Skin Care Routine?? - I wish...

So I was planning on this being a post about the lovely skin care regimen I've put together since talking about how my skin care was just a mish-mash of things I wanted to use up. Unfortunately for this post, but fortunately for my skin, I have been learning about ingredients in skincare and makeup that are common and aid in skin aging instead of anti-aging. Two big ones are fragrance and alcohol. Looking at the ingredients on the back of products I'm using, I had kind of a minor freak out. I'm not claiming to be an expert on this or even to know a lot about it, but here's what I've gathered so far.

Fragrance, it seems, is in just about every sort of skin care product you could imagine, which means products I thought I wanted to buy now have to be reevaluated. If you think about any kind of high end skin care product, more than likely it has a lovely scent. It adds to the luxurious feeling of pampering your skin, right? While it may make you feel like a million bucks, in the long run, it can really damage your skin.

Alcohol too, is in many products we put on our faces. Alcohol is another known irritant to the skin. There are, however, some alcohols that are bad for your skin (isopropyl alcohol for one) and others that are actually good for your skin. Here's a video explaining the differences and listing the names of both kinds. I reference her list of goodies and baddies often when researching products. This youtuber used to be an esthetician and makes very informative videos. Check out more of her stuff if this really interests you.

Even if you don't have typically sensitive skin, which I don't, the damage is still being done. I've heard it likened to smoking - you may smoke for years without major health problems, but all the time tar and crap(very scientific) is building up in your lungs and it will one day become very apparent just how bad for you the habit has been. While fragrance doesn't build up on your skin, it does work to break down elastin in the skin - something that cannot be replaced once it is damaged. As far as I know, elastin is what keeps your skin elastic (I'm a genius, I know) and keeps it from sagging and wrinkling while your young. It's normal for this to break down as we age, but we don't have to speed it along with irritants in our skin care and makeup.

Aiding to my minor freak out is just how difficult it is to find products without alcohol or fragrance. Organic ranges seem like a good place to start, however natural fragrance is still an irritant to skin. *doh* So there's a brand called Simple that is supposed to be for sensitive skin, but not every single product they make is free of irritants. *getting grumpier* I've found that there aren't many entire brands or ranges of skin care or makeup without known irritants. So much for an easy answer of just being able to blindly use products from a brand because you know it is "safe". This means I have to do actual work to research each product that I want to try. And not just reviews and videos, but reading ingredients and looking them up.

I have found a tool that is fairly helpful in trying to figure out what is ok for skin and what isn't. It's called Beautypedia. Before anyone takes this as their only source of information on what products to use, here are a few things to keep in mind: this site is maintained by a skin care brand - Paula's Choice - that obviously wants you to buy their products before anyone else's. They have a rating scale that goes from Poor, to Average, to Good, to Best. Of course, all of the Paula's choice products have a "Best" rating because they're not going to say anything bad about what they sell. Talk about having to take advice with a grain of salt! That being said, here is how I use this site - I look for a product I want to try and pretty much ignore the rating they give it. I do this because I have seen products rated Poor or Average just because of the price and the fact that there are lower cost alternatives out there. In those cases, the rating has nothing to do with the appropriateness of the product for use on skin. I've learned that I have to read their reasoning for rating the product the way they did. Did they rate it poorly because of cost? because even though there are no detrimental ingredients, there are no particularly beneficial ones either? because of some other bias? or because it genuinely does contain irritants? This site is not the end-all-be-all of skincare information. So take all that for what it's worth.

I don't know if this is helpful to any of you, but it's made me think twice about picking up just any old lotion from the drugstore, or even from Sephora for that matter. Does anyone have any other or better sites for identifying products without bad ingredients?

Black Hair, Don't Care

Just a quick hair update: I dyed my hair Revlon Colorsilk #20 Brown Black and I kind of love it. It's a shade or two darker than my natural color. I was getting tired of my lighter summer hair. Who else is ready for fall!?

My Foundation "Collection"

I don't have a foundation "collection" as it were, but I've got two foundations that work for me at various times during the year.

