Keeping this blog makes me so happy. It has opened up conversations with people that I have scarcely been able to have before. Even after writing professionally, I still find it hard to believe anyone would want to read my writing, let alone want to talk about it.
On my trip home this past weekend, I was graced my the presence of my aunties ā my momās two sisters. They showered me with questions about skincare, so I wanted dedicate a post to them. Their goals, it seems to me, is to find products that are affordable, results-driven, and free of nasty ingredients. They also want to focus on skin care that is anti-aging.
Reader, we are fortunate enough in 2019 to have reached a point where cruelty-free, carcinogen-conscious brands are actually mainstream and have made it to Target and Walgreens (or Duane Reade, for my New Yorkers). You can actually build a clean routine at Target these days, and never step foot or pay another dollar at a Sephora.
Iāve noticed recently, how my skin care cabinet has become more and more affordable. It began with my love of Bliss, see here, and has blossomed into a love for several other affordable brands and products. āThat being said, I think every woman needs a luxury lipstick, and a beauty product that they consider a secret. Trust me on this, a very expensive lipstick will make you feel like a very special person. This is a direct correlation, but perhaps thatās another blog post entirelyā¦
To kickstart a skincare routine, I think you need to start with exfoliation.
Say it with me reader: āEx-fo-li-ationā nation. Exfoliating is really going to kickstart the results of your skin care routine, and thatās a fact. When you have built-up dead skin cells lying on your face, it will prevent all the beneficial ingredients in your creams and serums from getting into your pores and doing the job right. Two good exfoliators?
The Bliss Jelly Glow Peel ($12). This is a good āscrubā for everyday use. Less like a scrub, and more like a jelly that rolls up as you rub it into your skin, it sloughs off some dead skin cells from the get-go and the fruit enzymes will work overtime to lift dead skin. I keep this in my shower and I tend to use it whenever I damn well please, since you really canāt over-do it with this one.
The Bliss Incredi-Peel pre-soaked exfoliating pads ($22) come individually wrapped. I took two on my four-night trip to Virginia. I used both because travel can really congest my skin. These must be used at night, and at first they will burn like the firery pits of hell, but over time, your skin will learn to love the burn. Youāll wake up glowing, I guarantee it. These are glycolic acid based, with witch hazel, licorice root, and vitamin E as well.
I like glycolic acid, I feel like she is the aged matriarch of chemical exfoliants. She has two beautiful but sometimes wily twins, AHA and BHA, and then she has one very gentle, emotional child in lactic acid. Retinol is her more accomplished sister, who studied at UChicago rather than Northwestern and will never let her forget it!
I used to live and die by the Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser ($22), but for about a year now, Iāve been hooked on a $10 and a $14 cleanser. You can fight me on this, but cleansers are important. Of course, we wash them down the drain, but they are touching our face(s). I like a cream cleanser in the morning and a gel cleanser at night. For aging skin, skip the gel cleanser, itāll dry you out.
For a good cream cleanser, look no further than the Blume Daydreamer Cleanser. I know, I know, the packaging is so boring, but I guarantee the product is a gem. This is a very thick and creamy cleanser. Itās not very emollient, but it does was off cleanly, and you only need two pumps. I donāt use this to take off makeup. Itās $14 on the Blume website.Ā think you can also buy it at Urban Outfitters now. Blume is a brand of organic pads and tampons, but they make wonderful skincare, just read about their Meltdown Oil here. This is a product that works with your skin and not against it.
However, if you are waging war against your face, may I recommend the Bliss Rose Gold Rescue Cleanser? Itās great for acne-prone skin. Gentle, yet effective, she is the ultimate knight in shining (rose gold) armor. It does contain colloidal gold, as well as rosewater, willow bark extract, and bergamot fruit extract.
Iāve never really liked expensive toners, rosewater is just fine. The Heritage Store Rosewater is the best, and only $5-7 depending on where you buy. Iām not using it at the moment, but that, again, is another blog post entirely.
