Like I said last week, this week I am going to be talking about something a little more useful than just how to make the best cup of tea you will ever have (not that tea is not of great importance and use).
As the title has given away, I am going to be sharing with you all what my favorite skincare items are (for night use) and what my nighttime skincare routine is on a normal night. This, unlike other review posts in this series, isn’t me trying things for the first time and giving you my opinions/ first impressions. I have been using each of these products for, at least, a month and have been using them consistently. I will, like always, be linking where you can buy these products online and let you know how much I spent on each item.
Quick side notes: I know that everyone has a different budget when it comes to skincare and that is absolutely fine. Most everything mentioned in this post is around the low to mid-range of price (high-end skincare brands can be upwards of $100 for moisturizers and serums). That being said, there are numerous very good, drugstore and inexpensive skincare products out there. In fact, I have owned/ currently own a good many of them. I will probably do a post on my favorite drugstore skincare products in the near future, so for those that are looking for something like that, I will have something for you very soon.
Moving on… so, if I could only give you one piece of advice when it comes to skincare, it would be to find products and a routine that really works for you and are worth the money you are spending on them. Don’t just use a moisturizer because you think you should, find one that works and is worth buying. And trust me, you don’t have to spend an insane amount of money to get good products. Good brands and products are all around you, you just have to know where to start.
Anyway, that is enough chit-chat. Let’s begin, shall we?
Enzyme Cleansing Gel from Mario Badescu Skincare (16 oz): $24 USD on Amazon.com or Ulta
Drops of Youth™ Exfoliating Liquid Peel by The Body Shop (4.9 oz): $25 USD at The Body Shop or on TheBodyShop.com
Ultra Facial Oil-Free Toner from Kiehl’s (8.4 oz): $16 USD at Kiehl’s, Nordstrom, or Kiehls.com
Drops of Youth™ Youth Essence Lotion from The Body Shop (5.4 oz): $24 USD at The Body Shop or TheBodyShop.com
Drops of Youth™ Youth Concentrate from The Body Shop (1 oz): $38 USD at The Body Shop or TheBodyShop.com
Tea Tree Anti-Imperfection Night Mask from The Body Shop (2.54 oz): $22 at The Body Shop and TheBodyShop.com
Drying Lotion from Mario Badescu Skincare (1 oz): $17 USD on Amazon.com
I like The Body Shop, can you tell?
DISCLAIMER: All of these products are not the end-all-be-all to skin care issues. Also, please do not try these if you have not already tried consistently increasing your daily water consumption and changing your pillowcases every week. Those may sound like really odd things to do, but trust me they help. So many skin issues can be traced to the lack of hydration gained from drinking water and if you aren’t changing your pillowcases regularly, then you keep laying and rubbing your face in weeks of dead skin, oil, dirt, etc. (sounds gross right?) and that can make you break out or have a variety of other issues. If you have already done those things and are still not seeing much of a difference, then feel free to buy whatever you feel you could use to fix your issues. Also, please don’t freak out at the price tags on each of those items. 1) Like I already said, most of these items are ridiculously cheap compared to the things sold at Sephora and 2) the very little amount of each product I use at one time means that they last a long time, so these are not bought all that often. Yes, buying them all at once can mean spending a pretty penny, but I did not do that. My collection has been slowly and carefully curated.
That being said, here is how I use them and what I think of each.
First, I always start with a makeup-free face and have my hair pulled back. If I have worn makeup on a particular day, I will be sure to remove it before proceeding to this point (but, in all honesty, that isn’t often – I like sleep more than waking up early to put on foundation).
Then, I will wet a washcloth with warm water, then get my face wet. Once I have done that, I will squirt about a quarter-sized dollop of my Enzyme Cleansing Gel by Mario Badescu onto my fingers. Then, I just massage it onto my face and remove with the warm, wet washcloth.
Okay, so this cleanser is probably the best thing ever. I tried a travel size of it this summer and loved it so much that I had to go and buy the biggest size they sold. Here is why it is so amazing:
It is for all skin types, so you don’t have to have combination skin like me for it work for you (read about my skin story here).
It is a gentle exfoliator; the enzymes in the cleanser will gently eat away at the dead skin on your face and will leave you with clean and radiant skin.
It doesn’t strip your skin. I don’t know about you, but this is a huge deal for me. Virtually every cleanser dries out my skin and makes it feel tight, so the fact that this doesn’t do that is just about the best thing ever.
To make a long story short, this cleanser is the bomb.com and worth every single penny, trust me (I’m a teacher, I don’t have money coming out of my ears and I would only use it if it were worth it).
Alright, next I use the Drops of Youth™ Exfoliating Liquid Peel (although not every day – 3 days a week does the job).
This stuff is pretty much the weirdest and coolest product I have ever seen. First of all, if you are someone who can’t deal with abrasive scrubs, this might be the exfoliator of your dreams. After washing my face, I will pump two pumps of this into my hand and massage it onto my face until it looks like the picture on the far right. After about 20 seconds of massaging this into your skin, you will start to feel dead skin to pill and ball up on your skin. It is gross but super satisfying – in essence, this is a chemical peel that doesn’t burn and doesn’t break the bank. Once that has happened all over my face, I will use my wet washcloth and wipe off all the dead skin. Then, I will wash my hands because the peel does leave a weird residue otherwise.
After that, it is time to tone. The Ultra Facial Oil-Free Toner from Kiehl’s is probably one of the best toners on the market for combination, oily, and/or acne-prone skin.
