I fully believe that having good skin is paramount to any lifestyle. It’s better than being able to professional apply makeup in order to cover up your blemishes or to change the way that you look. With good skin, comes a decrease in the need for makeup. Which means not only do I save money, but I prevent my skin from deteriorating by using products that could potentially clog my pores.
After years of trials and tribulations, I’ve finally landed on a couple of my golden products that have not only managed to keep my acne at bay, but keep my skin moisturized without being overly oily as well. But although I’ve found amazing products, I’m always open and on the hunt to trying new ones to see if they can complement or even improve on the results.
I use quite a bit of waterproof makeup since the skin around my eye area often becomes oily throughout the day. An although waterproof makeup is fantastic for staying in place without smudging, it can be quite a pain taking it off. I’ve used many different makeup removers in the past, but most of them only somewhat take off my makeup, leaving residue behind. Or the ones that actually are succesful at completely removing makeup are ones that require a little bit of tugging at the skin. I’m all for removing makeup, but keeping my skin taught is just as important – so why sacrifice one for another?
I recently added a new product to my arsenal, Garnier’s Makeup Removing Lotion Cleanser, that was provided to me for testing. I was originally skeptical of its “lotion cleanser” properties as I don’t often both clean and moisturize my face in one go. However, after a few days of using it, I saw how effectively it worked. It’s oil properties easily break apart the components of my waterproof mascara, and completely removed all traces of makeup causing my skin to feel taught/dry after removing the lotion.
The instructions recommended that I wipe/rinse/clean off the product after use, but I didn’t quite agree with the leftover oiliness that covered my skin. For somebody who easily breaks out when oil is present, I wanted that residue gone. So instead I go over my skin one more time with my everyday cleanser and my Clarisonic – another holy grail. Not only has this small electronic tool completely changed the matrix of my skin, it has saved my life so many times over. When I’m in the process of PMS’ing and breaking out everywhere, using my Clarisonic has significantly curtailed the amount of acne that appears. It does such a thorough job at cleansing my skin that I just know that it’ll always be the first thing that I reach for whenever I feel a pimple surfacing.
Obviously now that I’ve completely removed all traces of moisturizer from the lotion cleanser with my Clarisonic, my skin definitely needs to be re-moisturized to avoid dryness. Although my upper eyelid is constantly oily, my lower bags are always a little drier. Which means that any dry skin is accentuated whenever I smile. I’ve yet to find my complete holy grail eye cream, but I’m still experimenting and I’ve so far landed on 2 that I’v enjoyed. More on that on a later date once I’ve tried and tested enough of them.
But besides just my eyebags, I also make sure to moisturize the rest of my skin. I’ve always been on the hunt for the perfect moisturizer that not only dries matte (so that it doesn’t break me out), but moisturizing it enough that I’m not feeling flaky throughout the day. After going through different moisturizers that either broke me out or made my skin look like I’d face planted into an oil spill, I finally found Murad’s Skin Perfecting Lotion. It not only provides me with just the right amount of moisture, but it dries relatively matte so that I don’t look like an oil slick all day long. For anyone with combination skin like mine, I highly recommend giving this lotion a go.
At night when I have the time to give my skin a more hydration, I skip the Murad lotion and go straight for Bio Oil. Applying it thinly across my face and letting it soak in overnight while I sleep, results in miracles for my skin come the morning. I wash it off and it’s as if my skin has been reborn. If you’re looking to achieve baby-butt smooth skin, then this oil is definitely one to look into.
Besides just my face, all of that washing takes a toll on my hands as well. And in order to repair any damage that’s done, I’ve fallen in love with l’Occitane’s hand creams. The rose scented ones are my favorite, but any scent works. The formula is perfect where it doesn’t leave my hands feeling oily, so I can actually touch things immediately after rubbing it all in. But it is moisturizing enough so that my skin is refreshed and hydrated.
If you haven’t caught onto it by now, I thrive off of moisturized and hydrated skin. Without it, I feel uncomfortable and itchy. And being itchy to the winter is more than enough of a scratch for me to handle. What are some of your skincare must haves?
