Whenever I stare at my face for too long in the mirror, I almost always end up thinking about my unblemished skin as a kid. It guts me to think that when I was young, I was consistently and furiously willing myself to grow older, not knowing how lucky I had it then. Nap times, no stress, and not a pimple in sight. Nowadays, not so much. I still take naps -- granted, I'm ridden with guilt when I inevitably hit the snooze button multiple times. Being stress free is pretty much a foreign concept to me now, essentially just a vague memory of a time in the distant past. And then there's my skin. Quelle horreur!
For so long I blindly navigated my way through the aisles, searching for skincare products and expecting them to do something other deplete my bank account. Although my complexion is far from what it was when I was younger, my skin has gone leaps and bounds after adding these into my routine.
GLOSSIER MILKY JELLY CLEANSER
After having heard so much hype about the brand on social media, I was so excited to visit the Glossier showroom when we were in New York. This cleanser was one of the products that I had heard so much about prior to seeing it in person. It was one of the first things I made a beeline towards when the elevator dinged and opened up to the land black, white, and pink. This minimalist-packaged non-foaming product smells lightly of roses and does a solid job of doing what it's supposed to do as a cleanser. It's not harsh and chemical; it's sweet and simple, and leaves my face feeling soft and smooth.
CETAPHIL GENTLE SKIN CLEANSER
Now not everyone can go all the way to the various Glossier showrooms, and not everyone is willing to pay hefty shipping prices depending on where you live. So a great alternative to the milky jelly cleanser is Cetpahil. I've used this for years and swear by it. Prior to that, I was using various foaming and scrubbing cleansers that upon further research were actually harmful to my skin. I was teeming doubt when I was introduced to Cetaphil -- considering that it was my first time using an almost lotion-like cleanser. How would I know if it was working if it didn't bubble up or sting? Silly me. I just had to trust the goodness of Cetaphil and have been using it everyday ever since.
AZTEC SECRET INDIAN HEALING CLAY
This next bit is truly the greatest game-changer out there. If anyone tells you that you need to sell your non-vital organs to fund your expensive skincare adventure, you can go ahead and spit on their face (not literally, ew). I cannot recommend this enough. It brought my skin out of its horrendous phase and has been healing my face ever since.
Essentially, you mix equal parts of the clay powder and apple cider vinegar to create a mask that you leave on for around 10-20 minutes. You're definitely going to want to peel of as much as you can over the garbage bin instead of washing it all off in the sink. This stuff doesn't clog your pores, but it sure has the capacity to wreak havoc on your drainpipes. As such, after removing what I can by peeling, I take off the rest using a wet disposable wipe.
Also, another pro-tip: apple cider vinegar is one of the most gut-wrenchingly disgusting smells I have ever had the displeasure of sniffing so I tend to mix in a drop or two of honey to offset the smell. Besides that, honey has a so many positive benefits for your skin so it definitely doesn't hurt to add it in the mixture. Plus, I have found that doing so makes the mask crumble and peel from my face easier during the drying process.
Lastly, this product can be very drying on your skin. Anyone that I've ever asked has testified to this and has recommended using strong moisturizers to make sure that your skin doesn't dry out. I've found however, that coconut oil does a great job of countering the dryness. After I remove the mask from my face, I simply do a coconut oil mask afterwards and then shower it all of after.
CLINIQUE PEP START EXFOLIATING CLEANSER
Whilst travelling, it was not feasible in the slightest to lug around the indian healing clay mask, the jug of apple cider vinegar, and the tub of coconut oil. Even if I transferred these products into smaller containers, I would have been anxious all the way through the flight -- thinking about what a gigantic mess I'd have to clean up if that stuff exploded all over my suitcase. The smell itself would likely convince me to ditch the entire luggage at the carousel.
To avoid all that, I nervously decided to try out the travel-sized freebies from Clinique that I had gotten from my grandma earlier this summer. To my surprise, these products worked like a dream and managed to keep my face flawless all throughout the two weeks of being away from home. This cleanser (although not the best smelling) did such a stellar job at removing all the dirt and grime from my makeup and from the outside world at the end of each day/night.
CLINIQUE TURNAROUND REVITALIZING SERUM
CLINQUE TURNAROUND OVERNIGHT REVITALIZING MOISTURIZER
The combination of these next two products consistently left my skin feeling like a dream. During the first night that I tried these, as soon as my skin absorbed the products, I couldn't stop running my hand through my cheek. It was mind-boggling. Where the Pep-start cleanser left my skin feeling bare (in a good way), the serum and the moisturizer returned to my skin any nutrients it may have lost in the cleansing process. These products do lean towards the more pricier side and so I've been very stingy about my usage. Although I love the results, I have still yet to decide if my credit card is willing to take the hit.
CLINIQUE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT MOISTURIZING LOTION
Since the serum and the overnight moisturizer are just tiny samples, I mainly lean on using the full size moisturizing lotion that we have now that I'm back home. Although this product smells almost latex-like and leaves my face feeling sticky at night, it doesn't seem to have an issue with being the base for my make-up during the daytime. Additionally, it does the job of keeping my skin from drying out. All in all, I'd probably consider other moisturizers when this one runs out.
If you're struggling with your skin, I hope this post helps give you an idea of different products that you can try out. By no means am I saying that these products are 100% going to be effective on your skin; I'm no dermatologist after all. However, these helped me out and maybe, they might help you too so consider them as worth trying if you're looking around.
Stay gold,
Kimberly
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