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“The one who sees the enemy when she looks into the mirror – I love you. One day you will not feel hate when you look at your own flesh, one day you will not feel guilt rattle every breath you take. Darling, it is okay – you have been taught your entire life you are not enough, you have been told over and over again that your abundance, your hair, your skin, your full lips – are not what we mean when we say “beauty”. You have been taught how to pick yourself apart, before you knew how to build yourself up. You have been taught to want a thigh-gap, to want less, instead of wanting strength. When you feel self-hate and shade, you have been taught that, and darling – you can teach yourself better. You can. Start today.”

– An excerpt from Marina V.; every day should be international women’s day.

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Hello beauties! Today’s post is highly requested – my skin care routine! As many of you know, I’m an esthetician so I’m sure you can guess that when I say I use a lot of skin care products, it’d be an understatement. I tried to shorten this down as much as I could but I’m constantly trying new products so this changes almost weekly. I’m mentioning the products I consider holy grails as well as the products I’ve been using daily. Nonetheless, this is going to be super long! Grab a drink and snack.

My skin is combination to oily, extremely acne prone. My biggest concerns are breakouts and texture. I’ll specify with each product what skin types can use it and which would benefit from it.

Let’s take you through my day! 🙂

In the morning:

I like to keep it fairly simple for the mornings so I typically just cleanse, apply an eye cream and moisturizer.

Your first step is to cleanse your skin. Most use their regular cleanser, but I found that I was over-cleansing my skin and causing more breakouts! So every morning, I apply tea tree oil in replace of a cleanser!

Tea Tree Oil is extremely strong so it must be diluted, I boil a bunch of water and keep it in this large jar and add drops of tea tree oil to it. Shake it up before every use, use a cotton ball and apply it all over the face and neck, as you would with a toner. This cleanses and removes any dirt/makeup as well as tones and disinfects the skin.

This oil can be used in so many different ways for tons of different ailments but in this case, it is absolutely fantastic for acne. It has even been found to be as effective as benzoyl peroxide (a treatment for acne). My skin typically doesn’t react well to acne treatments and I usually have allergic reactions so this has been an incredible alternative. My skin reacts very well to it but remember, everyone’s skin is different! The good thing about experimenting with oils is that there are always more uses if it doesn’t work for what you intended it for!

Oils can be very beneficial to all skin types. If you’d like a post going more into depth with using oils in your skincare routine, let me know!

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Next, I would apply my eye cream…. I don’t have one I currently love so I won’t bother suggesting one!

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Lastly, moisturizer!

I’ve touched base slightly in the past on Eminence Organics but this is a brand that I have so much love for and will always support. Their Clear Skin Probiotic line is fantastic for acne-prone skin.

No matter your skin type, Eminence will have a ton of products for whatever your concern is… Literally, they have hundreds! And there isn’t one that I don’t like.

This moisturizer is super lightweight and it sinks into the skin quickly so I love this in the morning and for under my makeup.

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Let’s move forward to my nighttime routine!

I take a lot of steps to remove my makeup. It is so important to ensure every last trace of it is gone before you sleep! Your skin rests and regenerates while you sleep so let it breathe!

I love the CVS cleansing & makeup remover wipes. They remove a ton of makeup without stinging my eyes and they are very affordable! You can find double packs quite often.

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I alternate between two different cleansers typically, or sometimes I mix the two:

CeraVe, the normal to oily version – there is also one for dry skin! I’ve mentioned this in previous posts, it’s a holy grail. It removes makeup and cleanses the skin without drying it out. It’s just plain fantastic. Another good one that is very similar is Cetaphil! Both are dermatologist recommended and have different formulations depending on your skin type.

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Another go-to cleanser is Eminence’s Clear Skin Probiotic Cleanser. It’s very gentle but effective.. This is a milky cleanser so when I really want that foaming action, I mix this with the CeraVe.

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After you cleanse, you want to tone the skin… Another staple product I have used for years! Thayers Witch Hazel toners. They have a few different “flavors”… Haha who else says that? Scents! Whatever… And all of them are amazing! These are alcohol free, gentle but effective. I apply this with a cotton ball after cleansing. Using a toner balances your pH levels as well as helps to remove any makeup that is left over.

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Once or twice a week, I exfoliate my skin. This is very important to remove dead skin cells, combat texture on the skin and encourage your skins natural turn-over rate (the rate in which new cells produce).

