Recently, Sephora did their 15% VIB sale, and I went a little mad by buying some new purchases. I wanted to share with you the things I got, and it's already been a few days since I've been trying them. There are definite loves from this pile, and a few that I'm a little meh about - but the in-depth reviews will come later :)
I thought it was about time to do an updated skincare routine, but this time, dividing the topic into an Evening and Morning part. I decided to start with my Evening Skincare Routine because this is the time I spend the most time taking care of my skin. It's the best time to get your skin to recover and reconstruct overnight, and prep your skin for a dewy start in the morning!
I am currently so happy with my skin and I think I owe it to this routine. By all means, don't take everything I say as something permanent because I especially switch up my skincare, a lot. I think switching up skincare it crucial with hormonal changes, climate change, and whatever else gets in the way!
I wanted this video/post to be a way where we can all share our skin troubles and give each other advices. This is my advice, but leave a comment below and tell us what some of your advices are.
My very first advice for good skin is hydration. I explain it in the video, but for those of you who are more "readers" than "watchers", I'll ramble on here in this post if you don't mind! My skin is combination-to-oily, sensitive, very dehydrated, and acne-prone skin. I call it, the worst of all things put together. I battled with acne and just bad skin all throughout high-school, and then a bit through college. Then I suffered from adult acne and went through Acutane and other laser treatments.
Besides drugging my body with Acutane nothing else seemed to work. I stopped taking medicine for my skin when I saw how much negative effects it had on my body. Since then, I've been trying to find products that work for me.
I've come to the conclusion that my skin behaves well when I feed it water-based, water-infused products. These are products that are not just creams and butter-y products that are heavy and block the pores. I favor products that feel like water in some cream or gel form that hydrates the skin for hours. You can see by the products I talk about, what those products all have in common. Water.
Removing makeup I start by removing my makeup with the all-too-well-known Bioderma Miscellare Crealine H2O. It's simple. Take a few cotton pads. Dap it with this magic water. Wipe your face. Makeup off. Boom!
But here's a note to remember. Don't replace this for a proper cleansing session! You want to let the Bioderma be a preliminary step, and then go on to really washing your face with a good cleanser.
Cleanser I currently use two cleansers on and off. Both I love, both I'm almost done with, and both I will repurchase again! One is the IPKN Pore Refresh Cleansing Foam. Don't care anymore what skincare gurus say about foaming cleansers, because at the end of the day, this particular cleanser gets deeeeeep into my pores and really washes everything out and away! I use this in the morning sometimes too, and I have no trouble with it at all :) The other cleanser is the CliniqueTake the Day Off cleansing balm. The only balm I've used. Seems pretty good. It does the job, takes the remainder makeup off, cleanses skin, makes it feel fresh... what more to say? Toner I'm a toner junkie. If there is something I will never leave out, it is toner. Peeps, do tone your skin. It preps the skin for all that luxurious product you apply afterwards. It cleanses the skin somehow too! I am a total fan of the Mario Badescu toners. All of them, but in particular the Cucumber Cleansing Lotion. I know it says lotion, but don't be put off by it. It is a toner. What I featured in my video though was the Seaweed Cleansing Lotion. Equally good, more gentle because it is for the dry-skinned peeps. It has "witch hazel" that took the skincare blogs by storm! So if your looking for an alternative to the Pixi Glow Tonic you might consider this. But *cough cough* I prefer the Mario Badescu one!
First Level Aqua I have no name for this stage. The product is called a serum, but it feels too light to be anything really. It just feels like water. I call this the "First Level Aqua" because I like to use a really replenishing, hydrating, water-infused product before I begin with proper serums and creams. This is because when a water-infused product lays as the foundation to my other skincare, I find that thicker and heavier products soak in better!!! And that's so important for me. Currently I'm using the ISOI Bulgarian Rose Blemish Serum. All natural, no chemicals, and gel-type serum that feels exactly like water that doesn't drip off. It soaks into the skin in less than a few seconds because the skin loves it. It's like watering a tight skin, and giving it instant satisfaction.
Serum After I lay a good foundation for the skin, only then do I apply a thick oil-based serum. Currently, I am loving the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. When I used this oil serum by itself without a water-based foundation, it did nothing. My skin did not eat it up. But with a good water foundation, this did sink it deeply and I found my skin improving so much. It's helped with the scarring and blemishes and overall good skin quality! As a side note, I also like to use the Mario Badescu Vitamin C serum at times. That also is an oil-based thick serum great for acne-skinned, hyper-pigmented skin types.
Second Level Aqua I am sandwiching products by layering them with water, water, water! I recommend this light-weight moisturizer to everyone! It is the Missha Water Supply Essence. It replenishes the skin, and your skin will love it. That is all. It's just so great, and it is thicker than the ISOI product and lighter than a regular moisturizer so it's that perfect layer to go on top of my serum.
Third Level Aqua - final I want my skin to remain nourished all night. I'm going to finish everything with the thickest and heaviest product. But don't be put off by the sound of "heaviest". It is still a gel and it will help your skin remain bouncy and youthful. It is the Missha Cell Renew Snail Cream. I talk a bunch about this in my last monthly favorites here: May Favorites It's a great finish off!
Eye Cream I either do this at the beginning or at the end. Either way, I like to take care of my under eyes before I regret it later on! I currently using the Kiehl's Avocado Eye cream. Great hydration and not too heavy on the skin!
