Lacquered, Painted, Polished: skincare

Thursday, October 27, 2011

My Current Nightly Skincare Regimen

I rarely, well never actually, talk about skincare on this blog. Mostly because I really have no clue about it and have just barely begun to realize that "hey, I have skin!" and maybe I should start taking care of it. What has freaked me out the most is all the fine lines under my eyes that are cropping up and I'm not even 25 yet (only a little over a month, eep!).

I decided I should star some semblance of regular skin care and this is what I came up with at night. It's still a struggle to actually get myself to follow it every night, but I'd say 5 or 6 nights a week I succeed. And my skin already is looking better!

This isn't a review post, besides me just saying that all of these products work for me. I may get around to reviewing them eventually if I can motivate myself to do so, haha.

Black Magic Soap from One Hand Washes the Other

Burt's Bees Rosewater and Glycerin Toner

Burt's Bees Repair Serum

I was my face with a little scrubby cloth and Black Magic soap. Then I use a cotton pad soaked with the toner and wipe down my face (I'm not sure this step is completely necessary, but I do it anyway). Last I use a few drops of the serum on my whole face including below my eyes and on my eyelids. And that's it!

Thank you for reading and have a great day/night/whatever!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

LUSH Love Lettuce Mask Review

I've been sitting on this review for awhile just because I'm afraid people would think reviews for skincare items are kinda boring. It's not as interesting as lip swatches (my favorite thing to do, haha) but it probably gets stale seeing the same thing on my blog all the time. I'll just jump right in with a picture-

Ahh! Scary makeup-less mask face!

There isn't a LUSH store within 250 miles of me and I prefer to see products from a brand in person before I purchase online, so I have never owned any LUSH products. The city my parents live in recently opened a LUSH store so when I was visiting them a few months ago I stopped in. I wish I had read about how, um, helpful, the employees are before going so I would have been able to fend off their attacks better. But I walked in and was completely overwhelmed. I'm one of those shoppers who likes to be in my own little world while shopping and employees guiding me makes me nervous. The employees are super nice but extremely pushy. I know they are just doing the job they instructed to do and they HAVE to be that way, but I find it off-putting and makes me less likely to visit the store.

Anyway, I ended up buying the Imperialis face moisturizer and Love Lettuce Fresh face mask.

The mask comes in a 2.1 oz container and the "fresh" in it's name isn't just there for funsies. These mask aren't sold online, only is stores, because they really are fresh and must be kept refrigerated. They're meant to be used within 3 weeks because they don't have any preservatives. I accidentally forgot about mine in the fridge (I only had about 1 mask worth left) and when I checked it after 6 weeks (twice it's shelf life) I did see little bits of mold growing. So just make sure you use it within the stated time frame!

I have about the most normal skin you can have- not oily, dry, sensitive, or acne-prone so I'm probably not the best person to review skin care as most things seem to work at least okay for me. But I really love this mask. My face has never felt as soft as it does when I take off this mask. It doesn't feel super moisturized (I could probably go without a moisturizer though if I had to) but it feels really soft and clean. And the glowing after-mask skin never lasts, but this one definitely left my skin brighter for a bit. I have to warn you, I'm a bit of a masochist and like my exfoliators rough and scratchy. This isn't the roughest exfoliating scrub/mask thingy I've ever used, but isn't very gentle either. Oh, and I love the smell. It smells natural- like earthy lavender. Real lavender essential oil, not that fake perfume-y crap.

I'm sad that these masks expire so quickly mainly because I don't have a LUSH near me and can't stock up. In general I think LUSH is a bit overpriced and probably a bit overrated, but I do think they have some good products. And Love Lettuce is my favorite so far!