My Skincare Routine: Morning

I've been thinking about doing more skincare posts lately, but was hesitant. Skincare is such a personal thing; something that does great things for me might do nothing for you, and things that do great things for me right now might not work in a couple of months. But I've had a couple of friends ask me to do more skincare-related posts, and I get complimented on my skin a lot.

I guess I should start off by telling you about how I got to where I am now with skincare. Up until I was about 19 or 20, I could just splash some water on my face, put on any moisturizer with SPF in it, and be set. I didn't get pimples, blackheads weren't a problem, and as long as I used products formulated for sensitive skin, I would be fine. Now, I have to take better care of my skin; it is very dry and can get dull and rough very easily. I get pimples if I don't keep up with my routine and if I don't moisturize enough. I know it's counter-intuitive, but when my face over-produces oil to compensate for being dry, it clogs up my pores and bad things happen. Plus, I still have sensitive skin, so some treatments irritate it.

That being said, I've figured out that if I take really good care of my skin, I can get it back to where it was when I was a teenager and didn't have to think about it. I've found a basic routine that I'm really happy with and that leaves me with supple, baby-soft, clear skin, and none of the products will break the bank. That's not to say that I don't have other products that I rotate in (or that I don't rotate any of these out) based on specific needs, but this is my basic routine.

I like to take baths in the morning, and this works really well in the bathtub, but that's not to say that you couldn't find a way to leave the masks on for 10 minutes during your morning routine if you shower or tend to bathe at night instead.

First, I wet my face with really warm steamy water and scrub it really good with a dollop of Neutrogena's Oil-Free Acne Wash: Redness Soothing Gentle Scrub. I've tried a few different "acne scrubs", and I like this one the best. It's scrubby enough to really get rid of dead skin cells, plus the salicylic acid helps exfoliate chemically. It really does help reduce redness for me, too; not sure how it does that, but it works! After scrubbing for a couple of minutes,  making sure to spend extra time where my pores tend to get clogged with blackheads (for me, that's my nose, chin, and the parts of my cheek near my nose) and where I have dryness (usually near my mouth and between my eyes), I rinse it off and dry my face.

Next, about every other day (every day when I'm having trouble with my skin, less often if I'm pressed for time) I use one of the two masks I've shown here. They are both by Formula 10.0.6, which appears to be made by the same company that makes Bonne Bell. The pink one is Pores be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mud Mask, and I use that if my pores are looking clogged. The orange one is Deep Down Detox Ultra-Cleansing Mud Mask, and I reach for this one if my skin is looking dull. I leave it on for the duration of my bath, and rinse off with warm water.

Next, I pat a couple of drops of 100% pure jojoba oil onto my slightly damp face, neck, and decolletage. I get mine from Trader Joe's and it is very reasonably priced there, although I think you can find this at a lot of health food and natural stores. After the scrub and the mask, the jojoba oil really helps to lock in some extra moisture and make my skin very soft. Before I discovered oils, I was moisturizing several times throughout the morning before applying makeup to try to keep dry patches at bay. Jojoba oil is thicker and will break me out if my skin is not absolutely parched; my favorite face oil is NARS Body Glow II, a monoi oil, and I use this overnight. It is thinner and more delicate than the jojoba oil, so it works well to boost my heavy night cream. Under my lighter day lotion, however, the jojoba oil does just fine for a fraction of the cost, and it only takes a few drops, especially on slightly damp skin.

After the jojoba oil, I use Trader Joe's Enrich SPF 15 face lotion, and after that's soaked in, I am ready for makeup! It's a really basic, gentle lotion, and the SPF is a must for me year round, since I am so fair. It is also incredibly affordable and doesn't irritate my skin at all! I actually reviewed it awhile back here, and I've been using it ever since. If I know I am going to be out in the sun, I either replace this with a higher SPF sunblock, or I wear another sunblock on top of it. If I need a little extra moisture or if my skin looks especially dull even after moisturizing, I sometimes use a little bit of The Body Shop's Vitamin C Skin Boost.

This routine has done great things for my skin. Hopefully this has been helpful for someone; even if your skincare needs aren't exactly the same as mine, I think these products can be used interchangeably with a lot of other routines, so maybe one of these is just the thing that's been missing from your skincare routine!

I'm planning on sharing my nighttime skincare routine in an upcoming post, and eventually get around to doing reviews for each of these products, too! What do you guys do for your skin? Have you found any Holy Grail skincare products?

