Skin Care Routine

Skin care is so incredibly important, but I think it gets overlooked by a lot of women. I don’t know about you, but I always find myself splurging on new makeup, but then being stingy when it comes to buying skin care products. I quickly realized that if I wanted to have a beautiful canvas to apply makeup onto, I needed to take better care of my skin, starting with my skin care routine.

If your skin isn’t healthy, your makeup application will not be as smooth and flawless as you would like it to be. All of the beauty gurus I love take amazing care of their skin and that is why their makeup application looks so incredible. It is important to invest in high quality products that have ingredients in them that actually do what they claim to do. I have found a nighttime skin care routine that works super well for me, so if you want me to let you in on my secrets, keep reading!

My Nighttime Skin Care Routine

Products I use:

Step 1:

The first thing I do is pump a few drops of the Clinique Cleansing Oil into my hands. I rub the oil into my dry skin, and it dissolves all the makeup on my face. I rub it into my skin as well as my eyes to remove all of the makeup from my skin and eye area. Once I feel like I have worked the oil into my skin, I rinse my face with warm water. All of the makeup is removed from my face and eyes at this point.

Step 2:

The cleansing oil leaves an oily residue on my face, so I always wash my face with my Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant afterwards. I sprinkle some of the powder into my hand, mix it with water and apply it to my face in circular motions, avoiding the eye area. This face wash is amazing because it is an exfoliator, but it is gentle enough to use daily.

I was struggling with break outs along my jaw line and I had a professional makeup artist suggest this face wash to me. She told me it would help prevent break outs and it has truly helped! This doesn’t have the most pleasant scent, but it does the job and that is all that matters. Once I rinse my face with water, my skin feels silky smooth.

Step 3:

I have never personally gotten a chemical peel before, but I know that after all of the peeling is said and done, the benefits of a peel are absolutely incredible. They leave your face glowing, hydrated, and very refreshed. When I was at Ulta, I saw these face pads that claimed to minimize pores, wrinkles and fine lines. Sign me up for anything of that nature! I liked the idea of getting similar chemical peel benefits from these little pads that you can use at home.

I use these pads 3 times a week. You rub it all over your face, neck, and the top of your hands (random, I know!) and leave it on your skin for 3 minutes. It tingles a bit but it is nothing too intense. After 3 minutes is up, you rinse your face, neck, and hands with water. You are left with brighter, tighter looking skin! After using this product, your face lotion is able to sink into your skin even deeper, and your skin looks and feels so soft and hydrated.

I love using these the night before I fake tan because I feel like my skin is 10x more exfoliated than normal, and my tan looks much more even on my face and neck. These little face pads are seriously amazing! I would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to really step up their skin care routine.

Step 4:

After my face is completely dry, I dab on my eye cream with my ring finger. I start applying my eye cream to my under eye, and I work my way around my eye up to my brow bone. I have been using this eye cream for a couple of years, and I have already noticed a huge difference in my under eyes. I have less fine lines, and my concealer never looks cakey because this eye cream is super hydrating. I have tried many different eye creams over the years and I keep repurchasing this one.

Step 5:

Next I apply my face cream. This may sound stupid, but I used to use a face cream that was in a jar, but every time my fingers reached in to get the product, I would have so much of the product go underneath my nails and I felt like I was being so wasteful! #FirstWorldProblems.

Anyway, I was determined to find a face cream that was in a bottle that I could squeeze into my hand. I did some research and came across this Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance. I have very dry skin so I wanted to find something that would be hydrating enough for skin type. I am happy to report that it checks all the boxes for me! This bottle of lotion will last me a very long time because you only need to use about a pea size since a little goes a long way, and it comes with 3.4 oz of product!

I don’t know what it is but Dermalogica products are not known for their good scents. This lotion does not have the most pleasant smell at first, but it goes away as soon as it sinks into your skin. Every morning when I wake up, my face still feels so nice and smooth from applying it the night before.

Step 6:

Most of the time, I end my nighttime skin care routine after step 5, unless I have a breakout on my face. I found this Mario Badescu Drying Lotion years ago and I swear by it. Anytime I have a breakout, I dip a Q-tip into this drying lotion, and dab it directly onto my problem area. This stuff will dry out your break out and it seriously works magic while you sleep. It is VERY drying so if you have dry skin like me, use it sparingly.

Once again, this has a very strong odor, so don’t be surprised by that. Whenever I come to bed with a dab of this on my face, my husband says every time without fail “do you have that pink stuff on your face again???” It seems like the products that work the best don’t always smell the best, but I would MUCH rather use products that do the job than use things that smell great and don’t do anything to benefit my skin. Also, I think it is a good sign when these products aren’t super fragrant because it means there aren’t artificial ingredients being added to my products. The more natural the better!

