We all know skincare is super-duper important and frankly.. can be quite expensive. I'm also going to go ahead precursor this and say that as I have hit my mid to late (yikes that is scary) 20's I have started to develop super sensitive skin so as far as I'm concerned everything below is sensitive skin friendly. I have an array of products that I use on a daily basis and they completely vary in price. The products used during my night time wind down were bought anywhere from Nordstrom to Wal-Mart, so I thought I'd do a little step by step post, here goes:
Step 1: Get Cozy.
Well, le duh. You've got to unwind and get out of those stilettos and pencil skirts and to be honest (and my roommate will totally vouch for this) the FIRST thing I do when I get home and I have nothing on the agenda is kick those sticks off my feet and hop into a cozy ensemble. I have two absolute favorites, and both hail from the one and only Victoria's Secret:
Step 2: Wipe the slate clean.
This is going to be a double step, sometimes I only do step one and sometimes I move forward to step two depending on how heavy my eye make-up was for the day or evening (those stubborn 'waterproof' eye products mean business).
2A. I am about to introduce to you to a duo team that will change your life. These two products should just commit and get married already because to be honest they are no two products better suited for one another. It's the Clarisonic Mia (I have the super sassy Jaguar print, and I absolutely love it) and Philosophy's Purity cleaner.
I combine the two, simply just follow the instructions and let my Clarisonic do it's job.
2B. When I have heavier eye make-up that is just flat out stubborn and dead set on sleeping with me for the night I resort to an eye makeup remover. I have tried many different kinds from high end to low end and have found that the Neutrogena Oil-Free remover below is the absolute best. I just simply pour a little onto a cotton ball and.. wala!.. no more raccoon eyes.
Step 3: Moisturize.
Once again I have tried just about everything under the sun when it comes to a moisturizer. I have found that Philosophy's gives me tiny annoying little red bumps and a couple others just irritate my skin or just don't make it feel ideal. I obviously use a different moisturizer in the morning (and hopefully sometime soon I will do a morning skincare routine post) but I have found the Clinique 'Turnaround Radiance Overnight' Moisturizer to be my current favorite. It gives me skin a subtle glow when I wake up and leaves is smooth and soft.. basically that's everything I ask for in a moisturizer so you can see why this one is my winner.
Step 4: Itty Bitty Boo-Boo.
Now I'm not going to be some blogger who tells you that my face is perfect and hide any type of flaw blah blah blah so I'll just come out and say that I have a rather large scar on my left cheek (boo-hoo poor me, but not really) from a dog bite when I was very little (and I'll also go ahead and say no I am not scared of dogs, in fact I stinkin' love them). I've had multiple surgeries and treatments on it and it is not too terribly noticeable but I do have one extra little step during my skincare routine just to boost it's healing process. You just never know if some of y'all have acne scars or other type of skin issues, I mean let's be real we are all humans, so I figured I would go ahead and include the step.
Ironically this is the cheapest part of my skincare routine, I just lather this baby on the affected area and go on my merry little way!
Step 5: Pucker Up!
Well ladies, you can't forget those lips! I use a lip scrub from one of my weaknesses: Lush (If you have not discovered this store yet I am going to go ahead and apologize for your newest addiction). It is minty chocolate so it gives your breath a little post brushing kick and before crawling into bed that can't ever hurt! Plus it satisfies that sweet tooth with a little taste of chocolate. I'm super picky when it comes to how things taste and this lip scrub is to die for. After licking off the yummy lip scrub I go old school and later my lips with Vaseline. Yes, Vaseline. But not just any kind I use the cocoa butter formula because I absolutely love the smell. Also, when I say lather I mean lather, sometimes I even rub it on the area around my lips. I've heard stories of Vaseline being incredible for wrinkles so why not?
Step 6: Look into my eyes.
Just like finding a facial moisturizer can be tough, so can finding that perfect eye cream. I tend to like my eye creams on the heavy side, just not goopy.. which can be quite a hard balance to find. I do not like silicone based eye creams, I feel like they do not have enough consistency to do what I want and I know it might totally be a mental thing but whatever. I think I have pretty horrible under eye circles so that is a main concern of mine as well as those pesky wrinkles that come with getting older (see I told you I wouldn't hold anything back). I have found that Clinique All About Eyes RICH (not normal, the RICH one, I am capitalizing this because it is very important) is my holy grail when it comes to eye creams. I just lather this up as one of my last steps, and one of my favorites.
Step 7: Bat those eyelashes, darling!
Now this will be a temporary step so normally my skincare routine would end there. Ladies and gentleman the secret is out.. I have been using Latisse and I am in love with it. It is prescription only, so you'll have to consult with a liscened prescriber if you are interested (which is why I will not be linking a purchase site below) but I highly recommend it. I just take one tiny little drop into the cap, swirl the provided applicator, apply it to both of my eyes and I'm done. I am on week 9 I believe, so I have 7 or so more weeks to go, and my lashes have tripled in length and volume. I don't know how I am ever going to let go of this miracle worker, and I might not ever. Yes I have heard all of the side effects and yes I have actual experienced a little red eye occasionally but I do not mind having to wear my glasses and rock the four eye look once in a blue moon in order to get false looking lashes. Beauty is pain, right?
Now it is time to tuck yourself into bed and get some much deserved beauty sleep, which is what I am about to do. Goodnight sweet friends!
xox, Ashley
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