Ion Color Brilliance Hair Color: 7RR

*BIG SCARY DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional, please do not attempt to dye your own hair based solely on the information given in my blog. Do some research and make sure you have the proper understanding of the process before you attempt coloring your hair at home; I have been lucky enough to figure out something that works for me, but that is after slooowly working my way up through difficulty levels from semi-permanent tints to more complicated systems. And even now, I don't do half as good a job as people who actually know what they're doing, I'm just too broke to pay a salon to color my hair every 6 weeks. So be careful, you can seriously damage your hair if you don't understand how the process works! END OF BIG SCARY DISCLAIMER* 

Hi Guys,

Sorry for being gone for so long! If it's any consolation, I had a really nice vacation and a great birthday :) I'll try getting a couple of pictures from Disneyland up once I get them from my friend and boyfriend... I took absolutely NO pictures while I was away! It was kind of nice to not have to worry about being the one to take pictures!

This is going to be a short post; I did my long post on coloring my hair here.  I used Ion Color Brilliance again, but this time I used 7RR (last time I used 7IR). Now, what's switching out the I for an R do color-wise? It made my hair orange-er as opposed to violet-er, which I prefer. I like coppery auburn leaning reds, as opposed to purple and violet leaning red hair color. The result was very similar to my last effort, though. I also used the cream color this time instead of the liquid, which made it less messy and easier to get from the mixing bowl to my hair, but harder to spread throughout my hair evenly once I got it there... I guess it just boils down to experience and personal preference.

I used two 2.05 ounce tubes and mixed them with an equal volume (so, in this case, 4 ounces) of Ion Sensitive Scalp 30 volume developer, and applied with a hair coloring brush for 30 minutes. If you're curious at all about the supplies I use, please take a look at my last post on hair color. I did the exact same thing I described in that post.

Here's the result:

Tooooo many metal devices to try to keep a fraction of my hair in one spot! 

Pretty vibrant! The color has faded some since thing, which I am ok with; I tend to dye my hair a touch brighter and darker than I want it since red fades notoriously fast. As far as the Ion product goes, I have been happy with it, but it hasn't exactly been a revelation to me; I may do some research and see if there is another comparable product that people like even better (although reviewers on www.sallybeauty.com seem pretty stoked on the Ion product). Why? Well... why not? Although I've been thrilled with the color and it hasn't fried my hair, it doesn't leave it looking especially shiny or healthy (I know, I know, coloring your hair is bad for it... but some hair coloring products leave hair looking healthier than others, and this is pretty middle-of-the-road where that's concerned), and I do see some of the color rinsing out each time I wash my hair. This is normal for the first two or three washes, but not for every single wash. It's not a huge deal, as I don't see any more fading than I have with other brands, but I worry that one of these days I'm going to get caught in a downpour and stain my clothing.

Summary: Would I use Ion Color Brilliance again? Yep! And I have returned to it several times in a row. That being said, it's not reached Holy Grail hair color status for me, and I like trying new things, so I can't promise I'll keep coming back to it.  I have to say I really like this color, though; 7RR is a winner!

NOTD: Essie Breezy Beach

Guess what? Saturday, I am Disneyland-bound! One of my closest friends, my boyfriend and I are all driving down together to celebrate my birthday, and it should be a blast! I am definitely looking forward to having a few days out of town :) The icing on the cake? It's supposed to be about 20 degrees cooler in Anaheim than at home! That's got to be a rarity.

In honor of my trip, I decided to show you the shade I am going to wear! It's Essie Breezy Beach, an opaque in two coats peachy pink with pink-violet shimmer. It wears fairly well and doesn't look awful once it starts chipping, since it's not too far off from my skin tone and nail color. Plus, it's a princess-y pink; it's my perfect low-maintenance Disneyland shade.

It doesn't seem like Breezy Beach is available any longer, and I honestly can't tell you much about it, other than that I bought it on clearance at a beauty supply store in San Jose several years ago. However, wear and application are good!

Sorry about my dinky middle finger... My stupid nail was peeling and the nail polish was lifting. Not the nail polish's fault... I didn't have any chips for a few days with this, which is great for me!

If you enlarge the pictures, you can catch a bit of the subtle pink-violet flash that the shimmer gives this shade!

Essie Breezy Beach; indoor light

Essie Breezy Beach; natural light

Summary: This is a gorgeous pink; I love shades like this, but hate that they're usually sheer. The fact that this is opaque in two coats while still keeping the softness of these types of shades is a win in my book! I don't wear pale pinks very often, but I think this (a recent re-discovery from my copious stash!) is my "new" go-to!

Do you guys ever re-discover things you've owned for years and fall back in love? Or even more in love than you were the first time around?

