It’s my favorite time of year! Yes Christmas season is upon us yay! And to kick off the season I love stocking up on Black Friday & Cyber Monday beauty steals. Its a great time to replenish my skincare & makeup supply for the year. As you may or may not know, I am a clean beauty junkie! I’m pretty much obsessed with all things skincare and makeup, I have done extensive research on just about every brand and product under the sun and have personally tested a shit ton of stuff! But, just like with the eating rule, I try to stick to the 80/20 rule with my beauty products too. In eating 80/20 refers to eat healthy 80% of the time and let yourself indulge the other 20%. I don’t believe in depriving indulgences, that just won’t work! Now with beauty products my 80/20 rule is 80% clean beauty and the other 20% falls more in a grey area (meaning not totally clean, organic, natural, etc. but works really good so I’m willing to make an exception). So there really are too many great skincare & makeup lines with so many fabulous products so it can be really really hard to narrow down what to try. I certainly can’t list everything in this post, I’d be here until next Christmas, but I am going to give you some basic skincare staple recommendations below:
First up is a cleanser! This is the first step in your routine and one you use multiple times a day so my favorite cleanser is by BeautyCounter, the Black Friday sale goes until Nov. 30th. Everything is 15% off and free shipping (they never have free shipping, even consultants have to pay for shipping). Although 15% might not seem like a lot compared to other sales out there, this cleanser is truly worth it, it gets your skin squeaky clean, removes all makeup, and it is hydrating and softening. Truly the only cleanser I know that gets your skin this clean and doesn’t strip the skin of natural moisture at all! I love this stuff! https://www.beautycounter.com/product/countermatch-refresh-foaming-cleanser
Next thing you must have is a quality face scrub, especially if your skin is oily or combination. I also find that people that work out and sweat regularly it is very important to use a scrub a couple times a week to clean out pores, remove dead skin cell build up that clogs pores and causes breakouts. My favorite scrub that not only helps minimize large pores, cleans out skin and removes dead skin cells, but also has anti-aging and brighting properties is by clean beauty brand Arcona. The Cranberry Gommage is amazing, my skin has been clearer, brighter and my sebacous hyperplasia has diminished after using this. It is pricey at $48 but a little goes a long way so the tube lasts for months! It is on sale now through November 30th at Dermstore for 30% off. You won’t regret it! https://www.dermstore.com/product_Cranberry+Gommage_37472.htm
Next up is a good toner or essence. For acne prone skin, I recommend the Countercontrol Instant Matte Toner from BeautyCounter https://www.beautycounter.com/product/countercontrol-instant-matte-toner and for anti-aging the Countertime Mineral Boost Hydrating Essence from Beautycounter is amazing! https://www.beautycounter.com/product/countertime-mineral-boost-hydrating-essence. I personally rotate between these 2 products, Essence in the morning and Toner at night. The Essence makes your skin hydrated and so radiant, while helping your serum soak in better. It is my all time favorite BeautyCounter product. You just pour some into your palms and pat all over your face, neck and chest. I use the Countercontrol Toner at night to completely clean my skin after cleansing, removing all the oil and dirt build up from the day and calming my skin before bed.
For serums there’s so many good ones, there’s vitamin c serums, hyaluronic acid serums, peptide serums, collagen serums, retinol serums, etc. but I firmly believe the one cannot live without serum is a good vitamin C serum. There are a ton of amazing vitamin C serums out there but one of my favorite clean serums is 30% off right now through Cyber Monday so I would pick this up on sale while you can! It is from the brand Naturopathica, it is clean, absorbs beautifully, hydrating, brighting, and my skin is glowing after using this! https://www.dermstore.com/product_Vitamin+C15+Wrinkle+Repair+Serum_74365.htm
Some people shy away from face oil especially if you have oily or combination skin like me. I found an amazing oil that does not clog my pores, makes my skin brighter and gives me that dewy, radiant glow. It really seems to help diminish my fine lines and hyperpigmentation. It’s 25% off right now through Cyber Monday! Whoo hoo! https://us.koraorganics.com/collections/award-winners/products/noni-glow-face-oil
We’re getting down to the last few products since I’m just going through basics right now. A great moisturizer is usually one of the last steps in your routine. I love the Hydrogel Cream from Honest Beauty. Seriously guys I have tried so many high end, expensive creams, from La Mer to you name it and this one is amazing and only $19.99. Extra bonus is its 30% off through tomorrow so stock up! Its loaded with Hyaluronic acid and so it hydrates and gives you an amazing plumping effect and dewy glow. And its clean!!! https://www.honest.com/beauty-products/skincare/hydrogel-cream/B01S0900NOFLS.html
Final step in my skincare basics must have is a good sunscreen! Now this is where my 80/20 rule kicks in. My favorite sunscreen is by EltaMD, it is not a ‘clean beauty’ line but this stuff is seriously the best! While its not totally clean/organic, it is at least Paraben-free. It is great for acne prone and aging skin. It has Niacinamide for smoothing and reaparing and hydrating while protecting! It is my desert island cannot live without product. its on sale through November 30th for 20% of at Dermstore. https://www.dermstore.com/product_UV+Clear+BroadSpectrum+SPF+46_20567.htm
Okay guys that wraps up this segment on skincare basics! Remember these products are almost all clean and free from toxic chemicals so you can load them on and not worry about absorbing harmful chemicals into your body. Also don’t forget most of these sales end tomorrow so don’t wait! Get to shopping for yourself or stocking up early on clean beauty wonders for your loved ones Christmas gifts! Happy shopping everyone!