Beauty Talk

Girls have it tough.  We have to wake up, cleanse, protect against acne, moisturize, conceal, cover-up, mattify, even out, line, comb, touch-up....so many things to do in the morning!!!  On Wednesday, I took a big step in self-care and decided to get Latisse.  What is Latisse?  Latisse is a medicine that was used for glaucoma and then they found it made users' lashes grow like crazy.  So they changed it to a cosmetic medicine and got FDA approval.  It's available with a prescription.  It's best to buy at "med spas" because it's unlikely your insurance is going to pay for it, so you can get it much cheaper from these places than your local pharmacy.  I've had 2 of my friends do it with awesome results.  The caveat?  Once you stop using it, your eyelashes return to their old selves.  However, with weekly use (down from daily when you first start) you can maintain your new, fuller lashes.  I figure it's worth it for now and maybe some day I'll stop-by then, I'll likely have other things on my mind other than lashes.

Here are my lashes on day 3 of Latisse.  Day 1 I was too tired to get a good picture.  The nurse practitioner told me it takes 16 weeks to achieve full growth, so I'll post a comparison pic then.

I think overall, girls could probably spend thousands in beauty products.  For me my biggest battle is against uneven skin tone and hypergimentation.  My skin is so sensitive.  When I was younger, I spent a lot of money getting glycolic acid peels to help even out my complexion.  I think it helped, but now I no longer have my parents assistance to keep up such a pricey beauty regimen.  Also, I think my skin has improved so I don't have to invest as much.  This is what I do now to help maintain and further improve my complexion.

Replenix Power of Three cream.  This moisturizer has hyaluronic acid, which is wonderful for holding moisture in oily skin.  It also has antioxidants to minimize skin damage.  Other than the price (I usually can find it on sale for $50), I have no complaints with this moisturizer.  

Oil of Olay ProX Even Skin Kit.  Not entirely sure this will be a stable in my beauty regimen, but so far I've been satisfied enough to repurchase.  There twin study really sold me on this.  Tip: it's more cost efficient to buy these items separately in larger sizes.

Differin for acne, dermatologist prescribed.

Ambi fade cream. Comes in different versions for normal, dry and oily skin.

 Really cheap, really works, and carries all the controversies since it has hdyroquinone in it.

Retinol Night Cream.  You can get this for $10 at TJ Maxx.  

Read about retinol here.

For an eye cream, I was using Caudalie eye cream.  However, I hadn't seen a change in undereye circles which is what I really wanted help with (sleep and stay hydrated, I know).  So I'm switching to Dermatologica eye cream which I just ordered and haven't received yet. 

What order do you put put your creams on in?  Generally, from lightest to heaviest!!

Lastly, for cleansing and exfoliation I use a few products.  Right now I am using Oil of Olay Total Effects Cleanser, mostly because it is a mild cleanser and was on sale.  However I trust Oil of Olay, because once I read that large companies like them have so much more money for research than smaller, more obscure companies.  So even though their product is not expensive, it is still well-researched and reliable.

Eminence Strawberry Rhubarb Dermfaoliant.  The aesthetician who did a past facial of mine used this to exfoliate my dry skin.  It also has lactic acid for peeling and brightening properties.  To save money, I purchased it and do it myself at home at least once a month.

The clarisonic.  My mom scored this for a me at a yard sale for $15!  I use it in the shower at least once a week.  This and biore pore strips have really helped keep the pores in my nose unclogged!

Honorable mention

Cain + Austin Retexturizing pads.  These pads are 10% glycolic acid, so it's like a mini peel everyday.  I haven't been using them much as it's the winter and I don't want to dry out my skin.  However I think they help with brightening and tone evening.  I always cut them in half so they last twice as long.

So that's such a long list of beauty products!!! I didn't come up with this regimen overnight.  A few I have been using for years.  What happens is, about every 4-6 months I'll usually get a urge to find a new beauty product and then spend the next 3 days frantically researching until I decide on one.  Then I order it and life goes on as usual.  That way it's not like you're spending hundreds of dollars at once. 

My friend Robin & I are committing to the 1 gallon of water a day challenge this February!! It's basically like a free face lift!! So today I took some make-up free photos for my before.  I'll post the cutest one below -you know it's so ridiculous when girls post #nomakeup selfies and act like they didn't take a few photos.  I could post the less cute ones :-( , but I'll spare you! :-)