Welcome to part one of my mini series called Summer Essentials! This was originally going to only be one post, then I looked at all the nail polish I use in the Summer and I decided why not expand on it?? This mini series is all about the "essential" things I use during the Summer!
Summer is finally here and that means it's time to get outside and play in the sun! Which also means it's time to really take care of your skin; since after all it protects you and all of your precious organs. I have EXTREMELY dry skin, and at times it can be quite miserable. I also have a very fair complexion... (Not kidding I'm as white as paper all year around and I only go two colours: really white or really red..) Needless to say sun protection is a HUGE deal to me! I don't want to get burned and I don't need to look like a leather hand bag by the time I'm forty... I never saw the appeal in baking in the sun for hours anyway. Not to mention Skin Cancer is definitely NOT something I want to expose myself to willingly. (like baking in the sun or not wearing SPF) I don't care how light or dark your skin is, you are still at risk of sun damage and skin cancer, so ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wear SPF please!!! (My hubby is brown and I always make him wear sunscreen if we're out in the sun for prolonged periods of time.) Okay, so enough about that! Let's get into my Summer Essential Skin Care Products!
First we need a good razor (which isn't pictured here...)
I recently started using Men's razors.. That's right, I said MEN'S razors. Men's razors are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Women's razors, because they are designed to shave tough skin, stubble, and they are made to get a very close shave. They for the most part always have five blades, where Women's razors have anywhere from two to four and sometimes five blades. They just work better for my legs than Women's razors. It also means I don't have to shell out extra money any time I need a razor, I just steal a blade cartridge from my hubby! (Mwahahahaaha) Nah he doesn't care, and why should he? It means that I will have silky smooth legs just for him! (not really but let him think it's all for him, I can't stand furry legs and it's too hot in the Summer to be wearing long pants all the time)
Next we need to exfoliate! (You want the smoothest legs and body ever right??) Plus if we are going to be self tanning we have to get rid of those dead skin cells!
I love the Mango Temptation Body Scrub from Victoria's Secret. It smells like a tropical paradise and its a sugar based scrub, so the granules dissolve after you scrub your skin then it lathers up and it doubles as a body wash so you can shave. Mine is almost gone so I must get more! (Mango Temptation is my current favourite scent from VS) I also use a facial scrub maybe once a week or when ever I feel like my face needs it. I love St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub, unlike the other scrubs I've used, this has walnut shells in it instead of the usual beads of soap. Which makes it a pretty effective scrub and it makes my face feel super soft and fresh!
If I'm not self tanning (which I usually don't and I haven't in the last few years) I only exfoliate my entire body once in a while and I'll usually just use it on my legs when I shave, because of my dry skin I don't want to irritate any dry patches. I have to have a fruity scented body wash, because Summer time to me is all about fruity scents! I am currently using a body wash by Olay called Fresh Moisture Cleansing Body Wash in the scent Silky Berry. This stuff smells soooooooooooo yummy! (added bonus, it was the cheapest body wash at Walmart! SCORE) It claims it "won't dry your skin, leaving it fresh, beautiful and more hydrated than soap" I'm not sure how true that is, I've only used it like twice since buying it and even if that were true I still always moisturize my skin after I shower.
Leading me to the next important essential, Body Lotion!
I had and used all of the Mango Temptation Body Butter I got for Christmas from my mom; which made me quite sad, because it really did a good job hydrating my skin during the Winter. My new love for the time being is the Garnier Intensive 7 Days Conditioning Lotion, I have the Cocoa Butter scent for dry, dull skin. It smells like Summer to me and it keeps my skin pretty hydrated. It is creamy and fast absorbing, but it can leave your hands feeling kind of greasy, so I normally use a different cream for my hands. I'm using a Nivea Hand Cream for dry hands. The Macadamia Nut Oil scent isn't the best, but you get used to it. It does the job and keeps my hands nice and soft.
