Hey friends! It’s been a while. How have y’all been?
I wanted to do a post that’s a little different from my usual – and that’s skincare! This is a bit of a long post, so grab a cup of coffee or a snack and let’s get to it!
If you asked me if I had a skincare routine six months ago, I would have laughed and asked, does washing your face count? My college roommate became obsessed with skincare a while back and tried to get all of the housemates into it as well. For so long, I thought I didn’t need any skincare products – that my skin was fine. However, a few months ago I decided to just try it out.
I think the reason why I was hesitant to get started in skincare was that it seemed like a very expensive hobby. However, it doesn’t have to be at all. There are plenty of very affordable products out there that are still great quality! I’ll share with you the products I’ve been using for a few months now and my daily routine.
This was the very first skincare purchase I made per the recommendation of my roommate. In her words, “it’s one of the best toners ever that’s affordable.” I think she would also say that toner is one of the most important parts of your skincare routine. Toners contain acid which kill all the bacteria and dead skin cells, making room for new skin cells. I originally got this to help get rid of white heads on either side of my chin. This toner completely got rid of all of them in just a few weeks! I was so impressed. The first time I used it I thought it smelled kind of bad, but I think it’s because I wasn’t use to the acidic smell. Now I don’t think it smells like anything. I also noticed a bit of redness and irritation whenever I applied my moisturizer or foundation when I first started using it, but after I used it for a while, the redness went down. I would 100% recommend this product to anyone just starting to get into the skincare realm.
2. Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser
I’ve only been using this for about 2 weeks, but I like it so far! I had previously been using Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser. The texture of the cleansers themselves are similar. The only thing I don’t like about Milky Jelly is that it doesn’t foam like the Neutrogena one; however, that isn’t a big deal. This was another product my roommate raved about.
3. Peach & Lily Citrus-Honey Aqua Glow Moisturizer
This moisturizer is so good for such a great price! It smells so good and leaves my skin feeling soft and glowy. I highly recommend this product! When I first started learning about skincare, I thought that if you had oily skin, you wouldn’t need to use moisturizer, because it would just make it worse. However, my roomie informed me that the reason your skin is producing oil is because it isn’t getting enough moisture, so if you start using a moisturizer, the oiliness will stop. WHO KNEW?!
4. OLE HENRIKSEN Transforming Walnut Scrub
This scrub exfoliates and cleanses pores and smells exactly like cookies!! I absolutely love this scrub. It leaves my face feeling clean and evens the texture of my skin.
I’m absolutely obsessed with the Truth collection from OLE. These products are enriched with vitamin C to help brighten, firm and make skin look younger. All of their Truth products smell like creamsicle! It comes in a pretty small bottle, but you use a very small amount each time, so it will last a long time.
6. OLE HENRIKSEN C-Rush Brightening Gel Crème
Another item from the Truth collection, this product provides 24 hour hydration while brightening skin as well. I got this as a sample with my points from Sephora (only 100 points to redeem) and have only used it about a week, but it’s OLE and from the Truth collection, so what’s not to love?
This portable pen spot treatment can reduce redness and the size of acne in as little as three hours! I’ve used it several times and have seen a noticeable difference in the size of my acne. This can be used 3x a day.
8. Mario Badescu Aloe Moisturizer
My roommate gave this to me when she was minimizing her own collection. It is more creamy than most gel moisturizers I use, but I still like the way it feels on my skin.
OKAY… Now on to my daily routine! With skincare, you should have a morning and nighttime routine. I’m no expert, so I probably don’t do everything perfectly, but this is what has been working for me!
Morning routine:
- If I shower in the morning, I use Cetaphil Gentle Foaming Cleanser. If I showered the night before, I start with the OLE HENRIKSEN Truth on the Glow Cleansing Cloths or Stay Balanced Oil Control Cleansing Cloths.
- I follow that with the OLE Balancing Force Oil Control Toner. Simply wet a cotton round and apply in an upward circular motion all over your face.
- Next, I apply the OLE Truth Serum all over my face, followed by the OLE C-Rush Brightening Gel Crème.
- I then apply the Peach & Lily Citrus-Honey Aqua Glow Moisturizer all over my face. You only need about a pea-sized amount to get full coverage.
- If I need a spot treatment, I use Glossier’s Zit Stick.
This only takes me about 10 minutes to do my whole routine and I’m ready for the day!
Nighttime routine:
- If I’m not showering that night, I use Glossier Milky Jelly as my cleanser. Simply wet your face with lukewarm water and apply one pump of the cleanser thoroughly on your face in upward circular motions. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry with a clean towel.
- I use the OLE Transforming Walnut Scrub 2-3x a week. Wet your face with lukewarm water and apply a small amount and gently rub into your skin, exfoliating in areas that need extra attention, like around your nose and chin. Be careful not to scrub too hard as the micro beads can rip off good skin cells too. Rinse with lukewarm water and pat dry.
- Next, I apply the OLE Balancing Force Oil Control Toner, the same as the morning.
- I generally use the Mario Badescu Aloe Moisturizer at night.
- I finish with the Zit Stick if I need spot treatment.
That’s it! I love starting and ending my day with my skincare routine. It de-stresses me and gets me ready for the day or for bed.
I also wanted to share some ways to save money when buying skincare.
- For Peach & Lily, use code: SHARE10 for $10 off any order.
- For OLE HENRIKSEN, use my referral URL to get $15 off when you spend $30: https://refer.olehenriksen.com/s/anhampton96
I hope you enjoyed this post. I know it’s a little different from my usual posts, but it’s something I’ve really been enjoying lately, so I wanted to share it with y’all! If you have any questions, just comment below!
Thanks for stopping by!
Alyssa
P.S. if you want more skincare product reviews/suggestions, go follow my roomie on Instagram!
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