This is the year I started noticing my age. I mean I really, really, started noticing those eye wrinkles, the deepening crevasse between my eyes across the bridge of my nose, and those “laugh” lines that certainly do NOT make me laugh. I also noticed my dark circles growing from lack of sleep and stress, and I even thought my skin actually just looked old. For the first time, I looked and felt 47.
So what’s the cure to my skincare blues? Winter is upon us, after all, and my skin is already starting to get even drier. I decided to dive in and see what I could find to soothe my skin. Here are just 5 favorite products that I tried and loved, and little tips and tricks to adopting a new skincare routine and sticking to it.
I’m a gal who doesn’t have a lot of time in the morning and even less energy at night, and admittedly, my skin has suffered from my lack of attention. I resolved to find a few perfect products that I could rely on that were simple in both the ingredients they contain and the time and care it takes to use them. And I needed a routine that could restore my healthy looking glow.
1 Swap your usual products! I found that skipping or swapping a few of my usual products helped combat the winter dryness I usually saw on my skin. In the summer, I’m prone to acne so I use a black soap as my main cleanser. But in the winter when I’m not as sweaty, I switched to a cream or oil based cleanser, for now it’s pure cottonseed oil.
2. Exfoliate + Detox! Then, I exfoliate! I use a mint scrub to take off the dead layer of skin. I find that a good exfoliation 2x a week is perfect for me without being too harsh on my skin. After that, I detox and use Mademoiselle Ayanna’s clay Le Noir mask to draw out the impurities in my skin. Getting rid of all that gunk cuts down on clogged pores.
3. Use a hydrating serum to combat dark circles! Give your moisture-based routine a boost with a hydrating serum containing hyaluronic acid, a molecule that holds up to 1000 times its weight in water. Use the Best Damn Eye Serum as a pre-moisturizer prep step and a way to brighten and lighten those dark circles.
4. Use a good makeup remover! I’ve never used the right makeup remover to erase all trace of cosmetics from my face. I was using just plain old baby oil, thinking that a good makeup remover wasn’t worth my money. However, I’d still have my waterproof mascara and eyeliner clinging on for dear life, causing me to rub my eyes and loose a few eyelashes in the process. When I started thinking about getting lash extensions, I decided it was time for something new. I really like the Best Damn Makeup Remover because it removed my stubborn waterproof eye products, and I didn’t lose a single lash.
5. Add a retinol based wrinkle cream! After I remove my makeup, I moisturize. But not only that, I add in a good wrinkle cream or serum containing retinol, which is scientifically proven to reduce lines and wrinkles and give skin a firmer appearance in just 12 weeks. I love this Le Rose serum, which contains chamomile and smells lovely too!