Face Moisturizer is another really important product for me to have; not just during the Summer, but all year round... I've tried a few different kinds, and nothing was very note worthy or miraculous like they all seem to claim.. Recently I needed a new moisturizer; so I opted for one of the cheapest ones, which thankfully for me turned out to be the BEST moisturizer I've ever used! It is now my all time favourite and that moisturizer is the Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel Cream for Dry Skin. I've never tried any kind of gel creams before this one, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was only $10 CAD so what could I lose right? It has grape seed oil and vitamins A & E, it smells nice and has a cool refreshing feeling when you put it on your skin. It comes in a decent sized jar and the one for dry skin is a pink gel. I am really loving this and I am currently on my second jar. I use it basically twice a day, some days I miss because I'll forget or whatever (goldfish mind sometimes) but it lasts a fairly long time. The first jar I had, I bought maybe three months ago and I really slather it on ha ha ha so it does last a pretty long time. It's the only moisturizer that has ever really made my face feel hydrated. I use another kind of moisturizer when I'm not going to wear make up and when I don't want to put sunscreen on my face. (I hate the greasy feeling they leave....) I use Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion; it comes in a small white bottle with a pump and it doesn't smell that great, but honestly I just use it for the SPF 15 it has so I have some protection when I don't feel like putting anything heavy or greasy on my face.
Okay, speaking of SPF, as I said before it's ALWAYS important to wear sunscreen when going out in the sun. I'm not really picky with my sunscreen, I usually go for SPF 30 or 35 and I usually get Neutrogena, because that's the brand I've just about always used my entire life. I was at Target about six weeks ago and I like to always look at their travel size products, because it lets me try different products without having to pay tons of money for a full sized item that I may or may not like. I picked up a sunscreen, because the Neutrogena Sport one I had was left back in Denver when I went for my cousin's wedding last Summer and I had yet to pick up a new one. The sunscreen I picked up was the Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Sunscreen with SPF 30. It smells AMAZING! Not like sunscreen at all, it has moisture ribbons in it to keep skin hydrated and it works pretty well and it also has UVA and UVB protection like most sunscreens. I haven't spent long enough out in the sun to reapply this, so I can't say how well it works yet, but Summer is just beginning and I should be going out and doing more things pretty soon. I just picked up a full sized bottle of this sunscreen, and I keep the travel version in my purse. (I always carry sunscreen with me now, because a couple years back my hubby and I went to the zoo, and I forgot my sunscreen and I also forgot to apply it before I left the house and lets just say I will NEVER be doing that again. Luckily my arms were the only thing that burned, unfortunately it was a pretty severe burn and it hurt pretty badly for a few days before I started peeling like snake shedding its skin..... T.M.I maybe? It also itched something awful but I tried my hardest not to itch...) ALWAYS WEAR SPF AND ALWAYS REAPPLY IT WHEN NECESSARY!! I really can't stress that enough....
Last but not least, some sunless tanning products. I don't really use self tanners, because I usually forget to keep up with it or I don't want to keep reapplying it for a week before I see any kind of tan. Also some sunless tanners I've tried made me look really orange and fake, and I'd rather be white as paper and natural than a living Oompa Loompa... I do want to try Million Dollar Tan, I've heard some good things about it. I just need to get around to eventually ordering it... The last sunless tanning lotion I used was the L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer. This is a lotion that gives you an instant glow and its also a buildable lotion, so if you wanted more than a "sun kissed glow" you could build it into a tan. I haven't really stuck with it long enough to see any real "tan" but it does give you a kind of glow and it has some shimmer in it. The only down fall is the smell... It definitely smells like a sunless tanning lotion...It doesn't bother me enough not to use it, but if you can't stand the smell, maybe go with another brand. It's also not bad for the price, I think it was something like 8 or 9 dollars. Another sort of sunless tanner I have is from St. Tropez, I received it in my May Ipsy Bag. It is an Instant Glow Body Lotion, just like the L'Oreal one. This lotion however washes off, so it's only temporary but I feel like you could build this up if you didn't like how your skin looks with just one layer. Also this one doesn't smell like a sunless tanner, it has a really nice scent to it. I haven't given this a full go yet, but it does give my skin a nice glow when I tried it on my arm the other day. I might prefer this lotion to the other because there is no upkeep and I can use it when ever I want a slight glow and I know that I can always wash it off if I don't like it. (I once had to walk around for a week with super orange legs because I used a sunless tanner that turned out pretty badly....)
Wow that was a long post!
What are your Summer Skin Care Essentials??
xoxoxo
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