Some things I want but not necessarily need. I've come to a point where I feel I have enough and that pretty much scares me haha. Either I have too much or I'm growing old. Still yet, here are some things I'd love to try!
Please read this post before all else! Anyway, to continue on from that post I am starting this series of Color Focus posts both on my blog and on my Youtube. I'm going to be finding similar colored makeup and talking about them and what I love about them! The first one up is the PLUM+FUCHSIA category that I adore so much.
Watch the more in-depth video! I show you the swatches here too :)
Products mentioned: (Click on the product to be directed to its relevant blogpost review)
I'm going to start a series of posts that kind of bundle up a few of my makeup products into similar color categories. Of course, there are those midi-colors that are hard to put into one definite category, so if you think they overlap a bit, I hope you'll understand!
Today's post is going to be on one of my favorite lipstick colors. Fuchsia+Plum. So, let's begin with a definition of what the color of fuchsia is: a vivid purplish-red color like that of the sepals of a typical fuchsia flower. (Google)
Here are my top picks! Run your mouse over each product to see the individual in-depth review.
I don't actually think I have an official review of the NARS Funny Face, but in swatches you will see that it is quite similar to the Bobbi Brown Cosmic Raspberry! What attracted me most to the NARS lipstick was that even in the tube, you can detect this really vivid blue undertone, which makes it look more purpley than the Bobbi Brown. Take a look at the pictures down below. You may not see it so much in the swatches, but in the actual picture of the lipstick, you can see the hues I am talking about!
And of course, here are the Swatches:
And after all that, I remembered that I had my Clinique Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony that I also really love!
Please be advised that under different light, these colors can look sometimes darker, redder, purpley, and even pinker. I tried to reflect the different hues it gives off, but because the color fuchsia itself is a mixture of purples and reds, you can imagine how complexly it can develop!
This post is something special and something real. As a student (grad/prof.), time is essential and trying to look decent when you're on the go or out-&-about for 12+ hours, is pretty difficult. I'm going to tell you though how I try to look decent when I'm not around all my makeup collection and I don't have much time on my hands. These aren't necessarily what I'd take with me say on my nights out, or to a date, or etc., Rather, this is especially focused on what a School Girl would carry!
These are ready-to-go products. I have a Renu eyedrop/eye solution for my dry contact lens (especially if you're wearing them all day long!). I also have a fast seeping hand lotion from This Works (an easily trustworthy brand). Next, I have a lip treatment from Nuxe for the harsh winter days. I like to pack on this thick paste and melt them between my lips and voila! They are healed! I also carry around one eyeliner pencil from Urban Decay, their 24/7 glide-on eye pencil. This is for the just-in-case situations where I want my eyes to look more defined (due to eye makeup fading away by the 8th hour). I also bring along a setting brush from Real Techniques to use with my MAC Studio Fix foundation that I use as a touch-up powder. I love this duo. The powder is light but a pretty full coverage. Although it has a sponge, I want to keep the bacteria from piling on the product itself. Also, I don't want to look cakey so I use brush to give a airbrush and natural visage. Next I carry two lip color products. One is the Clinique chubby stick that is so easy to put on and look fresh/nice in! It's a really functional pick-me-up lipstick that also moisturizes. But just in case, for the days you want to look a bit nicer, I carry around an actual full-on lipstick. Currently, I'm back into my NARS Roman Holiday! Finally, I have with me a Travelo perfume bottle where I keep my favorite perfume. I have three of these and I switch around which fragrance to carry around that day. It's a super pick-me-up ritual I think!
I've hesitated a lot about getting a Clinique's chubby stick. Partly because before I got around to trying the originals, I've tried Tarte's and Revlon's version of these lip tint sticks. Tarte I found super moisturizing but very creamy, so much that it transferred a lot on the lip. It didn't feel too tint-y but rather more of a creamy lipstick. The Revlon's kissable lip balms were too drying. I ended up having my lips peel a bit. But, they were both good enough for me. Then I thought I really wanted to try the original chubby sticks.
I think being a student means you don't have time to pamper yourself, especially throughout the day. You may start off the day looking fresh and ready, but as each hour goes by, you see your makeup melt and by the 10th+ hour, you're looking pretty shaggy. I've found that without any lip color, I look so dead! And to apply a full-on lipstick is just way too much of a hassle in school! So, I thought this chubby stick would be perfect to just chuck inside my bag and apply throughout the day.
The pigmentation is sheer but definitely "there". It's not too sheer, which would be meaningless! But it's sheer enough not to worry about how you put it on. I bought the color PUDGEY PEONY #15. It's a plum-pink-red-plum color. It's really natural yet fresh and vibrant. I absolutely love the color!
I find this chubby stick transfers just the right amount of product on my lips. If it's too heavy, that's a no-no for me. Also, it is super moisturizing just as it should be.
All in all, I think this is ideal for students whether you're in JHS, HS, college, or in a professional school. It's so quick, easy, and efficient- meaning, it's a functional beauty product that has an array of beautiful colors that moisturizes and makes you look ready and neat.
Living in New York, blogging about beauty to de-stress from everyday life and nurture the girl within ♥ My love for makeup and all things beauty inspired me to create this blog. Here I share my beauty trends, tips, and reviews.