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Cream Foundation
I like using this in the summer because it stays put through nasty heat and humidity. In fact, it looks better after a few hours of wear than when you first put it on. For me, Nude 220 is a good summer match. I was happy to find a drugstore foundation with pink undertones as most are to yellow for me. I use this when I want a full coverage "flawless" face look. It's a pretty heavy foundation, so I make sure to remove it thoroughly at night. One downfall of this product is the tub packaging. As I use this, I try not to think about how unsanitary it is to be sticking my fingers in there... I apply this with a Beauty Blender to sheer it out a bit and spray Urban Decay DeSlick setting spray before applying it and after setting it with the Tarte Smooth Operator loose powder. Overall, I really like this for days when I'm going to be wearing makeup for a while and need something pretty sweat-proof.

Urban Decay Naked Skin
I loooove how much this foundation looks like skin, but it's a little too glowy for me to wear all day in the summer. This is unfortunate as the color I have (3.5) is a perfect summer match for me and the next cool toned shade is 0.5. I think I have to get the lighter one and mix the two. What's nice about this foundation when you're trying to find a shade match is that colors ending in .0 are warm toned and ones ending in .5 are cool toned. Also, it comes in a pump! Anyway, I can get light to medium coverage with this, even using a Beauty Blender. It is for days when my skin is looking pretty good, though. I can get up to about 5 hours of wear and then my oiliness starts breaking through the makeup. Not cute. I am looking forward to getting a lighter shade and trying this in winter to see how it works when my skin is more normal to dry. I also use the DeSlick setting spray and Tarte powder with this foundation.

So that's pretty much it. Any recommendations of foundations I should try?

My Bronzer, Blush and Highlighter Collection and Organization

As with my eye shadow, I generally depot my cheek products. I find that I use things more when I can see them laid out in front of me, in a palette for example.

Bronzer

• matte bronzers 
• mini TooFaced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
• MAC Emote Blush (discontinued and took me about a year to get my hands on)
• shimmer bronzers 
• MAC Pro Longwear Bronzer in Nude on Board
• NARS Laguna

Blush

• matte blushes
• Wet 'n Wild Color Icon blush in Heather Silk
• Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Bilssful
• MAC blush in Pink Swoon
• shimmer blushes
• NARS blush in Luster
• Wet 'n Wild Color Icon blush in Pearlescent Pink
• Wet 'n Wild Color Icon blush in Berry Shimmer
• ELF Studio Blush in Berry Merry
• ELF Studio Blush in Peachy Keen
• Be a Bombshell blush in Sweet Cheeks
• MAC blush in Ripe for Love

Higlighters

• Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls in Beige Pearl
• the highlighter from the Lorac Mint Edition Palette (limited edition spring '13)
• Wet 'n Wild Fergie Center Stage  Glow Reflect Shimmer Palette in Rose Champagne (this one is not depotted because it is baked and I had a bad experience depotting a baked product before. If you know how to do this, please enlighten me)

I also have a mini NARS Laguna/Orgasm duo that I keep in its packaging for travel.

Here's my cheek product collection.

 

My Eye Shadow Collection and Organization

So I don't have as many eye shadows as some beauty bloggers or YouTubers, but I do have more than enough to last me a lifetime. Also, I've figured out pretty much what I like to wear and what I don't, so my collection consists of mostly things I would use at one time or another throughout any given year.

Now probably 99% of my collection is depotted, meaning I have removed it from it's original packaging. Once I have just the pan of eye shadow remaining, I stick a thin magnet to the back and put it into one of three of the new style MAC pro palettes that don't have an insert in them and have a clear lid. I like these because they feel sturdier to me than a Z Palette, but I can still put pans of all shapes and sizes in them and arrange them however I desire. I have one palette for cool colored eye shadows, one for warm colors and one for matte shadows that are either warm or cool. The reason I separated the mattes out is that I cannot stand when glittery bits get into my matte shadows. Completely defeats the purpose. I try to avoid this entirely by segregating my mattes from my shimmery and glittery, even just satin eye shadows. The only shadows not one of the three MAC pro palettes are my one MAC eye shadow (in the shade Sketch) which sits alone in my MAC quad waiting for 3 more friends, as well as my Guerlain Coup de Foudre shadow quad from Spring '13 (the packaging on this one is just too pretty to destroy) and some individual shadows I list below.

