Current Nighttime Skin Care Routine

This week I am talking about my nighttime skincare routine. I got a request for this so here you go! 

I just want to mention that I do not have perfect skin at all, I still get hormonal breakouts and sometimes dry patches. I used to have terrible skin and acne, so right now my skin is the best it's been since high school! I'm very happy with it right now! 

I have combination skin, my T-zone is very oily while other parts of my face can be dry. 

 So here's everything I use at night before I go to bed. This is my everyday nighttime skincare routine. Sometimes I'll change it up a little by using a mask, acne cream, or scar gel. But what you see here are my go-to products!!

This is Neutrogena oil-free eye makeup remover. It does an awesome job at removing waterproof mascara! I've been using this for years. I will say the knock off brand you can sometimes find at Walgreens works just as well. $7.99

First I remove my eye makeup. If I have false lashes on I will dip a q-tip into this makeup remover and rub onto the lash band until it loosens. Then I apply this makeup remover to a cotton pad and remove the remaining eye makeup.

These is the equate Original Clean Wet Cleansing Towlettes (with Vitamin E). These are very inexpensive and you get 60 wipes in each pack, and they come in sets of two packs. $5.97

After removing my eye makeup, I wet my whole face and use a towelette to remove most face makeup. These particular wipes aren't as wet as some other brands I've used, but with these you get the most bang for your buck.

This is the Farmhouse Fresh One Fine Day Shea Sugar Flawless Face Polish. This stuff is awesome and I really want to try more products from this brand! $25

I splash my face with warm water and then scrub my face with this product (make sure you have clean hands!). It smells really great! This product is for all skin types.

I use Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel pore perfecting toner to really get into those pores. This is 100% natural. You get 16 fl oz for so cheap! $4.47

Some negative things about this are that it doesn't smell good, and the bottle leaks when you travel with it. Other than that it's amazing!

To moisturize my skin I use Yes to Cucumbers soothing daily calming moisturizer (hypoallergenic, paraben-free, and 98% natural). $14.99

This moisturizer is a little more expensive but I only use just a tiny bit and it works great on my skin. I have some redness to my face so I love using anything with cucumber to sooth that redness.

To sooth my puffy dark eyes I use Yes to Cucumbers soothing eye gel (dermatologist tested, 99% natural product). $14.99

This is also kind of expensive but I just use a tiny bit every night. This bottle will last me for months.

Because I have some dark spots and scarring from acne I use Bio-Oil (PurCellin Oil). This is also good for stretch marks, uneven skin tone, aging skin, and dehydrated skin. $9.99 

This bottle is 2 oz, but also comes in larger sizes. I've had this bottle for quite a while because I only use a small amount on my face every night. I honestly think using this has significantly improved my acne scarring and actually helped with my oily skin. 

Even people with oily skin should use a skin oil. If you try to dry out your oily skin, your skin will only produce more oil to compensate. Read about using oil here.

To care for my chapped lips I use a lip scrub. This is the Santa's lip scrub from LUSH Cosmetics. This particular one was a limited edition and tastes and smells like Cola, but the Bubble Gum lip scrub is a favorite of mine as well. $9.95

The great thing about LUSH is that they don't test on animals and they really strive to use natural products and self-preserving products. 

To use this I will lick my lips so that the scrub sticks to them, then I apply a pea size amount of scrub with a clean finger to my lips. Scrub and then lick or wash off, this is safe to eat! 

Lastly I apply a lip balm. I just bought this Ultra Repair Lip Therapy balm by First Aid Beauty a while ago and I love it! $12.00 

I use this morning and night to soften chapped lips. It works really well in conjunction with the lip scrub! 

So there ya have it! That is my nightly skincare routine. I always, always take off my makeup before bed. I try to take really good care of my skin so it doesn't break out and stays as smooth and healthy as possible! 

I hope you enjoyed and learned something today! Have an awesome week! 

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Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit

Hello again :)
Today I want to talk about something I am SO excited about because I have been wanting this for so long. I have seen nothing but rave reviews about this kit and the individual powders in it. Anastasia Beverly Hill's company already has a great reputation for its brow products, and this palette plus their new eyeshadows are giving them a great reputation throughout the makeup world. Click to see Anastasia Beverly Hills website. 

I just got this palette yesterday and have used it twice so far. I tried all the colors in the palette. So far I am so impressed with how blendable and light these colors are. They help my makeup stay in place very well. The contour colors are beautiful. You can do anything from a really harsh contour to just a nice glow. 

The colors in this palette in order from left to right are top row: Vanilla, Banana, and Sand. 

