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Skin Care I’m Loving: Mario Badescu Almond and Honey Non-Abrasive Honey Scrub
I’ve been interested in trying out some products from the Mario Badescu skin care line and thought this gentle scrub would be a good introduction to the line. This product contains chopped almonds and corn meal to gently slough away dry skin and honey and almond oil help retain moisture. This product has a lovely smell and makes my skin so smooth and soft after use. They suggest using this 2-3 times a week so I find it’s easiest to work into my skin care routine by using it in the shower. Not only do I apply this to my face I also use it along my decollage and shoulders to buff away dirt and dead skin. I’ve been using quite a few serums and products containing salicylic acid and wrinkle reducers so I’m really loving how gently and refreshing this product is on my skin. Sometimes I get so caught up in the hype of fancy face washes and masks that I forget how wonderful a simple and natural product can work and feel. The packaging and branding for Mario Badescu isn’t particularly pretty or interesting and I think that’s why I always overlook it, but I’ll definitely be purchasing more products soon!
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Drugstore Skincare I’m Loving
I wanted to share with you some products I’ve been using since January and really loving for my problem skin.
These Say Yes to Carrots blemish clearing facial towelettes are great to keep in my gym bag. I use them before and after my workout and I think it really has helped keep me from breaking out after all my gym sessions. My only complaint is they are a little dry. I always keep the package flipped upside down in a sealed container to keep them moist longer. If you have problem skin and spend a lot of time at the gym I would definitely pick these up.
Next is the Neutrogena Rapid Clear 2-in-1 Fight and Fade Toner
Lastly, I have a Rite Aid serum from their Renewal Skincare line. This was given to me as a Christmas present from my mom after I had been complimenting how beautiful her skin looked. I apply the nightime Regenerating Elixir at night before bed as the final step to my routine. In the morning I rinse my face and my skin looks glowy and soft. This doesn’t feel greasy when applied but can be slightly sticky until it absorbs in. If you are on a budget and looking for a nice nightime product I would give this a try.
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Skincare I’m Loving: RoC Daily Resurfacing Disks
These RoC Daily Resurfacing Disks are hands down my favorite skin care product of the moment. These pre-moistened cleansing disks are great at removing dirt, oil and even makeup and leave my skin with a gorgeous glow that lasts all day. Over time these also help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and signs of photo-aging. Personally, I have found these have greatly reduced the hyper-pigmentation from old acne scars around my mouth and nose.
One side of the disk is textured and the other side is smooth. The texture of these have a real grit to them so if you have sensitive skin and avoid products that use texture to exfoliate skin you may not like this product. However, I have found these leave little redness or irritation on my face unlike other exfoliating products I have tried. The smooth side is great for the under eye area as well.
To use just apply a quick splash of water to your face and then beginning massaging over face and neck area. After a few minutes rinse your face clean and voila! You are good to go. I have been using these in the morning and before bed.
Each container comes with 28 pads and retails for around $9. I have been purchasing mine at Ulta since I can no longer find them at Wal-Mart. However, I have found them online for $7.99 which is a bit cheaper.
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Updated Skin Care On A Budget: Skin Care Products I’m currently using and loving
My goal is to have picture perfect skin by summer so I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of cleansers, toners and moisturizers to even out my skin tone and texture and in the past few week I’ve noticed a huge improvement. My hyper-pigmentation is finally starting to fade and the texture of my skin is improving tremendously. I know their are a lot of high-end products you can use nowadays that probably give quicker results and as my budget allows I’m sure I’ll be testing some out. However, it’s good to know that you can still see major improvements in your skin even on a budget if you stick to a good routine and pay close attention to your skin’s needs. Everyone’s skin is different so it’s important to find products that work for you!
Cleansers I have been loving:
L’oreal Go Clean 360 Deep Exfoliating Scrub: This is the wash I’ve been using in the shower. This has been doing a good job at buffing away dead skin cells and leaving my skin looking more polished. I actually really like the little scrublet thingy that this comes with and I use it with other face washes as well. I’m not sure how well this works at unclogging pores but I have been seeing almost zero breakouts in recent weeks.
Neutrogena Deep Clean Long-Last Shine Control Daily Scrub: This is the cleanser I love using in the morning. I feel like it really works at controlling excess oil on my face throughout the day, therefore helping my makeup last longer! This is also supposed to be a deep-pore cleanser and I do notice my pores seem less visible since I started using this stuff. This contains very small exfoliating beads to help improve skin texture. Most days I use the L’oreal Go Clean scrublet to buff this onto my face before rinsing with warm water.
