My skin care routine

Your skin is your biggest organ so you need to treat it like such. What you put in your body and how you treat your skin are key indicators of your overall health. To me, the biggest pet peeve of mine is when my skin or my lips are dry. I have combination skin but during the winter months I am more dry. I am pretty blessed to not be stuck with any acne or cystic acne marks. I am no expert but this is what works for me so hopefully you can draw something from it.

So if you want to start a skin care routine or anything above resonates with you keeeppp on reading…

Overall Tips

• Skin care doesn’t need to be intimidating. It can be as easy as you make it to be. Yes, you too fellas. Spend time on your skin!
• You really only need two things: a good face wash and a good moisturizer. Drug store options work great so you don’t need to spend a lot of $$$ for beautiful healthy skin
• Your diet and how much water you consume play a huge role in your overall skin health. Dairy can cause acne because of all the hormones. I have gone dairy free and I have noticed my skin has gotten so much better.
• Some people say that going gluten free is good for your skin. It makes sense because gluten is sugar and sugar is bad for your skin especially if it sits in your digestive system for a really long time. I try to reach for healthier carbs so that my body isn’t missing any nutrients it needs so I don’t have a lot of gluten in my diet at this moment. I have noticed a difference in how puffy my face is.

My Actual Routine 

I do my skin care routine in the evening mostly. I will put down below how I prep my skin for the day or on days where I wear makeup. But this is all night time. Again, my routine may be a little excessive. In bold are what I think are the skin care essentials.

1. Take off your makeup: I take off all my makeup using a cotton round + the Garnier Micellar Water I go through this so often. It does a really good job to take off your makeup even stubborn eye makeup.
2. Use a gentle face wash: I use a silicone face scrubber (in my favorite products of 2017 list) + Eucerin Gentle Hydrating Face Wash   .  It comes out like a sticky gel but softly foams as you rub it around your skin with water. You can buy a 3 pack on Amazon to stay stocked up, I gently scrub my face using the face scrubber in circular motions, rinse it off, and pat my face dry. I have sensitive skin so I do not use the face scrubber every day. I use it 2-3 times a week so every other day. It cleans out any leftover makeup that may be on your face that the cleanser did not get.
3. Moisturize: I use the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. I think it is a dupe for the Kiehls Ultra Cream that is super popular. This moisturizer is thick and super creamy which is why I use it at night so it can really get into my skin and pores. There is no fragrance to it and when I wear it throughout the day, I do notice my skin feeling consistently hydrated even in my T-zone where I tend to get oily.
4. Serum: I use two for different reasons. The first one is Vitamin C (which is AMAZING for your skin) + Magnesium, it’s the Glow serum. I found it at TJMaxx for $5. I use it on the high points on my face and pat it into my skin. It leaves it radiant and glow. The other one I use is high end it’s the Kiehl’s Hydro-Pumping Retexturizing Serum . I love this serum so much. One pump is more than enough! It glides on and feels like water seeping into your skin. It isn’t sticky or greasy it is so great and works wonders
5. Gentle exfoliator: I recently started using this Pixi Peel and Polish  it has gritty pieces of sugar in it that really take away any dead skin or extra makeup you have. I use this once a week and I LOVE IT. My skin is so soft after I use it. You only need a small amount for your whole face. I like to put more on the perimeter of my face because thats where I have the most dead skin and it takes it away in one use. PLEASE moisturize and serum after this though otherwise your skin will be soooo dry.

Prepping my skin before makeup 

I prep my skin before I put on any foundation, concealer, mascara, etc. I think of it as an extra layer protecting my skin from my long wear makeup. It also makes my makeup look so smooth. Sometimes my foundations can be over drying so these steps are crucial in order to make sure my skin doesn’t look cakey.

1. Moisturize with the CeraVe moisturizer. I wait a little bit before I put on anything onto of it so I can let it absorb into my skin.
2. Optional: The glow serum. Depending on the look I put the glow serum all over my face to give my face a brighter finish to it when my foundation goes on.
3. For primer, I use the SmashBox Photo Finish Primer . I just started to use this and I love the consistency of the primer. It isn’t too tacky or sticky and I notice it really adhering to my makeup wonderfully!

Face Masks I LOVE

I thought I’d include this because I do use face masks often. I love trying new ones but the one I absolutely love is the Tony Moly Lavender Mask. For $6 you get 2 if you order off their website directly. Leave this on for 20 minutes and rub that serum in your face and your skin is HYDRATED. I love the other ones from this line but this my far my favorite

I hope you found this useful!