2013 Skincare Favorites

Continuing on with my favorite 2013 beauty finds; today I wanted to share some of my favorite finds in the skincare world!  

I fell in love with skincare products this past year.  I know I'm a little late to the game but I never had much interest in my teenage years and early 20's.  I was really lucky back then - I rarely had a breakout and had very normal skin.  I would regularly fall asleep with my makeup on (isn't that gross!!!???? I would never dream of doing that now!) and washing my face consisted of rubbing my makeup off with a facecloth and water.  

A couple years ago I guess my terrible skincare habits caught up with me and I found myself battling acne for the first time in my life!  Ok, "battling" is a little dramatic .... but that's how it felt since I never had to worry about it for so long.  I was also noticing more oily areas on my skin and dark circles under my eyes.  I didn't know what to do because I had never experienced this before, so I was definitely a newbie to the skincare world!  I have since found a combination of products which have worked really well for me so I am planning a post on my full skincare routine.  

For now, here are my favorite skincare finds from 2013!

1. Bioderma Cleansing Water

I don't know what I was thinking when I used to wash my face.  I would rub my face with a facecloth, then follow that up with my cleanser.  I couldn't figure out why my face was breaking out!  I would use a toner after cleansing and noticed so much makeup left on my skin and would get angry thinking my cleanser wasn't working.  When I thought about it I clearly wasn't effectively removing all of the makeup from my skin first.   

Enter Bioderma into my life.         

This stuff quickly became a holy grail product for me! The full name is: "Bioderma Crealine H2o Ultra-mild Non-rinse Face and Eyes Cleanser" (quite the tongue twister!) and it is a soap free, non foaming, non detergent, neutral pH makeup remover and cleansing water.  It gently and effectively removes every trace of makeup and even works to remove waterproof mascara!  I like another product for that pesky mascara which I will mention below but in a pinch this works too!  I have tried a couple other cleansing waters but what I love about Bioderma is it doesn't dry out my already dry skin!  The other wonderful thing about living in Canada is we can buy it here at Shoppers Drug Mart! You can also find it online but otherwise it can only be purchased in France! The price tag isn't cheap on this stuff (about $20 for a 250 mL bottle) but let me tell you it is so worth it.  My Mom and I have also found this at Shoppers Drug Mart in a pack where you get two bottles for $30 so we like to split the cost and that way only pay $15 each! 

I love how gentle this is in literally removing every trace of makeup.  It provides a great canvas for my cleanser to then really do it's job and cleanse my skin rather than fight through left over layers of makeup. 

That was a very long description but this stuff deserves it.  Obviously I highly recommend it!    

2. Clinique Take The Day Off Makeup Remover For Lids, Lashes & Lips

I have a hard time finding a makeup remover for my waterproof mascara.  I usually wear waterproof because my eyelashes seem to grow straight out, so I need some help in keeping them curled and waterproof formulas work great for that.  My all time favorite is actually baby oil but I find that hard to travel with and really messy in my bathroom cabinet.  I recently tried this Clinique makeup remover and love it!  This stuff takes off every trace of mascara and doesn't irritate my eyes or cause me to rub them too hard to get off the makeup.  Just as the Bioderma, it isn't cheap but I don't mind paying a little extra to know it works.  If you have just as hard of a time getting off your waterproof mascara give this a try! 

It also, as the name suggests, takes off lipstick and lip stains really well.  I experimented with a very bright and bold red lip recently before a night out and changed my mind.  I was thankful I had this as it took off every trace of red from my lips so I could start all over!   

3. Arbonne FC 5 Nurturing Day Lotion & Moisturizing Night Creme

My skin is typically dry so I like a good thick moisturizer.  I used to make the mistake of using a heavier moisturizer all the time, day and night.  I soon realized this was causing my makeup to not sit right throughout the day because my moisturizer was too heavy.  I switched to the Nurturing Day Lotion for daytime wear and the Moisturizing Night Creme only at night.   I actually look forward to putting these on my face every day - they are soothing, moisturizing and have a light fresh scent.  Usually scented products irritate my skin but this scent is so natural it has never caused a reaction.  I wake up with the smoothest skin and the day lotion sits so perfectly under my makeup.  Since I have normal to dry skin this line works best for me but Arbonne has a big range of products so I'm sure you could find something to fit your skin needs perfectly!  I also love that the day lotion has SPF in it which is so important especially for the face! 

4. Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream

 I am new to the world of eye creams but tried a sample size of the Benefit It's Potent eye cream and really loved it.  This is said to be a brightening eye cream to help fade dark circles (yay!).  My small sample lasted me over a month which was really impressive so you do get a lot of bang for your buck!  It is very also very hydrating and soothing to the eye area - didn't irritate my skin at all.  I decided to try a new eye cream once I ran out of this sample and although I like it it isn't targeted for dark circles and I recently noticed they are more prominent since I stopped using "It's Potent".  I am excited to use up my current eye cream and repurchase this one again! 

5. Kleenex Hand Towels

I know what you are thinking - what does this have to do with skin care?  I have been using these for about a month to dry my face after my cleansing routine at night rather than a towel.  I used to try and be diligent about using a specific towel only for my face but found I wasn't great at remembering to replace it that kind of defeated the purpose.  You could have a separate stack of small towels to wipe your face with every night but I just found that was creating a lot of laundry and I love the convenience of these hand wipes.  I keep them under my cabinet and pull one out anytime I wash my face and that way I know I'm getting a sanitary and clean cloth each time.  I have noticed a nice difference in my skin tone and way less breakouts recently and I think these have played a big part!  The boxes come in lots of different patterns too so they look really nice in any bathroom color scheme. 

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Since I have become sort of addicted to skincare products I will definitely be posting more of my favorites as I discover them!

 ** I took a trip to Minneapolis this weekend and purchased some new stuff so I will keep you all updated on that!! **

As much as I love makeup,  it isn't something I want to rely on to feel good - when my skin is looking its' best I feel so much better about myself!  As an added bonus my makeup applies so smooth when my skin is looking and feeling good (and I use way less of it!).  Once you wash off all that makeup at the end of the day you are left with your skin and you want to make sure you are treating it right so you can look and feel your best.  

Happy Tuesday! Now don't forget to wash those beautiful faces tonight!! :)