I spent the past weekend laughing a little too hard, staying up way too late and drinking way too much wine with my best friends in Montreal. My soul came back refreshed and ready but my skin definitely did NOT. After a weekend of over indulging, my skin is in dire need of some TLC. My skincare routine always seems to be evolving. But as of late, I feel like I have the best skincare routine I have ever had and I actually feel like I can see results in my complexion.
There are a couple things I consider when I am choosing my skincare products: (1) ease, (2) price, (3) toxicity and (4) results (obviously). I am not going to claim that these products are the least toxic on the market or that they are the least expensive, because they definitely are not. But I can tell you that they were all chosen because they are less toxic than most, the price is worth the quality and I have actually seen results. And this easy skincare routine can be squeezed into even the busiest schedules. Sure, I would love to apply a face scrub laced with fairy tears, followed by a face mask which must be peeled off by unicorns and then a litany of 27 skincare products every night, but that is just unrealistic for me. If my daily routine required a bazillion products, I would never stick to it. So a requirement for my products is to be able to use them in the morning and at night (as opposed to a specific night cream and day cream). Usually, I get really excited about my skincare routine, spend gobs of money on miracle products then stay excited about applying it every morning and night for exactly 15 minutes. I am going on four months with this skincare routine and I have not fallen off the wagon, yet! If I can stick to it, so can you.
So here are my five skincare products I am LOVING right now:
Belif True Cream Moisturizing Bomb
$38
I have combination skin, which until recently I thought meant you are basically screwed. My skin can be SUPER dry at times and then very oily with breakouts at others. Really heavy moisturizers can intensify my breakouts and oily skin but the oil free moisturizers do not help the dryness. This lotion is my savior. The brand is a Korean beauty line that totally changed Korean skincare. Until a couple years ago when people actually started to care about what kinds of chemicals they were putting on their bodies, there were no “natural” Korean beauty products. Enter belif. It is Korean Beauty meets natural skincare and it is heaven. It feels like silk, it is light and delicate but its’ claim to fame is 26 hours of moisture, guaranteed.
Tata Harper Illuminating Eye Creme
$95
Until BB, I did not pay much attention to my eyes. I should have tended to them before I started to see signs of aging, but coulda shoulda woulda…As soon as I started to notice some fine lines, I went on the hunt for the best eye cream. I have tried sooooo many eye creams trying to find the right one for me. I was not crazy about French Girl Under Eye Oil ($34 and too oily) or Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Cream ($60 and I did not notice any results). I was previously using Goop Perfecting Eye Cream ($90 but keep your eye out for deals, I got mine 20% off) I actually liked this brand too and I was planning on replacing it but went into Sephora to get my belif products and there was a deal on Tata’s eye cream so I gave it a shot and LOVED it. Honestly, the only reason I did not try this brand sooner was the price tag. At a whopping $95, this stuff is not messing around. But it is liquid gold and worth every.single.penny. I am not kidding that I saw results the first time I used it.
$18
I am a little bit psychotic about my lips and keeping them moisturized. I have chapsticks in every single purse I own, in both bathrooms, in my car, in my diaper bags and even on my night stand. My version of hell is walking around with chapped lips. I used to use straight up vaseline every night before I went to bed until I found this gem. Vaseline makes your lips feel moisturized temporarily but it isn’t actually moisturizing under the surface. This balm locks in moisture and actually helps with chapped lips. It is silky soft, never clumps, and LASTS.
$28
Toner is actually the last thing I added to my skincare routine. I used to use it in middle school and high school when I was really prone to breakouts, but ditched it somewhere along the way when I felt it was drying out my skin. After I did a skincare consultation a couple months back, they stressed how important toning is for skincare and your complexion. I am not an aesthetician so I am not going to try to explain why, but I will tell you that I have noticed a huge difference in my complexion since I started using toner again. This toner is REALLY gentle and doesn’t dry out my skin at all.
$24
We all need a good lotion. I have loved the Beauty Counter products since I found out I was pregnant with BB, downloaded the Think Dirty app and threw out everything toxic in my house. Beauty Counter does natural skincare right. This lotion is non-toxic but actually moisturizes your skin. For optimal benefits, apply directly after you shower. I pat dry, then apply while I am still in the steam from the shower.
Apparently, the order you apply your skincare products is almost as important as the products you use (I was doing it all wrong). So, here is the order I do it… toner immediately after I wash my face, moisturizer, eye cream, lip balm. I apply in that order to my face first thing in the morning and before bed. Then I apply body lotion whenever I shower.
xx, happy Monday!
