.  Rarely any breakouts and a bright, even skin tone.  Then I turned 20.  Yeah, so old.  But that's when I started to realize my skin was changing.  For the first time in my life, I was faced with major skin concerns.  I constantly experienced breakouts and my skin was no longer as radiant as it used to be.  My first mistake was misdiagnosing my own skin care needs.

I thought I had adult acne, so I started using various acne products.  I didn't realize I was only making matters worse.  I tried every brand imaginable.  I even tried homemade remedies like honey or lemon, even coconut oil.  I saw zero results.

The answer was in front of me the whole time.  Lush quickly became my Holy Grail.  I had familiarized myself with Lush when I first saw a girl post an Instagram picture of a tub full of pink bathwater.  My discovery of the bath bomb was life changing.  Lush is much more than luxurious fizzy bath time fun, so I made up my mind to splurge on my skin care and take a leap of faith.  The closest Lush shop is two hours from me, but I knew I would be in town so I made a point to visit a shop for the first time.  I'd researched their products online and kind of knew what I wanted to try, but the Lush employee was able to point me in the right direction.

I thought for sure I needed to use Herbalism to control my acne.  When I was perusing the cleansers in the shop, I was told that I didn't have acne.  Huh?  What I came to realize is that I have combination to oily skin.  I needed a cleanser that would absorb excess oil without drying my skin out--which is what all those acne fighting products were doing to me.  I was offered Dark Angels for my skin care woes.  This charcoal based scrub purifies your skin, clearing breakouts along the way.  Avocado oil leaves your skin lightly moisturized.  This cleanser was exactly what I needed.  Not only does it help prevent breakouts, but it brightens your skin tone as well.

I pair this with Lush's  9 to 5 (cleanser), Tea Tree Water (toner), Enchanted Eye Cream, and Imperialis (moisturizer) for a glowing complexion.  I am obsessed with Lush's products.  Especially my skincare set up.  My cleansers purify my skin and my toner refreshes.  I use eye cream to maintain moisture on my most delicate skin, and to combat dark circles and puffiness.  Moisturizers are important for overall smoothness and anti-aging.

  Part of caring for oily skin is being careful not to remove too much oil.  All skin needs a certain amount of oil.  Sometimes your body produces just enough (normal skin), too much (oily to acne prone skin), not enough (dry skin), or varying amounts (combination skin).  Your skin care products should work to balance your oil production.  With oily skin, removing too much of your natural oils can lead to bigger problems.  If your body finds that you've removed too much oil, it will work over time to produce more.  Which is why oily skin and acne are so difficult to treat.  Even people suffering from acne need to use some type of moisturizer to keep their natural oil production at bay.  It's all about tricking your skin (muahahahahaha) into thinking everything is fine.

No matter what treatment options you use, all skin types need to be treated gently.  Always be careful with your skin!  Don't pick at it, don't even touch it.  This is a terrible habit to break...believe me.  But I've finally reached a point where I only touch my face if I'm cleaning it or applying makeup.  Throughout the day I keep my hands off!!!  This is good practice not just for healthy skin, but for a healthy body.  Speaking of a healthy body, drinking plenty of water isn't just good for your insides.  Keeping your body hydrated will also keep your skin hydrated!  Hydrated=healthy

Here's a break down of my routine:

AM:  Use Dark Angels cleanser on face and neck.  Rinse THOROUGHLY.  Pat face gently with towel.  Lightly spray Tea Tree Water over entire face and neck.  Enchanted Eye Cream gently tapped over entire eye area with ring finger.  Apply Imperialis over entire face and neck.  Then I apply makeup!

PM:  Remove eye makeup with liquid eye makeup remover (any brand will do!) and cotton pads.  Wipe off makeup with makeup removing cloths (I do this so when I use my cleanser, there is less work to be done).  Use 9 to 5 cleanser (this reminds me of cold cream) with Clarisonic Mia 2 to fully remove makeup and cleanse.  Rinse.  Pat face gently with towel.  Lightly spray Tea Tree Water over entire face and neck.  Enchanted Eye Cream gently tapped over entire eye area with ring finger.  Apply Imperialis over entire face and neck.
 

I'll admit...sometimes the PM routine doesn't happen.  We all have those long nights and we get in late and we don't feel like washing away the evening.  When that happens, I always ALWAYS ALWAYS at least use a makeup wipe.  I even keep a pack in my bedside table so I have zero excuse to sleep with my makeup on.  These things don't remove all of your makeup, but it's better than nothing.  I can't stress enough the importance of removing your makeup before bed.  No matter how "tired" you are.  Get that stuff off ya face!  And tomorrow you can treat yourself to a mask or something (I recommend Mask of Magnaminty).

I like to use a mask at least once a week.  If you live close to a Lush shop, check out their Fresh Face masks.  I don't get to use these because they are ONLY available in shops since they are made with super fresh ingredients and need to be refrigerated.

If you wear makeup regularly, it's also not a bad idea to give your skin a break for a day or two.  I usually give myself one cosmetic free day on one of my days off.

I love my skin now that I've found my routine.  It took me a really long time to land on something that works for me.  So don't give up hope!  If you find yourself struggling to get your skin under control, just be patient.  It's not going to happen overnight.  It took me years to find the products that work for me.  Maybe Lush has something that will work for you.  I wish I'd found them a LONG time ago.  To me, their products are worth every penny.


Remember, good skin is the start to good makeup!  Keep it fresh pretties!

Nailed It!

I'm a huge fan of stiletto nails. The pointier the better. I am NOT a huge fan of the expense, however. I was going to the nail salon every 2 (okay...3 because I'm a cheapskate) weeks for a fill in and that gets expensive. Especially when you're getting gel polish (+$10) or designs (+$5 or more) or whatever. It's not hard to rack up $40 or more on regular nail maintenance.

