How I Look So Fabulous All The Time

I get so many questions about my skincare routine (not from you people!) and I decided to do a visual representation of what I use day and night to keep myself young forever. I try to use the most natural stuff I possibly can, but if I get something for free, I'm going to use it. We'll start with daytime: 

 1. Vichy Purifying Foaming Cream: from CVS, great cleanser for combination skins. It gets all of my makeup off and has fancy French mineral water in it to make me look fresh and fabulous.

2. Jason Naturals Hyper-C Serum: I got this because I had little money and it was cheaper than my regular CE Ferulic acid serum. I always use vitamin C serums during the day with sunscreen to reduce sun damage. I'm not trying to look like leatherface and this stuff is pretty damn good for $20!

3. Juara Sweet Black Tea & Rice Facial Moisturizer: This is my all-time favorite moisturizer. Using the same stuff that you find in kombucha, Juara (a brand based on Indonesian beauty ingredients) makes this light-but-super moisturizing lotion that I use all year round unless I'm out catching Alaskan King crabs. This is my third bottle and I frigging love it. Great for dry/combo skin.

4. Skinceuticals Sheer Physical Defense Sunscreen spf 50: I've talked about this stuff before and I will sing its praises again. This is great for any skin type and really keeps the sun off. Use sunscreen all year round, no matter what.  It's a physical block so no harsh chemical sunscreens and a high spf for great protection.

5. Roc Contour and Lift Eye Serum: Gotthis for freewith another Roc eye cream and I love it because it lasts forever and is applied with a roller ball. It's great on mornings when I just don't want to wake up; the cool metal ball rolls the sleepiness right out of me. Don't know if it has done a whole lot to fix my eye problems, but I figure it's better than nothing. Dude, it was free!

Now for nighttime. I have dry/combo skin and I like to exfoliate and deeply moisturize at night after work so here's what I use:

1. Yonka Masque No 1: Got this in a NewBeauty Test Tube and I love it! It's an anti-aging moisturizing mask that smells like jasmine and makes my skin clear, yet soft. I put this on and let it sit for like an hour and it can be used over night, but I'm afraid it'll make my bangs greasy. Super relaxing and a great surprise find!

2. Olay Pro-X Deep Wrinkle Treatment: Ok I'm not old, but I do like using retinol treatments to keep my face from being dull and uneven from acne scars. Retinol is the only scientifically proven ingredient other than vitamin C to do so, but mixing the two can really mess up your skin. I opt for the retinol at night because the exfoliation factors can make you more susceptible to sun damage if used during the day. Got this in a NBTT also and quite enjoy it!

3. Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream: for a $20 night cream this stuff is awesome! I love stuff with seaweed in it, don;t ask me why. It always calms down my redness so I don't look like a full-on alcoholic with hypertension. It's not greasy so good for combo skin.

4. Neo Strata Intensive Eye Treatment: Got this in a NBTT also (love that thing)and it's like a gel-creme eye serum that works like a retinol to keep things smooth and wrinkle free. I don't have any new ones so this must be doing something right.

5. Alpha-H Liquid Gold: This stuff is like nectar of the gods. Only available online and overseas, this glycolic acid liquid exfoliator keeps me breakout and crusty-patch free. I use it every other night by itself with nothing else on my face except eye cream. I wake up with bright skin that is a lot more even and soft.

Here are my secrets! Hope this helps someone!

Winter Skin Rescue

Winter Skin Rescue by elbonner featuring an origins skincare

When winter comes my skin turns into a dry, flaky mess that requires a lot of attention. To keep from getting red, itchy, wind-burnt, and broken out I use lots of great products to keep everything calm and sexy.

1. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate: smells like an herb garden with lavender and other apothecary favorites and melts into your skin to make you look moisturized and refreshed in the morning. I use this every other night (using a glycolic acid exfoliator on my off nights) and this keeps my skin from being red or itchy. This has never made my skin break out which is wonderful because this is a facial oil. Don't be afraid of facial oils,especially in the winter!

2. Kiehl's Rosa Arctica Cream: another great from Kiehl's, this cream is thick and luxurious and holds all of the moisture in! This is my night cream, but if your skin is super dry this can definitely be worn as a day cream. The arctic thistle in this cream has some magical skin properties that rejuvenate and hydrate the driest of skin.

3. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil: put in on your body, shave with it, deep condition your hair with it, remove your makeup with it. Coconut oil is my secret weapon in the winter for anything that needs moisture. You can get it at the grocery store, it lasts forever and smells like macaroons. WIN WIN.

4. The Body Shop Body Butters: thick, creamy, a multitude of great smells; what isn't there to say about this stuff? When you put this on in the morning it will remain on your skin until the next morning (if you're gross and don't shower like me).

5. Kiehl's Cream Eye Treatment with Avocado: Another thick and creamy eye cream with avocado oil that keep dry eye-skin at bay. Best winter eye cream I've tried.

6. Lush Angels On Bare Skin Cleanser: This is a freshly made,non foaming cleanser consisting of almond paste, lavender buds and lots of lovely skin ingredients that cleanse without drying. I like to stay away from foamy things in winter because they dry out my skin so badly and this is one of my favorite foamless cleansers. The smell is great for before bedtime when you want to relax.

7. Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturizing Balm: Some tinted moisturizers don't have what it takes to keep your skin soft and foundation can dry it out all together. This tinted moisturized is THICK and won't leave you looking flaky. It has a decent coverage and saves you from fine lines showing up which can happen with some drying foundations.

8. Bliss Clog-Dissolving Cleansing Milk:another non-foamy cleanser that caters to acne prone skin types. Winter may dry out your skin, but it can irritate it and irritation makes me break out more than oiliness. This has a great smell and enzymes to exfoliate dead skin off your face leaving it soft and glowy.

9. Origins Modern Friction: This is a heavy-duty exfoliator wit bits of blue corn and rice that scrub away all the flakiness. Use only three times a week or you could damage your skin. It makes my skin smoother than anything else!

10. Aveeno Skin Strengthening Moisturizer: This lotion contains ingredients that help beef up thin skin (which I have) and helps it hold in moisture. Because my skin is so thin I have a hard time with my arms and legs getting dry half-way through the day and no one wants to see my hairy winter-coated legs at work. Aveeno products use colloidal oatmeal to keep in the moisture and it works like a charm.

Hope this helps and sorry if there's not a lot of quick wit and humor in this post. I'm tired and I need my bath, but I wanted to post something tonight! Keep it soft and sexy people!