Up until this year, I truly was a cleanse and moisturize and go kinda girl. But then I had a horrific allergic reaction that left my skin beyond parched, horribly textured and downright nasty looking. A reevaluation of my skincare routine was seriously needed. After many hours scouring the amazing Caroline Hiron's blog BeautyMouth, I managed to come up with a routine that my skin has really responded well to. In fact, my skin looks better than it ever has. Ohhh bold statement, isn't that??
Let's go in order shall we?
Since I wear waterproof mascara, a remover that can dissolve it and not tug out all my lashes is a must. I've tried many, but keep going back to the Vichy Purete Thermale Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover for its fast acting gentle formula that never stings my eyes. No rubbing and tugging necessary, especially when I use the Shiseido Facial Cotton, which in my opinion are hands down the best ones on the market. They never shed and are so soft against that delicate eye area.
Of course, this step is unnecessary in the morning when there is no iron clad makeup to remove.
After I've removed the tough stuff, I go in with my cleanser, currently the Biotherm Biosource Softening Cleansing Mousse which my dry skin loves. I massage it into my dry skin with a touch of water in my hands for a few minutes and it takes off all my face makeup no problem, while leaving my skin soft and supple.
Here's were I inserted some new products thanks to the amazing Caroline's advice and product reviews. After my allergic skin disaster, I knew I needed to add in an exfoliating step and didn't want to go the scrub and buff route any more on my newly sensitive skin. So I reached for Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner, which I honestly and truly noticed a massive difference in the texture of my skin after the first use. I kid you not!
After the exfoliating/toning step, I go in with my eye cream, which is the Indeed Labs Eysilix, quite frankly because it's affordable and Caroline said it was lovely. I follow up with Indeed Labs Hydraluron, which is a gel like serum that is an awesome moisture boost for your skin. Think of it like the glue that binds your moisturizer to your skin!
Finally I finish with my current moisturizer, which is the Vichy Nutrilogie 2, which is pretty heavy but my dry skin loves it.
As a bonus once a week I slather on the Origins Drink Up Intensive Mask, which is a true treat. It smells like mangoes and leaves my skin feeling utterly amazing. Go get it and add it to your weekend beauty routine, your skin will thank me!
There you have it - might seem like a lot for some, but I've got it down to a few minutes and really actually enjoy taking my makeup off at the end of the day now for how amazing my skin feels. I also find myself reaching for less face makeup than I have in the last couple of years, as well as my skin looking way better than it did before the nasty allergic reaction. How's that for spinning a negative to a positive?
What is your current skin care routine? Do you have a product in your routine you swear by and always go back to? Have you read Caroline's Blog?
