Well, admittedly it's not that "Tiny". But it's also not typical, so it's worth sharing!
If anything, this routine guarantees clean skin aaand...
Sexy, luminous skin is CLEAN skin!
Natural beauty is huge to me. And even though I have a secret obsession with watching crazy awesome makeup tutorials (wow, such art!) and an even more secret obsession with beauty in general (vanity, thy name is Natalie, eek!), I definitely do not wear a lot of makeup and try my best to show my most natural, sexy, beautiful self. Ok, well maybe we can skip 2017 (yeesh). But in general, for better or for worse, I take beauty very seriously. And what I've noticed is a hands-down show stopper? Not highlighter, or lash extensions or full brows - it's Sexy, bright, youthful skin. ...but I'll take those other things too please!
Anyway, without further ado, I'm going to jump right into my current routine in getting that show stopping skin/complexion and then I'll embellish on my own personal skincare experiences after.
Fact: a lot of us are not fully cleaning our skin! Giving us mysteriously dry, dull complexions. Even if my routine aint your cup of tea, these steps should at least help in the quality-control department of your own skincare routine.
Morning & Night
Step 1.
With clean hands, take about a quarter-size amount of virgin coconut oil and massage it all over your face for a minute or so. At night, do this even with all your makeup on.
Step 2.
Take a fresh dry face towel and drench it in very hot water. Not luke warm or even warm - I'm saying Korean spa-grade hot water.
Fold it in half so you have a good thermal layer and press it firmly on your face. Hold until it cools. Then drench it again in hot water and repeat on another section of your face. Do this like 4 times until all the oil is removed. At night, yes, do this even with a full face of makeup on.
Step 3.
Step 4.
Rinse your face, splashing it about 30 times with very hot water. Clean skin, people!! This is where the luminosity happens.
Step 5.
Use another clean dry face towel to pat-dry your face. No rubbing! (I buy 24 white face towels from Costco)
Step 6.
Step 7.
Apply 3-4 drops of an anti-aging serum or brightening serum directly on your face and massage in. (I use Dr. Roebuck's Boost & Tighten Serum. It's liquid gold and is a huge boost in my skincare routine! Talk about glowing, dewy skin.)
Step 8.
Smooth on half a pea size to a full pea size amount of exfoliating face moisturizer - depending on weather: more in cold weather, less in warm/hot weather (I use Obagi -C Exfoliating Day Lotion). Wait a couple minutes to apply any light makeup.
Skincare has always been important to me. Mainly because of my mother. She set me on a rigorous routine at a very young age and I've been conscious of its importance ever since. Fortunately, I will say I've never had a lot of issues with maintaining good skin and a good complexion - even throughout middle school and high school. But I did notice when I moved to L.A. that my skin got pretty stinkin' nightmarish.
It took years to figure out, only because I was so used to having pretty low maintenance skin. But I did finally solve the problem:
#1. Dairy. Turns out I was pretty allergic to it and didn't even know it. It gave me incessant tiny rash-like bumps all over my face. They weren't acne and no matter what I tried, they weren't going away. Until I stopped consuming dairy.
#2. Dirty, Moist Skin. I found out my skin was super dirty. I just wasn't cleaning it thoroughly enough. And I was living in a very dirty, hot congested city so I was also sweating all the time. Even light sweat can cause irritation on dirty skin. My skin was dirty, sweaty and creating a lot of dead skin that wasn't getting properly exfoliated.
Surprisingly it was a relatively fast turnaround to get back to a dewy bright complexion - about 2 months! And I used the above products to get me started. Most I still use daily. Others I use from time to time.
I explained most of the products shown but the two I haven't talked about yet are still pretty important. Just not a necessity for daily use.
Dream Cream (#4) is a phenomenal product and made up of mainly oils, butters and oat milk. It is for hand and body buuuut since it's made for sensitive skin, I found it's great at being a rich nighttime face cream as it's not heavy or aggressive.
Dr. Dennis Gross Daily Peel (#6) was amazing at safely removing months (yes, months) of dead skin that had accumulated from poor washing. Wowza, it literally looked like a light was shining on me after using it once. It's a 2-step daily peel that truly does what it says: exfoliates, smooths, firms and lifts. Please and thank you!
I only use a pinch of the Dream Cream at night since my skin is very hydrated and naturally oily. For super cold weather, I make sure to use it as a barrier. And I only use Dr Gross Peel pads when I've been naughty and I've gone to bed with makeup on or I haven't pampered my skin in a while.
So there you have it, ladies, my slightly obsessive guide to sexy, luminous skin! I used to go to the spa once a week for a good scrub, steam and pampering. I stuck to it pretty well until I became busy with other important things. But I often forget that how I look has a large affect on how I feel. Perhaps you feel the same.
This year, I plan to focus a lot more on my personal pampering time and take it more seriously. I think it will have a huge effect on my work and candidly speaking, my self esteem as well. Anyway, I'll be sharing what comes of it!
As always, thanks so much for visiting and reading :) See ya next Thursday where I discuss the art of living luxuriously, no matter your budget.
