beauty week day 2: daily skincare routine

i've mentioned it before on my instagram and maybe on this blog too, but here's a bit of vulnerability for ya...i really struggle with my skin. i dream of being able to roll out of bed and put on a swipe of mascara and some lipgloss and be ready to go, but i feel like that's just not in the cards for me. i have adult acne, and it is the freaking pits because all your life you think that your skin will stop breaking out when your hormones settle down and you grow up... but no.

my skin goes through phases of clarity and then all hell breaking loose and i wish that i could figure out the reasoning behind all of it, but i am pretty clueless so i still blame it on my hormones. when i was pregnant, i had pretty dreamy skin and so i am kind of craving a baby in my womb in hopes that i'll be able to get nine months of angel skin out of it. good thinking, yeah?? i tried washing with coconut oil because that seems to be all the rage these days and while that worked for a while, i ended up getting a lot of tiny pustule things and i never really felt like my face was completely clean. i've tried cetaphil, i've tried ceravie, i've tried clinique, i've tried salt scrubs, sugar scrubs, basically the whole she-bang. i got a clarisonic for my birthday last year and even used the cleanser that came with that, but to no avail. it seemed that i was doomed to have adult acne, and while i know that in the big grand scheme of things, that really is not the worst thing that's ever happened to me, but it still sucks.

so about a year ago, my mom was getting her nails done and she was sitting next to this makeup artist who apparently had incredible skin. and my mom's asking her about her favorite products, yada yada, and she girl told her she swears by dove soap. just a bar of dove soap. and my mom's like really? so she tried it and she told me about it and i'm like mommmmmmm, no. that would totally break me out. i think that anyone who grew up in 00's is forever paranoid of generic cleansers because in that day and age, everyone thought that drying up your skin was the solution to clear skin. i cringe when i think of all the chemicals and acids and drying agents i used to use daily, trying to get my skin to be clear. i was convinced that any product not from a dermatologist or from the cosmetics counter at nordstrom would make my face break out. but since then i've learned that isn't true at all and that what your skin needs is balance, not to be stripped of all its natural oils.

anyway, i didn't try the dove soap until a couple weeks ago. i have this beautiful friend named beth and she has gorgeous skin. i think i have more wrinkles than she does and she is probably 20 years older than me. i asked her what she uses to wash her face, and she's like, "oh just the cheap stuff - a bar of dove soap." so i figured hey, if multiple people are swearing by this, maybe there's something to it?

so i gave it a shot. and it blew me away. i don't think i have ever seen my skin clear up so quickly. my skin is more even, clearer, more firm, and it feels amazing. i use it every night and sometimes in the morning also, with my clarisonic, and i would recommend it to anyone. i wet my skin first, lather the bar of soap in my hands and apply to my face, then rinse my clarisonic and rub on the bar of soap to get it on the brush. then i wash my face with the clarisonic for the timed two minutes or whatever, and rinse with warm water. i always always always put my favorite lotion on right after i wash my face! i swear by this st. ives timeless skin moisturizer, it is my holy grail item that i would take with me if i were stranded on a desert island. it's the only moisturizer that looks good underneath makeup and it will make your skin feel like a dream, promise!

granted, every person is different and every set of skin needs something specific to them. but this bar of dove soap is really working for me and if you are struggling with your skin, i say you give it a try too? miracles happen, ya know.

all-natural skin care

let me first make a little disclaimer here: i am not granola. i don't even know what a paraben is, but i'm not scared of it.

now that that's out in the open, i was browsing through mua.com the other day because i have no life and i was reading the most reviewed items and couldn't help but notice they were all all-natural products. like oils. and stuff that comes from the earth. fancy, expensive creams and all that jazz got mixed reviews, but really the vast vast majority of people who reviewed witch hazel and greek yogurt mask and avocado oil raved about the miracles it did to their skin.

so off to the store i went!

witch hazel

i picked up these witch hazel pads after reading that witch hazel is the world's best toner. and i've only been using it for a week now, but i really think that it's making a difference in the overall evenness of my skin. my skin feels smoother and looks clearer. i don't know how it works, but i've come to find that the less i wash my face, the better it looks, so on most nights, i just take off my makeup really well with one of these gems and then i've started toning with witch hazel. i give it a couple minutes to dry before i use my regular favorite moisturizer of all time. witch hazel is said to disinfect without stripping your skin of the natural essential oils. anyway, this little jar of like a million pads only cost like $4 and i really like it. ps. if you have given birth to a child before...you may have used witch hazel for other soothing purposes. tmi.

raw, unfiltered honey

don't run out to the store and buy glorified corn syrup with food coloring, make sure you get the real stuff! i read that either washing your face with honey or using it was a face mask will help both acne and increase skin brightness. i mix a teeny amount of honey with a squeeze of lemon and use it as a mask for a couple hours and gently wash it off with a warm washcloth. i've also only been using this for about a week, so i guess i can't say if the improvement in my skin is from the witch hazel or the honey or the combination of both, but people swear by honey's acne-fighting qualities.

other popular all-natural skin care remedies include jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, apple cider vinegar, castor oil and tumeric.

care to share your skin care secrets?

i'd love to hear.

breakup with your makeup

in the last couple years, i've learned a lot about my skin; things that i wish i could go back in time and tell my teenage self. i struggled with mild acne growing up and had no idea how to manage it. my version of skincare was buying every drying or acidic product and slathering it on my face, thinking that i was breaking out because my skin was too oily.

i've learned about balance and how my skin knows better than i do. when i wash my face less, it looks better because i'm not stripping my skin of its natural, essential oils. when i stopped drying it out and started putting moisture in, it cleared up. when i drink green tea and eating antioxidant-rich foods such as blueberries and almonds, my skin glows! (for my clear skin secrets and tips, click here!)

i still have a lot to learn and i still have occasional break outs that tip my world upside down. i wish i had the confidence to leave the house completely barefaced, but i don't. having breakouts makes me feel like i can't face the world and look it straight in the eye, like everyone is staring at my uneven complexion. whether you suffer from acne or rosacea or psoriasis or whatever, the state of your skin directly affects your self-confidence.

like i said, i still have a lot to learn about skincare and my skin is not perfect. and until it is, i always have some sort of foundation on, depending on the clarity of my skin.wonder if there will ever be a day when i feel like i don't need to wear foundation. a day when i can truly breakup with my makeup.

for those of you who struggle with rosacea or red skin, that day may come sooner than you think. mirvaso is a product by galderma laboratories, l.p. that treats facial redness so you don't have to cover it up.

to learn more about mirvaso and to enter a sweeptakes to win a trip to the emmy awards (yes please!) click here!

• Important Safety Information
  • Indication: Mirvaso® (brimonidine) topical gel, 0.33% is an alpha adrenergic agonist indicated for the topical treatment of persistent (nontransient) facial erythema of rosacea in adults 18 years of age or older. Adverse Events: In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions (≥1%) included erythema, flushing, skin burning sensation and contact dermatitis. Warnings/Precautions: Mirvaso Gel should be used with caution in patients with depression, cerebral or coronary insufficiency, Raynaud's phenomenon, orthostatic hypotension, thromboangiitis obliterans, scleroderma, or Sjögren’s syndrome. Alpha-2 adrenergic agents can lower blood pressure. Mirvaso Gel should be used with caution in patients with severe or unstable or uncontrolled cardiovascular disease. Serious adverse reactions following accidental ingestion of Mirvaso Gel by children have been reported. Keep Mirvaso Gel out of reach of children. Not for oral, ophthalmic, or intravaginal use. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.