My Favorite Skincare Products

This year I really focused on disciplining myself when it came to skincare. I got into a daily morning and night skincare routine and it has paid off tremendously. Not only is my skin more predictable but my always present hyper-pigmentation has subsided as well, plus my skin just glows more to put it simply. After years of being a classic “picker” my complexion was/is anything but flawless but I’m feeling more and more confident with less makeup each week and that’s all thanks to these products:

C L E A N S I N G

To be honest, this was the biggest change for me. I was the classic story of the girl who complains about her skin but then doesn’t wash her makeup off every night before going to bed. It was a big shift for me, I’m lazy sometimes, especially at the end of the night. I started slow with just making a habit of removing my makeup with wipes no matter what. Once that became habitual I decided to start incorporating nights where I double cleansed. Which just means I wiped everything off with makeup wipe removers and then also washed my face with water and soap. My go-to cleanser for a long time has been Cetaphil, it never dries my skin out but it always leaves my skin feeling squeaky clean. Then I like to use the Murad cleanser in the morning because it leaves my skin feeling so soft, and moisturized. I bought a Foreo for travel and have been using it even more than my Clarisonic brush this year. It’s the perfect compact, travel size and the battery lasts so long.

M O R N I N G

I usually start my post shower routine with the Paula’s Choice Skin Correcting BHA Liquid and follow that up with a light serum. I’ve noticed such a change in my skin since beginning to incorporate this product to my routine. At first it sort of dried my skin out and I slowed down to every other night applications but since my skin has now built up a tolerance I’m able to use it daily though I typically use it about 4-5 days a week, alternating night and morning use. After that I apply my Neostrata Tri-therapy Lifting Serum to my entire face and neck and Clinique Pep-Start under my eyes. Lately I’ve been using the Paula’s Choice DEFENSE Essential Glow Moisturizer as a last step before my SPF, it has a little reflecting essence to it that makes my skin glow like no other.

S P F

I’ve said it a MILLION times, SPF EVERYDAY y’all! These are my go-to’s as of this year. Each of these layer really well, I can’t stand when your products start to “pill”, it drives me insane. All of these SPF’s have passed the pill test with flying colors.

N I G H T

It’s hard to go through the steps some nights, you know the ones, the “I’m already falling asleep on the couch” nights but god is it worth it. I used to let myself just go to bed without washing my face and every morning I would hate myself for doing it. So now, instead, every night after cleansing I follow up with a brightening serum and Neostrata Tri-therapy Lifting serum. Then, and this is one of the most important steps, my retinol. Currently I’m alternating Skin Better Retinol and Neostrata’s Retinol. My skin never feels as smooth or looks as dewey as the morning after using a retinol. It took me a while to work up my tolerance to it, first only using it once or twice a week because my skin is pretty sensitive but now I can use a retinol almost five nights a week. I have combination skin but in the Winter it’s mostly dry so the past few months I’ve been doubling up on the hydration when it comes to products. I’ve used Clinique Smart for years y’all, I love it, the light smell, the results, just trust me…its so good! Then I follow that with Murad Night Fix Enzyme to lock in all of the moisture for the night. I haven’t had to deal with dry, flaky, skin once this year!

These products and sticking to a consistent routine have shown me that I actually don’t have “bad skin” I just had a bad routine aka no routine at all.

What products got you through the year?
Xx Sylvia