Since we’re all stuck in our homes, now is a better time than any to evaluate your skincare routine.  Get rid of the products that are not working, or you haven’t used in more than a year and re-up your routine!  I wrote this initially as a text to my group of college girls who are sequentially turning 40 in the next year or so.  I wanted to keep it simple enough that they would do it, but effective enough for great results.  Ladies, I wrote this for my BEST friends, so you know these recommendations are all heart and soul. Also, in case you don’t need ALL of the explanations, I made an action list at the bottom of this post so you can get right to it!

**PLEASE do not forget your neck and décolleté (chest).  They are also part of your face and people notice when you have a lot of aging there. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Morning

1.      Cleanse: with an alcohol-free toner and a cotton round.  In my opinion, we don’t need to wash our faces in the morning – it’s a bit too drying and all we did is sleep!  However, the skin does a lot of work while we snooze, by purging and renovating, so it is important to remove that residue.  I love how my skin feels with a quick swipe of one of these toners on a cotton round (not a cotton ball):

Skinceuticals Equalizing Toner You can’t go wrong with Skinceuticals. They consistently put out high quality products at a great price. At the time of this article, this toner is 58% off, priced at $21!!

Thayers Rose Petal Facial Toner  Alcohol-free, good ingredients, drugstore price. Win win win.

 

2.      Serum. Don’t skip the serums! They are like the multivitamin to your diet. While sunscreen is THE most important, we need a bit more help in our 40s.

I like hyaluronic acid from The Ordinary – they have a few, the 2% with B5 is my favorite.

But if you REALLY want the creme de la creme of daytime serums Joanna Vargas Daily Serum is THE ONE. One of my closest friends is an esthetician at Joanna’s spa here in Los Angeles and she SWEARS by this product. As of the time of this post, it is listed at $122 on Amazon, however it is usually sold at $85 a bottle. I believe this product sells so quickly, they run out of stock and increase the price until new product comes in??

3.      Vitamin C: either add this separately before your SPF (in a serum form), or use a SPRINKLE of the Vitamin C Mixing Crystals from Cosmedix, which is MY preferred method.  I love it.  NOTE* Vitamin C always goes on in the morning b/c it helps your spf work better and the antioxidant fights free radicals (free radicals = old skin)

Sunday Riley C.E.O. Glow. Sunday Riley is another one of those brands that creates a product that makes you say “Damn! I look good!” Her C.E.O. products are just so good. In this one she added turmeric for calming and anti-inflammatory affects.

If you’re looking for a lower budget option, The Ordinary has this one for $21.

4.      SPF – I love Super Goop SPF 40, feels good, doesn’t burn my eyes, and doesn’t hurt the ocean. I mix my Cosmedix Vitamin C crystals with this sunscreen.

Another favorite is the Josie Maran SPF 47, it is so moisturizing!. I have a longer list of SPF faves in This Post.

If you’re needing some extra help in the morning:

Under eye patches have been my BFF lately.  The ones I’m loving are:

Wander – the packaging is gorgeous and the eye masks are so thin, you could wear them for hours and never be bothered.

Lost Baggage – This random brand I got from Target.  Seriously there was so much serum in there I rubbed it on half of my body.

Facial Roller – preferably chilled in the fridge.  It helps to reduce puffiness in the morning.  Also, when did I get so puffy??

Night Routine

Your skin is dirty AF after a long day of living.  Dirt, oil, sweat, food, spit, and other people’s filth are all over you, as we have recently learned.  For that reason, I like to take a shower at night – wash the day AND the outside energy off of me.

1.      Oil cleanse first – DRY hands and DRY face, do not add water yet!  I LOVE the Korres Rose Oil Cleanser, but I also like the Neutrogena Oil Cleanser.  Two or three pumps and take your time breaking down all of that makeup ESPECIALLY your mascara.  As a lash artist I see A LOT of mascara built up in people’s lashes.  After you’ve broken down all of your makeup THEN use water to emulsify. PRO TIP: Coconut oil does NOT remove your makeup. It may break it down a little, but it does not have the emulsifiers in it that are necessary to break down makeup. Save it for the end, when you moisturize ( see step 7).

Korres Wild Rose Makeup Melter Cleansing Oil I mean, just the name of this makes me want to buy it. Roses? Yes. Melt my makeup? Yes. Pssst…I bought mine at TJ Maxx for $10. Swear.

Neutrogena Ultra Light Cleansing Oil At $13 a bottle, this gentle, yet effective oil works hard to break down your makeup. I’ve tried other drugstore brands and this is my favorite.

2.      Follow up with a foaming cleanser.  Aveeno, Olay, Neutrogena, are great drugstore brands.  But I LOVE Neogen Dermalogy and it lasted six months!  That’s a great deal for $19.  They also offer four different formulas on Amazon, whereas Sephora only carries the Green Tea formula.

3.      Rinse WITH a washcloth.  Don’t just splash water on your face, it pushes the product into your hairline and to the edges of your neck.  Get a washcloth wet and use it to remove everything.  I love the Kitsch Microfiber towels because they’re black and don’t show any makeup stains. ** you still need to use a cleanser when using towels like these, I don’t know why everyone is saying you don’t need a cleanser.**

4.      Tone.  In the morning routine, I suggested you use an alcohol-free toner.  However in the evening I recommend using something a bit stronger.  A glycolic toner helps to remove dead skin cells, reduce sun damage and prep your products to work overnight. Not all glycolics are the same. I tried to buy a generic one from Amazon and the results were not the same as my recommendations below.  My favorites are:

Pixie Glow Tonic – with 5% glycolic, this toner is the perfect way to introduce glycolic into your skincare routine.

