The Skin You’re In

The summer is sadly winding down and my boys and I are getting our “lasts” into these couple of weeks before school starts. Don’t get me wrong, we are all super stoked for the start of school but we’ve got things to do! Water ice treats, visits to the library (while it’s not crowded), last visits to the pool before it closes… all super important experiences.

Recently, as I was slathering sunscreen on my little guy’s body before a “last” visit to the pool, he promptly chirped up to remind me that it was “Mommy’s turn next”. I’ll admit that with my darker complexion, I sometimes skip the sunscreen.

Total mom fail! I’m super diligent when it comes to my children. They wear sunscreen and hats. I make sure that they sit in the shaded areas as much as possible. I’d walk behind them with a parasol, if I thought I could get away with it.

Why then am I neglectful when it comes to myself? I spend so much time placing importance on my health and well-being and I’m not taking care of my skin as well as I can be. My dad has had numerous bouts of skin cancer! I know better! We know better.

This video has been making the rounds on social media but in case you haven’t seen it yet, check out How the Sun Sees You.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9BqrSAHbTc&w=853&h=480]

Of course, knowing and doing are two separate processes. I know that I need to wear sunscreen and I need to make an effort to put it on every time I leave the house. But it’s easy to forget while you’re hustling the kids out the door, carrying towels, juice boxes, snacks, table tennis paddles.

A couple of weeks ago I ran out of facial cleanser so I’ve been washing my face with soap and water in the shower, after the gym or a workout. If I remember to put on moisturizer, I consider it a significant win.

flowerface

Why can’t someone just paint flowers on my face daily? So much easier.

Jess is my expert advice giver, especially when it comes to skin and makeup because she works in the beauty industry (AND SHE IS BEAUTIFUL and looks like angels kiss her skin on a daily basis); naturally I asked her for help.

Jess: “Wait, are you washing your face with SOAP SOAP?”
Me: “Well, what do you consider SOAP SOAP? It’s artisan!”
Jess: “But is it body soap?” (Sounding as horrified as one can in an email message.)
Me: “…” “Maybe?”
Jess: “For the love of Pete, Meridith. How have you survived life this long?” (Okay, she didn’t actually say that part but you could tell she was thinking it.)

I ask Jess for her opinion about practically everything in my life. And I hate disappointing her. Thankfully, she gave me some good advice in regards to daily facial routines and since sharing is caring, here’s my game plan!

1. Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen.

2. Cleanser. Okay, so soap isn’t technically a cleanser and can apparently be a bit harsh on the ol’ face. Burt’s Bees has always been my go-to cleanser and Jess also mentioned Cetaphil and Aveeno because my skin is “normal”. Jess has sensitive skin so she uses Fresh Soy Face Cleanser.

3. I worry about dark marks. I have freckles and uneven skin tone so it’s a concern of mine. In regards to this, Jess recommended Clinique Even Better. I also recently got a sample of Elizabeth Arden’s Flawless Future Serum from Influenster that I’m going to try. I’m not too concerned with wrinkles… yet. But hey, can’t hurt to be proactive!

4. Moisturizer. See! I’ve got this! I ALREADY HAD ONE OF THE STEPS. *pats self on back* Personally, I use Neutrogena. Boom! Most moisturizers have SPF too so I suppose that I’m already a little bit protected from the sun, so long as I’ve moisturized.

5. Eye cream. Now this is something I would NOT have thought of, which is why Jess gets paid the big bucks! Suggestions were Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Eye Cream or Fresh Black Tea Eye Cream. I have yet to invest in this, primarily because I’m cheap but my face is worth it! (Why is everything so expensive? Seriously, man.)

6. Six? Yeah, I was aiming for five but this one is important. After I run or workout, if I don’t have the chance to shower immediately, I use these babies:

burtsbees

Salt and dirt, begone! Okay, maybe not GONE, but definitely less.

So, that’s the plan! Anyone who knows me knows that I like a good plan. I know I can’t erase time or years but I can be proactive and take charge today. Tally-ho!

yolo

What’s your skin care routine? Any good product recommendations for me? (Ones that won’t break the bank are always appreciated. You know, I don’t want crap but I also don’t want to waste $10 on something that won’t work instead of springing for the $80 of awesome.)

