Let's Get Personal: The Routine Part 2

Welcome back and thanks for sticking with me on this long journey that is my face routine. If you missed the backstory or part 1, you can check them here and here. I really will cut down on my routine and simplify it more in a few months. Holidays are coming up and I can't afford to spend any excess money. It's all about the budget! Plus we're looking forward to moving soon, so any little bit I can cut out to save a few bucks I will do away with. Moving on, let's get to it.

Oils/Moisturizers/Treatments: 
Ok so I use a variety of oils. Again, I had to do trial and error to find the ones that worked the best for me. The only ones that worked really well were argan oil and maracuja oil. Maracuja oil is passion fruit oil that is high in nutrients and skin goodies, similar to most of the other oils out there. I use either one after the Dr. Gross peel, usually after my acne treatment. They both sink in and absorb really well (moderation is key as it is with everything) and in the morning my skin is gorgeous. Currently the only maracuja oil I can find is from Tarte and it is pricey, but worth it in my opinion. I usually alternate between maracuja and argan oil to stretch it out.
 
As much as I wanted it to work out, jojoba oil didn't help my skin when I used it as a moisturizer, so I use it with Jamaican black castor oil in a 1:3 ratio for OCM (Oil Cleansing Method) and sometimes add a few drops of rose hip seed oil for an extra burst of vitamin C. I thought it was crazy at first using oils to wash my face, but after I read this XOvain article on OCM and tried it, I have to say it works. Like dissolves like, so the oils and dirt of the day come right off without stripping your skin of all moisture. Also using OCM melts makeup off my face like nothing else, even waterproof mascara. I don't OCM daily because it is time consuming and I don't have enough wash cloths to keep up. I do it when I have a lot of heavy makeup on (eyes, lips and face) or when I want to really open up my pores and get a deep, deep cleaning. The hot wash cloth is good to let more pores open up and release some of the gunk before I rinse in cold water to close them up. It's therapeutic to massage with the oils and they release an inner glow without being harsh. Take it easy with the castor oil and play around to get your ratios right. Castor oil can over dry your skin, depending on skin type. 

During the summer it was so humid, I didn't want to put anything on my face. While the oils worked great at night, during the day when I was out and about, they weren't cutting it. I went back to the drawing board and came up with rose water + glycerin for a home made moisturizer. I figured why not. Rose water makes a pretty good setting spray for my makeup and it smells so amazing. I played around with different combinations before settling on 1 part glycerin to 4 parts rose water to get the right consistency for me. Too much glycerin made my face sticky, but too little wasn't moisturizing enough. Once I got the combination down, I was in heaven! It absorbed in so well and kept my skin hydrated without making me greasy or being heavy on the skin. I loved it! But now with the weather getting cooler, and my skin getting drier, my rose water + glycerin isn't cutting it anymore, so I have been using traditional moisturizers. I alternate between Mario Badescu's Aloe Moisturizer with SPF 15 and Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing gel. It depends on how dry my skin is, but I am finding the Clinique to be a little too greasy lately. I guess I have to play around more with my routine for the colder months, now that I have it down for the summer. 

Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment has been saving me for some time. I do see a difference in the size of bumps and redness when I use it regularly. For really bad breakout days, I use it 2x daily - once in the morning and once at night. It doesn't burn my skin or make my face redder, and I feel it working almost immediately. I've also learned through trial and error that only the name brand version works. Though the store brands of this product may be cheaper, I can say that they are not as effective. Most of the time I'm all for cheaper instead of name brands, but with this product, there is a difference.

 
Masks: 
You can never have too many. I love mixing the different types of clay with ACV. The Moroccan red clay was too strong for me when used solo. My skin was red and tight for a few hours. The Aztec Indian Healing clay is green clay and alone it works well, but I mix a tiny bit of red in there and boom. Perfection. It really brings everything to the surface. And sure the ACV is smelly, but it mixes with the clay more evenly than water - no chunks. Just be sure to use plastic or glass bowls/utensils because metal will interact with the clay and you don't want that.

The Queen Helene Mint Julep mask has green clay in it, and is great for leaving on pesky spots over night. Bumps either dry up and disappear or come to a head and then disappear. It's also great for when I want to cut some time and just smear on the mask without worrying about measuring and mixing things. It was actually the first mask I was introduced to years ago, but never bothered to keep up with until my recent journey.

