My Beauty Routine: April 2013

Here is everything I’m currently using as far as the skincare goes. For the reference: I have combination skin that can be sensitive sometimes, occasional breakouts, hyper pigmentation and first signs of aging.

I start my mornings by washing the face with a mild cleanser, currently it’s Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration Cream Cleanser. I got my first bottle from BzzAgent and this is the second one that I repurchased since the end of the campaign. Although it works fine right now, I probably won’t be using it anymore come summer, because I have other cleansers lined up for the warmer months. 

After cleansing, I swipe my face with a cotton pad soaked in Savane Purifying Toner that I got in my Yuzen box several months ago. I’ve always felt that using toners is unnecessary, but I reconsidered my decision after trying out some of the better ones that actually visibly make my pores appear smaller and help reduce the shine.

I let the toner sit on my skin for a couple of minutes and then follow up with a moisturizer. I’m trying to use up my sample stash so I keep changing them depending on what I have available. Right now it’s travel-sized Pangea Organics Nigerian Ginger with Sweet Lavender & Thyme Facial Cream. The consistency is unlike any other moisturizer I’ve ever tried, and it’s closest to fresh Umbrian Clay Serum. It’s a bit goopy and runny and smells like my grandma’s spice rack. This moisturizer is nice but not something I’d repurchase, mostly because of the strong fragrance.

As for my eyes, a couple months ago I picked up Kelly Teegarden Organics Vitality Rose and Cucumber Eye Cream after checking out the list of ingredients online. The bottle is pretty big for an eye cream and should last me a while. This cream makes my eyes feel comfortable and I usually need only half a pump to cover both of them.

In the evening my first step is always to remove makeup, and I normally do this in two steps. The first step is always makeup removing wipes, because most of the time I’m too tired and just want to slap something on my face and go to bed. I usually buy different brands and don’t have a favorite, right now I use Neutrogena Makeup Remover Hydrating Cleansing Towelettes. I wouldn’t say they’re fantastic, but they’re definitely not too bad. I doubt I’ll repurchase these when this pack runs out, I think I prefer Pond’s Evening Soothe towelettes more.

When I’m exhausted I usually just stop after Step 1, but when I’m being a good girl I continue to properly cleanse the skin with some mild soap or the Burt’s Bees cream cleanser paired with Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System. I bought it because I didn’t want to get an expensive Clarisonic, especially since I thought they’re pretty much the same thing. Well, they’re not, but I’m still satisfied with Olay’s results and will continue using it.

At night I don’t care whether my skin is shiny or not so I use moisturizing and nourishing products. For my toner I use the travel-sized sample of Juice Beauty Hydrating Mist that I got from an Ipsy Glam Bag. It calms down my skin and prepares it for the nighttime. Will I repurchase? Definitely not, because I still have a big bottle of another toner I need to use up that does pretty much the same thing minus the medical smell.

I have several nighttime moisturizers that I rotate in and out of my routine, depending on the condition my skin is currently in. Right now it’s feeling a little irritated and slightly dry, so I switched to Cosmetics 27 Baume 27*. When it gets back to normal after a couple of weeks, I will switch back to using Clark’s Botanicals Soothing Marine Cream with glycolic acid. But right now it would be too harsh and my skin will definitely throw a fit.

And last but not the least, for my night eye treatment I prefer to use Sundari Chamomile Eye Oil. It works really well for me and sometimes I wear it during the daytime when I know I wouldn’t have to go out of the house. The problem with it is that it’s really bad at absorbing completely, your eye area will always look a little greasy. But it works amazingly well at moisturizing my upper and lower eyelids as well as conditioning my lashes and smoothing out the fine lines. I really wish it wasn’t so greasy, otherwise it would become my holy grail eye cream.

That’s it for my daily routine! This sounds like a lot of steps but once I got used to it I don’t even really pay attention to them anymore, and all of my actions have become semi-automated. The morning routine takes be about five minutes tops, and the evening one is just under ten. I will write another post about my special treatments such as scrub, masks and peels that I use semi-regularly depending on my skin’s demands.