It’s a weird time to be alive and a time when skincare and the whole ritual that surrounds it has become extra important. With social distancing at the forefront of our consciousness (hopefully) towards the second month of the global pandemic, I think lots of us are experiencing traumatized skin — either from wearing masks, the change in weather or from the added stress of uncertainty. Participating in a bit of an extravagant skincare ritual helps to bring some normalcy for me and I thought I’d blog about it to be extra therapeutic. For reference, my skin is dehydrated, dry, a bit congested, dull and needs a bit of barrier TLC at the moment. I’ve been getting reacclimatized to using a prescription retinoid in my routine and may have gone a little overboard with it…
Paula’s Choice The Unscrub ($29 US | 118 mL): Even though I have skin that is very sensitive and reactive to any sort of manual abrasion, I do enjoy gentle physical exfoliation maybe once or twice a week. As someone who is prone to dry patches of texture and is currently using acid exfoliants and a prescription retinoid, I appreciate an uber gentle product like this one. It uses jojoba esters for exfoliation rather than jagged beads, only uses gentle cleansing agents and features antioxidants and soothing ingredients. It never strips my skin and gently sloughs away at any little bits of flaking or textural irregularities.
L’Oreal Energizing & Brightening Pure Clay Mask ($14.99 CDN | 50 mL): Despite having a drier skin type, I do enjoy a gentle mud mask on occasion, particularly when I’m dealing with some congestion. The most important thing is that they have a gentle formulation like this one, which contains glycerin, a mixture of three types of clay and charcoal powder. This one is good because it’s gentle, doesn’t break the bank and can be removed easily (as long as you don’t let it dry excessively). I do find my skin is less dull after use, as well. I will note that I only apply the mask to the areas that I need it, which is essentially my t-zone where my skin can be more normal and less dry.
Olay Regenerist Luminous Overnight Mask Gel Moisturizer: I like applying a moisture mask in the areas that I skipped out on with the clay mask, which is primarily the cheeks, the area around my eyes and the area around my mouth. I wont dwell too much on the formula because it looks like this product has been replaced by the Olay Brightening Overnight Gel Mask, which is fairly similar. Both contain glycerin, niacinamide and the vitamin c derivative sodium ascorbyl phosphate.
Paula’s Choice Resist Advanced Replenishing Toner ($24 US | 118 mL): When I want to pamper my skin, there’s no way I’m patting anything into my skin after cleansing other than this milky toner. It’s loaded with fatty acids, barrier-repairing ingredients and antioxidants. It’s soothing and deeply hydrating.
Laneige Cream Skin Toner & Moisturizer ($43 CDN | 150 mL): This is totally unnecessary, with the milky toner in the rotation but when I’m feeling indulgent, I like to layer both. It’s a pretty simple formula but it’s soothing and very hydrating with glycerin, meadow foam seed oil and green tea.
Paula’s Choice Resist Advanced Soothing Treatment 10% AHA ($37 US | 30 mL): This isn’t my everyday acid exfoliant but I do love using this exfoliant-serum hybrid once or twice a week when I want an extra treat. It’s gentle and contains glycolic acid, lactic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid and salicylic acid. It also contains glycerin, peptides, ceramides, liquorice root extract, green tea, oat extract and a number of other soothing and antioxidant ingredients. It’s really gentle (but effective) and definitely binds water to the skin and contains a bunch of ingredients that repair the skin barrier and combat any sort of disruption to the barrier.
Laneige Bright Renew Original Serum ($59 CDN | 40 mL): This serum has a pleasant milky texture especially when pressed into the skin as an addition layer of hydration — can you tell I’m rather dehydrated at the moment? It contains squalane, niacinamide, milk thistle, green tea and liquorice root extract. It’s a nice option for an antioxidant serum that also helps with barrier function and luminosity. Also, it’s a good option for when you are using enough actives that a pure vitamin c serum would not be prudent.
Paula’s Choice Omega + Complex Moisturizer ($35 US | 50 mL): This is a fragrance-free, soothing moisturizer that has a rich yet lightweight fluffy texture. It’s hydrating and soothing with shea butter, glycerin, a myriad of antioxidant-rich plant oils, fatty acids and ceramides.
Eucerin Aquaphor Multipurpose Healing Ointment ($10.99 CDN | 50g): As someone with dry sensitive and flaky lips, it’s rare I find a lip balm that works without causing irritation. This old school ointment has been one that has actually made a difference and holds moisture in my lips, leaving them smooth for hours on end.
Paula’s Choice Defense Essential Glow Moisturizer SPF 30 ($29 US | 60 mL): I know traditional SPFs aren’t the most indulgent products but it’s important to wear one daily and this is one that I genuinely enjoy applying. It’s a mineral filter that contains ingredients that give it a slight sheer greyish beige tint, offsetting any sort of white cast it might otherwise have, on my skin at least. It has a lightweight lotion texture and leaves a nice luminosity without being heavy. It uses liquorice root and loads of antioxidants as well. It leaves my skin looking luminous and slightly evened out on makeup-free days.
beautylit& ramblings 