19 thoughts on “The Skin You’re In

  1. I’m seriously bad about this, too. BUT, when I’m being good, the best moisturizer I’ve found is Hope In a Jar from Philosophy (I think this was actually a Jess reccomendation as well). It definitely falls in the not cheap variety, but it’s pretty awesome.

    • It’s really nice to have Jess to steer you in the right direction, isn’t it? I’m like… OKAY JESS, MAKE ME BETTER. And she does! I’m making her go with me to Sephora next week. I mean, between her and Cam, I’m basically going to be golden. Broke, but golden.

  2. I know it makes me sound like I am 16 years old but I actually use Proactiv. I have for about 10 years now probably, stopping when I was pregnant. I used to have awful skin breaking out all the time. Now it’s not so bad. I actually really like the new Proactiv+ too. It’s kinda pricey. But it’s my splurge.

    • No way! I’ve heard a lot of great things about Proactiv and if it works for you and you know that your skin responds well to it, I say stick with it! Splurging is good when it comes to ourselves. 🙂

    • Thank you! I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who is a little… lax when it comes to the sunscreen. I mean, it’s definitely something that I need to work on so I’m thinking that we can hold each other accountable. Especially since we spend so much time out running and whatnot! I figure things are going well now but I don’t want to look back when I’m 60 and say “I SHOULD HAVE DONE XYZ!”

  3. I LOVE the face paint!!! Oh and as an aside, I never used to put on sunscreen either (unless it was built into my make up)…in the last year, after noticing age creeping in and a few spots where past sunburns have turned into brown splotches (i’m rather fair), I am converted to wearing Sunblock on my face.

    All that said, I have changed my routine for my face a fair bit over the years as I have horribly dry skin, but now I appear to have figured it out for the time being…with some salicylic gel, a serum and a moisturizer…followed by sun block, of course. 🙂 The gel is by Dr. Collins and the serum and moisturizer is by Yonka. They are expensive, but since my skin is not breaking out nor flaking like it was, they are worth the extra $$ to save my sanity. 🙂

    • Thank you! I would like every day to be face paint day. Face paint has sunscreen, yeah?

      It sounds like you’ve TOTALLY got a routine down! I’m going to play with a couple of things and see what works best with my skin. I do notice an occasional DRY PATCH, which just throws me for a loop because HELLO… where did that come from???

  4. I use a lot of stuff on my face. (You’re shocked. I know.) Eye cream has been my skincare indulgence since I was about 21, and right now I’m rotating three of them- one is specifically for night time, one I bought for day, and the other was in a kit from sephora. Josh laughs at my nighttime routine, with all my lotions and serums on my face, and then the hand cream.

    If you can’t remember the sunscreen, the do sell lotion with spf…assuming you use lotion regularly though (I have dry skin, so I slather it on day and night). Mine is some drugstore brand, nothing fancy.

    • Your face is gorgeous so whatever you’re doing, it’s working. Although I’m sure you could do nothing and I would say the same because I love your face! So you do three eye creams? Which one do you like the most? Why? Do you see a difference?

      I honestly need assistance. I’m proud to say that after the whole SOAP SOAP conversation, I’m back to using Burt’s Bees cleanser. PROGRESS!

  5. I’m probably good with the sunscreen about 80% of the time, which, considering I live in south Florida, is probably not so great. Ugh #majorfail! I started using/selling Mary Kay just over a year ago, and being the skeptic that I am, I’m am AMAZED at how well their products have repaired that lovely, baggy, saggy neck skin thing I had going on! I definitely have some obvious sun damage starting to show on my face, (thank you Mrs. Wrinkle), so I find myself paying a lot more attention to making sure I protect it as much as I can. All those hours in the sun definitely show up at some point, so do whatever you can now!

    • That south Florida sun is NO JOKE, either! I was down there earlier in the summer and was slathering on the sunscreen like crazy. I did NOT mess around there. Not that the sun isn’t present in New Jersey but it’s definitely more intense down there. I agree with doing as much as you can now because I’m seriously scared of what I’ll have going on later. Hopefully we take the right measures and we don’t find out! 😉

  6. I wash with Oil of Olay foaming face wash, pat dry, rub Michael Todd Organics Knu face lift lotion into all of the unsightly fine lines (which are significantly finer since using it!)(and can also be found on groupon/living social/etc regularly b/c there ain’t no way I’m pay that kind of money for face crap), let that dry and then Oil of Olay regenerist moisturizer with SPF15. Love it! My face has never been so clear and so soft!

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