All Eyes On Her

I sometimes get questions about my skincare routine, and I have trouble coming up with a quick, easy answer. I often vary the products I use based on the weather, since my skin gets oilier in the summer and drier in the winter. Plus, I’m still searching for my ideal solution for certain products (currently seeking The Perfect Acne Serum, and The Perfect Non-Pore-Clogging Anti-Aging Treatment, and the perfect Nighttime Natural Blemish Spot Treatment that Really Works but Doesn’t Look Or Smell Offensive) so I’ll switch it up until I find that perfect product. Still, there are some semi-constants, and I figure it may help satisfy some curiosity! So without further ado:

FACE (AM)

• Cleanse either with PSF Green Tea Cleanser, Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream, or with my own emollient oil blend; usually gently exfoliate with a microfiber baby’s washcloth; sometimes Clarisonic
• Tone with MyChelle Fruit Enzyme Mist or PSF R&R Toner — just spritz on and rub with fingers; no need for cotton balls
• Moisturize with a few drops of homemade emollient facial oil — base is macadamia and avocado
• Moisturize eye area with 100% Pure Caffeine Coffee Bean Eye Cream
• Wait 5-10 minutes so everything can absorb
• Protect and moisturize with Devita Solar Protection Creme 30; sometimes I use the body version

Face (PM)

• Cleanse, tone and moisturize with oil blend as above; sometimes Clarisonic
• Moisturize eye area with 100% Pure Caffeine Coffee Bean Eye Cream
• Wait 30 min. for everything to absorb, per Retin-A instructions
• Mix a few drops of emollient facial oil blended with a pea-sized dab of Retin-A (micro-gel, 0.4%) and apply evenly over face and neck
• Wait a few minutes, then dab Osea Essential Corrective Complex, PSF Acne Treatment Mud or my own essential oil blend onto individual blemishes/problem areas

WEEKLY

• I used to scrub once or twice a week with either Naturderm EpidermxII or MyChelle Fruit Enzyme Scrub or Best Bath Store Dead Sea Facial Scrub, but lately I’ve just been sticking with microfiber washcloths and my Clarisonic.
• I don’t usually do treatment masks, but that may change. I like to mix my own masks, usually. I’ll use bentonite clay and essential oils, usually lavender, and I’ll often add a bit of honey. But I find my skin isn’t crazy about masks, so this is pretty rare for me.  Lately I’ve been using John Masters Organics’ green clay mask since I got it for free, and it is thoroughly meh.
• When I have some, I occasionally dab on Juice Beauty’s Green Apple Peel, but I think I’ve decided that I’m not really a fan of chemical peel products, and that I prefer a gentle microfiber rub to exfoliate.

BODY

• Lately, I’m using 100% Pure shower gels in various scents, and adoring them (still).
• I always scrub with those drugstore spa/shower scrubby gloves, and that’s a better exfoliation job than any grainy scrub on the market, in my opinion.  Cheaper, too!
• I’ve been shaving with either my bath gel or my own blend of oil (mostly soybean and avocado), and I sometimes combine it with some Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel to help exfoliate dead skin.
• I usually moisturize with an oil blend, mostly macadamia and avocado.  I do this right after showering, or even while I’m still in the shower, to lock in moisture. I also sometimes use 100% Pure lotion.
• My feet get Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme or MyChelle Barefoot Treatment.  I much prefer the former. But I’m starting to hate the company, so I may make my own soon (with salicylic acid to slough dead skin and cuticles).
• Cuticles get Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream or my own cuticle oil blend, but sometimes my whole hand (including cuticles) gets this Surfer Salve a friend gave me, which has comfrey, chamomile and lavender to heal and soothe.
• I’ve been using my own homemade deodorant, but when I run out, I use LUSH Aromacreme.  Or in crazy heat like Seattle has seen, I throw it all to hell and use Degree.  (Because at least it doesn’t contain mineral oil like Secret.)

HAIR

• I’m straightening my hair a lot lately, so I’m using a much less natural routine since I have to load up on silicones to protect the hair shaft from high heat.
• My default shampoo/conditioner set is Redken All Soft, which my coarse hair loves, but which my finicky scalp doesn’t like so much.  When my scalp acts up I switch to Pure and Basic’s dandruff shampoo, or sometimes I steal Grant’s Head and Shoulders.  I usually use that chance to try out a different conditioner then too, but I get enough samples/random bottles and gifts that I haven’t purposefully shopped for an alternate conditioner in ages.  In a perfect world, with a perfect salary, my alt conditioner would always be John Masters Organics’ Honey Hibiscus Reconstructor.  Smells like paradise, if it were inhabited by bees.
• Styling products are usually just Paul Mitchell The Super Skinny Serum, sometimes blended with a Kiehl’s leave-in conditioner or a L’Oréal leave in conditioner, and sometimes not.  I’ve also taken to using a dab of Frederik Fekkai Glossing Creme, or a spritz or two of Frederik Fekkai Glossing Sheer Shine Mist or a dab of Kevin Murphy Easy Rider styling cream.  For my bangs, I’ve been using Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder in Blondish, or my own homemade hair powder, and a Paul Mitchell spray that’s meh — pretty sure it’s this one.

TOOLS

• My fave hairbrush is my Mason Pearson Nylon and Boar Bristle brush, in Pocket size.  (I got mine on eBay for way cheaper than normal retail.)
• My makeup brushes are almost all by Too Faced — their Teddy Bear Hair is just the softest, loveliest synthetic hair.  I also have a couple from Sephora and Japonesque and Sonia Kashuk, but the Too Faced are the nicest, especially for big fluffy brushes like the Baby Buki or the powder/blush brush.
• My tweezers are Anastasia of Beverly Hills.  I can’t stand using any other kind after getting used to these ones!