Revised Skincare Routine

Hey everyone!

I'm sure you've all wondered where Frantic Fridays and other look posts from me have vanished to. Well, the answer is simple. My skin freaked out on me. My trusted skincare products that never failed? They were all failing! 

That's when I started to search for new products, and most of them just made it worse! Products targeted for combination skin like mine would take away too much moisture and products to rehydrate made my skin look like I'd just stepped out of a sauna. It was aggravation after aggravation.

After a long trail and error process I finally found a combination of products that made my skin feel and look better than I ever thought possible. I wanted to share them with you while my skin finishes recovering from the chaos.

Cleanser:

Origins Checks and Balances and Clarisonic Mia | $21 and $99

I waited a long time to get a Clarisonic. I was afraid that it would be too much for my sensitive skin. Now that I've been using it for a few weeks I feel like a fool for not getting one earlier! I purchased the one speed model, which is perfect for my skin. It deep cleans, but is so gentle I could exfoliate after cleansing if I really wanted to. I find it's not necessary though.

Checks and Balances face wash combined with the Clarisonic is just dreamy. Not only is this cleanser free of all those nasty ingredients, it performs. It gets rid of excess oil, but doesn't overdo it on my dry areas. It does have essential oils in it, and a very distinctive fragrance because of it. I personally enjoy it, but if you're fragrance sensitive keep that in mind. The tube is 5 oz/150 ml and since a little goes a long way it will last for a very long time.

Eye Cream:

Origins Eye Doctor | $36

I don't use eye cream, or at least I didn't. Every single one I sampled I was allergic or overly sensitive to. Even the gentle and organic ones caused problems. When I explained this to the people I was consulting for my new routine every single one of them recommended this product.

This is 10 hours of sleep in a bottle. It brightens, moisturizes, reduces any redness/puffiness, and does not irritate my skin. Even better, after using it for a few weeks I've noticed the early signs of aging around my eyes start to vanish. I haven't noticed any fragrance to this product, and like the cleanser a little goes a long way. A tiny dot of product is enough for both eyes.

Face Mask:

Origins Clear Improvement | $17 to 25

The other night Ashleigh and I sent photos to each other in our face masks since we mask on the same nights. I found it hilarious the one she uses is white and the one I use is black. I don't know why, I just do. I promise the next time she and I get together we'll do a side by side face mask photo, at least if she's up for it!

The first time I used this mask I was terrified. I could feel it working a little too well. Normally when I get that feeling it's my skin screaming S.O.S. and a disaster is on it's way. Not the case with this mask. When I rinsed it off I giggled with how smooth and even my skin was. I hate the smell, and I hate the way my skin feels while it's on, but it works so well I can put up with it. I haven't used this enough to comment on how well it clears pores but I will keep you updated.

Moisturizer:

Origins GinZing | $26.50

Moisturizer for combination skin is tricky. It can't be heavy, thick, or super hydrating. Yet at the same time it can't be thin or over mattifying.

This oil-free light cream moisturizer is just the trick. I can use it AM and PM, alone or under makeup. I don't get too oily or dried out, which as you know just leads to more oil! It does not have an SPF, but as my primer and base products do I'm happy that it doesn't.

The consistency is almost thin enough to be like a gel moisturizer, but it's just a little bit thicker. The smell reminds me of fresh squeezed orange juice. If you want a moisturizer that has extra benefits, like redness reduction or anti-aging this isn't the one for you. It's just your regular, every day moisturizer. It should work for almost anyone though!

~

I'm sure you noticed these products are all from one brand. I had no plans to stick to just one brand or product line. These are just the products that happened to work best for me. As a whole though I really do like the Origins brand and their effectiveness.

That's it for what I'm using now. Once my skin finishes adjusting and I add other products to my routine I will let you know!

~Amanda