Make-up...Bare Minerals 101

Okay...so my make-up routine is pretty much straight up bare minerals...with the exception of my mascara, which is DHC. So let's start from the beginning! I mentioned earlier that I have a slight allergic reaction to bare minerals, I've never encountered another person who uses it that has it, but something in there my skin dislikes and it kind of causes my skin to "boil" almost. It gets hot and lil bumps pop up, not pimples, nothing like that, just raises my skin in places. Anyway, I said that not to scare you away because it's clearly me not the make-up...but to give you some background on why I have to put so many steps between my skin and my make-up...more than would be necessary for the normal person with skin that doesn't hate them!

Anyway, I tried to go off of bare minerals due to the adverse skin reaction for about a year...but I couldn't...I found it under my sink one day and had a full blown, Brokeback Mountain-esque "I can't quit you" moment. Good news, this ish NEVER goes bad and it lasts forever. I started wearing bare minerals about 8 years ago now and I still have and wear some of my original purchases (I don't wear eye shadow all that often so I have a TON of those, like I could start my own store). Anyway, I tried to give it up but there is just no other make-up I have ever tried that makes my skin look as nice as this stuff...and the bronzer is my obsession, when I eased myself back into bare minerals it was the bronzer that did it. I worked it back in and then the rest and now I'm full blown bare minerals again...I made a couple of adjustments, as mentioned above I put several layers of moisturizers and primers between my skin and the bare minerals and I also now wash my face every night...what's that you say? Oh, I know you should always do that regardless, but I didn't, never had, never had to...*shrugs* Just never had a big issue with acne and my skin was pretty resiliant I guess...but in order to pull this off I really need to wash my face at night, in the event that I'm feeling particularly lazy I leave a packet of DHC make-off wipes on my nightstand. Problem solved. So here is the run down, in order of application.

Already mentioned in a previous post my moisturizer and primer (Dermalogica and DHC velvet skin coat) so my next step if I'm doing make-up is a matte base...it's also from DHC and it's called "Clarifying Pore Cover Base". It's great for T-zone skin or if you are like me and live in Florida and break out into a sweat the second you step outside, it helps keep my make-up set and I love it for that. If you do not have issues with oily skin or live in a ridiculously humid climate I would think you could skip this step all together.

Okay, next step I just used for the first time yesterday and LOVE. I bought into the whole BB cream fad and got one, I bought "Stila, stay all day 10-in-1 HD illumination beauty balm" with SPF 30. Very nice coverage, light weight, and just gives your skin a little glow. For work, theoretically you could just stop with this step I think, especially if you are rocking a nice tan.

A product I do not use daily, but do use if I'm looking tired or my eyes just look puffy or dark is Bare Minerals "Stroke of Light". I just dab a bit under my eyes and blend, gives my eyes a little pop.

Next, if I have any blemishes or discoloration to cover up, I use Bare Minerals "Bisque" these come in various shades to match skin tone, I really like the normal one and the "Summer Bisque", but I rarely use them.

Next is foundation, I know it's like my 10th step, but you know, a girl has to protect her skin! I used "Bare Minerals Ready SPF 20 Foundation" in Golden Medium. If I have a nice tan, I don't bother with this as it tends to no longer match my skin tone properly. But Bare Minerals really does finish nicely and looks airbrushed on and feels very light and moisturizing. I'm loving their new "Ready" collection because I'm normally throwing make-up on in my car so having the minerals pressed into a compact is a little easier with less chance of a total disaster than the jars. I've switched to Ready for my foundation, bronzer and eyeshadows, I also got the mineral veil in Ready, but didn't care for it, so switched back to the jar for that.

After foundation is the bronzer. I swear, they say it was the foundations that made bare minerals famous but for me it was their bronzer, the original is/was called "warmth". Love it. Subtle, any skin tone can use it...and it just looks so natural. I'm now using Bare Minerals Ready Bronzer in the shade called the high dive. Love it, and would equate it with warmth.

I'm not big on blush and don't use it often, but when I do I use Bare Minerals blush in cheerful. I'm looking to try the Ready blush but haven't gotten around to it yet. I have about 5 years of blush still stocked so it seems ridiculous to buy another one just because I want to try it in a compact form, but it hasn't stopped me yet. Anyway, they have an endless amount of color choices and any bare minerals boutique will take you through the entire gamut and show you great color choices for your skin tone.