Aveeno Positively Radiant Brightening Cleanser: One of my main skin concerns is hyper-pigmentation from old acne scars so I wanted to introduce a brightening wash into my routine. This is a really creamy cleanser that is great to use when my skin needs a break from exfoliating. I use this on nights I don’t shower and just use my fingers to massage it onto my face. This is supposed to help improve skin tone and texture and is really gentle.
Toner:
Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Triple Action Toner: I use this day and night after washing my face. This is the only actual Acne Control product I’ve been using and it seems to be doing the trick at keeping breakouts at bay. This contains Salicylic Acid which I find works best on my type of breakouts. My skin feels super refreshed and clean after I use this without that tight feeling some toners seem to leave me with. My only complaint is I’m not crazy about the smell, it’s super sweet but still kind of medicinal smelling.
Makeup Remover:
shu uemura White Recovery Ex brightening cleansing oil: This stuff works so well at removing makeup. I just rub a little onto my face and eyes and the makeup just melts off. After you’ve massaged it into your skin add a little warm water to create a lather and then rinse off. I like to leave this on a minute or two to really work on my skin. My skin feels soft, smooth and balanced when I wash this off. Not oily or tight or sticky. It’s amazing.
Twice Weekly Mask:
Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant 2.5 oz.
Moisturizer:
Pond’s Ponds Clarant B3 Anti-Dark Moisturizing Cream, For Normal to Dry Skin, 7oz Jars (Pack of 2)
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Review: shu uemura white recovery EX brightening cleansing oil
Hey friends 
So if you’ve been reading my blog you know I ordered and received a shu uemura eyelash curler a few weeks ago. The eyelash curler is wonderful and it came with a 50 ml bottle of the shu uemura white recovery EX brightening cleansing oil. I was really excited when I got this oil because I’ve been reading so many articles that rave about how great they are at removing makeup. I’ve been somewhat hesitant to try any though because my skin is oily and I can’t wrap my head around the fact that using an oil won’t turn me into a grease ball. Obviously this is a great brand though so the second I got it I was in the bathroom taking my make up off.
This is honestly the best makeup remover I’ve ever used. My makeup literally melts off the second I rub this onto my face. I just put a few drops on my fingers and then on dry skin rub this in gently. After I’ve massaged the oil into my skin and over my eyes I use a little bit of warm water on my face and the oil turns into a soft lather. A few seconds later I use a wash cloth to rinse everything off. It takes off mascara and foundation so easily. It doesn’t bother my eyes at all either.
My fear of feeling greasy after was overcome. My skin just feels soft and balanced when I’m done. Not tight and not greasy.
This is supposed to help with skin brightening as well but since I’ve been using it less than a month I can’t make any definitive statements on that aspect. I do feel like my skin has been looking brighter and smoother but I’ve been avoiding greasy food lately and been religious about washing my face and using a moisturizer. So it could be a combination of all those things.
The only con to this product is a full size bottle costs about 80 dollars. Luckily, you need such a small amount that I think my mini-bottle will last me a decent amount of time. If I do see a marked improvement in my skin’s discoloration though it might be worth the 80 dollars when I run out. I’m always hesitant to invest in these pricey skin care items but as I get older I’m beginning to see that value in buying products that actually work. I still love my drugstore brands though too!
Overall I really love this stuff and I’m so glad I at least got a chance to try it. If I don’t end up buying a full-size bottle I’m at least glad I got a chance to overcome my fear of using oil products on my face! I’ll keep you updated on whether or not I buy the full-size product as well
Click box below to get Free Gift With Purchase when you shop at Shu uemura
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Favorite Face Wash: Neutrogena Deep Clean Long-Last Shine Control Daily Scrub
So recently I’ve really been focusing on skin care and improving my skin’s texture so that I can wear less foundation this summer. I’ve been trying out lots of products and diligently sticking to a skin care routine. As I’ve mentioned before I have very oily skin so when I saw this Neutrogena Long Last Shine Control Scrub I though I would give it a try.
What The Bottle Says It Does:
Combat oil and control shine with Neutrogena Deep Clean® Long-Last Shine Control Daily Scrub. This scrub gently exfoliates and goes deep down to pores to clear out impurities and built-up oil at the source. It’s so effective, it instantly absorbs 85% of built up oil that can lead to excess shine. Plus, patent-pending rice protein technology acts like a microsponge to continue absorbing excess oil for long-lasting, fresh, breathable skin.
What I Say It Does:
This wash has been working amazingly for me. I use it before bed (on the nights I don’t shower) and in the morning when I first wash my face. This leaves my skin feeling super clean, moisturized but with literally no trace of oil or shine. A lot of oil-control face washes I have tried leave my skin feeling really tight but my face feels great when I wash this off. When I use it before bed I notice a considerable difference in the way my skin feels in the morning as well. Before this I always woke up feeling greasy but with this my skin feels just as clean when I wake up as it did when I went to bed. This does have exfoliating beads in it but on days I shower I still have been using my L’oreal Go Clean 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub ( I use that product in the shower)
I definitely recommend this to anyone who has a problem combating oil and shine and I will repurchase this when I run out.
