This is a processing week for me thinking time but still I get a lot of questions about my skincare & hair routine AND I’ve tried a shitload of products AND I don’t wear makeup so I really take good care of my skin AND I love to talk about myself, so this week it’s beauty.
This isn’t my daily routine - that changes every day, I’m fussy about my skin, but I am not tied to a hard routine. Instead, here are a bunch of things I’ve tried, really really loved, and stand behind. I have to say also, while I have done #spon with Sunday Riley, this is 100% my own opinion and experience. And I genuinely love the products I used during that product with them and am now spending my own $ on the brand.
That said!
CLEANSERS
The first one is an oldie and goodie - classic Cetaphil. It’s gentle, moisturizing, it’s the one I use while traveling, or when I’ve over-exfoliated and really want to help heal my skin. It’s also inexpensive and you can get it literally ever. It’s such a boring recommendation, but it absolutely works, and I absolutely love it.
I’ve written at length about the Nature of Things clarifying polish, but it is SO great - it’s a powder formula, I keep it in my shower, and use it on my face, neck, and chest when I shower. It’s excellent if I’ve worn a ton of waterproof sunscreen - the little scrubby action is very satisfying and it’s tingly, so I like to let it kind of steam on my skin while I shower.
And then when I’m feeling very fancy, I use this one from Augustinus Bader. I know this seems like a lot of cleansers, but I love to wash my face. It feels so good! This one contains the same element as the cream, which is supposed to do wonders for your youth, but I love that it makes my skin feel refreshed and soft but not squeaky squeaky clean. It is EXPENSIVE for a cleanser, so it’s a treat.
Last but not least, Ceramic Slip from Sunday Riley. It’s a very thorough cleanser, and I love that it has clay in it. I usually rub it all over my skin when my face is kind of damp, and let it sit for a minute, before massaging it around. It gets off all my sunscreen and makes a nice canvas for whatever I’m doing next.
SERUMS ETC
I’m still figuring out the right mix of essences, exfoliators, serums, etc - but here are some of the in between things I’ve liked.
After washing, if I want to ~prime the canvas~ for other things, BEFORE all the next stuff I list, but then also throughout the day to perk me up, I use this Plant Mist from Ingredients. It smells wonderful, but is also cooling and enlivening. Dampening your skin helps all the next steps absorb better, and also spread around your face more easily so you use less product.
In the morning after washing my face and before moisturizer I love Sunday Riley’s Good Genes. The lactic acid is a very gentle exfoliator, and sets a nice base for moisturizer after. I love, love, love this product, you just have to be sure to wear SPF when you use it. I use this in the morning.
Augustinus Bader’s Essence is incredible as a gentle resurfacer to minimize pores, help with spots, and also to hydrate a little. I have to say, the entire line is so excellent, it’s just fucking expensive. But it’s great! It works! I use this at night after I wash & dry my face.
The Vintner’s Daughter serum is one that I’ve used pretty consistently for years. It does the thing and makes my skin bright, glowy, and healthy. I’m not 100% on how to use it though - it’s a serum, but has an oil texture, so theoretically it should go over moisturizer? I’m not sure. I use it before my moisturizer and pat it into my skin, then wait a while before moving to the next step so that it’s at least all dry.
Then SOMETIMES! Like once a week I use these peel pads from Dennis Gross. I’ve heard amazing things about them getting rid of spots and acne scars, and I’m using them to try and fade my sunspots a little + make my pores look smaller. No sunspots & tiny nose pores = my skincare wish from heaven. When I use them I make sure to sweep both pads on my face, neck, chest, hands, arms, shoulders, and if they’re still kind of damp I use it on my knees as well. A very effective exfoliator!
MOISTURIZERS
I do not drink enough water, as a fact, so instead of doing the logical thing and drinking more water, I use a lot of moisturizers. I LOVE the moisture step! My favorite for morning is Sunday Riley C.E.O. Afterglow - kind of a brutal name, but holy shit it is great. It has Vitamin C to again! fade/prevent spots, and prevent aging, and also Lutein, which helps block blue light. It’s super light, very smooth, the scent is minimal, and I use it all over. An expensive habit but in the vein of carpet matching the drapes I want my arms and knees to match my face. I use it on my forearms, upper arms, shoulders, thighs, and knees along with my neck and chest. This is one of my all time favorites.
I also love this one from Belif - it’s super minimal and straightforward, and very hydrating. I used this before my wedding and it just made my skin much bouncier and - this is a weird way to describe it, but my skin felt more durable. The texture is a very light gel, and it doesn’t have any added fragrance as far as I can tell. Definitely plays well with others.
Finally, the holy grail, Augustinus Bader Cream. Again, it’s expensive, but it is the closest experience I’ve found to injectables etc in a cream form. It does everything you’d want an anti-aging cream to do, and isn’t heavy or waxy at all. In my experience, it is 100000% worth it.
EXTRAS
SPF! I love the Glow Screen from Supergoop. Since I don’t wear makeup on a daily basis, it has an excellent tint to even my skintone and a very slight shimmer to make my skin look glowy and dewy. AND! SPF 40! I love this one.
I also keep one of these from Neutrogena in my car and I put it on my hands, arms, chest, and thighs while I’m driving if I feel like I’m getting too much sun. It’s also great at the beach - my kids don’t mind it so much since it’s not super slimy. I haven’t had great experiences with Neutrogena on my face - it gives me tiny bumps - but I do love it on my body.
Similarly for the beach, I really like this one from Coppertone. I’ve never, ever, ever burned while using it, it just is kind of hard to get off.
Speaking of getting it off! I always use this scrub after a beach day. I hate the dusty dry feeling of sunscreen and sand residue and this gets it off. It isn’t too scratchy and doesn’t make a huge mess in my shower. It makes my skin mega soft and glowy and I do enjoy it as a treat and kind of massaging it into my legs in the shower! A gift!
Also, also for body scrub - I am obsessed with the whole Soft Services range. The Buffing Bar is very scratchy, but for a once weekly treatment holy shit it makes your skin so soft. If you have KP it’s also great for that. Then the gel body exfoliator - oh boy, sometimes my legs get that kind of dried out creek texture, and using this regularly makes it go away. You have to be careful to only use a tiny bit because it does dry sticky if you have too much, but it’s a dream product. I just ordered the Carea Cream as a body moisturizer, and I’m sure I'll enjoy, because I also got a sneak peek of their new retinol hand cream and it’s excellent. It keeps my cuticles small and helps prevent aging spots on my hands, AND the packaging is beautiful.
Ok and finally…my favorite skincare product OF ALL TIME. The thing I’ve used religiously since I was a beauty assistant at Teen Vogue in like 2009…. it is…the best… VMV Hypoallergenics BooBoo Balm. So dumb, but wow - it’s a do it all-er, it’s amazing on my lips, great on my cheeks as a highlight, beautiful on my eyelids, great to soothe my cuticles, great to tamp down flyaway hairs, amazing on my heels, IT HEALED MY DAUGHTER’S ECZEMA. It is…. there’s nothing better. Like, if I had Cetaphil face wash and a tub of this as moisturizer for my face, I would be fine. This is all I need. I have, like, 30 tubs of this around my house, in my car, in every bag, I always have it with me. It keeps my lips smoother than anything I’ve ever tried - it is a fucking miracle. I LOVE IT.
AND THERE WE ARE! Is this helpful? Is it fun?
WHO CARES!
I love you.
Love, your friend,
Laurel
can't believe i MAY BE PERSUADED to buying a $280 skin cream wowowowow that ascetic german name, the austere packaging of it all....
always fun and always great laurel!! xo yolanda