Now, I'm off to try to finish packing before I head out tomorrow morning for the first leg of our journey... I'm going to spend the night at my friend's house a couple of hours south to break the driving up a little and extend the vacation, should be fun seeing my old high school-era stomping grounds! Hope you guys are all enjoying your summer and are looking forward to a nice weekend!

FOTD: Dusty Mauve

Hi Guys! Sorry for not posting more regularly... In other news, I'm making good progress on projects around the house and schoolwork! I managed to take a few quick pictures of a recent face of the day; I've been in a bit of a neutral rut, but I think this turned out really pretty! I used cooler neutrals, moving away from my usual bronze, gold and coral, and using grey, taupe, and purple instead. I guess that's a bit of a change, right?

Here's the finished result:

And here's what I used:

Face: Clinique Redness Solutions Base (not pictured), NARS concealer, Revlon Color Stay foundation, The Body Shop All In One Face Base, The Body Shop Bronzer in 1, Hard Candy Baked Blush in Pin Up, NYX blush in Taupe, NARS blush in Sin.

Eyes: MUFE Aqua Cream in 2 (from lashline to crease), MUFE Aqua Cream in 13 (blended from crease to eyebrows and into inner corner), Inglot eyeshadow in 363 (dusty mauve-plum) on lid, Pistol (on outer edge of lid), Verve (to highlight inner corner and under brow bone), Busted (on lower lash line), Tease (blended in crease) and Snakebite (blended in center of crease) from Naked 2 palette, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara with Stila Major Lash on top, Prestige brow pencil, and Ulta Brow gel.

Lips: Avon nude mineral lip gloss with MAC lip glass in Richly Revered mixed in on top.

Cheeks!

Eyes open...

Eyes kinda sorta closed... 

Lips

Once again, sorry I haven't been posting more regularly, I promise I haven't forgotten you guys! I think I am beginning to realize how much I was using the blog to procrastinate on other projects... Do you guys find yourselves doing that? It's a way for me to do something fun, but still feel productive.

You also may have noticed my hair color looks fresher! I don't know if you guys are interested in posts about my bungling adventures through coloring my own hair, but I'm planning a post on that at some point in the future. Not as detailed as the last hair color post, though!

NOTD: OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

Sorry once again for not posting as frequently as I intend to... I always think that when I finish up the semester, I will get a lot more free time, and then I remember that I have to attend to day-to-day chores and responsibilities that I'd been putting on hold to finish up papers. Does this happen to anyone else? At any rate, my house is a LOT cleaner now than it was a week ago! :D

Today, I have another OPI The Amazing Spiderman shade to show you. This shade is Just Spotted the Lizard, which is supposed to be a dupe of Chanel's Peridot, a shade that I coveted (along with Graphite!) all last summer and fall... But I held out and never brought myself to drop the money on it, and I'm glad I did, since now both OPI and Jessica have released dupes from that collection. I don't have Peridot to compare Just Spotted the Lizard with, but from swatches I've seen online and from what I remember of swatching it at the Chanel counter, these shades are incredibly close.

Just Spotted the Lizard is a shimmery frost duochrome finish. Because of the shimmer, brushstrokes are not emphasized (woo-hoo!), although any imperfections on the nail are (booo). For instance, I have really brittle nails that peel, so even after layering on the base coat to try to cover areas where one layer of my nail has peeled away, the dip still affects the finish of the duochrome. Oh well, it's a very subtle effect, I just figured I would mention it if anyone else is self-conscious about the condition of their nails and wondering what the deal is. The duochrome flashes between the spectrum of warm bronze and cobalt, but those are the extremes; the predominant colors you'll see on the nail are gold, olive green, and chartreuse. It really is lovely! I kept staring at my nails when I had this on. I got average (for me) wear out of this, a good 2 or 3 days before any significant tip wear or chips showed up. OPI nail polishes retail for $8.50 and come with .5 ounces of lacquer...

This was such a difficult shade to capture on my camera! I've included several photos so you can try to get a more accurate impression of the different variations of color produced by the duochrome effect.


Indoor light:

Natural light (this shows the shimmer effect very well)

Natural light: This is probably the most color accurate photo:

And a close-up; I tilted up my index finger (far left) so you could see the blue/green side of the duochrome when the light hits it from a different angle. This is a fairly color-accurate photograph (although the warmth captured in the last picture above is more representative of what I see in real life).

Summary: This has definitely made me glad I held out and never purchased Peridot; Just Spotted the Lizard is such a gorgeous duochrome (can we call it multichrome at this point?) and the formula is lovely to work with. If you wanted Peridot and never got it, here's your chance! And if you picked up Peridot and loved it, this might still be worth picking up as a backup! I can't wait to re-do my toes and put this on; it'll look great with sandals during the summer.