That is the end of my nighttime skin care routine! I have been using these products for awhile and I love each and every one of them for many reasons. My face always feels so clean, exfoliated, and hydrated before bed which is very important to me. I am trying my best to take great care of my skin, and I know this nighttime routine has been helping a lot!

If you have any questions about any of the steps I take or products that I use, please leave me your questions in the comment section below! If there are any must have products in your skin care routine that I am missing out on, let me in on your secrets!

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Photo Credit: Lauren Eichar

Today I want to update you on what skincare products I have been loving this winter! As you may know, I have extremely dry skin, so it is important for me to find products that help give my skin a lot of moisture and hydration in the cold winter months. I shared my nighttime skincare routine last year on my blog, and I still love and use those products, but the products I am sharing today are specifically designed to help my skin retain as much moisture as possible this winter. Without further ado, here is my winter nighttime skincare routine.

Products I Use:

Step one: Cleanse the face

I use the Purity cleansing gel every night to wash my face. This is the best face wash I have found because it takes off ALL of my makeup including hard to remove mascara, and it is very gentle on the skin. My face always feels soft and fresh after I use it, and it never feels dried out.

Shop face wash:

Step two: Apply face polish

After my face is clean, I apply this Pixi Peel & Polish on my face (only use 2-3 times a week). This product is like an at home spa treatment! You apply the polish to your face and neck and let it sit for about 2 minutes, and then you wipe it off. This product helps resurface your skin to give you a healthy looking glow!

Shop face polish:

Step three: Apply TULA Resurfacing Gel

I apply a couple of pumps of the TULA Pro Glycolic pH Resurfacing Gel to a cotton pad, and apply it all over my face. This product is a toner that helps exfoliate the skin and leaves it looking brighter and more hydrated. An exfoliating product is an absolute must have in my winter skincare routine. It is important to get the dry, dead skin off of your face! Your makeup will lay so much nicer on your skin when you have soft, exfoliated skin, rather than dry and flaky skin.

Shop resurfacing gel (Use code JOYFULLYSTYLED for 20% off any TULA product):

Step four: Use eye cream

Using an eye cream is one step that should never ever be skipped in a nighttime skincare routine. The skin around our eyes is so thin and is therefore prone to fine lines and wrinkles, so we need to protect that skin every night before we go to sleep. I love this Kate Sommerville firming eye cream because it is made to firm and tighten the skin under our eyes which in turn reduces fine lines and wrinkles.

Shop eye cream:

Step five: Apply night oil

No joke, this stuff is magical! I apply this Luna sleeping night oil to my face at night and I wake up with plump and glowing skin…it’s incredible! Before I purchased this I read a ton of reviews on it since it is a pricier product, and everyone said this oil is amazing and worked immediately for them. I can now say that I agree with all of the reviews because this oil is the BEST. If you have dry, dull skin, I promise this oil will change your life.

Shop night oil:

Step six: Apply moisturizer

When I don’t apply my face oil, I opt for a face moisturizer instead. This TULA hydrating day & night cream is my all time favorite face moisturizer. It gives you the right amount of moisture and hydration without making your face feel greasy. This face cream soaks into your skin instead of just laying on top of the skin. This face cream is a must have for me!

Shop face cream (Use code JOYFULLYSTYLED for 20% off any TULA product):

Step seven: Add drying lotion to any blemishes

After my face is all prepped and ready for bed, the last thing I do is add a dot of the Mario Badescu drying lotion to any blemishes I have. This drying lotion does what it says…it literally dries out any breakout on your face, so make sure to use it sparingly. You just need to dip a q-tip in the drying lotion and just put one dot over the blemish. This works so quickly- I have seen blemishes disappear overnight with this stuff! Just make sure you don’t put it anywhere on the face that you don’t need it; you don’t want to dry your skin out, you just want to dry the little blemishes out.

Shop drying lotion:

I hope you got some new tips, tricks, and ideas to add to your nighttime winter skincare routine! It is so important to take care of your skin, and it’s especially important to take care of it in the wintertime when the weather is dry and cold.

Because of this skincare routine I have been following for the past few months, my skin looks and feels bright, soft, and exfoliated. I know that people with dry skin can have a hard time making their makeup look flawless because their skin can look flaky or patchy underneath their makeup, but if you follow the above steps, your skin will be healthy and glowing, which in turn will make your makeup look even better.

Please let me know if you have any must haves in your winter nighttime skincare routine that I didn’t mention!

Photo Credit: Joan Fisher

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