Skin Care Routine as of August 2010
Okeedoke! So here is my official skin care routine that I’ve been doing consistently for at least 3 months now (some of the products are recent additions though). I thought I would share because it’s good to know what other people use, what works, and also because I get a lot of requests to spill the beans. ;D
Oh! I almost forgot about the FTC disclaimer: I never accept payment for reviews, nor am I affiliated with any of the brands mentioned. Sometimes I am sent products to review, but actually doing a review on them is up to me and whether I think it’s good enough to recommend to you guys.
I embedded the video below, and I included all the links to the products in this article.
{CLEANSER}
100% Pure Lavender Honey Facial Cleansing Foam, $18, 6 oz.
In the summer, I use this nightly and I usually wash twice — a real quick once-over and rinse, and then a second time where I spend about 30–60 seconds gently massaging the cleanser on my skin. You get a better, more thorough, but non-irritating washing that way. In winter, I wash nightly or every other night.
{EXFOLIATOR}
Skin Apothke Ubtan Scrub, $9, 2 oz. (lasts foreverrrrr)
Great for all skin types, works really well on sensitive and dry skin. Safe to use just once a week, or every other night. Imparts an amazing glow on your skin, and your skin will feel so incredibly smooth and nourished, not dry or irritated. I love this scrub.
{TONER}
Neem Man Neem Leaf Extract, $36, 8.4 oz.
I’m thoroughly addicted to this product. It comes straight from Australia, and it’s seriously worth the price. It lasts for a very long time, and it works really well to prevent blemishes and tone the skin. It’s a great product to have around for everything — blemishes, bug bites, sunburn, eczema, whatever you need it for, neem is there for you! 
I get the 250 ml bottle (8.4 oz.) every 2 or 3 months. I believe it’s an extra $10 or $11 to ship to the United States. (P.S. This is especially good for sensitive and dry skin that cannot tolerate tea tree oil.)
{MOISTURIZER}
100% Pure Coffee Cherry Caffeine Face Cream, $31.50, 1.6 oz. (lasts forever)
100% Pure Nourishing Facial Oil, $25, 1 oz.
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $12-$16 for 12–16 oz. at grocery stores
I like to rotate between these three moisturizers, and sometimes I include Tropical Traditions virgin coconut oil ($19.95 for 16 oz.) in the mix too. I like switching it up and I don’t use a moisturizer every night in the summer. In the winter, I use a moisturizer once or twice per day, and I’ll layer the oils with the face cream. I like to use the Nourishing Facial Oil around my eyes as well, as it is hydrating, anti-aging, and doesn’t clog pores.
{BLEMISH TREATMENT}
Best Bath Store Acne Treatment Gel, $16.95, 4 oz.
Just shake it up really well and apply a little amount to whatever spots need treating. Totally non-drying and also works great as a preventative for spots, which is great if you’re prone to hormonal pimples and blackheads in larger areas. Overall it’s the best blemish fighting stuff I’ve ever used.
Mario Badescu Silver Powder, $12, 1 oz.
This stuff has gotten over 100 stellar reviews on Makeup Alley — I’ve used it twice since I got it a week ago and love it. It works great for unclogging pores and preventing and removing blackheads. This will be a staple of mine, and I recommend it to anyone who gets blackheads or large pores or very oily skin that tends to get congested. Plus, you don’t use much, so this jar would probably last you a year if you used it 1–3 times per week.
{OTHER FUN STUFF}
Home Health Cold Pressed Castor Oil, $8.29, 16 oz.
I’ve used castor oil on my lashes for years and I swear by it. It truly nourishes your lashes, keeping them thick and healthy. Sometimes I wear my natural mascara and when I take it off at the end of the day, I apply a little bit of castor oil to re-nourish and re-hydrate my lashes.
Muji Cut Cutton Pads in Large, $4.95, 120 pads
These are great all-natural unbleached cotton pads, excellent for use with toners and lotion masks (a skincare technique recommended in Chizu Saeki’s Japanese Skincare Revolution book). I bought 4 bags of them back in December ’09 and I’m just now going through my second one. Well worth it.
Aloe Vera Gel – Fresh, ~$6.99 for a plant at nurseries
Aloe is a moisturizing, calming, healing, blemish fighting, wonderous plant. I highly recommend getting a plant or two (or three), taking good care of them (keep them in full sunlight, don’t overwater), and using their amazing gel when you need it. I’ve been using it nightly for about a week and tried it as a primer before putting on tinted moisturizer for an event — it worked great!
