Take Off Your Make Up

Anyone who knows the pain of fickle acne-prone skin knows that a hyper-regimented routine is one of the keys to keeping nonsense under control. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I have all the answers, but what I will do is tell you what is working for me as I work to meticulously scrub all of my makeup (gently).

First of all just know this is my night routine (aka, as soon as I get home from work and don't have to spend another second in my makeup because my skin hates makeup). I come home from work, which sometimes is very late, I say hello to Nick so he can appreciate the last glance of me with makeup on, then I go straight to the bathroom to wash it all off.

Step 1: Remove the makeup. All of it.
I start with the Tatcha Camelia Oil, hot water, and a clean white washcloth towel. You know those 12-packs from Target? Those. I use one every time I wash my face because my face is a delicate flower that appreciates clean towels. I love the Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil because I've tried just about freaking everything to remove waterproof makeup and this is the most gentle and effective. Fair warning: it is oily AF, but it's meant to be. It says so on the dang label: OIL. So, I gently work the oil into my skin, around my eyes, and let it dissolve the makeup. You're going to look like a raccoon before you wash it all off, but enjoy it because it does come off with water. I use the washcloth with a dip in hot water and start scrubbing away pretty forcefully around my acne-prone cheeks and get everything off, including any dead skin. I try to use one side of the towel to wipe off the makeup removing oil, wring it out, and I can keep the other side ready for step 2.

Step 2: Counterbalance the Oil. Get Squeaky Clean.
The Tatcha Camelia Oil works best when it's used in tandem with the Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder. I prefer the Indigo one because it claims to be "calming" and it seems to work well for my skin. The rice powder smells like the bottom of a Rice Krispies cereal bag, which is delightful. It's wonderful as a step 2 because it soaks up all of the excess oil from Step 1 and leaves my skin literally squeaky clean. You pour a little bit of rice powder on your hand, put a couple drops of water in it and massage it on your face. Then, simply wash it right off. I like to use the clean side of my towel to pat it dry at this point.

Step 3: Reapply Moisture. The First of Many Serums
I like this Pura D'Or Vitamin C serum a lot as the first thing right after I wash my face. It's light but potent and soaks into my skin immediately. Also, it's a much cheaper option than other more prettier packaged products — hey Glossier, hey girl. I pat a couple drops on this all around my face (avoiding my eyes) and let it dry. I like the idea that vitamin C is against free radicals, and the concept of anti-aging firmness and such. Mostly, I like the way this serum soaks into my face and immediately feels happy, less dry, less, itchy.

Step 4: La Mer Treatment Lotion. Spoiler alert, It ain't no lotion.
I know what you think, OMG La Mer, how annoyingly expensive, you're just another braggy sonofabitch like the rest of 'em. 
No. I've done the La Mer creams and what not and they aren't for me. But this? This is wholly worthy of inclusion into a post.  Do I know how expensive it is? Fuck yeah. But it's my face I'm talking about here, not my elbow, not my hands, not my legs. My over 30-year-old, acne prone, business wheeling and dealing face. And all I know is this lotion feels more like a toner but it's amazing nonetheless. I use my clean hands and dab a couple drops to let it soak into my skin. Letting it dry is key here. I'm layering product number two on my newly cleaned skin so I let the first layer take a minute to absorb before introducing the La Mer Treatment Lotion. What's so fabulous about it? It claims to moisturize (it does) and help balance your skin texture (it does), but what I love about it is how dewy my skin feels immediately after using it. I feel expensive, but with acne, which is I guess middle-class fancy — and that's still pretty fucking cool. It makes a nice primer for the next step, which could honestly be nothing, but I do like to add one more thing.