The Origins Clear Improvement activated charcoal mask is pretty good too, but it stung too badly for me to use on an everyday or more frequent basis. It's similar to the sensation I get with an all red clay mask where I can only leave it on for about 2-3 minutes before I'm running to wash it off. On the off chance I decided to leave it on longer, the charcoal mask doesn't leave me red or sting for as long as the red clay does. I have read on the internet that you can buy activated charcoal capsules/powder and just make your own mask, so I may try that and see if it's less harsh than the Origins version. 

And this ladies and gents, concludes my routine! Yes I'm terrible with the amount of products I use. Because quite frankly, it shouldn't take so many products to get the results I want. But I'm going to make the changes slowly. I don't want another freak out after everything I've worked so hard for. Because being able to walk out of the house confidently without makeup has been amazing :) Now it's to keep it up where the work comes in.

Hope this was helpful to you.

xoxo
- L








 

Music Monday-Kings Of Leon: Come Around Sundown

Kings of Leon have been around for a while. Forming in 1999, the Followill boys have come a long way from the southern rock sound that defined their early years. While the band was able to find success overseas using this formula, it wasn't until the release of their fourth album, Only by the Night, that the band was finally able to break in the United States. Peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Charts, Only by the Night spawned several hit singles which include Sex on Fire, Notion, and of course the album's biggest hit, Use Somebody.

With the success that was Only by the Night, one would assume that the follow-up album will definitely be a massive hit. And while that is true for the rest of the world, we here in America seem to be missing out once again. Come Around Sundown managed to reach Platinum status in every country that it was released in except for America, where it reached Gold.

In short, Come Around Sundown is exactly what it was meant to be. The Followill boys intended to make an album with a southern summer feel and they delivered. Songs like Radioactive and Back Down South give the listener a longing for those lazy summer days, whether you're originally from the South or not. To me, this is an example of a great album. You can be sitting in your apartment in New York City where the current temperature is 37 degrees but this album will transport you to warm summer day where you are gathered with your friends for a cookout. That's what great albums do. Unfortunately, it seems that we here in America haven't learned to appreciate this fact.

Note: Kings of Leon have announced the Mechanical Bull 2014 Tour. If you are interested in attending, please purchase your tickets here.

-JSR

Let's Get Personal: The Routine Part 1

Sorry for the long wait! Things have been busy and I've been overwhelmed and really lazy to keep up here. As you may have noticed, I've gotten a guest blogger to take over Music Mondays for me, and it has helped tremendously. I will get better soon! So a few weeks ago I went over my back story, and the reason why I have issues with my skin and hormones. If you missed it, you can read it here. I went into some detail about my history with PCOS, and the difficulties I had with my changing skin over the years. Right now I'm at a really happy place. There are a few breakouts here and there, but nothing near to what I was dealing with before. I was actually super pleased when I went to the MAC store to get color matched and the MUA said my skin was gorgeous. I sang on the inside! Before I get to it, I'm going to let you know this is going to be lengthy and I will break it up into 2 parts. Let's get started!

This is everything I use. Looks like a lot, but it works!

My skin type is oily combination. Oily in the T zone and fairly normal on the rest of my face. A few dry patches around my mouth area and cheeks occasionally, mostly when I haven't exfoliated in a long time or when the weather gets colder. Some days - like the past few weeks (eek!) I've been too lazy to do much so I let my skin do its own thing. And it seems to work. Less stress I guess? But I still put some effort into it. Just not the whole routine. I'm also working on weaning off products so I can minimize the amount of products I use and also spend less money in the same boat.

Cleansers/exfoliants:

I use a variety of cleansers and exfoliants based on my mood, time and skin. I never used to exfoliate at at all. No one ever showed me or told me how to do skin care, so I had to learn it through trial and error, looking things up on the Internet, and just winging it sometimes. I mean who knew you had to cleanse, exfoliate, tone, AND moisturize? Plus serums and all that? I sure didn't. I was just a basic cleanse and moisturize gal. Then one day I was introduced to St. Ives Apricot Scrub and that baby has stayed with me since. I switched to the Blemish and Blackhead Control formula and never looked back. More recently, I found out about Clarisonic Mia and once I figured out which brush head worked the best for me (deep pore) I jumped on it and have never been happier. 