Versed Glycolic Overnight Peel or Lilyana Naturals Retinol Cream:Ā My friends, my family, my readers, it used to spend $70 on the Khiels Overnight Recovery Facial Oil, but no more. We live in a world where a $20 retinol cream or a $20 āOvernight peelā can take you really far. Iāve been using this retinol cream for 8 or 9 months now. Itās available on Amazon. Iāve gifted it to my mom, I recommend it to anyone who will listen, and Iām alway confident that the person will love it. If they donāt, then theyāre really only out $20 and itās not on your conscience. In addition to retinol, it has aloe, jojoba, Vitamin E, Vitamin B5, and all the good goods.
As for the Versed Cream, Iāve been using this every three nights for the sake of science and experimentation, of course. I find it gives very similar results to the Retinol cream. They are both thick and moisturizing creams that donāt clog my pores. I have very oily and acne prone skin, and some creams are just too rich for me (think Weleda Skin Food, which my face despises). But with these, I feel like Iām applying a protective layer at night, but it sinks in before bed. I never feels tacky, and with both of these I saw results the next morning.
Iām sad to say, Iām still working on finding a good daytime moisturizer from Target. I havenāt tried many, but I am currently working my way through a tub of the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream, a $60 choice that I love, but is unsustainable. Next up in my rotation will be the versed Dew Point Moisturizing Gel-Cream. I canāt give my thoughts on this just yet.
The eyes are windows to the soul, and even if you have an old soul you donāt want old eyes! I made a post on Instagram a few days ago about eyes, the eye area, temples, etcetera. The gist of that post was this: take care of your damn crows feet. For that, Iāve really been loving the Versed Vacation Eyes Brightening Eye Gel (and lip line helper). This gel is heavenly. It sinks in, non-sticky, and it really is instantly brightening. I love the pale lemon packaging, and the way it feels like a luxury to apply. Whatever is left over from my eyes, I like to put around my mouth because I donāt really want fine lines there either.
For an eye cream from Target, I will admit itās pretty pricey, but nowhere near Sephora prices, and itās SO DAMN WORTH IT.
Burtās Bees Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment or Versed Silk Slip Lip Oil. In the winter, the Burtās Bees lip balm, the minty one in the pot, is my favorite. Itās thick and moisturizing but cheap at $8.69 compared to its pricey sisters, the ByTerry Baum de Rose or the Dior Lip Balm or whatever outlandishly priced luxury lip balm you can think ofā this stuff is just as good. But recently, my pick has been the Versed Silk Slip Lip Oil. More like a lip gloss, I like using this and foregoing any lip products. When I put this on, my lips look instantly rosier and fuller. Itās kind of remarkable. However, I do warn that the vitamin E in it, though long-lasting, is sticky as all hell. This gal? $9.99.
Treat Yourself (Modestly)
I love face masks. I love wearing them, I love shopping for them, and I love the results they give. This post has been heavy-handed with the Bliss and Versed products, so it probably comes as no surprise that their masks are also amazing. You can really tell that someone put a (non-corporate) amount of love and care and thought into these products. If you know me and you havenāt heard me mention the Bliss Mighty Marshmallow Mask, then you arenāt paying attention and that hurts my feelings. This is a great mask for plumping and hydrating the skin. Itās the best to use right before an event, a date, or a Monday, and itās only $12-15 depending on where you buy. Iāve gone through 4 tubs.Ā A new but well-loved kaolin-based clarifying mask in my collection, the Versed Clarity Mud Mask, has been really helping to keep my skin clear and under control. Itās not drying at all and actually leaves my skin feeling supple and plumped, very similar to the Bliss Pore Patrol mask, which is also a favorite.
I want to end this post with a special mention for Curology, a service iāve been using for almost a year. I love it. Itās an often-overlooked but very essential part of my routine, $20/bottle every few months. I think thatās deal for clear skin. In sum, good skincare can be $20 or less. I rest my case.
Ā Ā News Flash: You Donāt Have to Use Expensive Skin CareĀ Anymore Dear Internet, Keeping this blog makes me so happy. It has opened up conversations with people that I have scarcely been able to have before.
