#but part of me wants to switch over to spironolactone and stop the pill….

[brunetterightsactivist]

Telling myself to stop getting so antsy and excited and wait the full year that I’ve been back on the pill for it to fully take effect and regulate itself and then my body and appetite and brain are going to go back to normal lol

[docparker]

My morning/day routine.

Hey guys!

Here’s another post in my skincare journey “series”...that I’m pretty sure no one’s reading, but whatever. I like doing this, so here goes. 

This post won’t be nearly as long as my nighttime routine post will be, since I don’t do as many steps in the morning as I do at night. BUT I’m going to leave links to each product I use for my routine! Just a disclaimer*** I am NOT a dermatologist OR esthetician. I am not an expert. I am just a person who has tried a lot of different products, and this is what currently works for me. Doesn’t mean it will always work, but this is my current go-to process for either prepping my skin for the day or prepping it for makeup application.

BEFORE anything else happens with products, I take a few vitamins/supplements/medications in the morning:

-Birth control pill

-Spironolactone (rx only)

-One-a-Day Women’s Multivitamin

-Cranberry supplement (500 mg) from Up&Up (the Target brand)

-*I also take a probiotic, but I have NOT been consistent with it lately, so I will post separately about it once I get back in the routine...*

Ok...NOW with the actual routine:

1. OIL CLEANSE: Yes. I do oil cleanse in the morning when I have no makeup on. BUT, I believe in oil cleansing both in the morning and when I don’t have any makeup on (which is a lot of days), because it’s not just for removing makeup. Oil cleansing is also for removing the products from the night before, as well as removing pollution, debris, and dirt. Currently, I’ve been using the Boscia Makeup Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil. I like this stuff alot; it get everything off, and when you activate it with water, it emulsifies into a milky cleanser.

2. WATER-BASED CLEANSER: Part 2 of the double cleansing method. I feel like I’ve become more...thorough with this step because even though this is going to be washed off, certain cleanser (i think) make a huge difference. Since I have oily skin that (i also think) gets dehydrated sometimes, I can’t really use a traditional foaming cleanser because those tend to dry my skin out. BUT, using a cream cleanser is also really heavy for my skin. Which is why I LOVEEEEEE the AWAKIIN BEAUTY Charcoal Face Wash. It’s a foaming cleanser that is thicker than your average foaming cleanser. It’s made with charcoal, which is ideal for oily skin, but it’s not drying like other foam cleansers are. 

Also depending on how dry/flaky my face is in the morning, I’ll use my Clarisonic Mia Prima Sonic. But that’s pretty rare; I don’t typically use this in the morning, as I don’t want to over-exfoliate.

Once I’ve finished cleansing, I do not do the traditional patting my face dry! This is important, as this is the GAME CHANGER for my face in terms of softness. I will just use the water that’s on my face from rinsing and use my (CLEAN) hands to pat the leftover water into my skin. I’ve found that this promotes moisture and hydration for my skin.

3. TONER: Now, being that I’m an American, I know that our toners tend to be astringents with lots of cleaning agents and alcohol. But that’s why I opt for more Asian skincare products, because their products promote moisture instead of further cleansing with their toners. In addition, I no longer use a cotton pad for applying my toner in the morning (nighttime is a little different, but different post). Just like after cleansing, I gently pat my toner into my face. Right now I’m loving the Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner, which has aloe and salicylic acid (of course), as well as snail mucin (yes...there is snail secretion in this product; you’ve been warned). I know, I know, snail secretion?? Sounds disgusting, but honestly, you get used to it, and snail mucin is incredibly moisturizing for the skin. The smell kinda reminds me of chlorine in a swimming pool, which I honestly don’t mind. I kinda like the smell of chlorine; reminds me of summer :D. 

4. ESSENCE: For a while I didn’t understand the purpose of an essence. But now that I do, it’s changed my life and skin forever! Essentially an essence (hahahaha...) is a pre-moisturizer. It usually comes in a watery consistency, similar to a toner that I also gently pat into my face. NOW...the technique i use for applying both my toner and essence for the morning and night is the (i think) up and coming 7 skin method. In the morning I only use 4 layers, but at night i use the full 7. I’ll switch back and forth between my toner and essence, applying one layer each until i’ve reached 4 or 7 total layers. I’ve found this helps with moisturizing and hydration A LOT. I could just stop here and just apply sunscreen...but I’m extra, so I’m not doing that lol. The essence I’ve been using is the Fresh Black Tea Kombucha Antioxidant Essence. This sh*t...is expensive. Even though I bought this during Sephora’s VIB sale and got it for 20% off, I still paid a pretty penny for this. But it’s SO WORTH IT! First, it’s smells amazing, second, it’s super hydrating, third, it fights pollution (which we kinda need in California...), and fourth...it has black tea and kombucha!! I’ll make a separate post for this product, because it deserve its own post.

5. SERUM: My serums change up pretty frequently, but for day, I use an actual day serum. I’m currently using the Valjean Labs Facial Serum - Restore w/ Vitamin C and Peptites. Now...for some reason, I couldn't find the link for this product, but I purchased this at TJ Maxx with another Valjean Labs products that I use at night. But I have the link for another one of their serums that also has vitamin c in it. Vitamin C MUST be included in the skincare routine in some way, as it helps with brightening. After my acne attack, brightening is what I need most to help with dullness and discoloration. I haven’t been using this serum for too long, but I like it so far.

6. EYE CREAM/GEL: As someone who doesn't suffer from dark circles or wrinkles/fine lines, eye creams and gels kinda all do the same thing for me. BUT I like how my eye area feels when it’s moisturized and it makes it easier to apply eye makeup, which i do a lot of. So I’m using a sample version of the BELIF Moisturizing Eye Bomb, which I really like. I think I got a sample in a Sephora Play Box, and that’s typically how I use eye creams- through either my Sephora subscription for Allure subscription.

7. MOISTURIZE: I like using lightweight for the day, and an emulsion is perfect for that. Like essence, I had no idea why I would need an emulsion, but being a skincare junkie, i had to find out, and when i found out, i had to buy one...I looked into the SkinFood Peach Sake Emulsion. The things that sold me on buying it was pore care and a peachy smell...yeah. BUT i bought it and was not disappointed. It does smell really nice, but it’s really moisturizing while also being lightweight and a great day moisturizer, as well as another moisturizing step for nighttime. 

8. SUNSCREEN: IF THERE NOTHING ELSE YOU (whoever is reading this ridiculously long post) TAKE FROM THIS, IT SHOULD BE THIS LAST STEP. I don’t care what color/complexion you are, you need to be wearing sunscreen. I can skip serum, essence, toning, but I WILL NEVER SKIP SUNSCREEN! Not only will it help protect from UVA/UVB rays and lower your chance for skin cancers, but it can also help with hyperpigmentation and dark spots since using sunscreen will prevent them from getting darker. I really love the Bare Republic Mineral Face Lotion SPF 30. It has the important ingredients that a sunscreen needs to have, like zinc oxide and titanium oxide (ALL sunscreens should have these ingredients, but not all do. The ones that do are typically more expensive, which is horse $h*t). This sunscreen also has a cool powdery/matte finish that doesn’t like that white, ashy cast on your face. It’s really nice under makeup, and on its own if you’re not wearing makeup.

Soooo...this post was long, but tomorrow’s post on my nighttime routine will probably be longer. Thanks for making it to the end if you did. See you tomorrow! 

<3 Court