My New(ish) Skincare Routine

So I Recently got into a new skincare routine and have been seeing amazing results! I'm really big on staying away from sketchy chemicals that may be carcinogenic (cause cancer) or are harmful to my body in other ways. However, I still want my skincare to work (& I don't want to be throwing stuff on my face that may be 'good' for me but have no benefit for my skin). So off I went to Lush!

I used Lush skincare a few years back (I mean I've gone from Lush, to Dior, to Aloette, to Nude - and plenty of other skincare lines in between that I'm definitely forgetting). So what sparked this sudden turn around to Lush (aside from the fact that you can read and understand EVERY ingredient in their products and why it is there)? I was actually stuck in the Orlando airport a couple weeks ago and decided to stop by the shop and have a little chat to pass the time. Next thing you know I was sitting in a chair with a mask on my face and a hand massage. I loved the products but I settled for a toner and a sample of a moisturizer and was on my way. I don't like sampling products just to get some free stuff - I will typically buy something if I try it and I like it.

Just a little background on my skin. I used to have amazing skin (but seriously). I never had a single blemish, blackhead, or any other 'imperfection' on my face. The texture of my face was normal (sometimes combination based on the weather) and I had no sensitivities (minus extremely potent tea tree oil - that definitely burned my skin). I had zero worries in the world, I never wore foundation, tinted moisturizer, nothing, why? Because I didn't need it.

Flash forward to now. My job requires that I wear a full and 'inspirational' face of make up. Working long hours with everything from primer, to a full cover foundation, and a setting powder (and everything in between - you think of it, and it's on my face) caused my face to go 'HILLARY WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?!" next thing you know, I had insane break outs, blackheads putting up shop on my face, and oily skin. I didn't know what to do, my skincare routine that I was so loyally committed to did not have a 'treat' step that was focused on break outs. I knew I had to change but I was honestly kind of scared - being 22 years old and JUST dealing with break out prevention was extremely weird - wasn't that suppose to happen like 10 years ago?

So my first step in the right direction was towards my Clarisonic (I initially had the Mia, but then I gave it to my mom and bought the newest model - the Aria). Why the Clarisonic? It works with the elasticity of your skin (the brush oscillates back in forth rather than spins like other brushes - spinning can tear your tissue and be rough on your skin), it pulls out the impurities, and it completely changed the texture of my face. You can use it twice a day - seven days a week. It is seriously an amazing investment.

My Clarisonic Aria with the deep pore cleansing brush

So after a few months of trying a bunch of skincare lines (which were lovely - but just couldn't get my face back to what it was) I finally settled on my first love - Lush.

Now I know, I know, I shouldn't sing my praises until my complete cell turnover (minimum 28 days) but I've already been so happy that I just can't help but to share my excitement! I will do a follow-up in 28 days though - with photos of my face (day 1 and day 28) to see if there's a change.

Now Down to the Routine...finally....

So for a cleanser I went with the Ultra Bland which is an amazing gentle cleanser & make up remover. It comes in a pot in a cream form and you just rub it into your dry skin and then wipe it off with a warm damp cloth. It honestly gets all my make up off - which I find is a very difficult task. 

I went off brand with my exfoliating scrub. I went with Burt's Bee's Acne Solution's Scrub. I got this because I wanted something natural that still had a salicylic acid in it (and willow bark - which is natural) to help with my break outs. I find that this scrub is gentle and has definitely helped with the texture of my skin.

Now I'm a HUGE mask junkie. I will typically do a mask at least once a week, if not twice a week. I fell in love with the one that I got to try out at the Lush store - and that was the Mask of Magnaminty. This mask is amazing! It has peppermint in it so it is super cooling on your skin. It also has china clay which acts as a magnet for pulling impurities out of your pores. The vanilla helps with redness and the honey soothes your skin. It honestly is everything I want in a mask all thrown together (and it's green - my favourite colour!)

Blue Steel -MEEEYOW!

It's Hulk Paste!

I chose the Tea Tree Water for my toner and it is unreal! I used it on my plane ride as a refresher and my face was the happiest little panda. It helps with redness, kills bacteria, and the best part? It's alcohol free! 

just the baby bottle for now

And lastly, a moisturizer! I went with the Vanishing Cream and oh man, this bad boy is the best. My skin feels so great and I don't have that awko taco oily residue going down. It has witch hazel (which is awesome for blemishes) and it is an extremely light lotion that completely melts into your skin (also, a little goes a heck of a long way!)

So that's all for now! My findings thus far? The Rocky Mountain that took up camp on my face has almost vanished, and the little ski hills are simply distant memories. My face has a beautiful (healthy) glow to it - it used to look like a perfect place to sautee some mushrooms. I was actually comfortable enough to leave the house today with NO make up on - just an itty bit of lip gloss and mascara (because why not?). I'm starting to wonder why I ever left my beloved lush - they have such an amazing variety of products and it smells like absolute heaven there. Not to mention - you get a free fresh mask every time you bring back 5 of the black pots (so that they can recycle them into new pots).