Skin Care 101

For as long as I can remember I've been getting questions about my skin care routine, what face wash I use, etc., so I think this post is well overdue. I've never taken the time to fully explain what I use and why I use it along with the results from each product, so, if you've been waiting patiently-  here it is and if you don't care about face wash, maybe you'll be inspired to exfoliate after reading this.

To be completely honest, I have never had a problem with my skin and I am very fortunate and grateful for that. Whether it's because I started off with really great genetics in that area or it was because I have been exfoliating before I even know what "exfoliating" meant. I've never had a huge problem with acne, redness, etc. Don't get me wrong I did have my fair share of breakouts during my early high school career, but, I tried out Pro-Activ and they quickly disappeared. I studied their three step system and what each one did and was able to replicate it with products that weren't as harsh and worked better for my skin type. Now that I'm well out of high school, my only complaints are oily spots when the seasons change on top of those lovely pimples that only show up when I have somewhere important to be.

As promised, here is every product I use, why I use it and how it benefits me. In no way am I any sort of skin care expert, nor have I gone to school for skin care, so everything I share is from personal experience. This may look a bit overwhelming at first but once you get into the routine, you'll actually look forward to it and especially the results.

Not only are these steps important for me and maybe some other ladies, but it is especially important for you fellas as well. Even though you may not wear make up on a daily basis like we do, you still have lots of dirt in those pores than if you let sit over night, will eventually turn into some sort of skin blemish. For example, you see your homeboy walking by, you quickly shake said homeboy's hand and touch your face not long after.. since you don't know what homeboy was doing prior to shaking your hand, you just made yourself victim of second hand dirt. Now do you believe me?

I'll try to keep my babbling to a minimum and get straight to the point with each product..

1. Neutrogena Oil Free Eye Make-Up Remover

Since I started using eye liner in my early teens (of course I sported the raccoon look with confidence, didn't we all?) I always made sure to take it off before bed. I noticed that when I didn't, I would wake up looking like the grudge with a zit or three. Little did I know I was actually taking part in one of the most important rules of life, for myself at least. I've learned over time how crucial it is to let your pores breathe over night, even if it's only six hours, it still makes a huge difference. I have been using Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover for more years than I can remember. I've tried other products and they were all either too oily or burnt my eyes. I use this every night with a cotton pad to remove the bulk of my makeup, then I flip to the exfoliating side of the cotton pad to get anything left over that may be stuck in my pores.

2. Lush 9-5 Cleansing Lotion

A few years ago my friend Lipsa & I took a trip to the mall where she brought me to the Lush section of Macy's. I always walked by it, but never took the time to see what it was about or try any of the products. She said she had to re-stock two items that she used daily and while she was doing that, she convinced me to buy them as well. If you know her personally, you know how flawless her skin is so I knew she wouldn't steer me in the wrong direction. Since then I have been using Lush's 9-5 Cleanser after taking off my make-up every single day. I've noticed that my skin tone is more even, I have less break outs and my skin is much softer. I also recommend this product for the males out there and to prove my second-hand-dirt theory, I had my boyfriend use this on his face before bed on several different occasions and each time he did wipe off some dirt. As you can see there is a bit of wear and tear on the bottle just to prove how often I actually do use it.

3. Lush Breath of Fresh Air Toner
 The other product that Lipsa introduced me to was the Breath of Fresh Air Toner. You can actually use this product whenever you feel the need to freshen up throughout the day without ruining your makeup.  All of the different natural ingredients help to even out your skin tone, whether it's a dry spot or super oily spot.  This is my absolute favorite product to use during the winter and summer for those reasons alone. If you want to let your pores feel tightened (usually when your skin is feeling oily) let it air dry and if you want to leave it feeling moisturized (in the winter when it's dry) blot off the excess with a cotton pad. I just replaced this bottle a couple of weeks ago after having my last one for well over 7 months.

4. Lush Imperials Moisturizer
 I'm an avid post shower/exfoliating moisturizer. I typically use Aveeno unscented lotion all over my skin after every shower but I don't always use it on my face because it's a bit heavy. Imperials by Lush  is a lightweight moisturizer (it even says it on the bottle) that is perfect for those of us who tend to get oily areas and dry areas here and there. Like I said in the summer I definitely get a bit more oily and in the winter a bit more dry and after explaining that to an associate at Lush she quickly recommended this and I have been using it ever since. I use a small amount before bed and wake up with perfectly soft and even skin.

