(Is this Emma, popping in with a new blog post and no clear, regular posting schedule?
Yes, yes it is.
I’m hopeful that I can tighten that up, but in the meantime, thanks for your patience.)
I want to share with you a story of a girl who has done something bold.
Groundbreaking.
More unprecedented than the global pandemic we’re all suffering through.
She’s me. I’m the girl.
And I have decided to (drumroll, please)…invest in my skincare.
Oh, yes; you read that right.
I know I write a lot about body positivity, body acceptance, and all that good stuff, but sometimes I sort of gloss over talking about my skin.
My skin, which, to be fair, is a sore spot (literally and figuratively) for me about 80 percent of the time.
I’ve been smack-dab in the middle of the skin doldrums. I’ve been at a skin standstill.
I’ve just been feeling like my skin has been a little bit dull, flat, tired, dingey…do I need to go on?
I have not, as you may be able to guess, felt glowy, smooth, supple, bright, etc., etc., etc.
So I am looking to change that.
A New Approach
Probably the main reason this foray into thoughtful skincare is so unprecedented is because of my penny-pinching personality.
I’m not shy about it: I hate spending money. I really do. If I can cut corners and the result ends up being “good enough,” I’ll usually do it.
(Not on things like toilet paper or razors. Or, those Hint of Lime Tostitos, of which there is not a store brand option, so I am forced to spend 4 dollars a bag. Which I am willing to do, because I am obsessed. I digress.)
I asked a couple of my friends about the skincare products they use, and because they know I’m a diehard cheapskate, they were careful not to recommend anything with a price tag that might make me blow a gasket.
I settled on a handful of items from Ulta: a couple serums, a toner, a brightening cream, some face oil, and a few fun face masks.
It was a pretty big haul, I’m not going to lie. But overall, the price tag for all the stuff I bought wasn’t horrible, so my inner Skincare Scrooge was a pretty happy camper.
On top of my new products, I also did a little bit of research on the skincare process.
Apparently, there’s an actual order with which you’re supposed to apply your products to your face, which was news to me.
You can’t just squirt some stuff into your hands and slap it on your face? Huh.
*scribbles on a notepad.*
The other big change from my previous skincare routine (which, I’m not ashamed to say, was washing my face with an exfoliating cleanser and then, yes, slapping on some moisturizer) is the addition of sunscreen.
And I’m a little disappointed in myself that sunscreen wasn’t a mainstay of my routine before now. I was just out here, letting the sun have its way with me!
How alarming.
So I bought an oil-free, SPF 50 face sunscreen from Neutrogena that PROMISED ME that it was breakout free (and let me tell you, if that is not the case, my ass will be chapped to the absolute HIGHEST degree), and I’ve added it to the mix.
Ah, to be an adult with a comprehensive skincare routine.
We’ve come so far
I do also want to take a moment to reminisce about some cringey skincare routines I’ve done in the past, just so we can appreciate a little bit of growth.
Here are the top 3 highlights:
- Using my brother’s Proactiv. This might have been in middle school or early high school, and I really should have known better. There was also the little detail that IT DIDN’T WORK for me. In fact, it was harsh and burned my skin, but for some reason I kept using it. Yeah, that was a lesson I really had to learn the hard way.
- Washing my face with regular Dial bar soap and literally nothing else. Again, this was more common in my formative years, but I used the regular yellow Dial bar soap in the shower and scrubbed my face with a washcloth, and used body lotion on my face when I was done. Yikes.
- Masks all the time. When I was in college, I used to do face masks all the time. Whether they were labeled as “soothing,” “exfoliating,” “purifying,” whatever, I used them basically every night in college. Maybe not EVERY night, but way more often than is actually helpful (or cost effective). Someone should have shaken me and told me to get it together. Going on a college bender is NOT something that can be remedied by a eucalyptus-cucumber face mask, Emma. Drink some water. Go to class.
Not quite there yet
While I have my size-11 foot in the door on grown-up skin care, there are still some tips/hacks/products that I’ve seen that I just can’t get behind at this juncture.
They just seem like a stretch for me, to be honest, and WE ALL KNOW how much I love self awareness, so it should be charming to you all that I can come right out and admit that I just can’t get there from here.
For example, jade rolling and crystals rubbed on my face.
I know, I know, people might say the same thing about serums and oils on your face, but it seems kind of like a racket. Also, I looked into jade rollers, and those little things are expensive! Am I realistically going to spend 30-40 dollars on something I don’t even really believe will help me at all? The answer to that is no. I cannot condone that purchase for myself.
Here’s something I’d love to do, but I don’t think my brain will let me: stop picking at zits on my face.
YES, I KNOW. THAT IS BAD.
That’s how you get acne scars. That’s how you get skin infections. That’s how you end up making the skin look 100 times worse than it would if you had just LEFT IT ALONE.
I know, I know, and I know.
I’m working on it, but it’s a real issue. I was driving back to the mountains here from Fredericksburg the other weekend, and there was a huge zit on my left cheek that I was attempting to pop with ONE HAND as I WAS DRIVING.
I have a problem. Emma, stop it. Get help.
And, of course, the ever-popular, rolling-out-of-the-house-without-makeup trend.
I would actually love to do this, to be honest. And, with the pandemic and the fact that the bottom half of my face is basically covered all the time, it should be easy. But no, my skin STILL is looking dull above the mask.
Eye bags for days. A greasy forehead. Oh, the horror.
Maybe, with my new routine, less time in a mask when I’m vaxxed and hanging out with my friends outside, and a new-and-improved sleep schedule (wishful thinking, I know. But I can at least try), I might have a prayer at succeeding at the no-makeup thing? Maybe?
I’ll include a list of some of the items I bought from Ulta below, in case you’d like to go on this journey with me. Chances are, since I’m late as hell to this party, you’re already set.
Or maybe you’re a boy who doesn’t have a skincare routine and can just shower and go. It always boggles my mind that men just look good without any real thought or approach to skincare. What IS their secret?
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid
https://www.ulta.com/hyaluronic-acid-2-b5?productId=pimprod2007107
The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension
https://www.ulta.com/azelaic-acid-suspension-10?productId=pimprod2007104
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid Toner
https://www.ulta.com/glycolic-acid-7-toning-solution?productId=pimprod2007097
Freeman’s Glacier Water Pink Peony Gel Cream Mask
https://www.ulta.com/glacier-water-pink-peony-gel-cream-mask?productId=pimprod2003810
E.L.F. Illuminating Eye Cream
https://www.ulta.com/holy-hydration-illuminating-eye-cream?productId=xlsImpprod14481073
Simply Calm Face Oil
https://www.ulta.com/simply-calm-facial-oil?productId=pimprod2015457
Okay, so yeah. That’s a lot of stuff, and I have been reading the products’ enclosed literature THOROUGHLY to know what I can use with each product, which products can’t be used at the same time, blah, blah, blah.
I’m like, the QUEEN of over-researching.
Now that I’m giving it all a go, maybe in a few months I’ll give you guys an update.
(And if I’m still ugly, we can all brainstorm new ways to reach a solution to THAT particular issue.)
Just kidding, just kidding. Sort of.
It's Raining Em 