In the spirit of Spring Cleaning out my closet, I felt that it was finally time to rotate into my spring skincare routine. Although March 21st has come and go, and it still has yet to feel like spring, I can already feel the effects of winter and felt that it was necessary to begin the winter detox.
I’ve always been a firm believer that skincare comes before makeup, such that you won’t have concerns to cover up if you take care of them to begin with.
Eyes
I will fully admit that I don’t get the recommended hours of sleep every night. I probably average 6 hours a night with a couple more on weekends, and the effects always show on my eyes. I know that eye creams aren’t a replacement for sleep, but they definitely help in restoring moisture to that area. For days when my peepers need a little bit of extra R&R, I like to fall back on Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado.
The whipped texture instantly absorbs and penetrates my skin for immediate moisture, and the avocado provides a little extra boost of Vitamin A and nourishes the undereye so that I don’t appear to be a walking zombie even though I haven’t quite gotten the requisite hours of sleep to be sane.
I also highly recommend picking up this eye cream this month as it features an adorable illustration of a beluga whale done by Canadian artist Olivia Mews in support of the Canadian Wildlife Federation. 100% of the net profits will be donated towards adopting 350 beluga whales, and if that doesn’t already entice you to help save the belugas, then its adorable face has got to!
Skin
Let’s be transparent, I do quite a bit for my skin – but all in the name of caring for it. Ha ha, get it? Skin care? Caring for my skin? Okay, I’ll stop with the puns here. But really though, I have drastically different routines for the day versus night, mainly because there are a variety of different aspects of my skin that I’d like to target that simply doesn’t get done all within a day or a night.
You guys already know that I’m a huge fan of highlighters, and The Face Shop’s White Ginseng Collagen Pearl Capsule Cream is right up my alley. This lotion is actually jam packed with these little pearls that you crush together between your fingers before applying to your skin to give it a nice glow while moisturizing your skin at the same time. Talk about dual functionality – it really helps because then I can skip the highlighting part and save time when I’m getting ready in the mornings.
The light texture of the lotion also absorbs exponentially quickly as well and doesn’t leave an oily finish – which is a huge bonus for my skin.
This is a story for another day, but I’ve recently developed eczema and it has not been nice to my skin. Which means constant itching, scratching, and lots of dry skin. I have to ensure that my whole body is moisturized from top to bottom everyday, but not with anything overly heavy because then my pores get clogged. I’ve recently been reaching for the Vichy Ideal Body Aqua Sorbet quite a bit right after I step out of a warm shower.
Upon application the lotion creates a cool and refreshing sensation and isn’t sticky to the touch at all. I love how I can quickly slather myself in the sorbet and then throw on some clothes without having to wait for the lotion to dry in between.
Layered on top of my lotion is typically a moisturizing cream that’s got some SPF in it. The days are get longer, which also means that the sun exposure increases. There’s nothing better than a preventative measure for something that can be avoided. I really dislike the smell of sunscreen but Vichy’s Aqualia Thermal UV is very lightly scented so that you can’t even tell that there’s SPF in the cream. You also don’t get an oily finish to this product, which is a huge plus, because lotions with SPF in them typically have that as a trade off.
My night time routines involve less lotions and creams, and more masks. Since your body does the most repair at night, I like to save my products that may have an oilier/shinier finish for then so I don’t have to go out looking like a grease ball.
I’ve recently been obsessed with these For Beloved One masks (here, and here) after getting a chance to try them at a launch event. They’re not your typical masks in the sense that the textural component is significantly diferent. The cellulose sheet mask is a lot thicker which helps to prevent the mask from sliding off your face while you’re wearing it. I’ve found that it also helps to really seal in the serums as they’re settling into my skin and the product doesn’t evaporate away as quickly.
Typically I like to put on a mask while watching a movie or cooking dinner – that way I don’t have to worry about really needing to talk to anyone while I’m masking away.
For bed time, I’ve recently discovered The Estee Edit’s Pink Peony Overnight Water Pack. This delicious mask smells so amazing I could basically eat it. Plus it doesn’t help that it looks super cute to. I’ve found that this mask is ultra-hydrating, yet doesn’t feel thick when you apply it on. I like to sleep with this overnight and wake up to supple skin that’s fresh for the day.
During the day, my skin does tend to get a little dry, and I like to remediate the issue with a light facial spray. I’ve lately been using Avene’s Eau Thermale quite a bit to refresh my skin and I think that I’m slowly beginning to get addicted to facial sprays. A tip that I learned from my mom is to pop this spray in the fridge before you use it, so that upon application, the spray is nice and cooling.