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Skin Care On A Budget
Ever since my early twenties I have had problematic skin made worse by the fact that I’m not very diligent with my skin care routine. So instead of spending a fortune on products I would probably be too lazy to use I spent the weekend picking out some items that would be quick and easy to use, cheap and most importantly effective.
The first thing I grabbed was these Target brand daily cleansing cloths. These are supposed to be comparable to the Biore Daily recharging cloths but a few dollars cheaper. These are used to clean and exfoliate and I figured would be a super quick way to remove my makeup at the end of the night. I haven’t used them yet, but considering most nights I fall asleep with my makeup still on I’m sure I’ll see an improvement in my skin!
Next I grabbed the L’oreal Go 360 clean Deep exfoliating scrub with pop-out scrublet. I’ve been dying to purchase the Clarisonic but my budget won’t allow it at the moment and I thought this would be a decent alternative. I plan on using this in the shower and in the morning. This particular formula is supposed to exfoliate dull, dead skin cells and unclog pores, making them appear visibly smaller. I used this in the shower today and I was actually really impressed with the little scrubber. It felt awesome on my skin and definitely felt like it cleaned better than when I use my fingers. On a kind of weird side note, I felt like this really got my eyebrows clean. Haha. Anyways, for 6 bucks I really like this product and already plan on buying another bottle. It was super easy to use
The last thing I picked up was the Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Toner. This is supposed to do three things 1. Treat Acne 2. Eliminate Oil and Shine 3. Refresh and Soothe. I bought 2 bottles of this, one to keep next to my sink so I can use it after I wash my face at night and another to keep with my makeup so I can use it before I do my makeup in the morning. I have really oily skin and I have this weird obsession with always having to wipe down my skin right before I do my makeup or I feel greasy. For awhile I would always use some kind of stridex pad but no matter what brand I chose I felt like they made me break out. Then I discovered toner and it’s my favorite way to dissolve oil right before I apply my makeup. I thought this particular formula would do double-duty since it’s supposed to treat acne as well. Am I the only one who hates buying Neutrogena products though because of the packaging? I know it’s silly but I always feel like the bottles are so unappealing to look at! I’ve used the Neutrogena Acne Stress Control line before and liked the results.
Overall I think I did a good job picking out products that weren’t too messy or complicated to use or too expensive. I still use my Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant Mask once a week but I’m excited to try out these less expensive drugstore products and see how they work for me.
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My New Skin Care Routine
I’ve been very stressed lately and my skin has been showing it! So in an attempt to get my act together and get my face cleared up and looking beautiful I set off to ULTA to find some new face products. I’ve used Murad before and it worked fine but I think my skin has gotten used to it so I wanted to switch things up. I ended up purchasing some products from the dermalogica skin care line and so far I’m really liking them.
The first thing I purchased was the dermal clay cleanser. I think I may have bought the travel size, it only has 1.7 FL Oz in it but I’ll definitely be repurchasing. This particular cleanser is best suited for oily skin which is my biggest problem. Its super easy to use, just apply to damp skin and rinse with warm water.
How I Use It:
I usually apply it and then leave it on while I brush my teeth so it has a few minutes to work itself into my skin. I don’t know if that actually makes a difference it’s just one of those things I always do with my face wash. It leaves my face feeling tingly and slightly cool. I have noticed that my face has been a lot less oily since I started using it and I feel like its really getting into my pores so I like it. I’ve been using this twice a day, in the morning and before bed.
The second thing I bought was the gentle cream exfoliant. It’s supposed to be used a mask and its active ingredients are Alpha and beta hydroxy acids. These are supposed to gently eat away at the dead skin cells on your face without being abrasive like other exfoliants that use microbeads or other abrasives. I always swore by exfoliants that had all those little scratchy beads in them but now that I’ve tried this I like it much better! My skin is looking much smoother and more clear but doesn’t have all the redness and irritation I would have after using other exfoliating washes.
How I Use It:
This is a mask so you apply a thin layer and then leave it on for about 10-15 minutes. I’m using it everyother day right now just for the first few weeks but after my skin clears up I’ll use it once a week like suggested. I use this before bed at night. (I’m actually wearing it as I write this post!)
Overall I really like the tone and texture of my skin after using these products for a week. I think my skin is looking much brighter and more even and my breakouts are finally under control. These products were a little pricey, I think the face mask was around $35.00 but I think it was a good investment and I want to try some of the other products from this line.
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