Step 5: Moisturize, Anti-Age All-In-One Serum Lotion. 
Listen, I don't know what exactly makes this Clarins Double Serum special besides the fact that the bottle seems to contain one serum within another one, but I do know is that it is one of the most agreeable anti-aging serums my face has ever experienced. My skin tends to get very fickle after applying products, much less three in a row, so it's a dang miracle that Clarins manages to be one of the few day time and night time moisture solutions that work with a bunch of other stuff or by itself.
After I let the La Mer lotion fully absorb I use the lowest setting on this double serum's fancy bottle (it gives you the option for one drop or two, but a little goes a long way with this one). I dab this on my face and pat it evenly around my cheeks, forehead, around my eyes, and finally a little on my oily ass chin because apparently if I deprive this needy section of skin with the moisture it retaliates with its own pore-clogging oil. I let this final layer of product dry and admire my dewy skin in the mirror. 

This combination works for me right now, so I love it and want to share. I dermaplane my skin every two weeks with a face razor, I use other products during that time, and during high-noon pimpled times my routine changes a lot. Which I will share once I figure out how to leave work with more time to do things like eat, shower, relax, etc.

Let's talk cost:

The Night Routine:
- Target Washcloths, $2.99
- Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil, $48
- Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder, $65
- Pura D'Or Vitamin C, $12.43
- La Mer Treatment Lotion $145
- Clarins Double Serum, $122

TOTAL cost = $395.42
That's like $400 dollars. WTF. 
First of all: I KNOW. It's expensive. BUT these products will last a good 6+ months so there's that.
You do the math on that cost per use and you start getting into some rational territory:
6 months = 180 days , so $400 dollars ÷ 180 days is roughly $2.22 a night.

Suggestion? Build up the products slowly.
FFS don't go out and put these on a credit card. There are many lessons to be had there!
Everyone's skin is different, so go to Sephora and Nordstrom (two very samples-friendly places) and ask for hella samples for all of these before you commit. Especially the pricey items like Clarins and La Mer. Test them out! See how they make your skin feel. If you like them, incorporate them one at a time to your routine. While you do that, I think the Vitamin C and washcloths are no brainers due to their nominal costs.   

__________

Update 11:41pm | Thanks to @animalnecklaces for the note on Instagram about forgetting to include La Mer cost. Love the eagle eyes, girl!

Internet Request: Seeking Brow Grooming Product

Dear Internet,

I need to find an eyebrow product that is great for holding the shape of the longer unruly brow hairs. I know there are plenty of eyebrow tints and gels and what not, and I'm not interested in that or Boy Brow (so please don't!). I'm looking for a hairspray, but for brows. Maybelline makes a clear gel that works well for about 10 minutes then completely evaporates and you're back to square one. Anyone know of a good option? A wax? Something with a brush?

Sincerely yours,

OMG

Heavy Sleeper (or, Beauty Roundup for Dry Patchy Skin)

A few weeks ago my skin was in a bit of turmoil. It's in between the cold winter dry season and the upcoming spring with its pollen and allergies. My skin is more fickle than ever, seemingly quenched one minute, then completely parched. I've shaken up my beauty routine to compensate and this is what has been working for me so far.

I start to remove makeup with Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil which is my absolute favorite right now because it's just so damn effective at removing it all without stripping my skin to dryness. Just wet your face and rub this magic little oil on your face. You'll look like a coal miner for a bit but just don't look in the mirror and rinse when you feel all your makeup is gently dissolved. My skin tends to be a bit too oily after this, so I use the Tatcha's Rice Enzyme Powder right after. 

I feel like the Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder helps balance out the excessively oily feeling on my skin and leaves it feeling crisp and baby soft, but most importantly clean. 

So now that my face is clean, I need to hydrate. Personally, I prefer to use a moisturizer that addresses some anti aging needs, so I apply for Clarins Multi-Active Nuit. It's lovely. It has a gentle scent and a heavy viscosity but not any stickiness. I feels heavy on the skin but soon absorbs leaving my skin feeling balanced and ready for bed. 

