My skin care regimen

A few weeks ago, a few of my friends posted about either their skin care regimen or their makeup staples. I love seeing what other people use so I though I’d share what I use regularly.

A little about my skin first. My skin is combination, so I have some oily and some dry spots. I break out, and have a little bit of acne scaring.

About 3 years ago, before I got married, I started getting facials on a pretty regular basis to try to help with the breakouts. Around that time, because I knew I couldn’t keep up with the expense of weekly facials long past the wedding, I started using Philosophy’s Purity Made simple and Hope in a Jar. Yes, it’s a bit pricey, but I’ve tried other things that I really didn’t like as much. And Philosophy very frequently offers coupon codes for up to 40% your purchase, so I usually stock up with a coupon.

I started using the When Hope is Not Enough serum. I like it well enough but don’t think it’s performing miracles on my skin. I may or may not purchase again when I run out.

When my face starts breaking out, or when I’m feeling oilier than usual, I use the Lush Grease Lightening. It’s got rosemary, tea tree oil, witch hazel, and some other good stuff to help control oiliness, and treat breakouts. It’s very soothing on the skin.

As for my makeup habits, I use a mixture of expensive products and drug store stuff. I should get in habit of wearing some concealer more frequently, but I generally just use the Garnier Anti Dark Circle Eye roller. It’s lightly tinted, so it does a good enough job at covering up some under eye darkness.

I love the Maybelline Pure Stay Powder Foundation. I don’t wear liquid foundation much these days, and this powder is awesome. It covers up redness and acne scars.

I’m in love with the Urban Decay Naked Palate. I usually just pick something quick to wear for work, but love that I can also play around with the various colors for a fancy eye.

I’ve been using the Cover Girl Perfect Point Plus eyeliner for probably about 10 years now. (it’s hard to see in the picture on the black dresser) The liner is very smooth, and some people have asked me if I wear liquid liner, it looks that good. I also really like the little smudger on the bottom.

I used to use the Nars Orgasm blush but recently changed to the Benefit Bella Bamba blush. It’s a good amount of pink with a tiny bit of sparkle.

I didn’t show any mascaras because I am always trying new ones, so I don’t have a particular favorite. Although I do recommend the Maybelline Great Lash Big or the Cover Girl Lash Blast. Right now I am working my way through the Sephora mascara sampler I got for Christmas and finding myself reaching for the Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay mascara more than some of the others.

So there you have it. My basic daily skin care regimen.

I’m always up for trying new stuff (and a good excuse for a visit to Ulta or Sephora) so let me know if you have any recommendations for me.

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Operation: Use it up

I may or may not have minor tendencies toward hoarding collecting things. Most particularly, samples. Some of the samples I’ve amassed include shampoo and conditioner, body wash, deodorant, lotion, makeup and perfume. I have good intentions to use them when I travel but somehow forget to use them when I actually do travel. Or I don’t want to be stuck out of town and get a rash or have some kind of reaction to a new product.

In addition to not using samples, I love to use new stuff. So if I get a new shampoo, conditioner or body wash, I’ll open it up and start using it before I’ve used up the 1/4 full bottle already in the shower. And lets not talk about new mascara. Without getting up and physically counting, I’d guess I’ve got at least 7 mascaras open and currently being used in rotation. (Ok, because I love you and was curious, here is my collection.)

But this year, I’ve been challenging myself to use stuff up before I open a new bottle or buy something new. And now that we’ve decided to move to a new apartment, this challenge seems even more timely. So how have I been doing so far?

I have used:

• 3 sample body washes
• one sample shampoo and conditioner packet
• the last of a body scrub that has been taking up space in the shower for almost a year
• the last of a bottle of t-gel shampoo

I’m getting close to finishing:

• two bottles of shampoo
• a bottle of conditioner
• a bottle of face scrub
• a couple of perfume samples

I tossed:

• a half bottle of mens body wash that Taylor hated to use

I intend to give away:

• a bottle of body wash I got for free, but hate the way it smells
• two unopened deodorants that I got on sale, also don’t like the way they smell

I’m not even making any progress/I still have a problem with the makeup.

• I haven’t bought anything new in a couple of weeks, but it’ll take a long time for the stash to go down. I even have a few things that are new and unopened.
• I have more than 5 mostly used powder compacts that I could toss, but probably have a couple of days of use in each of them.
• I’m mostly ok with my makeup levels, because I know other people who have more (names will not be used here to protect the innocent)
• It’s no secret to people who know me in real life that my lip product collection is very impressive and I can’t think of any way to reduce it (nor am I really interested in reducing it). Here is sample collected from a 1 minute sweep of my purse and apartment…

So yes, that is 20 items. And NO it doesn’t include at least 5 more unopened products and the 4 products that sit on my desk at work. I have a few next to my bed, a couple in my purse, some on the coffee table, a few more with my makeup stash, a few on my desk…there are plenty of places to keep my lip product inventory.

Want a recommendation on what to buy?

• Lip Balm: Burt’s Bees regular Beeswax Lip Balm. Don’t buy any of the honey or pomegranate crap. Trust me.
• Lip Gloss: Sephora Collection Super Shimmer Lip Gloss

Ok, so where was I before I got distracted by the lip products.

Ah yes…

The challenge also applies to the kitchen cabinets, fridge and freezer. So far we’re doing pretty respectably. We have bought a few things here and there, but they are things that get used up quickly (ground turkey, chicken). In the next few weeks, so we don’t have to move so much food, we’ll eat the most of the vegetables (large bag of broccoli, snap peas, zucchini, yellow squash) and meat (chicken, tilapia, trout, shrimp) and the other  miscellaneous items (black bean burgers, fruit, frozen lasagna, chili).

I’ve also tossed a few things from the pantry that were out of date by more than a year. Or two. Or (embarrassingly) three.

It does feel good to use what we’ve got, and definitely saves on the grocery bills.

Anyone out there have some of my same tendencies?? Have you embraced them (makeup! lip balm!) or tried to be more aware and use things up?

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eyeshadow – some of you might care

Unfortunately I know there are a few male readers who will not be interested (hi Don!). But the fact that Taylor made more than one comment about my eyeshadow today, means I ought to blog about it.

Typically, I’m not particularly good about wearing fashionable eye shadow. I normally wear a Cover Girl color called Tapestry Taupe. It is a safe, neutral blend of light and dark brown with a little bit of sparkles. 

The most snazzy set of colors I own is a Revlon ColorStay quad called Gems & Jewels. The colors are a light beige, light purple, dark purple, and a midnight blue color. The packaging is awesome because it includes instructions on how to apply the colors.

Source

A couple of days ago I bought a new eye shadow palate. It is by Maybelline and called Give Me Gold. And magically I actually got the colors to photograph perfectly so you could see.

Taylor thinks the eye shadow looks very gold when I blink. Here’s what I see in the mirror and when I take a picture.

If you’re looking for something affordable and good-looking, this palate is it. Even I can pull this look off! And I’m no makeup artist.

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