At least once a week, I try to give my skin the day off. I take extra special care of it, and go make-up free (as much as I can). Granted, I usually throw on some mascara and clear lip gloss if I'm going out in public, but everything else is au natural. Working in the cosmetics industry for a few years now, I've learned all the benefits of taking care of my skin. I never used to do anything with it-the only time I'd wash my face was when I was in the shower. No wonder it was tight and itchy all the time! Now, I stick to a strict schedule (well, semi-strict-I'm still known to sometimes fall asleep in my make-up), and I can tell you, I can see results-and I even get compliments on my "glowing skin" (exact words from a customer)! I'm still experimenting with products (and will probably continue doing so while I'm in the cosmetics industry), but I am loving my results so far!
Anyways, the point of this post is to [hopefully] open up the discussion on skin care. I ask every single customer who comes to my counter what their regime is, and I'm stunned when the majority of women say they wash their face with a bar of soap and that's it. They say they sometimes moisturize, never tone or exfoliate, and rarely use an eye cream. Gasp. A lot of them don't even know which order you're supposed to use when it comes to washing your face, so I'm going to set the record straight and give you a glimpse into my daily routine. I sincerely hope that I can change at least one person's outlook on their skin, and influence them to take better care of it. You are only given one body, why not take the best care of it that you can?
So, without further ado, here is me (and my skin!) in all it's uncovered glory. ;)
Yikes, that took a lot of courage!
Moving on...
Like I said, I've spent a couple years switching up my skin care products, searching for the perfect combination, and for right now, I'm really satisfied. Here's what I use...
I was going to recommend other products for different skin types, but since I've only used products catered to those with dry skin, I'm no expert on the stuff out there for normal, combination, or oily skin. But that's where you can come in-share your favorites in the comments section!
So that's it. And the order I use them in. My biggest downfall right now, is that my facial moisturizer doesn't have an SPF in it, which is a HUGE no-no. I'll slap my wrist now (and you can totally call me a hypocrite)...
Which brings me to my next point, and I'm going to shout this and BEG you to embrace it just like me.
love your skin. be it pale or tan. PLEASE, step away from the tanning oil and beds.
It has taken me SO LONG to embrace my pale, freckled, skin. But I look at my son, and how pure and untouched his fair skin is and I love it. There's no insecurities there, just beauty (and giggles). I don't know when or how it clicked for me, but it did, and I am SO glad. I used to go in the sun wearing NOTHING and pray for a burn, just so I could have that "sun-kissed" glow that all my friends had. Well, I ended up with a lot of damage, and possibly even something worse. Never again. I've fallen in love with hats, and cover my entire body in sunscreen when I'm outdoors. I'd rather preserve my skin (and get the occasional airbrush tan) than risk looking like I'm 75 when I'm 40. So call me what you want, but I love my pale skin.
I hope that I've at least educated some of my readers and convinced them to give healthy skin a try. It may seem like that all takes forever, but I do the cleansing and exfoliating in the shower, tone when I'm trying off, then do all the serums, creams, and moisturizers. It takes all of 5 minutes-but usually less than that. I promise.