Another product I’ve mentioned before, Eminence’s Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant. This is a gritty powder that you can mix with either water or your cleanser, massage it into the skin and then wash it off.

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Next we’ll talk about the treatments, peels and masks I use! I try to use specific treatments 1-3 times a week, depending on how my skin is and what it needs. After I tone, this is when I’d use a peel, mask, treatment, etc…

*I always apply a mask after I exfoliate! Exfoliating beforehand helps your mask penetrate into the skin even deeper.

Holy grail… I won’t go too in depth with this. Queen Helene’s Mint Julep Masque has been around for years and is loved by many! It’s a clay mask that you can apply all over your face or just on problem areas. When I am breaking out, this is my ride or die. It soaks up excess oils and helps to diminish blemishes faster!

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I mentioned this in my previous post. Another clay mask that is fantastic for acne prone skin. Check out that post for more info on this TruSelf Organics Detoxifying Mask.

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Once a week I like to use a peel in replace of using my regular exfoliator. This is the Arctic Berry Peel & Peptide Illuminating System from Eminence Organics.. It’s recommended that you get treatments with your esthetician and use this in conjunction but it works wonders just on its own! It’s a three step process and improves the skins texture, clarity, refines and smoothes, reduces visible signs of aging, firms, plumps and also helps with inflammation! It’s pricey but so worth it.

I know peels can be intimidating, especially for those with very sensitive skin but I’ve seen this work on every skin type and it’s quite gentle for those with sensitive skin.

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Next product I would consider a treatment.. Peter Thomas Roth’s Glycolic Acid Hydrating Gel.. This is for all skin types and you can use this daily. I use this right before I apply my moisturizer (let this absorb into the skin for 10 minutes before you moisturize).. I purchased this from Ulta when I was having just an off-month with my skin. I wanted to try something new and the claims of supplying moisture, anti-oxidants, reducing fine lines, wrinkles, clarifying the skin and smoothing out rough textures.. Definitely peaked my interest.

You want to follow the directions on the back and slowly build up how often you use this. Glycolic acid can be strong for some skin types, I had no issues whatsoever! This is super lightweight and sinks quickly into the skin. I haven’t seen a dramatic difference but I do think this has helped a bit with texture and clarity.

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Another treatment type product… This is from when I first purchased it because the bottle looks like a hot mess now! Mario Badescu’s Drying Lotion…. The esthetician in me wants to never recommend this to anyone because the most abundant ingredient in this is alcohol which is not good for your skin but this product is a life-saver for when you have a friend that decides to pop up a night or two before a special occasion. You dip a cotton swab down through the product, until it hits the bottom. Pull it back out and dab the product on those little problem areas. This will dry those suckers out and greatly decrease the size overnight!

I wouldn’t recommend using this regularly, because alcohol is so drying on the skin but for this is nice to have when you need near-immediate relief from a breakout.

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Last steps are to apply your eye cream and moisturizer!

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Honorable mentions… Products that I don’t use regularly but love and go-to when needed!

tarte’s Maracuja Oil was a life-saver this winter! My skin became so dry and mixing a drop or two of this in with my moisturizer brought my skin back to life within two days! (This is the sample size!)

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Another oil I love mixing with moisturizers when my skin is dry and irritated is the Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil.. This can be a bit too much for oily to combo skin so I use this sparingly but this is great for dry skin! Here is a review I did on this a while back.

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Another product when my skin is dry and unruly, I received this in a Memebox a while back and I absolutely love it! Calendula has disinfectant, microbial as well as healing properties. I love this for days when my skin is inflamed and irritated. It also smells amazing!

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So there are my current go-to skin care products! There are other products I use as well but this would be forever long if I spoke about every single thing so I just wanted to mention the products I’ve used for a long period of time and absolutely love.

Above all, the best thing you can do for your skin is drink a lot of water! Whether you have dry skin, oily, acne prone, rosacea, etc… Water is your best friend!

I plan to do some shopping soon and skin care is my main focus lately so this routine will probably change within the next month or so. If you’d like me to update regularly, let me know!

Let us know some of your favorite skin care products in the comments below!

*This post is not sponsored. Some products were sent for consideration of review. All opinions are – and ALWAYS will be – 100% my own.*

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Thank you for reading! xoxo.