nightshade--witch

[nightshade--witch]

I'm either always getting compliments on my skin or being accused of lying about not wearing foundation. So I'mma just going to share with the internet the bullshit routine I have.

I'll start with water. Oh yay, the thing that everyone tells you to do but it doesn't seem to help. Just fucking drink your water. Your lips are gonna thank you and your wallet won't cry every time you have to buy another $4 lip balm because you lost yours for the hundredth time. Cool. Done. Drink.

Cleansing. Do it at least once a day, twice preferred. I'm bad, I only do it when I shower unless my face is feeling very grimey. I have combination/dry sensitive skin. Though, more dry than anything. If I use too many oil-based products I break out, too many drying products and it looks like I got a chemical peel that wants to last a week. I have to be careful will mismatching products otherwise my skins gets pissy with me. I found that using an oil-based cleanser to get rid of makeup when I do wear it and a regular foaming cleanser for oily skin does the trick. This gently strips away any excess oils on your face. If you do choose to do this and you also have dry skin you HAVE to moisturize. Otherwise, your skin will just dry up even more. I use Cerave’s Foaming Facial Cleanser that you can pick up at Walmart. It doesn’t make me break out like so many other cleansers I’ve tried either, though it doesn’t do very well at removing makeup so keep that in mind.

Exfoliation. Dear god, everyone is so harsh on their face it hurts me. Your face is delicate! Be gentle! I only exfoliate when I feel like I’m going to break out, or at least once a week. I use Tatcha’s Deep Cleanse because it’s so gentle and I apply it using Tarte’s Star Brush (you could use any brush, I got this as a gift), If you’re combining exfoliation things, like an exfoliation liquid with an exfoliation tool, be extremely gentle. You don’t need to push down hard, it’ll make your face red and irritated. Your goal is to scrub away the dead skin, not the fresh skin underneath. Be nice to your face. You can also make your own exfoliation scrub (I do all the time). Personally, I just do a spoonful of sugar, a spoonful of honey, and occasionally some cinnamon or baking powder. I’m harsh on my lips because they flake all the time, but I do use it to srub the rest of my face. Don’t use a tool if you do this, you’ll scratch your skin instead of exfoliate. 

Toner. It depends. I think toners are more for people with oily/acne-prone skin. I use a toner once a week after I exfoliate. If you have dry skin, you might just wanna ditch it altogether. Again, your face is delicate. Treat it as such. I use some Walmart bullshit thing that I can’t even find online. It’s orange and smells like shit, that’s all I know.

Essence/Treatments/Oils. I like these; Serum A, Essence, Serum B, and Oil. I only use the oil about once a month, everything else I use when I feel like I need it. Only a small drop of each one is all you need, just barely enough to feel like you put some on every part of your face. It should feel like you just came out of the shower, dried your face, but your face still feels a tad bit damp because of the steam. If you put too much, you might break out or make your face oily.

Masks. I used to not use masks often. I do now because it really helps everything from before set in nicely and does its job. Personally, I like sheet masks because all it is is just more essences for your skin to absorb. Once that wipe or peel off are nice, but use them before toner and don’t exfoliate. I haven’t found once set one that I personally really like and have gone back to buy said specific one again, so feel free to experiment. I always go for collagen ones, but mask wise it’s entirely up to whatever you want out of your skin. This is another thing you can make yourself, I do a bit of food-grade dark cocoa powder and a small splash of whole milk to make it into a thick paste, and just slather it on your face and leave it until it’s completely dried. Makes your skin very soft :)

Moisturizer.  I’ve tried a lot of different lotions and I have to say, I do have a few different favorites. I’ll start with one that I liked, but stopped using it because I found better ones. Tarte’s Drink of H2O was pleasant but somewhat pricey. It worked well, didn’t dry out my skin, but it wasn’t enough moisture for my skin. I then found Cerave’s Moisturizing Cream that I still use and love. You can get it at Walmart or even Amazon for really cheap, you get a ton of it, and it works wonders. It does feel very thick so I usually only use it at night, but it does set VERY well under makeup. Just let it dry up a bit first. My absolute favorite moisturizer is definitely Tatcha’s Dewy Skin Cream. Dear god does it work. It doesn’t feel sticky or thick, it dries fairly quick. You only need so little that the little travel size that I got I haven’t even dented and I’ve had it over a month. I only need to do my skincare routine once every three days (I cleanse every day) because of their stuff. VERY expensive but so worth it. Because I don’t need to do an entire skincare routine every day, I’m actually saving money because I’m not having to refill my stuff every month.

Finally, Night Cream. I use another Tatcha product once a month and some other Walmart bullshit item that I randomly picked up that I can’t find online again. It’s made of donkey’s milk (lol) but feels good. You have to wash it off in the morning though. I like night creams because of the extra boost of moisture but once again, I found that using them every night just made my skin more oily than anything else. Less is more.

I’m slowly switching over to Tatcha products because they work really well for me, but due to their price, I’m usually only able to get an item every other month. I work a minimum wage job but I make tips, so I use that to get myself some nice things when I can. So, no, I’m not rich by any means. I just save my spare coins and wait a long time. 

I also want to mention this is just what works for me, and it might not work for you. Everyone is different, just experiment until you find something that works for you. 

For those who are young and don’t have a job and whose parents don’t want to blow $100+ on skincare products, you would be surprised at how well cheap little things work. Everyone starts small, and it’s okay. Do your research on good, cheap products and find something that you think you might like. It’s what I did, and it’s what a lot of others did. It’ll help you discover what works on your skin and what doesn’t so that you’re not wasting money on expensive products that may or may not work. For example, experimenting with cheaper supplies helped me discover that I have very sensitive skin and that anything with citrus in it will burn me. (Don’t forget to test new things on the inside of your wrist and wait 24-48 hours before applying to your face. I’ve saved myself from so many rashes by doing this).

Good luck to all, hopefully I helped some.