Updated Skin Care Routine 2018

This continues to be my post popular blog post of the year! Everyone seems to be very curious to see what my updated skincare routine is. I only post these sort of blog posts once a year, if you want to check out my Updated Skincare Routine from last year for reference you will see A LOT of my skincare products have changed - a few goodies that have worked really well for me have stuck around.

For reference I have extremely dry skin all year round.

First thing in the morning I wash my face. I'm still using my Clarisonic plus but my face wash has changed. I found the last one stripped too much moisture from my face. In 2017 I discovered the dermalogica special cleansing gel. This has been great for cleansing my face but not leaving it with that dry stripped feeling.

On days that I want to exfoliate my face I have been using the Tarte Frxxxtion Stick. It's great at removing any excess dry skin I might have. At most I will use this twice a week.

Immediately after I will moisturize my face. Starting with eye cream I've switched to The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG. I was hesitant to use this as it's a liquid and not a cream, I didn't think it would  moisturize my under eye enough but I was WRONG. This is will moisturize, smooth out fine lines and reduce under eye bags. You want a very small amount day and night.

Next I have added in The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 for some extra moisture under my face cream. Then I layer my trusty Clinique Moisture Surge Intense - make sure if you try this you get the INTENSE not just the regular. The intense is much more rich and feels like velvet. I find that makeup just glides over my face with this face combo.

At night I wash my face with the same products as I did in the morning.

Then I follow that up with my night routine...don't get overwhelmed by the amount of products in the pictures - I don't use all of these every night.

I start with my same eye cream by The Ordinary that I used in the AM. Next I put on The Ordinary "Buffet", this is supposed to be an anti aging product that helps with dryness, fine lines, wrinkles, dullness and uneven texture.

Next I pick one or two oils to put on my face. The ones I have in rotation right now are all from The Ordinary.

Finally I follow that up with my lash serum that I'm still not using consistently but I find that it does make my lashes stronger and longer if used everyday.

BONUS PRODUCTS - These I tend to use 2-3 times a week. When every I feel my skin needs a little extra treatment I turn to these three products.

Sephora Mud Mask Purifying and Mattifying is great is you have any texture or blemishes you want to get rid of. This is a very drying mask so make sure to moisturize immediately afterwards.

Dermalogica Skin Hydration Masque is great for when I need a little extra hydration boot to my skin.

Under the eye I've been using Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Hydra-Gel Eye Patches. These are great for moisturizing and smoothing any wrinkles.

That's it! It seems as though my collection has grown since last year but it really hasn't gotten anymore complicated. Let me know if the comments below if these are any other products you would recommend my for dry skin.

April 2017 Favorites

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 - I got my very first Ordinary order in the month of April and so far I have loved every single product I've ordered from them. I've been using the Hyaluronic Acid in the morning before I put on my moisturizer and my dry skin definitely has been feeling more hydrated. 

Tarte Frxxxtion Stick - This I've also been using in the mornings before I was my face. This is a facial cleanings stick that also exfoliates your face. I love the packaging, you rub the stick on your face instead of using your hands which I love. 

Benefit Hello Flawless - I decided to try a new powder this month and I picked this one up by Benefit. It took my three different tries to get my color just right but once I did I fell in love with this powder. It's not too heavy on the skin and has a very natural finish. 

Dior Forever Foundation - I decided to pick this up after hearing Jaclyn Hill rave about this foundation in several videos. I have very similar skin to hers - dry - most of her skincare and foundations recommendations work perfectly for me. I finally used up the last of my Becca foundation and instead of repurchasing it I pick this up instead. It is very natural and has great coverage. A big plus for me is this foundation do not move on my face! I don't typically set my foundations with a lot of powder as I am on the dry side so I need a foundation that doesn't need to be set in order to stay in place. Highly recommend giving this a try for dry skin. 

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG - The Ordinary defiantly has some interesting names for their products but don't let that scare you away from trying any. This is the eye product I've been using day and night. It is defiantly the most affordable eye product I have every used but it has a different formula. This is an oil that comes in a dropper. I use one drop for each eye and honestly my under eye area has never looked better. This has decreased my fine lines and brightened up my under eye. Most eye creams I've purchased in the past have ran be about $65, this one cost me $6.70!

