My Routine: Beauty

One of my big goals over that last year has been to take better care of myself and get a new beauty routine. I have justified not taking better care of my skin and body because I didn’t want to spend the money on things that I didn’t SEE a difference in. I can appreciate eliminating toxins from the foods I eat and am very adamant about teaching it to Vivi, but toxins I put ON my body, I’ve pretty much neglected. In the past, I have spent the least amount of money on beauty products because truthfully, I don’t know if they will actually work which is all nice and frugal, but it meant I never even tried to take care of myself in this way. I had to change my mindset a bit here. Instead of changing to expect a result, I changed because I’m smart and I can reason that the ingredients I was putting on my face were not great. The products I’ve incorporated into my new routine have great ratings and I can spell all the ingredients. I still want results but my pessimistic attitude and the singular focus of results wasn’t a factor to change. And the good news? I am seeing some results!! 🙂 

Before I tell you what my routine is, I’ll share some tips for figuring out your own routine. I have literally been trying different products for a year now and can tell you which ones I liked and which ones I didn’t.

1. Travel sizes – Lots of companies have sample sizes which was how I was able to try lots without breaking the bank. Because many natural products are more expensive, it’s definitely worth it to test before you invest too much.
2. Read reviews – This was super helpful because you could hear how people with your skin type like the product or how long to expect it to take to see results.
3. Start with the basics – There are a THOUSAND different products you could by. Do I really need a primer and oil and lotion and toner and… I read an article and wish I had save it to share that basically said what I need for my age and when to use different products.
4. Mix and match – At first, I tried a line of products at a time. But I realized I didn’t really need to spend a ton on face wash and scrub so I went with a less expensive but still natural option.
5. Don’t get sticker shock just yet – I spent over $60 on two of the products in my new routine BUT they last a LONG time. 6-9 months. Also, Honest Beauty does a bundle if you do a subscription so a $34 product ends up being more like $16 each which made it doable for me. I’m stockpiling now with the subscription and going to cancel once I have a supply for a while.
6. Date your bottles – Write somewhere on the product when you first started using it so you can see how long something will last you. It will help you figure out how much you’d need to budget long term.

OLD ROUTINE:

Morning:

• Wake up, do nothing
• Aveeno tinted moisturizer, then makeup

Night:

• Cetaphil Face Wash
• Clean & Clear acne moisturizer (like a teenager! ; )
• Off brand body wash from Target
• Any brand shaving cream
• Dove or Pantene for hair

NEW ROUTINE:

I REALLY hope this info is helpful and not overwhelming!! You have to figure out what will work for you so I certainly don’t recommend you getting all these products, but I thought it’d be cool to share what I am finding has worked for me.

Morning:

• Perricone MD Intensive Pore Minimizer (Toner) – I always link to Amazon if they have products because of Prime but Sephora carries for the same price if you are a Beauty Insider. ; )
• One Love Vitamin C Serum – Truth, I tried One Love Organics Skin Savior and didn’t like it! I might be the only person on the planet, but it was too greasy for me! I am loving this serum though!! I also loved their Morning Glory Serum but it was too pricy to use continuously without seeing my change.
• Honest Beauty Everyday Moisturizer – I’m pretty obsessed with this stuff. I LOVE how light this feels on my face especially after the Vitamin E serum. 
• Honest Beauty Cooling Eye Gel – I haven’t tried this yet but got this in my bundle to try in anticipation of many sleepless nights to come! 😉

Night:

• Acure Facial Cleansing Creme – I personally like washing my face with a creme than a gel, but they have both!Also, you can find these at Target and Whole Foods but they are much cheaper on Amazon! Acure is one of the most affordable options I have found for natural products. I didn’t love their shampoo and conditioner though. 
• Acure Brightening Facial Scrub – I use this 2-3 times a week and it might be the highlight of my day putting face lotion on after I’ve exfoliated. It feels sooo soft.
• Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Eye Treatment – This has a nice tingling feeling. I wish I had taken a before and after picture because I think it’s working but haven’t been able to tell for sure!!
• Honest Younger Face Deep Hydration Cream – I used to skip my nightly routine a lot but now, I genuinely love how my face feels after so I never skip anymore! This cream is thicker than the HB morning cream which I like for night time.
• Dr. Teals Milk & Honey Epsom Salt – This old achy pregnancy body is obsessed with my nightly bath. It helps my muscles and this smell is my favorite. I have no idea why, but Amazon sells this for TWICE as much as Walmart or Target so heads up!
• Beauty Counter Body Wash – Love the smell and feel of this and no more bumpy arms! (Order through this gal if you can! I love her periscopes on Beauty Counter products!)
• Beauty Counter Shaving Cream – If you are prone to razor burn, this is definitely worth a try too! I never have little red bumps on my legs anymore!!
• Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Shampoo and Conditioner, PhD 5-in-1 Styling Treatment and Prime Style Extender Spray – I can’t say enough good stuff about these. I can literally go 7 days without washing my hair!! Before I was able to go 4 or 5 days. This is a godsend with super long, thick hair that takes forever to style. And it’s totally worth the cost since I’m using so infrequently. Side note: I don’t love a lot of product newsletters, but did sign up for Living Proof for a while. They offered tons of free samples when you spent a certain amount so after doing the trial and deciding to get the regular size shampoo and conditioner, I have been able to try other products! Also, they have a test that you can take to help you figure out what products you need based on what you want to fix.

Side note: If you buy any of this online, definitely make sure you are signed up for Ebates. They have 4% money back for Sephora, 4% for Living Proof, 2.5% for Beauty Counter and 2% at Target. If you are like me, you want healthy skin but wouldn’t mind being frugal about it! 😉

I’d love to hear some of your favorite natural products and what other routines you’d like to read about!