Hey everyone! I hope you all have had a good week! Today's post is all about my current skin care routine. I recently got some of these products during my birthday shopping trip. I went all in. I got EVERYTHING I had been eyeing. It was not cheap. Thankfully, I had quite a few gift cards, but it still wasn't pretty when the price showed up on the keypad... Normally I would've had immediate guilt, like I shouldn't have spent all that money. But this time, I was very happy with what I got and had no guilt what-so-ever. And two weeks later, I still regret nothing. Every one of these products is absolutely amazing, and I've seen reeeeaaallllyy good results. I wanted to wait a full two weeks to create this post, just so I could give you all an honest opinion on each product and how it has worked for me and my skin.
Let me tell you a little bit about my skin. I have combination/oily skin. The "combination" part only applies in the winter. My cheeks, hairline and right around my brows get pretty dry, while my T-zone stays oily. In the summer, however, I'm completely oily. Like, at the end of the day it feels like I'm wiping straight grease off my face. Disgusting, I know. I'm also acne prone. It used to be REALLY bad in high school. My freshman/sophomore years I had the worst breakouts all over my cheeks and chin. They were so bad that I wouldn't wear my hair back in a ponytail, or in any hairstyle that showed off my face. It was awful. Thankfully, my skin calmed waaaayyyyy down. I now (normally) only get hormonal breakouts. But they're not just some small zit on my chin, they're always huge and red and last for what seems like forever. But, I can't complain too much, because my skin really isn't that bad. I'm more than thankful for that. With this new skincare regimen, I prepared myself for possibly breaking out more than normal - just because I completely changed up the routine I had for years and years. I'm very happy report that I have not broken out much at all (like, only one zit) since I started with all of these new products. I've been so excited to share these items with you, so enough babbling. Let's get started. Descriptions and reviews of each product will be in the captions underneath each picture. Enjoy!
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| The first item I want to mention is definitely not for the face, but I've been so impressed with it that I wanted to share my thoughts with you all. This is The Body Shop Shea Body Butter. Besides my face, the skin on the rest of my body is SUPER dry. Always. I drink tons of water, but it doesn't seem to help as much as I'd like. I've been using a thick body cream from the "True Blue Spa" line from Bath & Body Works for years. It took care of the itchy-ness on the surface, but it never seemed to really moisturize and soak into my skin. Finally, I looked at the ingredients and saw that it had petrolatum in it as one of the first ingredients. Petrolatum is a surface moisturizer. It never sinks into the skin, or hydrates the way a real moisturizer should. It's not terrible for the skin, but it's not something you want in a true moisturizer. Anyway, I decided I wanted to try something different. I'd heard tons of good things about The Body Shop's body butters, so when I saw a little mini size in Ulta, I put it straight into my bag. I could not be happier. This stuff is AMAZING. It's a serious moisturizer, but does not leave the skin feeling greasy at all. I've also noticed that my skin is softer, and 12+ hours after applying it, my skin still feels really good and hydrated. Not to mention it smells sooooooo good! I like this stuff so much, that I got on their website to check out more of their items. They were having a 40% off sale, so I ordered 3 of the big tubs of this body butter. I absolutely LOVE this product, and would recommend it to anyone who has super dry skin. |
** From here on out, I am posting the skincare items I use in the order I use them. **
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| My main (and most expensive) purchase was the Clarisonic Mia 2. I have seriously been looking at this/reading every review/watching it be raved about by every YouTuber I watch, for the past year. Then recently, my best friend was telling me how she has one and loves it. She told me all about her experience with it, and it was then that I decided I had to get one. So, thank you Brittany for talking me into it, haha. This has been the best investment I've ever made for my skin. Now, if I don't use this every night my skin doesn't feel clean. In fact, I just feel dirty all over. I've skipped it once since I got it, and I immediately regretted it. This gets all my makeup off, exfoliates my skin and it really gets down into my pores and clears everything out. I've been using this for two weeks, and I have noticed that my pores are smaller, I have less blackheads and my skin has a nice glow. My blackheads aren't completely gone, but I know with continued use I will have less and less. If I can recommend one product out of all the ones I mention in this post, it would be this one. Hands down. I love the Mia, and you will too! |
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| Next up is the Clinique Mild Liquid Facial Soap. This is part 1 of the 3-step skincare line for my skin type. I love this cleanser. I've actually been using this for a couple years now. It's been really good for my skin, and I definitely saw an improvement when I first started using it. I use this cleanser everyday with my Mia 2. It is super gentle, and leaves my skin feeling clean, and soft. It doesn't foam or lather much, but that's okay with me. I've thought about trying the Philosophy cleanser, but I just really love this one. Who knows, maybe I'll try a different cleanser once I run out of this one. But for now, I'll stick to what I already know works. |
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| First off, this picture makes me look like I have hairy hands. I do not have hairy hands... just a lot of freckles, haha. Anyway, this is the Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask. This is a step I do once a week. You can use it more than that, but for me once is enough. I had wanted to try a new mask, and reaaallllllyyy wanted to get the GlamGlow Youth Mud Mask from Sephora. Then I found out how much it was... Since I had plans to get a few other skincare items, I decided to hold off on the GlamGlow (for now) and try this Origins mask. I'd heard tons of great things about this product, so I decided to check it out. I can honestly say that I absolutely LOVE this item.This mask is great for really clearing out your pores. When using, I make sure I soak my face in warm water to really get those pores to open up. Then I apply a thin layer of this mask all over the face. I leave it on for about 10-15 minutes, or until it has dried completely, then I wash it off with warm water. When it dries, your face feels SO tight, but not dry at all! This stuff dries and really sucks everything out of your pores. Then after you wash it off it leaves your skin feeling sooooo good. My skin feels super tight (in a clean way) and has a really nice glow about it. It's great to use when you feel like your skin looks kind of dull. It really brightens your complexion, and you see an immediate improvement right after you use it. I highly recommend this product! |
