Monday, June 17, 2013

Skincare Series: Overview

Hi gals! So as mentioned in my last post, I am doing a skincare series for the next couple weeks and will be posting on Mondays and Fridays. This first post will just be an overview of all the products I use daily and weekly for my specific skin type (see the previous post for my skin type/issues) because that way I can zero in on certain holy grail products and you guys can request reviews on any of the products specified in this post. So let's get started!

 Cleansers


Starting with the cleansers, on a daily basis I use Pevonia Botanica's SpaTeen line for All Skin Types Cleanser (GOODNESS that is a mouthful). The other cleanser I use is the Yes to Tomatoes Daily Clarifying Cleanser, which lives in my shower. This is fantastic at taking off makeup but is not my favorite for daily use. 

 Toners


This is one area of my skincare routine I am extremely happy with. I don't know what it is about toners but they just feel so amazing on my skin and they are the one thing I use every night. The two I use is the Pevonia Botanica toner which is from the same line as the cleanser mentioned above, as well as the Tea Tree Water Toner from Lush. The Tea Tree Water is what I use as a "finishing spray" sort of thing because it has a convenient spray nozzle, while the Pevonia one I just put on a cotton ball.

 Moisturizer



This is the only moisturizer I use and it is, once again, from the Pevonia Botanica SpaTeen line. I will probably do a review of the trio later on in this series just because it is really the only repeated brand.

 Masks



My favorite part of skincare is definitely my weekly masks. The three I've been using for a couple months are the Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask, the FAB Beauty Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask, and the Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask. I'm going to do separate posts on each mask because they all do relatively different things for my skin.

Other "Stuff" :)



The final products I use are a facial scrub and spot treatment. The scrub I use is nothing special, just the classic St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub and I use this around once a week. The spot treatment I use is my #1 HOLY GRAIL skincare item, and the bottle looks really bizarre because I never travel without this, and it is my Lush Grease Lightning Spot Treatment. I think every person and their cat needs this product... just saying. 

Whoo! That was a lot of products. Sorry that was so long but I thought this post would be really useful to refer back to throughout this series and I wanted to include as many pics as possible. I hope you are having a fantastic day and I will see you on Friday! 

What does your skincare routine consist of?

-Rachael



Overview Pics





Sunday, June 16, 2013

Guess Who's Back!! + New Series Intro

Guess who's back, back, back. Back again, again, again. Rachael's back, back, back. Tell a friend, friend, friend. Sorry I couldn't resist :) So obviously I am back and will be blogging again! I've missed this blog a lot and I'm really excited to start this up again. I felt so bad about how I took a GIANT leap of absence from this blog but to be honest I felt like nobody was bothering to read or even look at it which is why I was hesitant to start it up again. However with over 230 pageviews I figured that it was time to feed the beauty-obsessing monster in me. As far as the second part of the title, I will be starting a new series for the next couple weeks involving all things...(drumroll)... skincare!! I know you are probably thinking "Rachael, how in the world are you going to make skincare interesting to look at/ read about/ care about?" Well my doubtful friends, I am going to be sharing not only my personal skincare routine, but my selective knowledge on facials, my holy grail products , as well as some tested DIY's that everyone can benefit from. So to start, I am going to tell you a little about my personal skin type and issues:

Skin Type: Oily/ Combination Oily (Much more oily in the summer with some dry patches in the winter)

Skin Concerns: Redness, Blackheads, Acne Prone (Teenage Skin)

Usual Steps in Routine: Makeup Remover, Cleanser, Toner, Moisturizer, Spot Treatment, Finishing Spray

Any Occasional Products: Scrub or Exfoliator, Face Masks

Sensitivity: Moderate

I will be most likely sticking to a Monday and Friday post schedule which means there will be a brand  new post tomorrow which will most likely be my skincare routine overview. I hope you like this series and I'm really excited to be back! Do you have any requests for this series?

-Rachael