I reviewed it last year here, so I’m not going to go into extreme details about it. However, after I have exfoliated, I will use a cotton pad (the ones pictured are my favorite ones from CVS) and pour a little bit onto it, then wipe down and “tone” my face.
For those of you who are unsure of what a toner does, it essentially helps to remove anything that your cleanser missed, but also to help get any extra dead skin off and to balance the oils on your skin. There are some toners that act as exfoliators with glycolic acid, I have the Pixi Glow Tonic (which is one of these said toners) that I use on the days that I don’t use my Liquid Peel and really like it.
Anywho, after toning, I will put on my essence lotion from The Body Shop.
Okay, so the picture on the right looks kind of weird and little dumb, but that is what it looks like when I do a couple shakes of the bottle. I will quickly rub it in my hands and pat it all over my face, then let it sink into the skin before moving on.
This essence lotion is the secret weapon of my skincare routine. The Drops of Youth™ line from The Body Shop is fabulous and all of the range’s products have stem cells from various plants that help with cell renewal. Yes, I am only 24-years-old, but it is never too early to start using anti-aging products. I would rather they be proactive than prescriptive. Anyway, essences make every other part of your skincare routine work better. Your serum and moisturizer will sink in better and your skin will definitely thank you for it. Also, I know that $24 is a lot for about 5.5 ounces, but I have had this bottle since about May and I have only just used over half the bottle. So, it is definitely worth the money.
Once my essence lotion has sunk in, I will move onto my fave serum: the Drops of Youth™ Youth Concentrate.
A little bit of this serum is going to go a long way and the 1-ounce bottle is a 6-month supply, so don’t go overboard with this. I will drop about two drops from the pipet into my hand, rub it in my hand, and pat it into my skin. This is just another boost of moisture and nutrients that helps my skin stay clear and healthy. I would highly recommend that you find a serum or facial oil that you like to use before you use your regular moisturizer. Trust me, your skin wants it. The extra boost will help keep your skin in good condition, also they can help with any hyperpigmentation or redness.
We are coming close to the end of my regimen: time to moisturize. The Tea Tree Anti-Imperfection Night Mask from The Body Shop is my favorite night cream I have ever tried (and that is compared to another night moisturizer I have tried from there).
The “mask” is chock full of tea tree oil, hyaluronic acid, and salicylic acid. I am normally not that biggest fan of products with salicylic acid (actually, I typically hate them and steer as far away from them as possible), but this one I like and I think it is because there isn’t that much and the hyaluronic acid is so hydrating, I can’t really tell the salicylic acid is in there other than when I notice how clear my skin is. What I do is that I will dip my finger in and get a little on the tip, then dot it on my face and massage it in. I can honestly say that I have noticed a difference in my skin because of this night mask. My skin is clearer and more even in tone, which I am absolutely for. Granted, it helps that this isn’t the only time of day I will use tea tree oil in my skincare routine. In the morning, especially if I notice a pimple coming in, I will add a little tea tree oil (which, if you didn’t know or haven’t caught on, is amazing for acne prone skin) into my day moisturizer to help ward it off all potential blemishes and to balance the oils in my skin throughout the day.
Now, sometimes that is where it ends. Once my mask absorbs into my skin, I will brush and floss my teeth, swish around some mouthwash for 30 seconds, then go to bed. But, tonight is not one of those nights. If you didn’t notice in the very first picture of the post, then let me tell you: I have two pimples, so I have to take care of those so they will go away. Which, that means that tonight’s final step is a spot treatment. In my opinion, there are two out there that are great and worth every penny: Persa-Gel® 10 from Clean and Clear® which is a spot treatment with 10% benzoyl peroxide is $4.99 at Target or Walmart and it is my favorite one to take when traveling. The other is a bit higher end and the one of I am using happens to be this one; the Drying Lotion by Mario Badescu is an absolute lifesaver.
This one is very similar to the EradiKate by Kate Somerville, for those who are familiar with that product, but $8 cheaper and equally as effective. How you use it is as shown above: use a Q-tip to dip into the bottle and touch the pink sediment at the bottom (ABSOLUTELY DO NOT SHAKE THIS, the whole reason it works is this two-part solution and it has to be separated to work.). Once you touch the sediment with the Q-tip, dot it on your spots like I am doing in the far right picture. It dries pretty quickly and after you apply it, you can go to bed or watch movies or FaceTime your best friend. Just don’t rub your face, it will come off. Granted, this will naturally happen in your sleep and it will come off when you wash your face in the morning, but you don’t necessarily want that earlier than necessary. Once dry, the “lotion” has gotten into your pores and started to take out the pimples in question. And trust me, they will be gone far quicker than normal.
I had a huge pimple under the skin on my jaw earlier this week that I dotted with this and it was gone in a couple days. Normally, that would take a couple weeks for something like that to go away on its own, so I highly recommend this product. It is worth the splash of cash in every way.
But, I digress. Once done, you will look a little something like the picture to the right. After this, I will usually head to bed (like I said, I’m a teacher – we need all the sleep possible). Please let me know if you already have any of these products or are planning on trying them.
Otherwise, that is all for today! I hope you found this useful or interesting, even if you have no plan on using these products, but are just nosey (no shame).
beauty secrets from a real girl: a series of reviews and tips for real women| my skincare holy grail and my nighttime (skincare) routine Hello lovely readers! Like I said last week, this week I am going to be talking about something a little more useful than just how to make the best cup of tea you will ever have (not that tea is not of great importance and use).
