Own: Give Your Skin a Break.

After a wonderful summer in NYC, it's time to recoup my skin.  All the sun that I got this summer has caused my face to freckle up and dry out and I've been looking for ways to improve its current state, but what I've realized is that my face doesn't need all that fancy, expensive frou-frou stuff.  It needs a break.  It needs real love and care.  I'm no skin care expert and I know that different skin needs different treatments so I'm just sharing with you what works for me.

Before I tell you what I've been doing for my skin, let me tell how my skin has changed.

1) Fewer breakouts.  I think new products sometimes cause my skin to freak out and it's only after extended use that this starts to happen.  I'm not sure what products were causing the break outs, but maybe it was just the fact that I was using so many new products.

2) Smoother skin.  When I wake up in the morning with my regime, my skin is BABY SOFT.  I LOVE IT.

3) No eye baggies.  A little extra moisture under the eyes before bed really makes a big difference.

4) More color.  I don't have to use nearly as much blush as I did in the summer!  That seems weird considering that most people have that "sun-kissed" look in the summer.  Maybe the products I was using before were covering up my glow!

Alright, so let me tell you what I've been using!

A good cleanser.  I took home a sample of the Fresh Soy Cleanser at the beginning of the summer and it's so gentle and amazing at removing eye makeup that I refuse to give it up.  Another thing- after I wash my face, I don't rub it dry with a towel.  Instead, I just gently dab with a towel and let it air dry.  It gives my skin a nice feeling of moisture even after I dry the water from my face.

A general moisturizer.  That's right.  I don't use a "face" moisturizer.  I use a general body moisturizer.  The one that I use is by C.O. Bigelow's Lemon Body Lotion.  Once I have that on, I just dab a little Lubriderm Intense Skin Repair under my eyes, rather than rubbing it in.

A gentle exfoliant.  After a dreamy facial at Grean Jones Spa in NYC a few weeks ago, I opted to buy the enzyme peel that they use during their treatments as a once-a-week treat for my face.  The Naturopathica pumpkin enzyme peel has been amazing and is extremely gentle- it has a little bit of grit for a soft exfoliation and after using it, my skin is brighter and softer.

I'm going to keep on this regime for another couple months and see where it takes me!  One important thing to add is that I wear SPF EVERY DAY.  EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Again, I'm not a specialist in any way, but I've heard from almost every specialist that I've seen that wearing SPF daily is extremely important when it comes to preventative care.  Anyway, wash your face and carry on!