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Moroccan Argan Oil - This is a very similar to the Josie Maran Argan Oil. I've tried this out on both my skin and my hair and I love it. It gives me the same restuls as the Josie Maran oil but the price tag is a HUGE difference. 50ml of the Josie Maran will cost $60 compared to 30ml of The Ordinary is $6.80.

The Ordinary defiantly dominated most of my new loves this month....I should also mention that all you have to do is spend over $25 with The Ordinary and your shipping is free! I definitely plan on ordering way more products from this company and doing their own dedicated blog post. If you've tried any products from The Ordinary please feel free to leave your recommendations below. Make sure you are subscribed so you can keep up to date with all my new blog posts. 

Sephora VIB Rouge 2017 Sale

Today is the last day to take advantage of the Sephora VIB sale.

I went a little overboard but here's what I picked up at the sale. I did all my shopping online so I haven't actually received anything yet. Some of these are new products and others are repurchasing products that I love.

Leave in the comments below what you picked up at the VIB sale. 

January 2017 Favorites

Sebastian Dark Oil - My hair has been very dry this past month and I've been using a lot of hair oils. My favorite oil has been the Sebastian Dark Oil, it leaves my color treated hair soft and silky. It was a bit on the pricey side but I only use two pumps at a time so it seems like it should last me a while. 

Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo Light Tones - With my hair being so dry I've stopped washing it so often which means I've been using a TON of dry shampoo. My favorite have been the Moroccanoil Light Tones Dry Shampoo. It has sort of a purple/white tint to it but once you brush it out this wont show in your hair - even though I have darker roots it still wont show. This leaves my hair feeling refreshed and helps with styling my second or third day hair. 

Clinique Moisture Surge Intense - I picked this up because I saw MakeupByTiffanyD talk about this on her channel. I have loved a lot of her skincare recommendations and since I have dry skin that no moisturizer can quench my thirst I decided to give this a try. She seemed pretty confident in this moisturizer and she was right! This makes my skin feel like soft velvet, I've been using it both at night and in the morning. I've noticed that since I've been using it my skin is a smooth canvas for makeup and I seem to be using less foundation which is always a plus in my books. 

Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer - I've been getting away from foundations on a day to day usage. Recently I've been testing out different CC and BB creams - this one was a winner for me! My skin tone is very difficult to match so while a lot of CC and BB creams might be amazing, but it they don't match my skin tone I wont wear them. This still doesn't 100% match me but it's pretty close, my skin feels light with this BB cream on and it wears very well throughout the day. 

Sephora CC Eye Cream + Concealer - Speaking of trying out CC and BB creams I've also been trying out this CC eye cream. This was very inexpensive CC eye cream and I love the Sephora skincare line as it is very affordable. This is a great eye cream that I've been using in the morning. It does give me a little bit of coverage but I still use my normal concealer over top - however, I definitely am using less concealer which it great! The better my skin is and the less makeup I have to pile on is always a plus in my books. I am a little concerned as this product has been out of stock on Sephora's website for a while so I'm not sure if they are carrying this product anymore but this has defiantly opened up my eyes to trying other CC eye creams - if you have any suggestions of other eye creams I should check out please leave those in the comments below. 

YouTube Made Me Do It | Part 3

Welcome back to the final part of this series!

This is the last peak into my makeup collection I've accumulated.


To read part 1 click here http://www.mspamblam.com/2015/07/youtube-made-me-do-it-part-1.html
to read part 2 click here http://www.mspamblam.com/2015/08/youtube-made-me-do-it-part-2.html

Nars blush (orgasm) - this is the most talked about blush I've found on YouTube. It's a great peachy color with shimmer. I've already hit pan....clearly I use this a lot!

Cover FX Illuminating Setting Powder - great powder but it's a little too heavy for my dry skin. If you have combination skin you would love this, if you have oily skin I would go for the matte setting powder

Loreal True Match Lumi Foundation - I like this drugstore foundation but it doesn't last very long, it really is lumi so I would only use this if you have dry skin

The Balm Mary Loumanizer - I have one word for this highlight...SHIMMER. This is a very intense highlight, it looks very nice but just use a very light hand when applying it

Covergirl Outlast 3 in 1 Foundation - another great drugstore foundation, but again I can't find my perfect color match so I don't wear this foundation that often

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer - this is a very popular talked about concealer on YouTube. I like this concealer when you initially apply it but I find this settles into my fine lines so I don't wear it that often

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara - another very popular talked about product but again not my favorite mascara. I've been testing mascaras over the past 6 months and I've found better mascaras out there than this one

Mac Lipstick (Angel) - great lipstick, this is a very nude pink lipstick from Mac

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade - Anastasia products are my go to for brows! This isn't the most natural product for your brows but it is waterproof so trust me your eyebrows will NOT move when you apply this

Nars Light Reflecting Setting Powder Loose -  love this setting powder. This makes your skin look amazing and airbrushed. The only thing I don't like about this powder is it doesn't help with your makeup lasting longer

Tarte lights, camera, lashes mascara - I don't like this mascara but it came with the eyelash curler from tarte that I love!

