Friday, April 4, 2014

K.I.S.S

To say that I am a marketers dream is probably the biggest understatement ever... And I have tried WAY too many products out on my skin searching for that perfect combination of products to make it perfect... After a very long search I've found the secret... Keep it simple, and INVEST IN YOUR SKIN!!! 
*Stay out of the sun! For obvious reasons... You know cancer and all, and for gods sake cover your face at least if you must tan! If Premature wrinkles, sun spots, and skin damage don't scare you... I'm not sure what to say except that you must be an idiot! Bronzer can help your face look tanned... Guard your skin!!! Sure, tans are amazing and you may look awesome now, but later... You'll regret that shit for sure! There's plenty of self tanning products out there to keep you satisfied! 
*After you wash your face take a CLEAN (a new one very day!!!) face cloth and get it wet with the hottest tap water your skin can handle. Squeeze out the excess and do a once over in your face with that cloth. This will pick up any left over products, and really leave your face feeling clean. Adding this step to my routine has really helped clear it up... Leftover product build up is one of the biggest reasons you will break out. Buy a stack of cheap face cloths at Walmart or superstore or anywhere... It will cost you next to nothing and you'll have enough for a week! Use a clean one every day, avoid trying to be green here... They're tiny cloths... It's the bacteria that you don't want to be putting back on your face! 😊
* change your pillow case... A lot. Think about all the stuff you put in your hair... Moving tons during the night and rubbing that gunk all over your precious face... Yum right? Also a HUGE factor in breakouts
* Wash all of your face and neck: that means hairline, jaw, neck... Everything. Why would you spend all your time on your face and not include your neck?? It's the first thing to show your age, and it needs to be taken care of! 
*Put your hair up at night. Less crap on your pillow means less junk on your face. Less oil and product on your face means clear skin. 
*DOUBLE CLEANSE: you can't possibly remove all of the oil, dirt, debris, dead skin, and your makeup in one minute. So avoid the temptation to be lazy! Wash that gross layer off first with cleanse # 1, and then really ran what's underneath and get what you didn't get the first time with cleanse
 # 2. 

It's always so bizarre to me when people will spend hundreds of dollars on clothes or shoes, yet be too cheap to even buy themselves a face product or two over ten dollars. It seems so backwards... 
Honestly you get what you pay for in most cases, and unlike that handbag or sweater that will be out of style in a year or two, you are stuck with your face for the rest of your life so take care of it! It's the first thing people see... 
Makeup always sits better on skin that is taken care of and it's meant to be used to enhance your natural beauty not cake it on until you look like someone else... 
INVEST IN YOUR SKIN, save your money somewhere else! 

I have combination skin on the sensitive side that is dry in the winter and oily in the summer. I've tried it all and here is some of the advice that I've discovered through research and trial and error...

Scrubs and exfoliaters: scrubbing your face has to be one of the best feelings ever, it makes you feel as though it is super clean, but using a scrub that is too harsh can actually really hurt, not benefit your skin... 
It can cause tiny scratches and broken capillaries which look like small blood vessels on your face. Harsh scrubs are also really not a good idea of you have breakouts. When you rub that scrub all over your face, what you have in your head is the idea that you are cleaning, when really you could be spreading the bacteria of your breakouts all over... That means more breakouts!!!
So while it feels good to really giver, try a chemical exfoliant which doesn't have to be harsh at all, let the product do the work for you and you can have the same result of a scrub without any risks! 
Some exfoliants I really like are...

Ren Glycol Lactic Renewal Mask: 
This one is very cool! REN is an all natural skin brand that you can find at Sephora. It was created by two men that were searching for something that their wives could use without being too harsh... I know Kev loves me, but I'm not sure that he would cook up products for my face... 
ANYWAYS, the point is that they are great products free of everything you would like to avoid. 
It feels like a thick cross between honey, and jam. It's amber in colour and it smells AMAZING! When you out this mask on your skin automatic feels cooler. It says to leave it on for five to ten minutes but after trying it out a few times and realizing that my skin can tolerate it, I usually leave it on for twenty-thirty minutes so it really does it's job. 
It uses lactic acid and natur enzymes to break down the dead skin cells and peel them away when you wipe the product off... And no it does not hurt one bit!!! 

