Okay so disclaimer; this isn’t for the faint of heart or the ‘all-in-one-step’ kind of regimen, because even for me this feels daunting! But we’re doing it! Lets be real though- I’m middle aged folks! Ewww who even says that out loud?! Haha I do and this is what 35 looks like. Don’t think I’ve ever even said that out loud here but honestly I’m just confirming everyone’s math with my ’16 and pregnant’ story and then calculating my daughter’s age, she’s 18 yowza. But I don’t even care because I feel better now, in my own skin than I ever did at 25! Crazy right?! So I want to share my secrets, tried and trusted methods with you- from my skincare, to stuff we already know but maybe don’t yet do.
Although a big part of the way we age is attributed to genetics, it’s also about skin care, lifestyle, and acceptance (lol that last bit is for myself!). We’re all going to age, it’s a part of life, and wrinkles and fine lines around our eyes show that we’ve lived happily and laughed often, BUUUUT I’ll be damned if I don’t go out without a fight aka preventative measures! So I’ve been doing the following steps since I was 19 and my mom became a Mary Kay consultant… and then so did I! I’ve included price points from drug store products I like to high end brands.
CLEANSE
Even in my laziest, drunkest, most sleepiest of moments, I’ll ALWAYS take off my makeup. Always always always. If I can tell you ONE thing, it’s never to sleep in your makeup. I like to keep makeup remover wipes by my bed so that no matter what, I can just reach over, snag a wipe, and robotically wipe the day away without even having to get out of bed. Snaps for sleeps and no pants. Makeup remover wipes, Neutrogena wash, Fresh Soy Cleanser
TONE
Applying a toner to my skin after I’ve cleansed it is a step that I don’t think I started doing until a few years ago because it was under rated. However, toners remove residual make up, dirt, and oil from your face that cleanser left behind. Put some on a cotton round and see the grime that comes off that you didn’t even think was possible. Witch hazel, Kate Somerville, Simple & soothing, Skin Laundry
SERUMS
Think of serums as the red rope between your products and the deeper layers of your skin. They also contain a higher concentration of active ingredients so it’s like a helpful bouncer that also helps your products be more effective! It’s especially helpful to use a serum if you have fine lines, scarring, or acne. Hyaluronic Acid Serum (my all time holy grail of serums), Magic stripes, Vitamin C
HYDRATE
After you’ve applied your serum you’ll want to hydrate with a light yet effective moisturizer. I have extremely dry skin so this step is definitely needed for me, but if you have oily or acne prone skin I don’t necessarily think this step is a must for you. Just remember the more you strip your skin of moisture (try not to use alcohol based products), the more it will over produce oil hence causing more breakouts and more oillll. Embryolisse, Olay, Mario Badescu, Acure
PROTECT
The NUMBER ONE contributing factor to premature aging of your skin is the sun. Second is the way you sleep … yaaas I know! More on that later. Remember that UVA protects you from AGING rays and UVB protects you from BURNING rays. So I love using a full spectrum SPF and these are some of my faves: COOLA (mineral based woot!), Clarins, Shiseido, Neutrogena
EYE CREAM EYE CREAM EYE CREAM!!!
Can you tell I’m really all about eye cream?! The eyes have it baby, no matter what, your eyes and your hands will reveal all the things. The skin around our eyes is the thinnest of all our face, hence we age their the quickest, and why we get pesky fine lines and wrinkles there first because, thin skin. The tricky part of using eye cream is to find one that you can use around your entire eye not just underneath it. Most eye creams are designed to thicken the skin which you don’t want to have on your upper eye lid, so either apply it only beneath your lower lashes or use a cream designed for your entire eye like Algenist 360. Remember to use your ring finger (it’s the weakest and has the most padding … go ahead give it a feel) and to pat pat pat, in and up towards your nose. Never drag your skin out and down. Think “defy gravity baby cells”! I know I sound insano but I promise, this is the way. THE ONLY WAY *said in evil voice, but with a smile: Algenist 360, Shiseido, Mario Badescu, Garnier
EXFOLIATE 
Ok last one I promise! For now at least 😀 I like to exfoliate my skin 3 times a week. Sounds like a lot but I started off with once a week and then worked my way up to 3. You definitely don’t want to over exfoliate your face but exfoliation is imperative for skin renewal and cell turnover. As we age we lose collagen in our skin (and we produce less of it like why?!), those are the proteins that give us firmness and shape, ya know- taking our raisin like cells and plumping them up into big ol’ grapes! Clinique, Kate Somerville, Clarasonic, Tatcha
Alrighty, that’s it!!! Those are the steps I take daily. Daily y’all! There are other things I do too, like night treatments, skin masks, facials, hydration, lifestyle blah blah blahs but I’ll stop there for now because honestly it doesn’t matter what you do so long as you take up a simple skincare regimen and play it on repeat.
I have to say this for myself, but for you too if ever it feels like you’re feelin like your skin has lost it’s luster. We CAN age gracefully! BUT we shouldn’t put so much emphasis on how young we look or how youthful our skin is. C’est la vie baby. But hey, this is also coming from the girl who just wrote a book on skincare for you here lol
Is there anything here you weren’t using before that you saw here and will start implementing? What is your favorite skin care product?!