Bottom row: Java, Fawn, and Havanna. A very popular shade in this palette is the Banana powder, which many makeup artists use to set their under-eye concealer. The yellow color of this helps to highlight the under eye area while also color correcting. 

I personally use the Banana powder to set and highlight my under-eye area. I use the Vanilla color to set my forehead, chin, and nose. Sometimes I also apply this color under the eyes. I use Sand to sort of highlight areas because is actually has a bit of a sheen to it. So I apply Sand to my cheekbones, chin, and bridge of my nose as well. I use the Sigma F25 Tapered Face brush.

To contour I start with Fawn on the e.l.f. powder brush and apply this under my cheekbones. I carry this color up my temples and to the sides and top of my forehead as well. Then I use Fawn to contour the sides of my nose. I use a Morphe Flat Contour brush for contouring my nose. Lastly, I contour my neck and jawline using the color Havanna and my e.l.f. brush.

 

The great thing about this palette is that if you run out of one color you don't have to repurchase the entire palette. The individual powders are available for purchase on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website at $14.00 each. The full palette costs $40.00 and is available on their website, Sephora, and Ulta. Another great thing about being able to take these colors out is that you can also pop them into a magnetic z-palette if you want to go on vacation and just have you eyeshadows, blush, and contour colors all in one palette.

All in all this palette is absolutely beautiful. The packaging is sleek and sturdy and not too bulky. It comes in a sleeve which is shown here. The powders are so blendable and lightweight but do their job very well. The size is also great, I think these will last me a long time. I love that they can pop out and back in no problem since this is magnetic. 

I would highly recommend this palette for anyone who enjoys contouring their face. Like I said this palette isn't just for those who like a really harsh contour. I would also recommend if you don't want to buy the whole palette to just try a few of the individual powders. The Banana powder and the color Fawn for contouring are my personal favorites. If you purchase these powders individually the cost would be $84. If you bundle 6 colors you receive this palette for free and the whole thing is priced at $40!

Another great thing about this palette is that on the Anastasia Beverly Hills website you can customize your own palette to get any mix of colors you want.

Thank you for stopping by to read this post :) I hope you enjoyed and learned something new! I would love to hear if you have this palette how you like it! Tag #prettyandpt. Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and like us on Facebook!

Coconut Oil for Your Skin

Need a luxurious skin remedy that won't put a hole in your wallet?  

This has lasted me so long because while I do use it on my hair, I use it mostly for my skin. This works its magic on sunburns, rashes, dry and sensitive skin, and even oily skin like mine. The big misconception for people with oily skin is that you should strip the oils, but this will irritate your skin and cause it to produce more oil. I use this on my skin every night in the winter and in the summer when I feel my skin needs some love. I got this at Walgreens for $10 in the vitamin isle (not the cooking isle). It is available on Amazon for $12.38 and free shipping!

What you need to look for and why: Organic, extra virgin, all natural, and unrefined is best for skin and hair, it's coconut oil in its pure form and it will have the actual delicious smell of coconuts (It's personal preference really, if you don't like the smell or feel you'd rather have refined then you can usually find refined in the cooking section)! There are no chunky bits in this Spectrum brand. It is so smooth and melts at above 76 degrees Fahrenheit. It doesn't need to be refrigerated. To heat it up in the cold months of winter I just fill up my sink with hot water and let this tub sit in there for a few minutes. I prefer not to microwave because I would always be reheating and reheating this tub and stripping it of some of its nutrients. This stuff melts very fast!

First of all, you want to be very careful when using tubs to wash your hands before dipping into the tub. You don't want this to become a pool of germs that end up causing negative effects on your skin. Or, you can simply apply it with a cotton pad or Q tip for spot treating. On nights like tonight I was feeling generous and dipped one side of the cotton pad in and dabbed all over my face (a little goes a long way). Do not dip the same Q tip or cotton pad back into the tub either!

I have never had a problem using this around my eye area but avoid the area if it makes you nervous. I do apply moisturizer and let it dry before applying this, but you can use this alone as a moisturizer if you like.

At first you may feel like your skin is way too wet but you will wake up and, because coconut oil is so amazing and natural, your skin drinks it right up. For spot treatments on acne that is in the healing process, I dip the Q tip into the tub and just apply to that single area. I have noticed my skin healing much faster when using this and also helping with redness and irritation. It is so gentle and soothing. Sometimes I even apply this to my body's dry areas like the elbows, feet, cuticles, anywhere!

So find your favorite use or do them all! Whether it's for cooking, skin, hair, bath (or my upcoming post.. as eyelash and eyebrow serum), you need this in your life!

Let us know if & how you use coconut oil! Enjoy!