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| Then comes the toner. Again, this is from Clinique, and is part 2 of the 3-step skincare line. I looooove this stuff. Next to my Clarisonic, it's another product that if I don't use it after washing my face, my skin doesn't feel as clean as I like. This one is for dry/combination skin, so I may have to get the one for oily skin for the summer. But, this one works great for me right now. I feel like after using the Clarisonic my pores are thoroughly cleaned out, and this clarifying lotion is what gets in there and seals them back up...haha. I'm explaining it poorly, but hopefully you get the idea. This has no fragarance and is non-drying and I love it. I don't think I'll ever stop using this product. Well...maybe someday. But not any time soon. |
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| Moving on, this is the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair. This is an anti-aging serum. Now, I know you all are probably thinking "you're 25 (for the third time...) why are you using anti-aging products?" Well, I want to go ahead and stop the anti-aging from even starting. I do have quite a lot of fine lines right under my eyes and let me just say, I HAVE noticed a difference in the visibility of those fine lines after using this product for two weeks. Basically this stuff is full of magical/scientific things that make it a Holy Grail product for those who use it. It has a cell-regenerating technology in it that's supposed to reverse signs of aging. And it works with the natural overnight process in repairing and purifying the skin. This product is on the pricey side. However, if there is a Cosmetics Company Outlet (CCO) anywhere near you, they should have it for about $15-20 dollars off the regular price. I found mine in the CCO at the Tanger Outlets in Pigeon Forge, TN. They say you're supposed to see the best results after 4 weeks of use. Again, I've used it for two weeks, and can already see a difference in my under eye area, as that is the only place I put it. You can use this all over the face though. I take a little less than a pea-sized amount, rub it together on the tips of my fingers, and PAT it underneath my eyes until it feels dry, or like it's soaked into my skin. This product is amazing, and I HIGHLY recommend it, especially if you have more mature skin. Here's a link to this product on the Estee Lauder website, so you can see for yourselves what all it really does. |
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http://www.esteelauder.com/product/542/26959/Franchise-Skincare/Advanced-Night-Repair/Advanced-Night-Repair/Synchronized-Recovery-Complex-II/index.tmpl
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| For my nighttime moisturizer, I use the Josie Maran 100% Pure Aragon Oil. Yes, I have oily skin. But you combat oil with oil. And it really does work. When you put oil on your face, your skin doesn't work overtime to over-produce the natural oils in your skin. It helps balance it out. Usually when you have oily skin you're always aware of how much moisturizer you put on your face because you know, at the end of the day, you're going to look like a grease pit. At least that's what I used to think. Not with this stuff. I started hearing about this Josie Maran 100% Pure Aragon Oil last summer, and I was immediately intrigued. ALL of the girls I watch religiously on YouTube rave and rave about this face oil, and they all have the same oily skin type that I do. So, I finally decided to try it. I am sooooooo glad I did! This oil is 100% organic. You can use it on your body, in your hair and even on your food. No joke. This stuff is straight from nature and an amazing product for the skin. It's a great moisturizer, helps in anti-aging AND it's even good for acne-prone skin! I put about 4 drops on my fingertips, rub them together and pat it onto my face, and smooth it all down my neck. Yes, you will look pretty greasy once it's on, but you won't FEEL greasy. It's super light-weight on the skin. I have pretty greasy hair, and I started really working this into the skin right on my hairline on my forehead, and I've seen a definite DECREASE in how oily my hair gets throughout the day. Believe it or not, my face has felt more moisturized, but gets less oily throughout the day. Now, I only use this in my nighttime routine. There is a "Light" version of this 100% Aragon Oil that you can use underneath your makeup. But this regular version would be too heavy to wear underneath your makeup. All-in-all, this is seriously an amazing product. I bought the small bottle this time, just in case I ended up not liking it. I freakin' love it, and will be purchasing the big bottle next time. After using this product, I'm am really curious to check out everything else from this brand. My new Holy Grail product. Hands down. Perfection in a bottle. Here's the website so you can read more about it: |
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| Lastly, this is my morning moisturizer, the Clinique Moisture Surge Intense. When I first went to the Clinique counter a couple years ago, they set me up with the 3-step skincare program I've shown you, but they gave me the gel moisturizer, not this one. I ended up getting a sample size of this during the bonus time at Belk, and I loved it so much that I went and bought the big size. This is an intense moisturizer, but I don't find it to be heavy or greasy at all. When I wake up, I always use the toner I mentioned above to get all the dirt and oil off my face from sleeping, then I put this on. Now, I wouldn't recommend putting this on right before you do your makeup. I always put this on, then get dressed, brush my teeth and go feed the animals. Then I put my makeup on. So, it gets to soak into my skin for about 10-15 minutes before I put anything over top of it. But it leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth and I really love it. It's the perfect daytime moisturizer, and again, I highly recommend it! | | | |
So, that's it! I know it's quite a lot of products, but I really love each one individually so much. Put them all together, and it's magical. If you have any questions or comments, or want to tell me about products you use, feel free to comment below, or on my Facebook page "Beautymark." I hope you all liked this post. I know it was a little long-winded, but I wanted to give you all an in-depth review of each one. Let me know if you decide to try any of these products! I'd love to hear all about your experience! As always, thank you so so so much for reading, and I hope you have a great weekend!!
XOXO - Tabitha
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