Hello Hello! Wow, is been quit the minute since I lasted posted on here. A lot has happened in the world as everyone knows about but a lot has also happened in my personal life. I’m not quit ready to discuss what happened in my life and with so many outlets to get news, I wanted to bring something light and fun to my little corner on the internet. At some point I will disclose what has been going on in my personal life and maybe my thoughts on the state of the world but until then I want to keep things light and that bring positivity. With that being said, the fact that I’m not posting about current events, that doesn’t mean I’m immune to what is happening or that I’m ignoring it. I’m processing everything in private, where to be honest, is where the work/change happens.
So on to the post! Beauty and skin care products are my favorite things to buy, play with, try, and talk about. [I’m sorry in advance for the short novel this will become ha!] I believe that the better your skin is the better your beauty products will apply and look. I have a love hate relationship with my skin. For some reason when I stopped taking birth control my skin decided it needed to be worse now than it was when I was a teenager. I’ll go through period of my skin looking amazing and that’s when I love it. Then I’ll go through periods were its all texture and breakouts. I’m not sure why in my late twenties I developed cystic acne, but here we are, even all these years later. I’ve tried so many products, both high end and drug store. I think I finally founds a good combination of products that help keep my skin pretty clear but also battle those annoying periods of breakouts. All my products are cruelty free [to the best of my knowledge] and I try to incorporate as many “clean” products as I can.
It may look like a lot of products and a long routine but I don’t use all these products every day/night and some I only use for certain “problems”.
#1. Tula Purifying Face Cleanser– I’ve used Tula products for about 4 years now and the cleanser is one of my favorites. It cleans your skin but doesn’t dry it out and leaves it feeling clean. When I do wear make up, before I wash my face I take most of my make up off with a baby wipe. This cleanser removes the rest of my make up and any oil. Tula’s products are made with clean and important ingredients for your skin. I use this everyday both morning and night.
#2. WISHFUL Yo Glow Facial Enzyme Scrub– This exfoliator is super gentle on your skin but very effective. It is a clean product [as per Sephora] with a lot of amazing ingredients for your skin like Pineapple enzyme, papaya enzyme, AHA, and BHA. It smells really good and really works. I apply it in the shower after I cleanse my face and my skin feels and looks great after each time I use it. I use it about 3 times a week.
#3. Teami Repair Facial Oil– I love this oil. It helps heal and repair your skin. I don’t use this every day, just when I have a lot of redness, breakouts, inflammation and/or need a boost of hydration. It works really well and is made of natural and clean ingredients which I really appreciate. It works well on all skin types as well. A little does goes a long way. It will absorb into the skin fairly well, but if you use too much it will feel and look greasy. Depending on how my skin is I’ll either use this as my moisturizer or if my skin is really dry, I’ll use moisturizer as well.
#4. Teami Hibiscus Infused Vitamin C Serum– When I don’t use the face oil I use this vitamin C serum. I like this because its made with natural, clean ingredients. This serum helps with acne and lighten dark spots and gives the skin a nice natural glow. I like it because it doesn’t make me break out more and takes care of my problem areas. A win-win in my book. Plus its pink, I’m not mad about that ha!
#5. Tula Go Away Acne Spot Treatment– This is the holy grail of my skin care routine! I absolutely love this product and can not say enough good things about it! It is the BEST acne spot treatment I’ve ever tried and I’ve tried them all! It works so well so fast! Since I have cystic acne it usually takes a long time for them to go away but this with spot treatment it only takes a few days now. Depending on the state of my breakouts is how I determine when I use it. When I have a bad breakout I’ll put it directly on the breakout and then layer the other products on top of it. If the breakout isn’t terrible I’ll put on the other products first and then the spot treatment. I always make sure I have a spare of these in my skin care drawer as well! It does have an applicator that you can put right on your skin but I don’t feel that it is sanitary so I put some on a Q-tip and then apply it that way. I can not recommend this product enough!
#6. Origins GinZing™ Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff Mini– This product is fairly new to me but so far I really like it. I got the mini because I wanted to try it and I like that it is in a tube instead of a jar that you have to put your fingers in. I’m not a fan of that kind of packaging and tend to not purchase items because of it. The mini has a good amount of product in it and a nice applicator that helps the product go on smooth and even. It did brighten up my under eye area on first application and I was pretty impressed by it. This is another clean product with good ingredients for your under eye area. So far I really like it but will continue to use it and report back if anything changes.
#7. LAWLESS Set The Stage Hydrating Primer Serum– This is a pretty cool product. I love this brand and when this launched I was really intrigued. It is a moisturizer, primer, and serum all in one. It is another clean product packed with amazing ingredients for your skin. It’s a really cool product. Not only is it a multi purpose product that does what it say it will, but the consistency is really cool. It starts out as a gel like texture and as you apply it to your skin it turns into an oil like texture but not in a bad way. I like that this product does actually moisturize and is a serum all in one so it eliminates a couple products which my bank account appreciates and it cuts down on the time I would spend on applying my skin care products. You’ll also see this product in my current make up face faces post. Depending on what I’m doing for the day and how my skin is I’ll use this product in different ways.
#8. Rose Glow & Get It Cooling & Brightening Eye Balm– This is another Tula product that I’ve used for a while now and really like it. It does cool your under eye area and gives a really nice glow. Sometimes I’ll bring it down and put it on my cheek bones as well before my foundation for a lit from within look. I like this one better than the original one because it was blue and highlighted my dark circles. This one has a pink hue to to it so it hides the darkness better.
#9. MOUNT LAI Gua Sha Facial Lifting Tool– This is new to me. I’ve used facial rollers and liked it but didn’t stick with it. When I saw this I was intrigued because who doesn’t want a contoured face. It says that it will smooth the skin and leave it radiant and lifted. Again, who doesn’t want that? It does feel good when I do it and I keep it in the fridge to keep it cold. I’m going to use it longer to see if my skin gets smoother, lifted and radiant.
#10. TATCHA The Kissu Lip Mask– This is the best lip gloss/mask I’ve tried! I wear it as a lip gloss and then at night and when my lips are dry I use it as a lip mask. It gives your lips the shiny wet look but the best part is it is not sticky at all. I don’t know how they did it but its great. It’s another clean product made with ingredients that will smooth, hydrate and soften your lips. I highly recommend if you need a lip product that is multipurpose.
Otay thats it! Thank you so much for reading this! Do you use any of these products? What are some of your favorites? Leave them in the comments below, I’m always up for learning about and trying new products!
Stay tuned for my Current Make Up Face Faves post next to see what products I use when I do a full face of make up. I’m going to do a Current Make Up Eye Faves post, and a Day in the Sun Faves post of what I wear when I’m going to the beach or be in the sun all day.
Always Sparkle and Shine Bright…
xoxo,
Jen