overwashing

Hey all! I’ve been a real skincare snob these past few months and I figured I might as well share with you my new skincare routine. It’s definitely a bit more time consuming but I find that it’s the only way my skin stays at its best! I used to be fairly low maintenance with skincare. I would literally just use a makeup wipe, rinse, and hit the sheets! That’s a HUGE no-no, especially is you’re a frequent makeup wearer. I noticed that my makeup was just looking crappy and that was ultimately because my skin was crappy. It wasn’t covered in acne or anything but it was just dull and blah! You could just feel it when your skin isn’t in the best shape. So, I became a skincare snob and I have been following this regimen religiously because consistency is key!

In the morning, I don’t do much because I’m not a believer of OVERWASHING your face. Yes, there is such a thing. I keep it simple. I rinse my face with COLD WATER to wake me up and since I’m not using any product it doesn’t matter if my pores are open or not. Then, I use my Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Stress Control toner all over my face. Once that’s dry I do my primer and makeup as usual. I’m on the oily side so I don’t moisturize in the day. Call me crazy but that’s how I roll.

At night, I use my all time favorite makeup wipes which are the Neutrogena Hydrating Makeup Wipes. These are the wipes in the teal packaging. Out of all the Neutrogena wipes I’ve used, these take off makeup the best in my opinion. After that I use my Mario Badescu Acne Facial Cleanser which is heaven in a bottle. The only thing I don’t like is that it’s not a foamy cleanser but hey as long as it works! I massage that all over my face with my Clarisonic. If you don’t have a Clarisonic, INVEST IN ONE! It’s a truly amazing tool that deep cleans your skin and REALLY takes out all the gunk. Washing your face with your hands doesn’t compare. I stopped using it for about 4 months and my skin was just garbage. Needless to say, I’m never doing that again. Also, when I wash my face I start with lukewarm water and then turn it to the colder side when I’m fully done. About 2-3x a week, I exfoliate with my Murad Skin Smoothing Polish. I hate to admit this but I never really exfoliated my skin until now and now I realize all the goodness my skin was missing out on. For more info on the product, check out my review here. After cleansing, I sometimes use my PMD. However, I only use it once a week and if I only cleansed my skin that day. I don’t use it if I exfoliated as well because I feel like that’s overkill. For more info on the PMD, check it out here. After all that jazz, I use my toner followed by my VMV ID Anti-Acne Oil-Free Lotion. This ish right here is no joke. You have to use it little by little otherwise it won’t work. Also, it is one the greasy side which is funny to me because it’s oil-free but whatever. Also, for the occasional Aunt Flow crater pimple, I alternate between VMV Monolaurin Gel and Kate Sommerville’s Eradikate.

Tips and Tricks

Always pat dry your face, never rub. Nobody wants premature wrinkles.

Never use a towel to dry your face because you’re just putting the bacteria back on your skin. Instead, use a paper towel to dry off.

Always exfoliate weekly. Don’t be a fool like I was.

Cold water closes pores. Hot water dehydrates skin and opens pores. Lukewarm water is best but cool water to finish off is my personal preference.

There you have it! I hope you find this information helpful.

Happy Hump Day! It’s finally the middle of the week! Anyway, I wanted to discuss SKINCARE because I haven’t done a skincare post in a while. Plus, my skin is the best it’s been in a while! So, why not share my method with you lovelies? 🙂

First off, I have very oily skin but my skin is very resilient. It doesn’t get irritated or anything like that. I can pretty much put any product I want on my face. With that said, my usual skincare involves cleansing, astringent or toner, and moisturizer. However, during the summer I skip moisturizer. Why? Because you can fry an egg on my face by the time I wake up! YUCK! So, I just skip it all together because the humidity is crazy here in NYC. Why put unnecessary moisture on? Moving on, my current skin care entails cleansing with my Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser, wiping my face with Noxzema Anti-Blemish Pads, and putting on a thin layer of the Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector. This new trio I’ve been doing is THEBOMB.COM!

I don’t know what it is man but here is the deal! My face hasn’t had a breakout since I started doing this. Do I get an occasional blemish aka pimple? Sure, because that lovely time of the month just makes my face a little agitated. However, I have not had a major breakout. Side Note: The Clarins cleanser I’m currently using isn’t the cleanser I reviewed in my Hit or Miss series. I do still stick behind what I said about the other One Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser but I’m on a budget and this cleanser ended up being cheaper. So, I ended up buying this one instead and I AM GLAD.

Now, going more in depth with this routine…

If I wore makeup that day, I would first remove all of it with my makeup wipes. Then, I’d put some cleanser on my Clarisonic Mia and get to work on my face. If I didn’t wear makeup that day, I won’t leave the brush on my face for the full minute because there IS such a thing as overwashing your face! Also, I’m using the deep pore cleansing brush head (be on the look out for a review soon ;)). After I rinse it off and pat dry, I use a Noxzema pad all over my face. Then, I put some of the Clinque Dark Spot Correcting serum on my face. I didn’t buy the full bottle but of course I got a sample from Sephora. I put a thin layer on where I have dark spots and since the serum is semi-thick, a dab goes a long way on the face. It’s been working pretty damn well for the past 8 days! I definitely notice a difference. I only use that for blemishes though not for acne.

If you have skin like mine or think/know your skin can deal with these products, try this routine out! I have oily acne-prone skin and it usually goes bonkers during the summer because of the smog and sweat. Luckily, this dynamic duo has been doing my face justice and it might just help you out.