A Simple and Effective Skin Care Routine

What do you do for skin care? This is a question that I regularly hear and read. Not just being directed at me, but at many other bloggers and celebrities. I see it with friends and family and at the hair salon. There are Facebook groups dedicated to skin care and beauty editors that do nothing but research and test the latest in skin care.

Why is skin care always such a hot topic? Because the majority of the world wants skin that is clear of acne, devoid of visible pores, without a single wrinkle and overall perfect, yet most of us don’t have that. We are always searching and seeking out a miracle product to give us everything we want in our skin and unfortunately that just doesn’t exist. Unless you are under the age of 10, good skin takes WORK! A good diet, exercise definitely helps, reduced stress and of course a quality skin care routine.

Now I can’t help you in the first few categories, but I can tell you what has been working for me lately in my skin care routine. But first, let me give you a little back history. I have had acne since I started my period at the early age of 11. BOOM! Thanks puberty! Everything started happening all at once for me. I was your typical teenage girl trying everything the face wash aisle at my local Wal-Mart had to offer. I tried Proactiv. I went to the dermatologist and got a prescription that made my face so dry and red it was unbearable. I went on birth control to keep the hormonal acne at bay. Still, it persisted. Add to that that my skin is also incredibly sensitive and is usually way oily or dry and itchy (depending on the weather conditions and my diet), but rarely in the in between.

Over the years, I gradually started to learn my skin. This is a thing y’all. I read an article once that said to be a “skin whisperer”. It sounds like something silly and made up, but it is totally legit and something we should all focus on. Skin care isn’t one size fits all because humans aren’t! We all have different genetics, we live in different climates, we live different lifestyles. We should not all use the same skin care, and probably will change up our own routines many times throughout our lives as our skin changes.

Finding a good set of products is key. Do you need to use the exact same products in the exact order each morning and night. NO! I usually don’t add a moisturizer at night because my skin gets oily as I sleep, but I will sometimes if my skin feels dry or irritated. Add to that, I may skip my acne clearing Vitamin C serum that night for the same reasons. My morning routine is my skin renewal serum and moisturizer. I may add my skin clearing serum either in spots or all over if I feel a breakout coming on. Be a skin whisperer! Pay attention to what your skin needs and have an arsenal of quality products at your fingertips and you are well on your way to achieving the skin of your dreams! Now I want to break down my favorite products with you and tell you my typical routine.

Routine:

At night, I wash my face with my Cera Ve cleanser, then follow up first with my Eva Naturals Skin Clearing Serum then my Origins Skin Renewal Serum. 1-2x weekly I will use my Origins Clear Improvement Face Mask before adding my serums. Usually, I use moisturizer on those nights I do the mask.

In the morning, I wash my face again with the Cera Ve and use the Origins Skin Renewal Serum followed by my Origins Matte Moisturizer, it makes the BEST foundation for makeup!

The products:

I came across the Eva Naturals Skin Clearing Serum after heavy research. I had just received a free sample of a Sunday Riley serum (that costs $100 per ounce!). I loved the product, but knew I would not pay that much for a serum. I couldn’t really. I did research on serums with similar ingredients and found this $14 gem! I have been using it for 3-4 years now and credit it for a lot of my skin improvement. The vitamin C solution has even helped with some of my acne scarring!

The Matte Moisturizer was the first of the Origins products I tried. I was stuck in a rut with moisturizers. Either they were TOO moisturizing for my skin, leaving it oily, or they broke me out or in some cases were not moisturizing enough. I went to Sephora and got about 10 different samples of products to try. I went through them all and the last sample was the Origins Matte Moisturizer. I fell in love immediately, but kept trying it for a few days to make sure. It won because my skin felt so soft, supple and moisturized after using it, but not tacky at all!

Next was the Origins Skin Renewal Serum. I sent my husband to Sephora in December to grab me a refill of my moisturizer. He came home all proud of himself and showed me the gift set box that came with trial sizes of other Origins products for the same price as the moisturizer alone. Little did he know that little win would cost more in the end because I fell in love with another one of their products! This serum is perfect for ladies like me who’s skin is in transition. Not exactly young and supple anymore, but not fighting wrinkles yet either. It promotes cell turnover and helps shrink pores. Yes please!

After falling in love with two Origins products, I decided to go investigate what all they had to offer. There were so many things to choose from, but I picked up the Clear Improvement charcoal mask. It was at a great price point and I knew I benefited from charcoal masks in the past. This one is by far my favorite! First off, it goes on so smooth and easy. Secondly, it doesn’t over dry my skin or make it turn red like a lot of masks I have used in the past. It also makes a great spot treatment!

The last product I added is my face wash! I was in a bit of a rut with that as well. I just didn’t feel like the one I was using at the time was deep cleaning well enough and others I had used in the past made my skin red. I always heard great things about Cera Ve in general, but never jumped on the bandwagon. Growing up it was all the Clean and Clear this girl could get her hands on. No way would this plain ole face wash help my skin. Oh, but it does! I’m so happy I finally tried it. My skin is completely clean and not dried out or irritated after I use it.

Skin Care can be so tricky, but I hope this post can help at least one person in their journey to better skin. Let me know what you think in the comments below or you can reach out to me on Instagram!