5. St. Ives Apricot Scrub
 Now on to my favorite part of my skin regimen, exfoliating. I'm pretty sure I've said it about 80 times already, but I feel that it is one of the most beneficial things you could do for yourself. When I was younger I was obsessed with using any face wash with the "little beads" because I thought they were fun. Little did I know, I was giving myself an early start to training my skin to "renew" itself for the rest of my life. If you exfoliate correctly and care for your skin afterward, you actually teach your skin to build collagen or "renew" itself constantly, thus creating healthier, younger looker skin.  I take about two minutes every other day to exfoliate with St. Ives Apricot Scrub while I'm in the shower by using only use the tips of my fingers so that I don't apply too much pressure and damage my skin. This is also an important step for any gentlemen interested in skin care, not only will it leave your face feeling smooth it will also get any dirt out of your hair follicles that may cause razor bumps after shaving.

6. Lush Grease Lightning 

I absolutely love waking up the day before an event with a GIANT PIMPLE that seems to take over my face and try to steal my identity. NOT.. but it seems to happen to be almost every time I have somewhere important or special to be. Luckily I came across a successful method to get rid of those irritating blemishes with no scarring in a minimal amount of time and it goes by the name of Grease Lightening, by Lush, of course. I dab a bit of this magical potion on the pimple several times a day and it seems to almost disappear by the time I wake up the next morning. It has witch hazel which is known for helping with scarring which a lot of other spot methods do not have, or at least I have yet to see one with it. I actually keep one bottle at home and one bottle in my purse in case of an emergency situation. I've tested this product out on myself & my boyfriend when we've gotten small breakouts and it seemed to clear them up over night and prevented and white/black heads from popping up.

7. Lush Mask of Magnaminty

Like I've been saying, my skin doesn't exactly love when the seasons change. I usually stop into Lush for one of their refrigerated two-week masks when the summer starts fading into fall, but, the Mask of Magnaminity seemed to do me wonders this year. This is actually my third bucket of it (which you can see has been used plenty of times) and they typically last me 6-9 months depending on how often I need to use it. The reason I bought it was because it was known for doing three things in just one sitting: cleansing, exfoliating & soothing. I try to use it before that time of the month to avoid whatever pimple was planning on making an appearance and it usually works. Once again, this is also a great product for you gentlemen, even if you feel girly doing it.. imagine all the ladies who will fawn over your baby soft skin..

8. Lush Sweet Lips - Lip Scrub

Back to my favorite subject.. exfoliating. I absolutely hate the dead skin that forms on my lips during the winter that no chapstick seems to get rid of. I came across Sweet Lips lip scrub at Lush which works as an exfoliation for your lips.. and you can eat it when you're done because it's made of sugar. Seemed sketchy at first, but after using it just once there was a huge difference in the texture of my lips. Now that I use it year round I've noticed my lipstick applies much easier and never cakes up.

9. L'Oreal Sublime Bronze
 I have been an avid "tanner" since I was pretty young and until this past summer I would have considered myself a pro. I started noticing in my late teens that my entire body would tan easily and stay tan for much longer than my face. I had this hypothesis that it was because my face regenerated really fast which was also why I didn't have any pimples. Back in February I went to get my first facial ever as a gift from my Mom, I told the woman who was working on my skin about my situation & what I thought it was and who knew that I was actually correct? After years and years of exfoliating, my skin learned to build collagen (like I explained above) and turn over quickly which is why my face never seemed to get tan. So, to make up for that I tried a ton of self tanners and this one by L'Oreal was by far the best. I use it all year, especially in the winter just twice a week to give my face a bit of a glow because it does get deathly white looking.  This step is obviously not necessary, but, I thought I would throw it out there in case anyone was in the same situation as myself.

I know Lush's products may bit a bit expensive or inexpensive compared to the designer products sold in Sephora, Nordstrom etc., but I promise they work just as well if not better. They use all vegetarian ingredients and make all of their products by hand, they also do NOT support animal testing.

LINKS
Neutrogena Oil Free Make Up Remover Target
Cotton pads with exfoliating side Target
 9 - 5 Cleanser Lush
Breath of Fresh Air Toner Lush
Imperials Moisturizer Lush
St. Ives Apricot Scrub Target
Grease Lightning Lush
Mask of Magnaminty Lush
Sweet Lips, new flavor this year -> Lush
L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Target