Skincare in Your Early 30s: Too Young for Wrinkles, Too Old for Acne

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of SheSpeaks & Neutrogena. Product samples were provided to facilitate this story, but the opinions and text are all mine.

SKINCARE IN YOUR EARLY 30s:

I’m totally generalizing here, but I think there’s one common beauty problem among us millennial girls [and guys!]. On one end, most of us already outgrew the annoying teen breakouts phase, so we aren’t really looking for medical strength treatments. On the other end, many of us are not too concerned about wrinkles either, which leaves us facing an interesting dilemma. What should skincare in your early 30s look like? For me the answer was simple: moisture, moisture, and more moisture. Oh, and SPF! It’s kind of a no-brainer for those of you with dry and normal skin types, but it took me a while to realize that combination and oily skin needs hydration, too.

And you know what I love most about skincare targeted to boost your moisture levels? The results are visible right away! My face and neck immediately feel smoother, plumper, and thoroughly quenched. Since my T-zone tends to be on the shiny side, I opt in for lightweight products that seal in the moisture but still allow my pores to breathe. Usually gel or gel-cream formulas fare best during the summer months, and then I switch to richer and creamier concoctions that can withstand cold Michigan weather.

I like alternating various moisturizing products, so there is almost never one that I use exclusively for long periods of time. While I prefer sticking with actives until I see first results [which may take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks, sometimes longer], I reach for hydrators purely based on my mood that day. Sometimes it can be a rose-scented milky emulsion, other times just plain old aloe vera gel, but when my skin feels like it desperately needs moisture I always grab a cream or a serum with Hyaluronic Acid.

In my opinion Hyaluronic Acid is one of the best ingredients that exist in cosmetics, and it really does make a huge difference. It has the power to instantly transform dry, parched, stressed skin by quenching it with moisture, smoothing out the surface, and improving the appearance of fine lines. Products with Hyaluronic Acid give the face that coveted youthful dewy glow from within, and if I had one word to describe that look it would be “healthy”.

Of course, when it comes to healthy skin there are many other factors at play, but making sure it stays properly hydrated is definitely a huge part of it. I know I sound like a broken record here, but I truly believe this is an essential part of skincare in your early 30s, and it’s something the future you will thank the you from today for, so keep it up!

Related: If you want to see an example of my AM routine, check out this post. It’s crazy detailed and may take a long time to read, but there’s a lot of useful info on why I choose particular ingredients and how they help.

NEUTROGENA HYDRO BOOST COLLECTION:

Like I said earlier, major key to having beautiful skin is hydration. Drinking half your body weight of water in ounces every day is not enough, you need to use moisturizing beauty products, too, preferably those with Hyaluronic Acid as the star ingredient. This miraculous molecule acts as a sponge that can attract and hold up to 1000 times its weight in water, slowly releasing it into the skin as needed. Neutrogena Hydro Boost Collection features Hyaluronic Acid for long-lasting hydration, as well as skin-softening Olive Extract to help retain moisture, and Glycerin as a humectant to further protect the skin from water loss.

Last week I received Neutrogena Hydro Boost Collection, and in true beauty blogger fashion I had to try everything at once.

• Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream Eye [$18.99, available here] – First step after cleansing and toning, this fast-absorbing eye gel is formulated to boost moisture and provide lasting comfort to the skin around your eye area. Seeing that it’s also oil-free, fragrance-free, and dye-free makes me very happy.
• Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel with Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 15 [$18.99, available here] – You should always protect your skin from the sun, and if you are forgetful then moisturizers with SPF are your best friends! This lightweight primer-cream wears well under makeup, providing a smooth base for your favorite foundation. The formula is oil-free but not fragrance-free.
• Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel [$18.99, available here] – If you would rather wear a separate sunblock product, Neutrogena created two moisturizers that are SPF-free. The company recommends Hydro Boost Water Gel for all skin types because of its lightweight texture. The formula is oil-free but not fragrance-free.
• Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel-Cream for Extra-Dry Skin [$18.99, available here] – This is the SPF-free moisturizer version for dry and extra dry skin, but I actually liked it more than the lightweight gel above. I think it will work wonders as my Fall/Winter hydrator of choice. This gel-cream is packed with occlusives and humectants and doesn’t contain fragrance, dyes, and oil.

GIVEAWAY:

And now the best part! While I obviously need to test these products a bit longer to determine which of them will make it into my permanent routine, I am offering one lucky reader the opportunity to win an entire Hydro Boost Collection featured in this blog post. Here are some basic rules [more T&Cs in the widget]:

• The Giveaway is open to US addresses only.
• Prize must be claimed within 24hrs or another winner will be selected.
• Shipping/receipt time of all prizes is dependent on how quickly prize is claimed.
• Glamorable is hosting the giveaway on behalf of SheSpeaks & Neutrogena and is not responsible for prize fulfillment. In the event that the prize is damaged, lost, or stolen, the winner shall not hold Glamorable liable or responsible for replacement.

Good luck!

 Neutrogena Hydro Boost Collection Giveaway

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