Lastly, I finish my face with "Bare Minerals Tinted Mineral Veil", this step really just sets all of your make-up and gives a nice air brushed looking finish. Somedays I will just do a bit of bronzer and this and be good to go. Like I mentioned, I tried this in the new line of Ready, but didn't care for it. For those who have NO idea what I'm talking about...Bare Minerals is all loose powder based, even their eye liners used to be sold as loose powder that you would mix with water, that idea gave way for obvious reasons and they have continued to branch out and most recently released a line of their same products in a more conventional pressed powder in a compact format. I've liked everything I've tried in that format with the exception of the mineral veil which I really think needs to be put on with a nice light brush and not with the little contraption the Ready mineral veil comes with. My two cents :)

Eyes, whenever I can I use "DHC eyelash tonic", it's a nice protectant for your eyelashes and keeps them nice and soft. On days when I don't wear mascara (only if I'm staying home girls, I do not leave the house without mascara) I will put this on just to give my eyelashes a treatment. Normally, unless I'm in a huge rush, I will put this on underneath my mascara, kind of like putting a heat protectant on your hair before blow drying it.

Next, if I'm wearing eye liner, I do that next, shockingly I use "Bare Minerals Buxom Insider Eyeliner", cannot say enough good things about this eye liner. It is a pencil, but goes on as easily as a liquid, very soft pencil and waterproof...my left eye waters all day everyday, it's borderline obnoxious, and most eyeliners will not withstand that kind of assault...but this one does! Love it!

Next, I use "Bare Minerals Prime Time Brightening Eyelid Primer", brightening is their "go to" everyday shade that you can wear under pretty much any shadow, but I normally just wear it alone...but be careful...a VERY LITTLE bit of this goes a long way. It's very shimmery and the first time I wore it I overdid it and was like am I 18 and sneaking into my first club or am I going to work? But once I learned how to appropriately apply it, it quickly became my daily "shadow". These come in a variety of shades that can be worn alone or used to really boost the color of your shadows that go over them. They are a great primer for underneath shimmer shadows as they really keep the shadow on your eyes rather than falling off all over your face as the night progresses.

If I'm wearing an eyeshadow (which is pretty rarely), I will normally go with something very neutral, the only shade I'm traveling with right now is "Bare Minerals Eye color" in Summer. It's got a little shimmer to it but is a very neutral brownish color.

Lastly, I finish with mascara...I will leave the house without any of the above, but not without mascara. My favorite mascara of all time is "DHC Double Protection Mascara". This is oil based like all of the DHC products and doesn't leave my eyelashes feeling crunchy. Also, it forms little tubes around your eyelashes that come off nicely with water, but you have to kind of pull them off, so it's not like it comes off in the rain or with my excessive eye watering. You need to be intentionally removing it. I've had issues in the past with dry eyelashes that fall out a lot, in fact, at one point I thought my eyes might "go bald"! This mascara doesn't feel like it's causing harm and I love that!

Okay, so those are my go to products, would love to hear yours, especially if you have an eyebrow powder in your repertoire. I need that in my life so badly and just haven't ever really purchased one. Bare Minerals has one and I just heard about another one today that I might try, but my eyebrows are so thin and poorly shaped from years of over-plucking that now they do not grow back in any sort of nice shape and pretty much fade to nothing about halfway across my eye. Any advice welcome!

Skincare...Let's Talk Oil

Skincare products I use:

Coconut oil - as a moisturizer (face and body)

DHC Cleansing Milk

Clarisonic

Dermalogica multi-active toner

Dermalogica intensive moisture balance

DHC velvet skin coat

DHC Olive virgin oil (night time moisturizer)

I've just recently started using coconut oil so I won't elaborate on it much within this post but it's a spot treatment for me at the moment. I will likely use it more and more in the future, stay tuned as I hope to write an entire post dedicated to the ways I've incorporated coconut oil to my beauty and health regimens in the near future.

Let's lead with the fact that I have combination skin, however, I treat my skin as though I have dry skin because my dry skin is unbearable if not treated. I've been using DHC products (an entire line of skin care and make-up products with olive oil as a base dhccare.com) for a couple of years now and I just cannot say enough about how much I love them. I will not use anything else to cleanse my skin. While using oil to cleanse your face may seem counterintuitive it has made a world of difference for my skin, which I noticed drying out when I hit my 30's.

