Hello ladies, it’s time to talk about healthy, clear skin.  It is something we all aim for, yet life and stress and hormones can surely get in the way. If you have oily skin or acne prone skin, this regiment of skin care products might just work for you. Lets chat about some all natural items to help stay clear and shine free! If you are anything like me you have a cabinet FULL of things you have tried that we either “ok” or “just don’t work” – and the collection keeps growing. Trust me, I know and my husband constantly calls me the product hoarder because I just keep trying out so many new skin care product and yet never find a regiment that truly makes me feel good and look my best.

It’s always a struggle for me because even though I am in my 30’s I still get oily skin and the occasional break outs – so my mission since my teens has not changed – find products that can clean my skin without drying it out, stop me from over producing oil without feeling really tight and provide me with moisture to help with wrinkles and fine lines. I will say that one good thing about having oily skin is it does prevent you from aging and wrinkling early in life – that might be the only plus side. This post will be dedicated to sharing with you my current skin care routine, both morning and night, using a variety of natural skin care products that are all very affordable and made with great ingredients.

I hope you enjoy and learn a lot from this post, and if you have any questions feel free to share them in the comments section below.

So here I am, after my morning skin care routine and ready to head to work and face the day (no pun intended). For day time I have a few goals: cleanse my face from the night before, don’t over dry my skin otherwise it will just produce even more oil, use a product to moisturize that isn’t too thick or heavy, and then use something to suppress extra oil production. For a long time I couldn’t find products to do all of those things without making me feel like I was putting way too many layers on my face. For daytime I wear a light foundation, usually Tarte Amazonian Clay powder or their Amazonian Clay liquid if I need more coverage. I use the MAC blot powder to finish it and set it, and also because that powder helps to stop oil production to (or so they say.)  I like my face to be matte, I don’t like shine or shimmer unless I put it there with a highlighter.

♥ Morning Skin Care Routine ♥

For my morning cleansing I use the Andalou Naturals Cleansing Gel for Clarifying. This product is clear, with a small citrus scent. You need one tiny pump and use it with luke warm water to wash your face. It will lather up really well and the smell also wakes me up in the morning too. I massage this in gently for about 2 minutes and then rinse with luke warm water. For oily skin, never wash with hot water or it just seems to open the pores and promote oil production for some reason. After washing I gently pat my face with a soft towel – do not rub your face dry ever.

Once my face is dry from washing I move onto my next step which is to moisturize and prevent oil production. In the morning I skip any kind of toner since the more dry your skin is, the more oil it produces. The last thing you want in the morning is to strip your skin of all oils and then trigger it to respond by creating oil to moisturize itself again. So for the next step I combine two products: 1 dropper of Insta Naturals Age-Defying Retinol Serum and a small drop of Acure Oil Control Facial Moisturizer. The retinol serum has 2.5% Retinol protection to protect against free-radical damage, our formula works to reverse signs of aging and sun damage. It also has Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Green Tea that work together to repair skin damage around the face, eyes and neck, while Hyaluronic Acid provides superior hydration for soft and youthful-looking skin. The liquid is clear and feels refreshing and cool on your face. The oil control moisturizer really does help to keep oil at bay during the day for me. The serum + moisturizer are a winning combination for me.

When it comes to skin care products I aim to buy natural and/or organic now whenever I can. It seems to be the best for my particular skin type, especially after so many years of using over the counter stuff that just dried the crap out of my skin and perpetuated my break outs. Now since switching to all natural lines my skin has been so much healthier and consistent. 

After mixing in the palm of my hand I pat into my skin gently all over and allow to dry before applying any foundation. This duo does not feel tacky or sticky at all, it is a very thin layer and keeps my skin matte yet still feels moisturized. Neither of these have a noticeable scent either and layer very well with makeup. If you plan to wear heavier make up you can always use a makeup primer like Benefit Porefessional which is one of my favorites to help blur pores and make your skin look flawless!

♥ Evening Skin Care Routine ♥   

In the evening it is time to remove everything from the day; dirt, oil, makeup, free radicals, pollution – everything! In the evening time I like to take a hot bath, relax and pamper myself (if I have the time). I leave a few of my beauty products on the bath ledge so I am always ready to go! At night I like to use a combination of my Andalou Naturals Cleansing Gel, I do that first, and then after that I use a small amount of an exfoliating cleanser like Peter Lamas Pumpkin Facial Scrub. If I want to not use Andalou twice in one day I then opt for the Peter Lamas Detoxifying Citrus C Facial Cleanser. Either one will do the trick to remove the layer of makeup and grim. The exfoliating cleanser helps to really get everything out though. I only use an exfoliating cleanser at night since it can be a bit drying and also can stimulate your skin to produce oil, unless you are putting a heavier moisturizer on after (which I do at night time). After I do that I pat my skin dry and then get ready for my moisturizer and eye treatment.

For my eye cream I use the smallest amount and place it on the tip of my ring fingers and then slowly pat that into my under eye area and crows feet areas. I like the 100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream. It has no scent and is very soothing and it helps with dark circles and puffiness. Make sure not to rub this into your under eye area, which is a very delicate area and should not be pulled. I find that doing this simple step every night has made my eyes and under eye area much brighter and more rested looking.

After I do my under eye treatment then it’s on to my final two steps. I like to use a small drop of the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Daily Moisturizer for Oily Skin. I work that in all over and let it set and dry. Once I do that then I use a small amount of the complimentary La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo which is an imperfections corrector. It seems to work to help even out skin tone, lighter brown spots or acne scars and give my skin an overall more rested and healthy appearance. Both of these are light weight and don’t feel thick like a heavy night cream at all. It helps to keep my skin moisturized but without being so heavy that I wake up with a very oily face in the morning, which tends to happen if I wear a heavier night cream.

So far this combination of products has been doing well on my skin. I have not had any issues with any of these items and many of them I would repurchase again. As we move into the fall and winter season it is so critical to keep your skin moisturized so hopefully some of these products work for you.  

  

Bonus beauty tip: if you find yourself getting oily and don’t have blotting papers just use a toilet seat cover – they work exactly the same way and they’re free!!

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