What's in my makeup bag/ Summer Skin Necessities

Hi there !

It's time for another blog post :). I have recently been doing quite a bit of shopping and going out and was unsure which blogpost to write first. I decided to start with the classic What's in my makeup bag because I reach for it every single day and basically use the same products every day as well.

Most of these are my essentials for my every day makeup. My every day makeup consists of Anastasia Brow Wiz in dark brown for my brows, bare-minerals all over face glow in Pure Radiance for my eyelids and inner corners, Kat Von D felt tip liner in Trooper, Maybelline Falsies (Waterproof) for my upper lashes, Benefit They're Real for my bottom lashes, bare minerals bronzer in light tan, and the Rimmel wake me up concealer.

On more special occasions when I want my makeup to last longer, I use the UD primer potion and the Hourglass face primer, which I have the mini size. I also use the Majolica Majorca fibre mascara if i want extra length to my lashes.

In my bag, I also keep a few other products that I only use occasionally. These include the Kate palette which has one shade that I like for inner corner highlight, the Chanel aqua lumiere foundation, UD eyeliner in bronze, Nars Deep throat blush, Burberry Summer Glow highlighter/bronzer, two Nyx lip products, and Maybelline eye tattoo in Bad to the Bronze. I do love these products but as it is summer, I don't want to wear too much makeup because the sun does not react well with my skin and it is even worse when I have alot of makeup on.

I also wanted to shed some light on my absolute favourite product right now. This is the Neutrogena healthy defense sunscreen. My skin is super sensitive and even being out in the sun for 10 minutes can cause my face to become extra dry and irritated. This sunscreen is SPF 45 and is extremely lightweight. It is not too oily and absorbs into the skin very quickly. I am obsessed with it and have been putting it under my BB cream every day. I used to use the Chanel foundation every day until my skin wasn't looking very good. I decided to switch to my fool-proof BB cream, which is the Skin 79 Super BB cream. it is a light coverage but definitely buildable and does not cake on at all. It does have a bit of SPF as well which is great. This is already my second bottle and I am worried it will run out soon!
Lastly at night I apply the Kiehl's Ultra face moisturizer which moisturizes my sun-irritated skin overnight. I have been trying hard to minimize the amount of face products I have been using! All I need now is a good face powder, so I am definitely keeping an eye out for that.

Once again thanks for reading and hope to see you in the next blog post!

Rebecca

Summer Skincare Routine!

Hello! It has been so so long since I last posted on here. I stopped my blog over a year and a half ago as things in my life really started to change for the better and now that everything has become much more stable, I thought I would try to blog again. I recently started getting back into all things beauty and skin care and thought it was time to share some thoughts that I have on products.

I have just completed my first year of grad school and it has definitely been the most stressful school experience so far. I didn't spend much time on skincare and most nights would use face wipes and not use face or eye cream. School and my lack of skincare has caused my skin to be very unstable, with a few stress-induced breakouts, dryness, and uneven pigmentation.

Now that it is summer and I have a lot more free time, I promised myself to start a skincare routine that I can hopefully continue into the fall. I have liked using Kiehl's skincare products for some time now as the price range is medium and the products seem to be geared towards sensitive skin. This weekend they had a 20% off sale so I decided to take advantage and purchase some products I've always wanted to try. I purchased the set that included the full size Ultra Facial Moisturizer, a mini cleanser, and mini toner and the Midnight Recovery Serum.

Just a background on my skin type, I have pretty dry skin that is very sensitive to products and UV. I don't get very oily and I breakout on my forehead area when I eat junk food and am stressed. Now onto the review!

So to start off, I remove my makeup using a micelle solution (right now the one I am using is chinese and recommended by a friend) with a cotton pad and remove my eye makeup as well (the blue Sephora one). Next, I use the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser which I have really been enjoying and have thought of buying the full size next time. It is very gentle, spreads easily, and has a nice, light fragrance. Next, I use the ultra facial toner which is milky in consistency. I haven't used a toner in a long time and just thought it would make my skincare routine more thorough. After the toner has absorbed, I use 2-3 drops of the Midnight Recovery Serum and pat it gently on my face. It isn't very oily at all and smells amazing. Once that has absorbed, I use a bit of the ultra facial moisturizer, which is light and perfect for summer. I think this line is Kiehl's most moisturizing products but to me it just feels like a regular moisturizer because my skin is that dry, haha. Lastly, I put a bit of the Kiehl's avocado eye cream which feels very nice and always makes the skin around my eyes feel soft and not tight or pulling.

For the last 3 nights I have used the Midnight Recovery Serum and woken up with a very even skintone and plumper looking skin. I don't know what is in this stuff but so far I'm really liking it! It is a luxury product and once you put on your makeup, no one can really tell, but I'll have to figure out its long term effects on my skin.

Sometimes I use the Kiehl's Pineapple and Papaya scrub but it is not my favourite. It is so gentle that I'm not quite sure it really does the job. I probably won't be repurchasing it.

Thanks for taking the time to have a read and look forward to more posts in the future!

Rebecca