Current Morning Skincare Routine

Happy Wednesday!

This weeks post by request is my morning skincare routine!
Again I want to say that my skin type is combination, oily (mostly oily, occasionally dry spots). I have hormonal breakouts and some acne scarring. 

My morning skincare routine isn't much different from my night time routine. But I always, always wash my face morning and night! It makes such a difference in how makeup applies when you have clean skin. 

 If I'm showering in the morning I will use this face wash in the shower. If I'm not showering I will just use my Farm House Fresh One Fine Day Sugar Scrub. 

I've been using this Clear Pore Cleaner/Mask for years now! It works really well for every day use or as an intense mask. When you use this as a mask it feels very refreshing, almost cooling. It contains benzoyl peroxide acne medication. $6.79 at Ulta

 I use that Clear Pore face wash in combination with my Clarisonic Mia 2! I put about a nickel sized drop of my cleanser onto the brush head. 

I got this a few years ago and it's still working great. I think this has made a huge difference in my skin. It makes my skin so smooth. 

The Mia 2 has two speeds and a pulsing T-timer that tells you when to move to a different area of your skin. So I start on my chin and nose area until it pulsates, then I move to the forehead until it pulses again, then I move to one cheek area, then the next.

Even after using makeup remover and I use this Clarisonic, you can see on the brush head that I didn't get all my makeup off! I highly recommend a Clarisonic. 

Another nice thing about it is that it's waterproof so you can just keep it in the shower, and it comes in a ton of cute designs!  $149 online, Ulta, or Sephora

 Witch Hazel again! So after showering I put a little of this on a cotton pad (I prefer cotton pads over cotton balls so not to waste as much product) and apply all over my face. This is Dickinson's original witch hazel pore perfecting toner. $4.47 WalMart

 This is a new found love of mine.. The First Aid Beauty Daily Face Cream! I like using this in the morning because it makes my skin so soft, and so it helps with perfect makeup application. It absorbs really quickly and doesn't leave skin feeling greasy. I have oily skin so this is perfect for me! This is made for sensitive skin and is oil free. If you have really dry skin you might not like this product. I just use one pump. $20.00 at Sephora

 Then, just like at night time, I use these two in combination so that my lips are soft, smooth and ready for lipstick. This is my favorite lip scrub from LUSH, the Bubblegum Lip Scrub :) This stuff.. smells and tastes so good! I juse use about a pea sized amount and scrub with my finger all over my lips. Then you can just lick it off or wash it off. $9.95 at LUSH

Then I apply the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy. I love this stuff too! $12.00 at Sephora

 

Well that's it! After all this I apply face primer and makeup :) If you have any questions or any other requests comment below or on social media!
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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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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!