The Ordinary Glycolic Toner – The Ordinary is such a great place to start your skincare routine. You can often get your most powerful (and most expensive) products from here for a fraction of some of the other brands. This particular toner has 7% glycolic, a bit stronger than the Pixie Glow Tonic.

5.      Serum – this is when you use the serums that “fix” your face while you sleep…your active serums. I am currently using the Dr. Gross Retinol and Ferulic, but another great one is the IS Clinicals Active Serum.  The results are truly visible the next morning.  Again, check out The Ordinary.  They have some really cool stuff, and it’s dirt cheap.

Dr. Dennis Gross Ferulic Acid + Retinol Brightening Solution

IS Clinical Active Serum – Be aware, this product does have a bit of an itchy tingle. It’s fine and normal unless you have extremely sensitive skin. The Active Serum may be a bit expensive, but it lasts FOREVER! Same with the Dr. Gross product. I also like to rotate my products, so things tend to last a bit longer.

6. Eye cream. The skin around your eyes (that’s your upper lid as well ladies!), is thinner than any other skin on your face, it NEEDS different ingredients! And y’all for the love of God, put eye cream on your upper lid. Why are we skipping this? Who told us to do that? Which brings me to a whole other point; if you are getting your lashes done, WEAR EYE CREAM. It makes NO sense to have lashes put on, but stop taking care of your skin. Sorry, I get really passionate about this subject.

My mom actually turned me on to the entire Shiseido line, it seems expensive at the initial purchase, but their products are so powerful, it doesn’t take much. So this $58 eye cream will probably last me more than a year. That is crazy. And my eye skin looks BETTER THAN IT EVER HAS. My makeup does not crepe as much and it just look hydrated.

I love Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker Fix eye cream, it just feels good, and at the time of this post, it is $14 off!

Origins Plantscription Anti-aging power eye cream.  Both were super hydrating and creamy, like they were going to make my under eyes smooth and supple again.

7. Facial Moisturizer – Tarte Drink of Water Hydrating Boost feels a lot more hydrating than I thought it would be. I also like my Egyptian Gold Butter, especially when my skin is dry, and it has lasted years, you guys. YEARS.  I also use Korres Almond Blossom moisturizer (got it at TJ Maxx, not listed on Amazon).

 

 

 

If you’re needing some help in the PM

Sheet masks!  We love them!  In my experience, the Jayjun JJ have been my favorite masks.  If I do one the night before, my skin feels and looks so amazing the next morning.  It comes with a mask, followed with an essence AND an eye cream!

Years ago when I was an esthetician at Bliss Spa in Los Angeles, we started carrying the SK-II product line and I was lucky enough to get several pieces of their line for free. The sheet masks infused with the facial treatment essence are…on a new level.

To be honest there are thousands of sheet masks on the market. I would suggest reading the ingredients to see if they are quality or not. If you don’t know, Google. If you don’t google, ask your esthetician.

Jayjun JJ

SK-II These masks are ALSO on sale right now, normally $135, they’re now going for $96.

Gadgets

Revive Light Therapy Glo Wrinkle Treatment.  I got this portable anti-aging device in my FabFitFun Box just this month and I love it.  You hold it on the same area for 3 minutes at a time and then move to another area. This one is $68, but if you prefer to cover a larger area, grab the larger one for $99. Revivelighttherapy.com

Face Spatula. That’s what I call them. This little spatula (if you look closely you’ll see it is bent at the tip), will help to clean out your tiny pores and prep your skin for products.  Flip it over and use the other side to help penetrate products.  (switch the setting). Also, it is very important that your skin stays wet while using either of these tools. I recommend using your alcohol free toner, otherwise you run the risk of damaging your skin.

This snazzy scrubber comes with microcurrent technology on the other side.

Dermal roller – get the SMALLEST diameter of needle – bigger is not better here.  It will only cause too much damage and then your skin will break down even faster!  Use this after you have cleansed and toned (alcohol free toner here).  Dermal roll, and then apply a gentle night serum I love this one from Glowing Essence (use a gentle one, not the active ones).  Apply your moisturizer and maybe even massage it in with some gua shua combs if you’re feeling a little extra. I love the Dermal Roller by Kitsch, because it is the perfect diameter, .25mm.

Kitsch Dermal Roller

Ladies, the key here is circulation, cellular turnover, and PROTECTION.  I’ve been saying this for years; the only anti-ageing product on the market is sunscreen.  You cannot take all these steps and then expose your delicate skin to the sun, it will only make things worse.  You can read more about that here.

Basically…

Morning

1. Tone
2. Serum
3. Vitamin C
4. SPF – at least 40

Evening

1. Oil Cleanse
2. Foaming Cleanse
3. Glycolic Toner
4. Night/Active Serum
5. Eye Cream
6. Moisturize

Extras

1. Jade Facial Roller
2. Under eye masks
3. Sheet masks
4. Dermal Roller
5. LED light therapy
6. Pore-fector Gadget