The Saga of a Shitty Irish Complexion
Things young children have and don’t appreciate:
1. Nap time
2. Active metabolisms
3. Summer/winter/spring vacations
4. Extravagant birthday celebrations with goodie bags
5. Humans who remember and make their doctor’s appointments for them
6. Essentially a free Uber service for the first 15 years of life
7. Velcro shoes
8. Dewy, perfect skin
We are misguided as children into teenagers. We’re told tiny inseams on pants look good. We’re allowed to get corn-rolls on vacation under the guise that it’s a good idea. We’re assured that tube tops are flattering. Adults fail to warn us that the window of ingesting pure sugar and fat without cataclysmic side effects is not only small but also rapidly narrowing. But the worst deception committed by the adults who are suppose to enlighten us is that after post 11-years of age, your skin will become the bane of your existence until you die.
Skin care routines are hard to configure, exhausting to perfect, expensive to maintain and it takes a lot of sifting through misleading advertisements and disappointing results to find products that work. One of my best friends Carolanne has perfectly dewy skin and a perpetually glowing complexion so I wrangled her down to spill her secrets, which are all reasonably priced, on Amazon, and easy to implement. So for an easy add to your 2018 resolutions, follow the below guidance from Carolanne and I promise you’ll Benjamin Button at least a little bit:
1) Start things off with a double cleanse: First an oil based cleanser or makeup wipes then follow up with a gel/soap cleanser. I invest the least in my cleanser – as long as it works, I’m good. When it comes down to it, it’s the product that spends the least amount of time on your face so it’s the least important in my book.
2) Toner: This is NOT like astringent from middle school – your toner is extremely important as it re-balances your pH after cleansing. I personally like Pixi Glow Ttonic (a light glycolic acid) or Mario Badescu seaweed cleansing lotion.
3) Carolanne’s and my friend Kate also has the glowing skin of a young child in a sand box and Kate’s cult favorite addition is Paula’s Choice, which you use after toning and moisturizing. It’s a gentle leave-on exfoliant that unclogs pores, smooth wrinkles, and brightens/evens out skin tone.
4) Day Serum: I have been using Vitamin C lately and I like it, but you have to be careful because some Vitamin C serums have oil, which you should be cognizant of with regards to your skin type. I like Ole Henriksen Truth Serum best – it’s definitely a bit pricey but worth the splurge and you can often find sales to help stomach the price tag.
5) Night Serum: – I like Ole Henriksen Invigorating Night Treatment and Drunk Elephant TLC. When I run low on one, I usually will go with the better priced alternative; they’re fairly interchangeable. Both are a light glycolic acid, which is good for combination skin. I really want to try Sunday Riley Good Genes; it’s fairly expensive but I’ve heard it’s life changing.
6) Moisturizer: The key with moisturizer is that you want something weightless that won’t clog your pores. My go-to is Clinique Moisture Surge Gel – it’s an amazingly light gel that’s super hydrating and never breaks me out.
7) SPF: So many people tend to ignore this step in a skin care routine but it is one of the most important for preventive measures, in both skin safety and anti-aging. I love Shiseido Urban Environment Sunscreen – it absorbs quickly and is a fairly weightless lotion; this is not your iconic zinc oxide.
8) My magic weapon: Anakiri Restore Propolis Balm. I typically use this at night after moisturizing, however sometimes I’ll opt to use it in place of moisturizer depending on how my skin feels. It’s fairly multipurpose, so often I’ll mix it in with my SPF or wear it as a base for my makeup. Bottom line: it’s amazing, antibacterial, literally destroys acne, and is perfectly hydrating. I honestly don’t know why or how it does what it does but I guess some things are meant to be a mystery.