You are beautiful

Beautiful Tuesdays : What’s Your Regimen?

Post by Kezia:

I’m beyond flattered that Jennine asked me to contribute to this lovely and amazing blog. While skincare is my primary interest, I delight in all things beauty and invite you to share your questions, thoughts and obsessions with me.

What’s Your Regimen?

I have lots of products. Though I should know better, I’m not immune to the prevailing cultural myth that consuming and spending will fix what ails me. I’m particularly vulnerable when it comes to the ephemeral, seductive claims made by beauty marketers. Words like youth, radiance, glow, dewy, hydrating, damage-reversing or brighten rope me in again and again.

Vulnerabilities and impulse purchases aside, I’ve managed to stick to a pretty basic skincare regimen for the last year. Here’s what works for me:
AM

• Sometimes I don’t wash my face in the morning. I have normal-to-dry skin, so I can get away with it. Otherwise, I cleanse with Cerave Hydrating Cleanser.
• Apply Skinceuticals C+E Ferulic Serum . I wait about 20 minutes before applying sunscreen. Because I’m often running late, I use this every other day or every three days. Thanks to the incredibly knowledgeable women on the Makeupalley Skincare Board, I’ve become a devotee of stable Vitamin C serum. An antioxidant, it helps diminish and prevent sun damage and increases the efficacy of sunscreen.
• My skin has gotten drier with age, so I need a hydrating sunscreen. Most moisturizers with SPF aren’t strong or stable enough in the quantities I’d want to use. So, my sunscreen needs to double as my daily moisturizer. Most days, I use Banana Boat Faces SPF 30 .

PM

• Remove makeup and sunscreen with Ponds Cold Cream (thanks, Grandma!). I know mineral oil is problematic for some people, but I haven’t had problems with it.

• Follow with CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser.
• Slather on CeraVe Moisturizing Cream. It delivers time-released ceramides and hyaluronic acid to help maintain the skin’s barrier function. If you have sensitized or dehydrated skin, this is especially important. The best part? It comes in a huge jar that lasts forever and you can buy it at Walgreens, Rite Aid or CVS.
• Because prescription retinoid gels and creams (like Retin-A, Tazorac) have actual scientific studies backing their anti-aging properties, I’ve been dying to add one to my regimen. Before going the Rx route, I’m going to try Eau Thermale Avene Innovation Eluage Retinaldehyde Cream , which I just ordered it from drugstore.com.

Money-Saving Tip
I find that a really basic moisturizer — as opposed to a fancy, expensive one loaded with ingredients- works best. After all, the purpose of a moisturizer is to keep the skin hydrated and keep the lipid barrier intact. I prefer to save my money for serums or boosters that contain higher concentrations of active ingredients (antioxidants, etc.)

photo by Perfecto Insecto

« Today’s Attire : Patchwork |  Fly baby, fly. »