Lotions & Potions

Sep 7th, 2011

While packing for our Labor Day mini-vacation last week, I noticed something slightly alarming. The amount of facial products I use could warrant their own suitcase and I am not even including my make-up. Take a look at my daily regimen…

12 different products.

The only one I don’t use every single day is the apricot scrub. Funny, because that is one of the cheapest.

Here are the products I use in the morning. Granted, I do not use them all at once but all are utilized by 10 am.

I always begin with the Witch Hazel. The first thing I do when I roll out of bed is wipe the night time oil build-up off with my trusty and inexpensive witch hazel. It immediately refreshes me. I really don’t like to splash cold water on my face at 5:30 am.

Pre-workout and depending on greasiness factor, I will wash my face with Neutrogena Naturals. It’s a nice, gentle cleanser that doesn’t dry my face out. If the children made an appearance in my bed the night before I will gently pat (read: slather) on Zirh herbal eye cream to cut down on the puffiness.

After my workout, I will wash my face again and may use the apricot scrub. I then immediately apply my recently prescribed clindamycin phosphate topical gel because for the past several months I have been getting these super annoying cystic acnes. They are painful and unsightly. I don’t do unsightly so my dermatologist kindly found me a solution. So far, it’s been working out.

When that dries, I apply my Obagi Vitamin C serum on my forehead, crows feet, cheeks and neck. My absolute favorite product.

Lastly, I combine my Aveeno SPF 15 moisturizer with my Laura Mercier SPF 20 tinted moisturizer and start my day. Combined does that give me an SPF of 30? These are the things I ponder.

Now for my nightly ritual:

I take my time with my night products. I begin by washing my face. Because I am a greasy little creature, I end up washing my face 3 times a day. That is why the Neutrogena Naturals works well with my skin. Finding a good cleanser has been a long, hard road. I am also a fan of the Obagi cleanser but that’s not always in the budget.

Next, I apply a combination of Obagi Skin Bleaching Cream in Clear with Obagi Trtinoin Cream (Retin-A). These two products help reduce the appearance of freckles and uneven skin tones. I have been using this combo for a couple months and am very pleased. It’s not drying out my face or cracking my lips like other Retin-A’s have in the past.

I finish by applying Vivite Night Renewal and Vivite Revitalizing Eye Cream. Both are very thick so I only use small amounts. Vivite is expensive BUT it lasts forever. I have been using these two products for 6 months and I am only half way through the jars. Something to note is that I take the majority of all my products down into the neck area. Never neglect the neck!

So, that’s my routine. Is your’s more or less intensive?? I would love to hear what you do to stay beautiful.