Topic #2: Skincare

Today I have the second topic of the #2014BloggerChallenge which was skincare.  This is going up a little late as I was gone on vacation this past week and didn't really have much access to internet while I was gone.  It was a family trip to Disney World and very enjoyable but my skin is hating me right now.  Between getting a little sunburned, not having all of my skincare items, and how hard the water was, my skin is feeling really coarse and dry and needs some serious TLC.

But to start, here's a rundown of my current night routine:

On the days I wear makeup, I first use the Neutragena make up remover wipes. Out of all the makeup wipes I've used, these are the best.  I then follow this by using Villainess Datura Slick, which is an oil cleanser good for removing eye makeup and helping with congested skin (this was the main cleanser I used on my trip as I could not find my travel size bottles to bring my usual cleanser).

During my shower I wash my face using The Face Shop Herb Day 365 Cleansing Foam in Acerola. I also have the same cleanser in lemon waiting to be tried.  My toner is Etude House Skin [Mal:Gem] Smoother.  I finally used up all my moisturizer samples that I have and recently bought Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. This I took with me on the trip, which on top of not having my cleanser and toner was probably not a great choice.  I don't think it's moisturizing enough for my skin but I have to wait to decide that once I incorporate with my full skincare routine.

I exfoliate twice a week using The Face Shop Smart Peeling White Jewel Peeling.  Using exfoliators that beed up are the most gentle on my sensitive skin.  When I want to pamper my skin a bit, I use a sheet mask (my current stash is all from The Face Shop).

Since my skin is not in the greatest condition right now, I thought it would be appropriate to share my bad habits in regards to skincare.

• I tend to not wash my face in the morning on the days that I work. My shift usually starts at 5:30 in the morning, so I tend to stay in bed til the last possible moment before getting dress and leaving.  So usually, I only wash my face once a day.
• This is more make up related but it does impact my skin - I'm awful at cleaning my brushes (which seems to be a pretty common vice).  I really should probably wash my brushes once a week or even every other week, so less bacteria grows and probably transfers to my face.
• I think I tend to overestimate how oily my skin is. I know I have combination but am always hesitant on a heavy moisturizer even though it helps the dry skin I do have immensely.
• I am willing and happy to buy a lot of new skincare products all at once.  I sometimes can get a little carried away with trying multiple new products at a time, being too impatient to wait to ease them in my routine to make sure I don't have any bad reactions.

I could probably go on about this topic but I think I'll stop here.  Just saw the third topic which ties in nicely with another post I was planning on doing.  But for today I'm going to just read and catch up with everything while I was gone. Hope everyone has a great weekend.