Confession time: I don’t wear makeup on a regular basis. In fact I mostly wear it on special occasions or when I realize I haven’t played with my collection in a while. With that being said, I hardly ever wear makeup when doing reviews so the face you see, is au naturel. I might wear a bit of mascara and/or tinted lip gloss, but I neglect the full face routine.
Time is one of the major reasons I avoid daily makeup. It takes me about 45 minutes to go from bare to completely done. I’d rather sleep! I am an extreme blender, so I hate lines in my eyeshadow. The extra blending takes a lot more time. I also use a minimum of four colors on the lids because the basic two color thing just doesn’t look complete to me. Well anyway I say all this to say, that since I pass up on daily makeup, I make sure my skin stays smooth and well cared for. I have oily to normal skin and tend to use products designed for sensitive skin just to avoid any harsh chemicals. So here’s my skincare routine:
In the morning I usually use a warm towel to wipe my face and remove any moisturizer from the night before. I then apply my “day” moisturizer. I use my Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer in the morning to protect against any harmful rays I may encounter throughout the day. I like this moisturizer because it isn’t thick or overly oily. It has an SPF of 15 and is formulated for sensitive skin. After a few minutes, I don’t even notice that it’s on my face. And yes that’s the point! =). I love that the moisturizer and SPF are together and combine two steps into a single process.
At night, my routine is a little more intense. I start off cleansing with Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel. Here’s an overview from Bosicaskincare.com: Preservative-free. Dermatologist tested. Alcohol-free, pH balanced, 100% artificial fragrance and color free. No animal testing and no animal ingredients.
I absolutely love this stuff. I’ve been using it for over two years and must say I see such a difference in my skin. It is a very concentrated cleanser and I use about half a pump (seriously a full pump is too much) and it removes all my makeup, grim, and dirt all in one step. I sometimes use an eye makeup remover, if I used dark colors that day. Since it is so concentrated, I only buy this product once a year. I love that this product has NO anti-acne medication so I can use it with a variety of other products. When I want to exfoliate (always at night), I add a little sugar (or salt) to the cleanser and swirl in my hand and then over my face. Now that I have the Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing system, I generally just use that to exfoliate.
Next I apply prescription acne treatments if needed. I do not use these everyday rather I use them as spot treatments for blemishes.
Finally I finish up with a moisturizer. Here’s where my method differs from experts and other bloggers. At night I use a lighter moisturizer, Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. Although I can’t figure out what’s “dramatically different” about this moisturizer, I do like the fact that it is extremely light and formulated for oily skin. I notice this moisturizer removes any tight feelings I may have (if I use water that’s too warm) and leaves my skin without any dry patches. This product does not have any SPF so if you choose to wear it during the day, it would require another SPF product on top.