To avoid product build up on my skin I like to use Dr. Brandt's Microdermabrasion face cleanser every 3 days, and whoa mama that really helps even things out. Acne scars on my chin are dissipated and my annoying patchy skin feels calm and resolved. 

Miracles, people. My skin complexion is awesome for once, which translates to me feeling better. These are just my favorite products right now, so I hope you don't think I'm preaching when I'm telling you what is working for me. 

Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil | Tatcha Rice Enzyme Powder | Clarins Multi-Active Nuit | Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Cleanser

collage by me
 

Aesop Skincare By The Number$: Justifying the Cost For Great Beauty Products

Let me preface this very long post with a big thumbs up endorsement for Aesop. In this post I will walk you through my decision process that made me first aware of this well designed brand and why I eventually paid my hard earned money for my first bottles of product.

So to start, let's state for the record that I'm just like you; I work hard, I like nice things, and I'm a sucker for great packaging. So it's no surprise that after seeing this social media darling brand on Instagram prominently for over a year now I finally caved and plunked down the funds for a toner and a moisturizer. I didn't do it because I'm a brand whore. Sure, I'm a weak person and am occasionally blinded by labels, but I'd like to think that I rise above that temptation more often than not. To state it simply, I'm a consumer and a human being just like you; I get up in the morning and wash my face, slather on moisturizer, get some SPF in there, and get ready for my work day. I too get frustrated when my skin occasionally erupts with pimples, or insane dry patches mixed with what seem like oil slicks, or even hives on crazy sensitive days. I've been #blessed with pretty good skin in that I never had very bad acne, but the fact is my own face is on my person for life, and when it's not in tip-top shape it eats away at my resolve to be a confident person. So I research the hell out of products to try.

I was on the Kiehl's wagon for a couple years before, but my skin was ultimately either too sensitive to some of the more antioxidant oriented products or just plain unchanged by the much-heralded tried and true favorites. So I moved up to Aveda: I liked it! I love some of the hair products and like that they are more natural and plant based than other products. But after a while I was wishing the toners and moisturizers I was using were a little more potent — had more oomf to really last through the day. I even tried laddering up to the even more intense product line, but that ultimately proved too oily or equally ineffective. So I sat without a go-to skin regimen for months. I didn't want to just go out and buy anything either, so I was using body lotion on my face, or over the counter Ponds cream, which was nice for a while, but over time the lack of quality of ingredients, or the mish mash of ingredients (or both?) really started to run amuck on my face. Disaster. 

Sure, I am tried using Glossier's moisturizer, but I consider that product strictly makeup because it really does nothing more for my skin that make it ready to accept the skin tint. That leads me to a couple weeks ago when Aesop became a real frontrunner based off of what I read online about their ingredients and convincing product descriptions. So I lurked around the intimidating beauty counters with pricey skincare items and I practically insisted that the salespeople everywhere give me enough samples to try an entire regimen with Aesop for long enough to verify a) nothing would make me break out in pimples or hives, or b) if the designer/cult hype behind them was real. 

I worked like a conman, hitting up different stores at different times getting samples to make sure I had what I needed to try Aesop out before buying anything. This, my friends, is not tacky behavior, and in fact I stand by it because Aesop is not cheap. The initial cost of 2-3 bottles of anything will run about $200+. (Tangent/support message: If you too are on the fence but feel all sheepish about asking for free stuff you need to snap out of it. Go out and get yourself some samples until you're happy and satisfied with your new resolve to spend over $200 on pricey skin care products. No one will judge you! And if they do, who cares! These people don't pay your bills!! You do!!! So you do you.)

Olga, I'm getting worried, this is a really long post, even for you. Is there a point?