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash is one of the first cleansers I have ever used, and it is the one I always end up going back to - because it works. I know that a lot of people say it doesn't matter what is in your face wash because it isn't on your skin long enough to be effective, but I think this proves otherwise (at least for me.) I use this with my Clarisonic to get nice and clean. It suds up really well and I find that certain cleansers don't work as well with the Clarisonic if they don't lather and create a lot of soapy suds. Neutrogena + Clarisonic with deep pore brush = squeaky clean and happy face. I do this combo a few times a week, it's too intense to do it everyday and definitely only once a day.

My everyday cleaner when I don't use my Clarisonic is Mario Badescu Botanical Facial Gel. It doesn't do much in terms of the "deep cleansing and refreshing" it claims, but it removes dirt fairly well. Makeup - not so much. It also doesn't work with my Clarisonic because of the gel formula, so I just use it on its own. Occasionally I'll use some apricot scrub when I want some massage action going on, or some exfoliation without breaking out the Clarisonic. I usually use the apricot scrub on its own once or twice a week. It doesn't remove all the dirt and makeup, but it feels SO good on my face. I don't use it on dry skin because I find that too harsh. I make sure I wet my face first and get to massaging in circles. 

PIDA exfoliating gel I use every so often. Mostly because I'm lazy and don't like washing my face in the sink. It's great for getting off dry skin though, especially areas where I couldn't leave well enough alone and picked at things. It's a good product and my face is silky smooth after using this. Its not drying at all, I just really wish I could use it in the shower and that I didn't have to use it on dry skin! You can read my review on it here.

Raw honey is more of a mask than a cleanser, but it serves the purpose of both. I put some on my skin and massage it in for a few minutes before I let it sit for 15-20 mins. Then I put a hot washcloth on top and let it soak into my skin before wiping off. My skin feels soft and supple, which makes me wonder why I don't do it more than twice a month! Hmm.. I guess I have to stop being lazy and manage my time better!

 

Toners/peels:

Clinique Clarifying Lotion - Formula 2 (for Dry Combination skin) mixed with some Neutrogena Clear Pore Astringent. Clinique had recommended Formula 3 for oily combination skin, but it broke me out and didn't feel right on my skin. Formula 2 feels better, it makes my pores tighter and I feel cleaner, plus it calmed my breakouts almost immediately. I saw my acne shrink in days. I use this almost everyday. For the times where my skin is extra sensitive, I use plain ol' witch hazel to sooth any irritation and redness. It still cleans thoroughly, but sometimes if I use too much, it leaves a slight film behind and it makes my face sticky.
Other times when I'm in a rush, or when my skin is behaving extraordinarily well and I don't have any breakouts, I'll use my FAB Facial Radiance Pads. I don't see too much of their claims to "exfoliate, tone and brighten." But they pick up whatever my cleansers don't pick up and don't sting or dry out my skin. I throw them in my gym bag and they're very travel friendly, especially in a carry-on bag since there's no 'liquid' per-say.

Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Extra Strength Formula towelettes are AMAZING. I know some of you may have seen my Instagram posts of before and after, but within 3 uses I saw a difference in my skin. Acne shrank, red spots cleared up, my skin felt soft, I was glowing! It also really helped my oils and treatments penetrate better. Using the peels after a good exfoliation gave me the best results. I know it's pricey and also not natural, but it works. And for that I can splurge and feel ok with it because c'mon I can see real results here. Not after weeks, but within DAYS. 

I also liked the Murad Intensive-C Radiance Peel. I received it as a sample from Sephora and I was contemplating purchasing the full size before I tried the Dennis Gross pads. It penetrates without irritating my skin, and my inner glow was released. However, I'm all for quick and easy, which the Dennis Gross pads offer. I swipe them across my face and I'm done. The Murad while more cost effective, requires washing off after the allotted time. I don't have time for that!! Plus I'm saving water ;)

And I think I will cut it off here.. Next week's post will be Oils, Moisturizers, and Masks. Whew, that's still a lot! You guys must think I'm crazy, but it works wonders. And eventually I will do an update on the more simplified version of this routine.

One day, one day...
- L