My eye shadows have come from various and sundry sources. Here's a list of brands/palettes they have come from:

• Urban Decay Naked palette
• Urban Decay Naked 2 palette
• Urban decay Naked Basics palette (so I like neutrals...)
• Lorac Mint Edition palette (was available in spring '13 and came with a blush and a higlighter)
• Mary Kay individual shadows
• Bare Minerals The Next Big Thing Quad
• Revlon Colorstay quads in Sea Mist and Siren
• the yellow and red shades from the Kat Von D Starstuck quad (discontinued if I am not mistaken, I didn't hold on to the bronzey shadows because the UD palettes provide all the bronze I'll ever need in this life or the next)
• Wet 'n Wild palettes including Comfort Zone and others I can't remember, but I'm not too worried about remembering
• a few (4?) shadows from a Stila palette that had a cream product in it as well (can't remember the name of it as I got it in a swap and started depotting it almost immediately)

I also have individually potted shadows:

• MAC pigment in Tan
• L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Amber Rush and Endless Sea
• Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink, Barely Branded and Bad to the Bronze

Here's my eye shadow collection. If you have questions on the origin of an certain eye shadow, I will do my best to identify it.

                                                      

How I Use My Clarisonic Mia2

I was recommended a Clarisonic by a Sephora sales associate when I told her one of my big skin concerns was uneven skin texture. I do want to say that I have oily skin in the summer and normal to dry skin in the winter with some dry patches all year round when my skin just feels like pissing me off. I also have fairly non-reactive skin. By that I mean, that I cannot remember a time when a product - makeup or skincare - has broken me out or clogged my pores any more than they normally are (which is pretty clogged to begin with). I'm lucky with my skin in that way. I know a lot of people have very sensitive skin, but I have resilient skin that will let me do just about anything to it. I didn't even get the typical "purging" breakouts that one is supposed to get when starting to use a Clarisonic. I tell you this because many people cannot tolerate regular use of a one. So I would not recommend a Clarisonic for people with sensitive skin, nor would I for people with active breakouts. This, I feel, will just irritate the skin more than it already is and probably cause redness and possibly more acne. I am not trying to tell you to buy one, I'm just saying what works for me based on my skin.

That being said, I do use my Clarisonic twice a day. I've gotten to the point where my face doesn't feel clean without having used it. That being said, I can't really say the texture of my skin has dramatically improved, but I also tend to use my Clarisonic in fits and starts. I do use the delicate brush head because when I use it, I use it twice a day. I feel that any "stronger" bristles would be too much, even for my skin. Oh, and I have the Mia2 model. It has 2 speed settings (I really can't tell the difference between them) and a timer that tells you how long to scrub each part of your face. I like that feature, because I'm too lazy to count.

So in the morning I use my Mia2 with the Algenist Gentle Rejuvenating Cleanser to get my skin as smooth as possible for makeup application. Holy Crap I love this stuff. No other cleanser, even when used without the Clarisonic, has ever left my skin so soft. If I'm taking a shower that morning I will do one 1 minute cycle on my face and another 1 minute cycle on my neck, chest and shoulders.

At night I use my Mia2 after I oil cleanse to really get the rest of the dirt and makeup off from the day. This time I use the Michael Todd True Organics Honey and Oat Cleanser because it's a gel formula and I feel that that formulation of cleanser gives you a bit deeper of a clean, which I want at night.

And that is about it. Nothing fancy, just cream cleanser in the morning and gel cleanser at night. Didn't need that big long post now, did I?

Recent Collective Haul and a Few Mini Reviews

Michael Todd True Organics
*jumps on Michael Todd bandwagon* (albeit a little late) So I made my first purchase from MTTO, the Honey and Oat Cleanser. I got this to use as my nighttime cleanser to use with my Clarisonic Mia2 after my oil cleanse. Expect a review on this soon.

