For many years, I struggled with acne-prone skin and often still experience quite a bit of acne if I’m not diligent about my skincare routine! I used to think that skincare was ridiculous and that my acne was something I just had to “deal with” rather than trying to find solutions for clearing my skin. When I finally decided to get serious about skincare, it was an entire overhaul of my routine - and despite the extra time this takes, it’s well worth it for the dramatic difference I’ve seen in my skin! So without further ado, onto my top tips for clear skin!
Double (or triple) cleanse
My current cleansing routine: a) use a makeup wipe to remove all of my makeup a couple of hours before bed b) wash my face with a very neutral cleanser and c) wipe my face with a cotton ball soaked in micellar water right before bed. This might seem a little ridiculous but I find that even after my first two cleansing steps, i often still have some makeup on my face! Some of that stuff has really good staying power - which is great when you don’t want your makeup to move, but not so great when you’re trying to get it off! Triple cleansing makes me feel at ease about not having any remaining bits of makeup and gunk on my face before going to bed. (Current faves: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water and CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser)
Have a designated towel for your face!
This might seem like a “no duh” tip but I ignored this tip for ages because I was lazy and I think it really bit me in the butt! Your bath towels touch all kinds of weird, gross places on your body and if you use the same towel to wipe your face, you don’t know what kinds of germs are ending up on your skin! Now, I have a collection of small towels specifically for my face that I change on a weekly basis and I think this has been a huge factor in helping to clear my skin.
Change your pillowcase
Something I never thought about before starting my skincare routine is how gross your pillowcase gets at night! There’s probably nothing else that touches your face as much as your pillowcase so it’s important to change it regularly! I change mine about once a week and have found that to be enough to keep my skin clear!
Clay masks for clear skin!
Although I wasn’t too keen on using masks before, I’ve noticed they make a huge difference in helping to speed up the acne healing process. Nowadays, when i do get a blemish or even feel a bit of acne starting to pop up, I hit it immediately with a clay mask. Clay masks are amazing for helping to dry out acne and pull out all of that gross stuff from your pores! Since clay masks can sometimes be a little drying, I use clay masks as more of a spot treatment rather than slathering it all over my face! (Current fave: Loreal Purify & Mattify Pure-Clay Mask)
Follow the directions on your skincare products
Along with trying different products, it’s important to actually follow the directions on how to use them! As you can probably tell by the general trend of this post, I’ve been pretty lazy in the past and haven’t followed the directions on most of my acne products. Once I actually reading the directions and actually trying to follow them, it made a world of difference! Most of the time, I was caking on way too much product!
Test out a bunch of different products!
I’ve tried about a million and a half different types of cleansing, toning, exfoliating, acne fighting products and after months of trial and error finally have my favorite products (you can check them out below!). This process, however, took ages! Lots of testing out samples, lots of trial and error to figure out what did and didn’t work on my skin! As helpful as it can be to read reviews and see what other people are using, it’s always best to test it out yourself since what works for someone else’s skin type may not work for your skin type.
I hope these skincare tips are helpful! What are your favorite skincare products? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Boxycharm: January 2018
Dr. Brandt: Pores No More Luminizer Primer / Retail $38
I’m a little mixed on the specific formula of this primer (I don’t love glowy primers), but when it comes to receiving primers in subscription boxes, I really can’t say no! I think they’re one of the easiest products to give in subscription boxes because almost anyone can use them and you don’t have to worry about it not matching your skin color. I have an exfoliator from Dr. Brandt that I absolutely love so I know this primer is a high quality one!
It Cosmetics: Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil / Retail $24
I’m honestly so impressed by the brands represented in this month’s Boxycharm. I already love the IT Cosmetics CC Cream and have always wanted to try more of their products, so this brow pencil is perfect! The spooley is incredibly soft and the shade (universal taupe) is a good fit for my brows. I love that this brow pencil isn’t too pigmented since this makes the brow strokes look a little more natural.
Pur: Bronze and Brighten Cheek Palette / Retail $34
This bronzer, blush, and highlighter palette is absolutely beautiful and so pigmented. If you love palettes that are glowy, then this is the palette for you! Although I'm definitely a bigger fan of matte bronzers and blushes, this palette will be absolutely perfect for the summer months.
Grande Cosmetics: Grandelips Hydrating Lip Plumper / Retail $27
This lip plumper doubles as a lip gloss with a little bit of color and claims to improve lip volume in 3-5 minutes. Although it seems like lip plumper are all the rage right now, they just really aren't the product for me. I find that they seem to do very little and are usually in more of a lip gloss formula. This was one of the varied items in this month's box and I would have much rather received the other item, a matte lipstick. This one was a dud for me :(
Crown Pro: Glam Metals Palette / Retail $25
One of my biggest motivators for trying out Boxycharm was the fact that they are known for giving out palettes! I loved receiving this item and seeing what Boxycharm sends out to its subscribers, despite the fact that this really isn’t the product for me.
Products Mentioned:
My overall impression of this month’s Boxycharm is that it really just wasn’t the right theme for me. With a “Rock 2018” theme, most of the products were all about being glowy and glossy, whereas I tend to prefer matte foundation, matte lips, matte eyeshadow - pretty much matte everything. Although this month’s box wasn’t a great fit for my personal preferences, I’m still incredibly impressed with the value of the box and I’m super excited to see what next month’s box has in store!
Fuzzy Green Sweater 😃
Sweater: H&M / Bag: Coach / Flats: Payless / Watch: Charming Charlie's
Shop Similar Items:
I'm packing for a little trip to the east coast next month and plan on bringing every fuzzy sweater I own - including this dusty green one! Winter is an absolutely brutal season for me. Even though I'm used to the weather because I've lived in the Midwest for all of my life, that doesn't mean that I hate the cold any less! Fuzzy sweaters make life a little more bearable because when the forecast says there's a -10 degree wind chill, all I truly want to wear is my onesie, and at least fuzzy sweaters are a little more socially acceptable :)