I always love knowing what you guys use in your skin care routines that work for you, so feel free to post a comment!
~Steph x
Here’s my routine:
Morning: I rinse my face with water then wipe on either witch hazel hydrosol or neroli hydrosol. If I have any zits, I dab tea tree oil on. Right now since it’s summer I don’t always moisturize afterward, but if I do I use either Weleda Skin Food or Amber’s Organics carrot oil facial cream. I really like the texture of this and the way it sinks in and makes my skin feel really soft. I’ve only been using it for a couple of days, though, and my skin tends to be pretty picky with moiturizers, so hopefully it won’t cause any breakouts because I really like the way it makes my skin feel. It does actually have a few ingredients that could technically help blemishes, so hopefully it won’t cause them.
Evening: Wash with either 100% Pure Lavender Honey Facial Cleansing Foam (love this, btw,) or 100% Pure Purity cleanser. (This one is technically marketed toward acne-prone skin, and while I don’t really breakout much anymore, my skin does let me know right away with some lovely zits if I’ve used a product it doesn’t like, so I thought this could be a good preventative cleanser. It’s also very cooling and tingly due to the peppermint and eucalyptus in it, and feels so good in the hot summer weather.) Then I do a lotion mask using Amber Organic’s hydrating Peppermint Orange facial toner, and once that dries, apply Best Bath Store acne gel if I have any spots at the moment. Following that, I moisturize with jojoba oil, sometimes using it plain and sometimes mixing in a few different essential oils for extra healing.
My skin looks pretty good right now doing this. It has a really nice healthy glow to it, and though I have a few zits along my jaw caused by the shampoo I was using, those are rapidly going down with the use of the Purity cleanser and the BBS gel.
Stephanie, just out of curiosity, in the morning do you just rinse your face with water? It sounds like you don’t use a cleanser in the morning, so I was just wondering if you just wash with water or use a toner or anything.
Hey Jenn, thanks for sharing your routine! I’m going to check out the Amber’s Organics line since you like it. To answer your question, no I don’t wash my face in the morning. Usually I spray some neem leaf extract on a cotton pad and wipe my T-zone, and finish with a light spray of the neem directly onto my face. I might also moisturize my cheeks since my T-zone doesn’t need any moisturizing in the summer. But that’s it for the morning.
~Steph x
Thanks for answering my question! The Amber Organics line has some really great prices–that’s what initially drew me to it. I recommend checking both her ebay and her website gardenofcures.com because some products listed in her ebay store are not listed on her site and vice versa. Also, do check her products because while most are handcrafted using herbs from her garden and pure essential oils and whatnot, a few do have some chemicals in them. There is a disclaimer on the site saying that they are trying to find new suppliers, as some of the stuff they buy comes from sellers who add chemicals. Most of the stuff is really good, though. Great customer service, too. I’ve just recently started using her products, but so far so good, and there is so much to choose from.
Hey I am posting a comment here for the first time–
I actually bought the Ubtan face scrub by Skin Apothke through your recommendation , since i know what Ubtan means I kind of also wanted to try it out myself just to see because usually I can mix my own combination of stuff, so seriously I was not expecting much but I have been blown away. I could not believe how soft my skin looked in just one use and you are right Stephenie it has a nice soft glow to it that I never have got from anything else, I am amazed and stupefied at how easy it is to get such nice glowing skin with something so simple from just a mixture of powders! not only that I have had some past acne marks that have been clearing away, I am using this on my skin every night as a cleanser, I have never used anything before in my life that has had the ability to do this. I mix this with yogurt(on alternate days) otherwise with water and leave it on as a paste for five minutes and rinse off to beyond gorgeous skin.
I wanted to tell you that thank you so much for bringing this to our attention and recommending this to us, I am convert to epicbeautyguide for recommendations.
P.S– just to let everyone know– you cannot apply pressure while using this scrub, which I kind of did cause I am used to maybe too many traditional scrubs maybe, but my skin kind of got irritated(not a break out just irritation) but I still wanted to use it the next day and I used it as a cleanser and not apply any pressure and my skin cleared up the very next day.
Thank you
hey there !!! i hv vrey bad oily skin !!! and these products are not available in my country !!!
wht should i do?
Hey there, if you don’t see them in your stores, then check to see if you can order them online. If not, check for similar products with similar ingredients. I hope that helps!
~Steph
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hie,
do post some home made scrubs, face packs and other treatments for oily acne prone skin.…
like your blog..lots of useful info..
keep up the good work
asha