My Current Skincare Routine

Hi everyone!

This winter has been rough on my skin. Back in December the weather was actually warm - in the sixties! - and then the end of January brought two months worth of snow. Yeah. Two months. March in particular has been terrible what with constantly fluctuating temperatures. In my neck of the northeast we had the slightest glimpse of spring... Only for it to drop down to single digits in two days, plus snow this weekend. Yikes. This has meant trying to find something for my very particular skin that keeps it hydrated and balanced without making it too oily.

I normally have very oily, acne-prone skin that runs on the sensitive side, especially when it comes to fragrances and cleansing tools like brushes. It's for this reason I love Clinique; all of their products are free of irritating fragrances and the dreaded perfumes.

I will say - I did work for them for almost a year, and that's where I learned to love their products. I found that they worked well for me, even when I would supplement their use with products from brands like Origins and Estee Lauder (which do use fragrances).

This winter I took a break from my Clinique Sonic Cleansing Brush to keep from aggravating my skin too much, only using it on days where I wouldn't be going outside. When I first got it I would use it every other day because I found that even though it was supposed to be designed for use on sensitive skin, I was still getting some irritation on my cheeks. I have started using it again every other day and bought the Acne Solutions Deep Cleansing Brush Head to go with it as I was in desperate need of a new one (my old one was so gross). So far, a few purge-based breakouts but overall I'm loving how my skin feels combining the brush and the Acne Solutions Cleansing Gel - a new switch for me as well, considering I loved the foaming cleanser previously.

I follow up with your typical three step - if you're familiar with Clinique skincare, you'll know all about the three step. (It's basically a cleanser, exfoliator, and moisturizer, specifically made for different skin types.) I use the Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion which also helps to mattify, and follow that up with the Acne Solutions All-Over Clearing Treatment, which is actually a moisturizer. This alone helps breakouts a ton and I'm obsessed with how it makes my skin feel.

However, my skin does need a little extra help, so I add Estee Lauder's Clear Difference Advanced Blemish Serum to give it an extra boost and also calm it a little bit. This is the only product with fragrance I put on my face, but it's such a light, calming fragrance I hardly even notice. So far I haven't had any bad repercussions from it so it's looking like I'm keeping it in my routine.

So that is my current skincare routine! It seems like a lot - it feels like a lot - but I really love the way my skin is looking and feeling with it. Do you have any skincare products you're loving right now? Let me know in the comments below!


As always, thanks for reading and I love you very much!

x Kristin

Review: The Body Shop Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream

Hi everyone! Welcome to my first beauty post of 2015 - hopefully one of at least fifty-two coming your way this year. I'm really excited to be reviewing this product because I'm really excited about the actual product itself!

I tend to struggle with BB creams because they lean more on the moisturizing side, I've found, and I'm an oily skinned girl. I don't need anything that's going to make me oilier - especially being acne-prone.

Then, I stumbled across The Body Shop Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream.

The really cool thing about this BB cream is that it treats blemishes while you're wearing it because it contains tea tree oil - if you couldn't tell by the name. That's kind of a lifesaver for people with skin like mine, even if you're a little bit skeptical about whether or not skincare-based foundations work. The other cool thing is that it's actually meant for oily girls like myself (oftentimes - not always, but oftentimes - oily skin and acne problems do go hand in hand, so that's such an important part of foundations that treat acne). It gives a matte look without being drying, but it doesn't add a ton of moisture either. It wears comfortably and lasts a long time, which I find to be a major plus. I have to wear a primer with pretty much everything and this stays really well without one.

Let's get some of the basics out of the way, shall we? The Body Shop website claims to give "flawless coverage whilst tackling the appearance of blemishes", something I'm not sure it quite lives up to. It gives some coverage, but it's definitely on the more sheer side with buildable coverage. In places where my skin is more problematic I tend to put up to three layers to give the kind of coverage I normally wear and feel comfortable with.

As you can see it does even out my skintone overall but that was with three layers in my t-zone, and you can still see a bit of my problematic areas. The other major issue I find with it is the shade range. It only comes in three options - light (my shade), medium, and dark. I think light is just a tad too dark for me, and I can't imagine that medium and dark will fit all different skin tones to really be a good fit for everyone. 

The formula itself is very thin and runny yet easy to blend and build up. I like using my Real Techniques expert face brush to buff it into my skin to really help get the coverage I like and make my skin look as flawless as possible. It does smell like tea tree oil when you first apply it, but the scent fades almost immediately upon application.

Overall, I like the BB cream for every day wear but I'm not sure if I'll run out and repurchase when I run out. 

Do you have a BB cream you love? Let me know in the comments below!

As always, thanks for reading and I love you very much!

x Kristin