Yes. There is. Bless you. My point is this: 

After living off samples for about 3 weeks I can attest to the fact that it takes very little of Aesop product to quench your beautiful face and slather it in concentrated beautiful smelling goodness. So when you do the math, a $65 of toner (like the Parsley Seed one above) will probably last you about 4-5 months. That's $13 a month, people, or $0.43 cents a day. Nice right? Take the superb Parsley Seed face moisturizer as another example, that bottle is even smaller but I only use about two pea size amounts on my face because this shit is that good. A little truly goes a long way here. That bottle costs another $65, and I can estimate there are about 3-4 months of pea sized portions in there. That comes down to $16.25 a month, or $0.54 cents a day. All told I purchased my favorite hand balm as well for $27.

That to me is a good purchase because I've not only proven to myself that it satisfies my skin's needs, but after the initial ramp up costs, the products themselves are well worth the money for how long they last. If anything, I suggest buying one bottle at a time with each paycheck and over time growing your favorites of whatever that brand may be.

Bonus: when there are beauty events that involve extra large gifts with purchase go for it. 

UPDATED: So you're interested in the Glossier Phase I set

UPDATE 3/4/15 : It's been a couple months since I've purchased my Glossier Phase I set (4 months to be exact) and I figured it's time to give this post an update. The photo below is a picture I had taken recently and features "my problem areas" — that is, my chin and capillary showy nose area. I haven't edited the photo above, so you can see how Glossier is good at making the skin dewy but not perfect. The effect isn't obliterating your features, which is awesome and over time has become my favorite feature. 

In my review below I was pretty adamant about the only two pieces of the Glossier Phase I set being the Skin Tint and the moisturizer, and months later, I'm still 100% behind this statement. The moisturizer is definitely not replaceable, despite by braggadocio attitude at the end of my review that I can just replace it willy nilly with something else. It turns out the moisturizer truly acts (as advertised) as a primer for the Skin Tint. Further research on the Glossier site to find a reason behind this claim's efficacy finds that the moisturizer has a sort of skin plumping action and some alleged "diamond powder" that helps your skin glow. Listen, this may just be marketing speak but I'm on board because it does follow through on the promise to prime, therefore helping your skin be a little smoother before even applying the Skin Tint.

The takeaway is that I will be repurchasing the Skin Tint and the Priming Moisturizer together because I like the simplicity of the two products and how well it works into my makeup routine. I do have to reiterate though that beyond the occasional pimple on my chin my skin is not much of a hassle (#blessed, #notahumblebrag, #factsonly, etc.) When I do get more than the occasional blemish (which I do thanks to my woman hormones) I do supplement the Skin Tint with some more heavy duty concealer that I simply dot on top of the entire process.

And finally, don't forget the SPF! Just because it's not in the product (because it would likely change the texture of the moisturizer or tint) doesn't mean you should shy away from slathering some on your face after you moisturize. 

**This post has NOT been sponsored. These opinions are my own and unbiased. In other words, I'm just like you, tryin' to figure it all out.**

ORIGINAL REVIEW 11/1/14:

You're looking at the only two pieces worth having in the Glossier Phase I pack: The primer/moisturizer and the skin tint (mine is in Medium.)
 

The experience: I recently purchased the set in medium with zero expectations. I'm not expecting miracles, but I was excited by #skinisin approach and their impressive roster of bloggers and fashion people that seemed to speek wonders about Glossier. I researched the products for days after the initial launch trying find some concrete answers about what the skin tint was all about since it seemed to be the star of the lineup. The website is pretty vague, cute!, but vague. Admittedly, I was intrigued and ultimately compelled to purchase because of the promise that Glossier — how the hell do you even pronounce the name anyway? Glossy-eh? Glossy-ER?— will not cover up your skin. It doesn't hurt that Emily Weiss, the gorgeous founder with seemingly perfect "I'm not wearing makeup, this is just my face" skin, is a very pretty salesperson for her own brand. The free shipping on the entire pack was also a plus, and upon reading the fine print there was a return policy if you were unhappy. So there's that.