My regimen begins with applying the cleansing milk before my shower to dry skin, then in my shower I use my clarisonic face brush to wash the cleansing milk off. Holy soft skin people. Clarisonic did for me what my sonicare toothbrush did to my teeth...after one day of using it I was all "was I even washing my face before", it's on my list of "game changers" and I've used it daily for over 5 years now. Replacement brushes are $25 and I've had the same handheld device the entire time. Great investment. Anyway, after my shower it's time for Dermalogica multi-active toner. While DHC has several toners, I never found one that really did much for my skin. I've found that the toner from Dermalogica really balances my skin and preps it for my make-up, plus it actually comes in a spray bottle, which offers no real benefit, I just like it better :) So, for a long time I was using DHC olive virgin oil as my daily "lotion" but I've switched to Dermalogica intensive moisture balance, it's a little lighter than the oil, and now I use the oil at night and it works for me.

I let my lotion set while I finish getting ready, and then before I put on my make-up I apply velvet skin coat, oh my goodness you guys, this stuff is amazing. Great make-up primer, or if you are blessed and do not have to wear make-up it's a nice matte finish oil absorber and gives your skin a little extra protection from the elements and locks in the moisture from your moisturizer. Love it. Really evens out your skin for even make-up application, plus your skin legit feels like silk...just TRY to resist petting your face :)

Make-up will be a different post, but prepping my skin for make-up is key for me as I use a make-up that I have a slight allergy to (I know, foolish, but nothing looks as good as this make-up I tell you, I have tried!).

I'd love to hear anything you all are using! Any seasoned coconut oil users out there?

Product Reviews...Love it or Hate it

I am such a gadget girl, I love trying new techie crap out all the time. I will throw my disposable income at pretty much anything that peaks my interest, so it's time for that to benefit someone else!

Clarisonic:

I've been raving about this tool for 5 years, I love it, it has various brushes you can purchase if you have sensitive skin, or acne prone skin or whatever, I use the regular and use it everyday and love it. Not a bad word to say about this and I've had mine for over 5yrs and it still works perfectly! Your skin will feel AMAZING, so soft!

Sonicare:

If you are not using one of these toothbrushes yet, get on the train! This thing amazes me, it's like...was I even brushing my teeth before??? They feel so much cleaner after one time using this toothbrush. This is another product I've been religiously using and repurchasing since sometime in the early 2000's and I never looked back, when my friends roll in with a regular toothbrush on our trips I am judging, let me tell you! I get a new brush head every six months or so and have purchased several of these, but have never had one stop working on me. I have two that I'm using at the moment, just because I can...really just because I found an extra when I was cleaning out my bathroom cupboard...we don't need to talk about all that.

GHD Hair Straightner:

This blows Chi out of the water in my opinion, but a lot of people do not care for it because there are no heat settings, it's off or it's hot as hell. My hair isn't super fine so it doesn't bother me. If you have wavy/course/ or curly hair that you occasionally like to straighten, this is the tool for you. Again, had this thing for 5 years and while it cost $200 up front I've never had to buy another one since...and it doesn't have plates that your hair gets caught in and you promptly rip out. Best tool ever, thank you salon professional from London on my first cruise that taught me the joys of GHD products :)

NoNo Hair remover do-hicky:

This thing is a "no go" for me. First of all, it doesn't really work...second of all even if this thing worked miracles I'm not entirely sure I could tolerate the smell of burnt hair...I mean this thing smells AWFUL. Not worth the money.

Tria Hair Laser:

Much better than No No, a bit more pricey at $395, but it is essentially just like the treatments at the laser hair removal joints. Major differences, super small surface area, I mean you are going to have to blast every follicle you want to not grow back one at a time several times a week. I just don't have the time or dedication for that and I'd rather have someone else do it for me. I bought it, I have it, it works fairly well if used consistently, but I just don't have the time or motivation to use it. Do with that information what you will!

Okay, that's pretty much all the beauty gadgets I own, would love to try one of those hydroflossers because I just hate flossing pretty much more than any other daily task I must do, but I haven't tried one yet...any have an experiences with one?

Hair Care...Wen Girl for Life!

Hair Care products I use:

Wen Cleansing Conditioner, Cucumber Aloe is my go to scent, but I love all 4 of the seasonal scents as well, I didn't care for the smell of the pomegranate one, but it worked just fine for my hair, I use the sweet almond mint on my dog so I tend to not use it on myself because now I associate the scent with my dog and my first failed attempt at Wen (see below), but I have and it also works great, I'm going to try Fig next as it is supposed to be good for coarse/wavy hair.