Kate Somerville: Exfolikate

Exfolikate is a great product from Kate Somerville skin care. It is on the pricey side BUT if you buy the small tube which is about $25 this will last you 10-15 uses. You don't need a lot lf product and you only use this once every week or two, so really it works out to... $1.60 or so every time you use it for all you number crunchers. 
This product is both a physical exfoliant: gritty texture AND a chemical exfoliant. 


Masks: Are a huge help and can be used as spot treatments if you want the mask to go further. I have talked about the Glam Glow mask that I absolutely LOVE in my product empties # 1 post, and this is probably my favourite mask EVER. Il be honest though... Paying for it really blows so I'll usually wait until I have a gift card, and for a 20% off sale at Sephora to make it a little easier. I have no problem spending money on good products but $70 for a mask is a bit hard to swallow...

There is a budget buy that almost every beauty blogger that I read has mentioned... Queen Helene's Mint Julep Mask: you can find this at Sally'ms beauty supply, and apparently at regular drugstores in the states. It is everything you want: soothing, smells great, it pulls out impurities and detoxifies the skin, and the best part... You can buy a huge tub of it for around $7!!!! Now your thinking... Why the heck spend money on Glam Glow if this is so good? But while this mask is wonderful it's just not the same as Glam Glow. 


Face wash: this is where you can buy something more affordable. Out of all of your face steps your cleanser will spend the least amount of time on your face. Instead of a foaming face wash try a cleansing milk... Much more gentle and not stripping! I personally love Avene cleansers or The Body ShopVitamin E cleansing milk.  

Toner: Toner is something I go back and forth on... Do I need it, do I not need it... But every time I am using a great one I notice a huge difference in my skin! It's clearer, brighter, and just feels better. A toners job is to prep your skin for the serum or moisturizer that you are going to put on next. The problem with toners is that there are so many of them and most suck... So a few suggestions I have are to use the tea tree oil concoction I mentioned in one of my first posts ( just a few drops of the oil mixed with water), or use a toner with an acid in it which will promote cell turnover and cleaner pores... My absolute hands down favourite toner of life is the Michael Todd Blue Algae toner! I can recommend that product without even hesitating, the only problem is- is that it's only available online and sometimes the duty can be a real pain... But besides that... It's worth it my friends!! 
P.S. Don't be fooled by those toners with alcohol in them... Remember alcohol will dry out your skin... Skin lacking it's natural oils will over compensate by producing too much and that's when your skin will do bizarre things... Don't use toners with alcohol!!! 

Serums & Lotion: now this is where to invest those pennies my loves!!! These are the products that stay on your skin overnight and can literally make or break the next day for you...so choose wisely and for gods sake don't be a cheapo here!!! 
My skin type can't handle a lotion or cream but serums are perfect! Dry skins needs both a serum and a lotion,and some skin types might even need an oil. Oils are all the rage these days (as these things tend to go in phases) and are a great idea but don't use an oil like you would a cream... 2-3 drops max!!! 
A little goes a very long way! 

Some serums or very light lotions I would recommend: 
Any serum by Micheal Todd-online
Josie Maran Light Argan Oil- Sephora
Organic Aloe Vera Gel: JASON (brand) -health food stores or some Superstore organic isles 
Kate Somerville: Quench Oil Free Serum- Sephora
The Works: Perfect Look Skin Miracle- this works.com (think Vitazing minus the grease...)

If you have dryer skin...
The Origins Vitazing is amazing... But a touch greasy for my skin

Routine: 
Morning: cleanse, tone, serum
Night: double cleanse, tone, serum, spot treatment if needed
Weekly: exfoliate and use a mask 

Keep it simple, but use quality products that work for your skin! Trust me... That is money very well spent!

-xoxo



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