Amazon
So I've had my Clarisonic Mia2 for several...serveral months now and I know the brush head is supposed to be changed every three months, but I just have not been able to bring myself to shell out $25 for one brush head (or $40 for 2). Lately, my skin has been breaking out in zits, which I rarely get. Among other things like a dirty pillowcase, using up random bottles of skincare and that time of the month, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get a new brush head. Looking at the Sephora site, I learned that there is a brush head even gentler than the Sensitive one that the Mia2 came with. They call this one "Delicate". I thought I'd give these a shot since I've been using my Mia2 morning and night. I don't know what possessed me (because I never shop on Amazon), but I hopped online to see if I could find a brush head any cheaper than $25. Lo and behold, I found a 2 pack for $13.99 after shipping. Jackpot! I'll let you know if I like the Delicate heads any better than the Sensitive ones once I've used one for a bit.

Sephora
I've been trying to keep my beauty obsession a little more under control lately, and that means avoiding Sephora like the plague. However, since I've run out of nighttime, creamy cleanser for my Mia2, I thought I'd allow myself to venture in to pick up the Algenist Gentle Rejuvenating Cleanser AND NOTHING ELSE. Well, I did get the cleanser (see Products I've Used Up and Will Repurchase post for mini review), but I also slipped and got the Caudalie Beauty Elixir which everyone online seems to love. It smells divine, like an upscale spa, and feels great on the skin. The reason it does these things is because it contains alcohol and fragrance, both extremely irritating to skin. Boo. So that's going back. Should have done more research before shelling out $18 for a perfumey water spray.

Walmart
I went to a different Walmart the other day than my usual haunt, which was a risk because not all Walmarts carry the same thing and I know what my Walmart carries. However, I went to the brand-spanking new store in the city my boyfriend lives in and not only was I satisfied with their selection of products, I was pretty impressed. Along with all the typical drugstore beauty brands (i.e. Revlon, Covergirl, Neutrogena...) they also stocked Flower Beauty by Drew Berrymore and Real Techniques! It was difficult to restrain myself, but I went in for a few essentials I was low on and pretty much stuck to my list.

First, I needed a backup of the Got2B Guardian Angel Flat Iron Balm as I'm low and know I'm going to run out this week. This is a hair care staple for me and at least the 4th bottle I've purchased.

Next I got some cotton pads and I ended up with the Equate large round cotton pads. These don't disintegrate when you put a watery product on them and are large enough that I can use one pad to remove the makeup from both eyes and use another to tone my face and neck. Really happy with these.

Something I'm kind of excited I found is the Swisspers Blotting Paper. They were just over $2 for 100 sheets - about a quarter of the price of the Clean and Clear version which I don't really like because they're plastic and not actually paper. Excited to try these out.

I've run out of my mini size of the Josie Maran Argan Oil Daily Moisturizer with SPF 40+ and have also just learned that a moisturizer with an SPF doesn't give you enough protection anyway, so I decided to browse the sunscreen aisle. I ended up with the Nuetrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock Cream SPF 30. I didn't go higher with the SPF (Neutrogena went all the way up to SPF 100!!) because anything higher than 30 gives you hardly any more protection that the 30 itself, so I saved a buck or so sticking with the lower SPF. I've tried this out and I'm not sure what I think of it. It stung my face when applying it, which I can't be good. Upon reading the ingredients, I discovered that benzyl alcohol (a "bad" alcohol) is pretty high up there on the ingredients list. This might be getting exchanged if I can find something else from Walmart without alcohol in it. Oh, and as far as where I'm getting my info on fragrance, how much of an SPF product to use and good/bad alcohols, check out this channel by Veronica Gorgeois. She used to be an esthetician, so she knows her shit.

Lastly from Wallyworld, I got something not on my list. Shame on me. I picked up the Vaseline Spray & Go Total Moisture Moisturizer. I got the one in the yellow can. I gave this a go, and it's pretty cool. I sprayed this on after my shower, brushed my teeth and let the product soak in and then rubbed the rest in after. It was nice not to feel like a greasy mess putting clothes on. It's lightly fragranced, but I really couldn't smell it on my skin once it was all rubbed in. That's fine by me because I never want my lotion's scent to interfere with my perfume. Heaven forbid. Only thing is, I'm not sure this will cut it once it gets really dry and cold outside. Maybe with continued use, it could be moisturizing enough, but not with just one application for sure.