Wen Styling Creme - Cucumber Aloe

Wen Finishing Treatment - Pomegranate

Wen Oils - As a night time treatment (2-3 times a week)

Wen Re-moist Hydrating Mask - As a night time treatment (once a month)

I just had my one year "Weniversary". I love this stuff. Total addict. It's funny because I ordered this stuff back in the day, tried it once and HATED it...didn't work, my hair (which leans towards oily anyway) was a greasy mess and I could not leave the house with out re-showering and washing my hair. So I was skeptical to try it again, but those QVC infomercials will suck in even the biggest skeptic. So I gave it another try in January of 2012. Shampoo has not touched my hair since. It's amazing what happens when you actually FOLLOW THE FREAKING DIRECTIONS. But I mean seriously, it was "shampoo" I didn't really think I needed instructions. However, when used appropriately "Wen take 2", as I call it, was a "game changer". My hair which had always been a tangly mess after showering that required a good 20 minutes of combing out all the tangles now just glides through with a widetooth comb in like seconds. I'm talking legit 30 seconds of combing and my hair is tangle free. Plus it's super soft, and while I do not care for volume at all and would prefer stick straight hair, this stuff has given my hair a ton of volume, don't worry, I counteract it with a straightening iron. Regardless, I know some of you people are into that volume business, but trust me, when you live in FL and have hair prone to poofing out, there is no need for any extra volume. Anyway, I digress. This stuff is great for your hair and it while it took some trial and error to determine my best formula and number of "pumps" for my hair, I've got it mastered now and love love love it!

So after washing my hair with a cleansing conditioner, I use about half a pump as a leave in conditioner and towel dry. Then I use the styling cream, about a dime size amount before I blow dry my hair or to combat frizz if I'm going to let my hair air dry (this only happens if I've hit snooze like 7 times). I add a couple of drops of one of the wen oils to the styling cream before I apply it, rub it together in my hands and then apply from like midshaft down avoiding my roots. Then I blow dry with a diffuser, I tried to ween myself off the straightening iron because I know it's bad for your hair, but I just can't, until I can afford a salon professional to live with me and blow out my hair on a daily basis I just cannot make my hair look the way I want it to without the extra heat tools...sorry hair, just be thankful I stopped shampooing you and embrace the heat!

Anyway, after I blow dry and straighten my hair, it's time for the finishing cream, if it is a particularly humid day in FL I add another couple of drops of the wen oil to the finishing cream, rub it together and apply it again midshaft down avoiding my roots. And that's it I'm out the door!

If you read closely above, you saw I do a couple of "deep conditioning" treatments with my hair, I'll put some of the wen oil in my hair at night before I go to bed and leave it in overnight and wash it out in the morning a couple times a week or whenever I remember...I also do this sometimes before I work out because the heat adds an extra conditioning element and I am obviously going to shower after!

I received the re-moist hydrating mask as part of a kit and I've only used it once or twice, it's not a product I feel like anyone "needs" and I won't buy it again when I run out, I prefer the oils and really the cleansing conditioners themselves can be used as a leave-in treatment, but I did it this weekend and it definitely works, my hair is very silky soft, so maybe if your hair is super damaged from chlorine or color treatments this would be a must have, but for me it's just kind of a perk :)

Wen also has several other products that I don't use so therefore can't endorse, a replenishing treatment mist that is supposed to be for your hair and skin, but really the ones I got I use on my dog *shrugs*, they also have a texture balm which would be great for short hair...which I don't have...and I'm sure other stuff I'm forgetting, but you know, I'm only going to talk about the stuff I've used enough to offer experience on!

Oh, one other thing, I've read a lot of comments online about Wen making your hair fall out...well I can't really speak to this as I've been using it for a year and still have entirely too much hair for my liking, but if you comb out your hair in the shower with the Wen like the instructions say (which I do) I have noticed my hair tends to fall out in the shower rather than when I'm blow drying it like it used to. Many people recommend not combing your hair in the shower as your hair is more fragile when it's wet, so if that's a concern for you, I'd skip that step, but like I mentioned, for me I'm not losing any MORE hair a day than I was before, just at a different stage. So that's my take on Wen, any other Wen girls out there? Love it, hate it?