The packaging: The box the set comes in is pretty nice. I didn't care for the pink bubble zip baggies the products com in, or emojis all over the inside of the box for that matter. I chose not to use the stickers because I really just don't care to accessorize my makeup, and frankly they did not seem authentic to the brand Glossier is trying to be. I would have eaten it up if this was Tavi Gevinson venture, who made a name with the Rookie hand-drawn whimsical feel, but not for Glossier. A major downside right off the bat was for the moisturizer tube cap not being as secure as it should be. I traveled with the Phase 1 set recently and opened my make up bag after a flight to find moisturizer literally everywhere due to the cap buckling under the pressure of being in my carry on. Other than that, pretty nice. 

THE PRODUCTS

Rosewater spray: it's nice, but it's essentially just plain ol' rosewater spray.  There's nothing really new here. I will say that the spray itself is a little intense — big globlets of water all over your face in one giant generous burst — but otherwise the water itself is just...nice. I probably won't order this again since I prefer Aveda's toners and sprays over this.

Moisturizer Primer: This is a winner for me, but only because it seems to make the skin tint work better. The lotion absorbs quickly, which is a great relief since the consistency is so thin. It does seem buildable as advertised, but be warned that if you have dry skin in the winter skin like me, you'll need another moisturizer before you put this on your face to get through the day. Otherwise you'll be itchy and with each smile and wince you'll have that awful stretchy skin feeling. Also, WTF at the fact that there is NO SPF in this. Wrinkle prevention = SPF daily, even when it's cloudy, so it's kind of insane that it's not even mentioned where or when any SPF would be used with this system. I use Neutrogena's Dry Touch 100 SPF daily anyway, but it would have been nice for a moisturizer to have it built in so I don't have to layer so many things on.

Balm Dot Com: This is a tube of Vaseline. Real hard-to-get-out-of-the-tube Vaseline. Nothing to see here.

Skin Tint (medium): Let's start by saying that my face skin is pretty fair, so it was a huge surprise that my skin shade matched so well with the Medium tint. I'm usually on the fair spectrum in any brand of tinted moisturizer or foundation, so I'm really kind of shocked that this is called Medium. I'll be very curious to see what Glossier names their additional shades for people with actual dark or medium skin tones — More-Medium? Super-Medium? Initial shade shock aside, the skin tint is an anomaly: It's a liquid, so just know that. And the bottle is tiny. There aren't really directions for how to apply it, or even how much you have to use, so I just pretty much go for it each morning with about 8-10 drops (depending on my complexion that day) to get the full effect. What's the full effect? In a word it's kind of rad. I put drops directly on my face, kind of dotting out a grid pattern over my cheeks, chin, and forehead, then I gently pat and spread the tint around my face until it disappears. Be warned that it will look like it does absolutely nothing for about a minute, but then all of a sudden it just changes to make your skin look a little more even and dewy as advertised. The less you use, the less this effect is apparent. So I'd say you have to be generous with the skin tint to be able to achieve the illusive "I'm hardly wearing makeup" look. After waiting a bit my skin is noticeably smoother, but definitely not caked or even made up, which is what makes this worth posting about in the first place. Disclaimer: My skin is pretty nice to begin with and I'm not a huge fan of foundation or "covering up" my skin. This is not a humble brag, but rather just a fact that I don't have to do (or like doing, for that matter) much to my face other than cover up my crazy visible capillaries around my nose and cheeks and the occasional pimple and redness. The Glossier skin tint is pretty great at obscuring those little imperfections but not hiding my skin or caking on a new texture to get a more airbrushed look. My makeup routine in the morning is 5-10 minutes tops, including washing, moisturizing and makeup, so if you're used to spending more time on your face in the morning you may not be into this super light coverage.

Overall? I'd buy the skin tint again, but maybe not the moisturizer. I'm going to continue to experiment with the lotion and whether I even need the Glossier one. Honestly, right now some readily available drugstore Pond's night cream is the most comfortable thing for my face right now, so I've been using that more and more.
 

GLOSSIER Phase 1 Set