Since that one fated day my mother shaved my bushy eyebrows and gifted me her Body Shop makeup brush and M.A.C. blush, my eyes had been opened to the fact that I was flawed. Since middle school, when this had happened, I never left the house without makeup on; in fact, one tidbit of advice my mom gave me from HER grandmother was to never leave the house without makeup on and I followed this religiously. I dabbled in different shades of powder, this cream, and that shadow and after so many different horrible makeup evolutions, I finally learned at 24 that it's completely fine to just be yourself.
Along with the handy skincare tools available, lots of water, and keeping my hands off of my face throughout the day, I managed to get skin that I was comfortable showing off, I can now go to work bare-faced, and in fact people can't even tell the difference! Now, I'm not going to pretend I was always this enlightened, it took one brave day that I woke up and just went to work without makeup for me to begin getting comfortable. Granted, it's okay to put a bit of concealer or eyebrow gel, but it's the fact that I am no longer spending an arm and a leg on beauty products constantly, and I have maximized the amount of time I have before work to lounge or get a couple of things done! I know it's cliched to say, but be comfortable in your own skin! Save the fancy makeup for a night out or a special occasion!
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After visiting Sephora all those months ago, I began thinking about what I could do differently as far as taking care of my skin. The woman who helped me provided me with a list of skincare products that I could buy in-store to help with all of my problem areas (dry skin, discoloration, acne) After I saw the prices, I decided against buying in-store at that time because what college student do you know who can afford all of this??!! I instead bought just a foundation and under eye concealer, went home and checked online for sample sizes of skincare things to try. I was able to find the Korres Cleanser, Kiehl's under eye cream, and another product (Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Gel Toner) I had researched that Sydney (my Sephora angel) didn't mention. I assumed that after making this purchase, I wouldn't see any results after trying since all skincare seems to be the same...but for the most part, everything worked wonderfully! By far, my favorite product would have to be the Korres face wash. You only need a dollop of this gentle cleanser and it makes your face squeaky clean (don't forget to apply to the neck too! Whatever you do to your face you should do to your neck as well!)! My face became visibly clearer and softer, my skin tone evening out, and the best part is that it didn't dry my face out after. My biggest complaint with Neutrogena is that it made my face feel tight and stiff as a board after using because of the harsher chemicals, and in my mind "it must be working since my face is tight and shiny after using!" WRONG. Your face shouldn't feel like that, and Sydney confirmed this. With Korres, my face just feels clean and supple. I also liked that at Sephora, they certified it as "clean", meaning that it is free of sulfates SLS and SLES, parabens, formaldehydes, formaldehyde-releasing agents, phthalates, mineral oil, retinyl palmitate, oxybenzone, coal tar, hydroquinone, triclosan, and triclocarban. It also doesn't have a scent or fragrance! Next, I got the Kiehl's under eye cream which I had reviewed in my Nightly Skin Care Regimen post, and that worked wonders for these bags. Believe it or not, the small sample size from eBay goes a looooong way, I bought it in May and STILL have a mostly full container, just make sure not to overdo it under the eyes and you can make it last a while! Finally, I tried Sunday Riley, which I have heard so many good things about. The Martian Mattifying gel toner is made for big-pored girls like me that need a bit of help. At first, I was only using it before makeup application, but gradually started using it in the morning and before bed and the results were pretty good. My face was a bit sticky after using and it smelled weird but my face was definitely a lot more matte. It isn't as life-changing as I thought it would be, but it definitely works short term for pore emergencies. What I really liked about this product is that it contains Bentonite clay (Sound familiar? Aztec Clay Mask anyone?), and all of these other wonderful natural ingredients that I can actually pronounce (Marshmallow, green tea, Manuka, black cumin, magnolia bark extract)! |