Well, then I had an accident. Everyone who has ever had acrylic nails knows about these accidents. Something breaks or cracks or rips and often it involves your real nail hiding beneath the surface. I won't go into too much detail, but something broke and there was blood. Acrylics had to go for a while, at least so my natural nail could heal a bit. 

My natural nails are super brittle and peel/break so it's basically impossible for me to achieve any decent length. And I was missing my claws!

Then I remembered seeing Nailhur on Instagram. Tons of MUAs use them so I thought I'd see what the fuss is about. 

Nailhur is host to a wide selection of pre-designed "nail makeup" for a decent price. They offer different shapes and tons of styles. Nail sets come with 24 nails in 12 sizes, nail glue, and a file. So they're just really press-on nails BUT they stay on extremely well! Their website says up to 2 weeks of wear, which may or not be real life. So far, I've had mine on for five days, and I work retail, and they show no signs of budging. They're also reusable, so you can remove them and use again!

I'm super impressed so far! There are a few negatives, but I'm sure there are ways to avoid them. I do find they scratch easily, especially when I filed them down. But I filed them after I put them on. So maybe if they're filed before application they won't get scuffed. Using a top coat might help avoid some daily wear and tear as well.  These do not wear quite like salon acrylics, but that's fine with me.  I'm all about the aesthetic.

But the price is well worth it. Their website lists sets at $39.99 BUT their Instagram always has coupon codes that drop them down to about $13.99 per set. Shipping is $5 or something and they arrive in about two days! 

These are great for people who can't commit to full on acrylic nails. They're easily removable and cause little (if any) damage to your natural nails.  And they are much cheaper!  Plus, you can customize them to suit your taste.  I just love these guys.



Stay fierce, my pretties!

Colourpop: the brand you aren't using yet!

I've been so caught up in spending every penny of my hard earned money on $20 lipsticks, that I'd never even considered the $5 ones.  Colourpop is dishing out some pretty unique products that won't break the bank.  I follow several MUAs on Instagram, and all of them rave about Colourpop.  I figured if it's good enough for Amrezy, it's good enough for me.

Colourpop offers a wide range of products:  eye shadows, blushes and highlighters, lip sticks with matching liners, and liquid lipsticks that dry matte.  I'm a sucker for liquid lipsticks and Colourpop just released their own line of Ultra Matte Lipsticks...so I was basically forced to try them.

But don't worry.  These Ultra Mattes are $6.  SIX.  SIX DOLLARS.  So they can't be good quality can they?  WRONG!  Granted, I just got these today in the mail and I've only tried one of them...but I'm impressed!  The color payoff is great and it applies smooth in one swipe, not streaky in the least.  My only complaint with these is I feel there is almost too much product on the applicator when I pull it out of the tube.  When I was swatching these, one of them literally dripped across my lap.  And when applying the lipstick, it was starting to drip down from the lid towards the sponge.  I'm not sure if this is normal or maybe they were warm from sitting outside in my mailbox all day...either way it's not a huge deal.  And here are swatches of the Ultra Mattes I picked up:

I also grabbed a Lippie Stix in "Brink." I haven't worn it yet, but I'm already in love! And for $5? Yeah ok. I will say, there's not as much product here as a standard lipstick, but it's a great way to try a new shade without going broke.  They come in a variety of finishes and most of the Lippie Stix have matching liners! How awesome?! Check out this swatch of "Brink"

I also picked up a Supershock Eyeshadow for $5 in "Girl Crush" and a Supershock Blush for $8 in "Bonus." Both are matte but are available in other finishes. These bad boys have a completely unique formula. They have an almost mousse-like texture. It's hard to explain until you get one for yourself. They really are magical. And the reasoning behind it is brilliant! This texture means zero fallout. I KNOW RIGHT?! It is recommended that you apply with your fingers to get maximum color payoff, but synthetic brushes will work just fine. Natural fibers will absorb too much of the product and won't blend like synthetic fibers will. I swatched with my fingers, but when I applied to my face I used brushes and felt it was just as pigmented. The shadow I swatched over primer, but the blush was one swipe over clean skin. It's made to build up, so if you need more color just keep adding until you get your desired look: 

Overall I'm super impressed with my Colourpop haul. Their website is super awesome too! They swatch everything on three different skin tones and compare shades to one another so you can get a better idea about which ones are right for you. Plus they give you a personalized, handwritten note with your order. LOVE. I will definitely be giving them more of my money. You should too!

Until next time, my pretties!

Welcome!

So...it's no secret to most of my friends that I am makeup OBSESSED.  I would definitely consider myself a collector.  And let me tell you...my collection will never be complete!  While I'm no expert or professional makeup artist, I do spend a lot of time reading, watching, and researching tips and tricks.  Friends on social media have suggested I post tutorials or something, so here is my something!  I'm pretty good at writing (so I'm told) and I have a LOT to share when it comes to beauty.

Makeup won't be the only subject I run across here.  I have hair and skin knowledge I'd like to get out there as well.  Who knows, maybe eventually I'll have some tutorials to share (maybe).

For me, the world of cosmetics is all about self expression.  I know, I know...pretty cliche, but it's true.  I believe that makeup is an art form.  We are using brushes sponges aren't we?  We use pigments to accentuate our natural elements.  Makeup application involves practice, practice, practice. And lots of trial and error.  There's so many different mediums out there:  cream, liquid, powder, gel, loose pigment, pressed pigment, pencil, matte, gloss, etc.  We all have certain types of products we like, and some we don't.  It's all about testing the waters.

My beauty routine is one of the best parts of my day.  I look forward to creating a new look every time I step in front of the mirror.  I hope I can pass my confidence on to the next person!

Stay tuned my pretties!