That's it for this series!!! Thanks for joining me, I had so much fun rummaging through my closets and going through my makeup collection.

Share with me what things have your purchase because of YouTube?

Product Empties June 2015

Epsom Salt - I love these salts for my bath...which is why i buy such large containers. This is a must for bath time and I've already repurchased more

Vanilla Bubbling Body Bath - another must have for bath time. This is great to mix with the Epsom salt to make an amazing bath time experience

Calgon Ageless Bath Nourishing Mild Bath - this is another bath product, this bath product is infused with vitamin E, collagen and pearl powder. This is a milk bath that is for softer skin. When I use this in my bath I find I don't have to lotion after my bath because my skin is very silky smooth

Calgon Ageless Bath Renewing Bath Pearls - yes another bath product! We've been having a ton a baths lately in our house. This product isn't as great as some other bath products that I've tried.

Dove Deep moisture hydration body wash - not my favorite body wash but it does leave your skin feeling soft. I'm trying something new that I think I like a little better....still on that hunt for my holly grail body wash

Neutrogena body emulsion concentrated lotion - I bought this product by mistake, I went to repurchase another Neutrogena lotion and picked this one up by mistake. Its not as great as the other one

Nivea Gel Cellulite Gel - another gimmicky product. I was hoping this would help the cellulite on my legs but unfortunately it did absolutely nothing

Tarte clean slate timeless smoothing primer - this is just a sample I got from Sephora and it has been an amazing primer! I picked up another one during the VIB Rouge sale

Christian Dior Creme De Rose - This is about my 5th tube of this product. It is just amazing! IT is on the pricey side but it's a great product. I'm trying out some new lip products that are a little cheaper to try and save some money....still undecided on how I feel about the new products

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill - best mascara ever! This packaging isn't the greatest because I find it doesn't close all the way. I think it dried out really quickly because of this. I just repurchased this maraca in the waterproof formula and I noticed that the packaging has changed which is awesome! They seemed to fix this problem so I'm hoping my new tube lasts longer

Sephora VIB Rouge Sale Wishlist

I was contemplating if I should post my wishlist or post a haul for the upcoming sale at Sephora. I figured a wishlist would be more helping if someone of you are planning on going shopping during this event...it doesn't last long.

I'm very excited to pick up some new items that have been on my wishlist for along time! I have been just waiting for this sale....I know it pops up sometime around Easter so I've been anticipating it's arrival.

I believe the official start date is April 12th, I am going to the "Beauty Before Brunch" event on Sunday which I am very excited about! Here are a few things I'll be picking up that day, I know not all of these items will be available in the store so I will be placing an online order after Sunday.

LIPS 

I've been having major issues with cracked/dry lips, really hoping these products help turn that around for me

Rosebud Perfume Co. Rosebud Salve

Rosebud Perfum Co. Strawberry Lip Balm

Sephora Collection Super Smoothing Lip Butter

Face  

Some of these are new products that I am excited to try and others are I am just repurchasing
Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer
                                                  (repurchase)

Smashbox Step-by-Step Contour Stick Trio

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder
                                                   (repurchase)

Tarte Timeless Smoothing Primer 

                                                   (repurchase)

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Flawless Wear Concealer
                                                  (repurchase)


Eyes 

All of these are repurchase but I am trying out the Dior & Giorgio Armani in waterproof formulas which is NEW!

 BareMinerals Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara

 Dior Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Waterproof Mascara

 Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Waterproof Mascara

Skin Care 

This was recommended to me by a Sephora employee, since I have REALLY dry skin I need something very moisturizing. She recommend the serum in the kit, however, this kit is the same price as 1 bottle of serum....so why not buy the kit and try two bonus products!

  Caudalie Moisture Essentials Set


Have you made your shopping list? If there's something you think I need to either try or skip please let me know in the comments below.