So my face has been quite sensitive and dry with the changing weather and I've tweaked my facial routine quite a bit and tried on some products but these are the ones that work best for me. For starters I have a normal-combination skin that leans to dry at times. I've had experiences with dry patches on my skin but with using these products for a few months now, my skin has become hydrated and quite normal.
In the mornings, I usually just wash my face with warm water as I have a pretty thorough routine in the evenings and I don't want to dry my skin more with using a light cleanser. I spritz on LUSH Breath of Fresh Air as a toner and then use a moisturizer right after I wash my face. If I wake up with drier face than usual, I use the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream which works wonders in hydrating the skin, but most days I just use the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I let the moisturizer set for a minute or two before I put on any makeup if I will be going out that day.
My evening routine doesn't take a lot of time and a lot of products but I think I've been pretty thorough in cleaning my face and taking care of it that it has worked quite well.
In removing my makeup, I've been using the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes. This is amazing in removing makeup especially if you use waterproof mascaras. I used to use cotton rounds and baby oil or extra virgin olive oil to remove my makeup (and I still do if I run out of the wipes) but I find that it leaves a lot of residue on my Clarisonic brush heads.
For facial cleansers, I use a number of different products depending on how much makeup I have on during the day. For a day which I use such heavy makeup, I use either the Biore Combinatioin Skin Balancing Cleanser or the Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser (not in the photo since I've ran out of it when I took the picture). The Ice Cleanser is my fave among the two mainly because I like the cooling effect it has on my skin when I use it. Both are really great cleansers paired with the Clarisonic Mia. I can't rave enough about the Mia. It is truly the best tool I've ever bought with my money. I swear by it and I still use it every night to cleanse my face (in-depth review on the link above).
For days where I use light makeup, I use the Clinique Liquid Facial Soap. It is mild and gentle on the skin. I also use this with the Mia just to thoroughly rid my face of the makeup no matter how light of a makeup I use that day.
Once a week, I give myself a nice facial massage using the Tony Moly Lemon Seed Massage Cream. I bought this one when I was in the Philippines for Php998 ($24). I use this after I cleanse my face and usually when I'm taking a hot shower so that the steam would help open up my pores. I just massage this on my face for a few minutes before washing it off with warm water. The citrus smell is so relaxing and your face becomes so soft and significantly moisturized after use. I don't know where you can get this product in the US but I'm sure you can find it online.
After all the cleansing is done I just apply the Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream on my face.
For my lips, as they have been dry and chapped too, and after having some allergic reaction to most of my fave lip balms (Burt's Bees and Carmex) I've resulted to using the Aquaphor Healing Ointment on my lips. On the photo above it's the little to-go tube but I've noticed that the one in the big jar is much thicker in consistency compared to the one in tube. I scraped a bit of the one in the big jar into a small container so I can bring it with me everywhere. Aquaphor really helped my lips a lot and I wouldn't have discovered it if my niece who has eczema hasn't been using this on her skin.
Well, this is the end of my return blog post. I hope you ladies find this interesting and useful. As always your comments and support on my blog is greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays everyone!
Oh, before I forget, click on the links for more thorough reviews on some of the products.
