Favorite Skincare Products

I’ve always had troublesome skin growing up. I wasn’t very nice to my skin when I was a teenager and even coming into my twenties. Throughout the trials and tribulations I’ve gone through with my skin I’ve picked up products and steps that have helped my skin get clear, and stay clear.

For my daily cleanser I use Philosophy Purity. This was a game changer for me. I always thought I was washing my face fully and really cleaning and cleansing my skin but I wasn’t. It wasn’t until I saw all my favorite YouTube gurus ranting and raving about this product that I decided to pick it up. Now I can’t go a night without it. I use it everyday and I use it at night. It takes off all my make-up and leaves my skin feeling clear never dry and tight.

For my morning cleaner or for the days I’m not wearing make-up all day I turn to LUSH Angels on Bare Skin. It’s such a light weight cleaners and it feels amazing on the skin! It’s something that you need to get use to how to use. It comes in a block that you break apart, apply water and moisturize into the skin. It has lavender in the mixture which helps control any inflammation brought on by acne and redness. LUSH describes it as “For heavenly soft and perfectly balanced skin, take a bit of Angels on Bare Skin, mix with a little water and massage all over your face and body. The kaolin clay base deep-cleanses while finely ground almonds and lavender flowers gently exfoliate away dry skin. We add lavender oil to soothe and balance, and rose absolute to calm redness. If it’s smooth, radiant skin you’re after, this is the cleanser for you!”

I’ve fallen in love recently with Boscia Clear Complexion Treatment for my acne scars and those pesky bumps. The Willow Bark helps control my oil, while getting rid of acne scars from when I was a teenager. About the treatment “This treatment gel is formulated with a botanical blend of willow bark extract, rosemary leaf extract, and geranium extract to help unclog, reduce, and purify pores. It firms skin and supports natural circulation, improving skin elasticity to help control oil, clear congested skin, and prevent future breakouts and blemishes—without irritation—for a clear complexion.”

I’m a huge LUSH junkie so besides using Angels on Bare Skin I normally buy 2-3 masks every time I’m there. Their masks come in a small pot and are all natural so they only last a couple of weeks or so and are usually meant to be refrigerated. My favorites are Cosmetic Warrior, now this one is definitely different. Cosmetic Warrior is a Fresh Face mask that has garlic in it, yes I know garlic. Like I mentioned earlier I wasn’t very nice to my skin when I was a teenager and I have the ugliest acne scars, this helps with those tremendously. LUSH says “Cosmetic Warrior is kind to problem-laden faces thanks to moisturizing egg whites and honey, which smooth and tighten the pores, and cleansing garlic and tea tree oil for a fresh, clear, happy face.”

My other favorite which probably comes to most of you as a shock is Mask of Magnanimity from LUSH. Everyone and their mother has this mask but when I tell you it works, IT WORKS! Around those special times of the month my hormones like to play tricks on me and the most stubborn acne pops up. I apply a layer of this around my face, leave it on for 15 minutes and then wash it off. The next morning I see a significant difference in my skin with the size and color of my acne. LUSH states, “Our inventors created Mask of Magnanimity to be the ‘ultimate face mask’, intense but not harsh or abrasive on the skin. We recommend using Mask of Magnanimity weekly to keep the skin in good condition.”

Lastly, the biggest change and best change in my skin care routine would have to be the amazing Clarisonic Mia 2. I don’t know how I went to long without buying this. Now it’s a pretty penny for a face washing machine but let me tell you it’s amazing how well it works. I can go a day or two without using it and I can tell a massive difference in the texture and overall look of my skin, not to mention stubborn acne popping up. I don’t use it every time I wash my face only at night with my Purity face wash. I was my face first by hand with my cleanser to remove make-up then go in with this guy!

What products do you guys swear by? Let me know!

xoxo

frank. Body Scrub Review

I met a man in my life. His name is frank. and he’s a body scrub.

My Instagram recently blew up with a bunch of photos of semi naked girls with what looked like dirt all over their bodies. The only thing covering up their lady bits was a brown bag. I’m always interested in the latest body craze and frank. wasn’t any different. I started doing my research and asking some of my friends, who had used the scrub, about their opinions in which I got an overwhelming “Oh my god! You need to try it!” across the board. frank. Body Scrub is found online, where it can only be purchased, and is based out of Australia. The mixture comes in a simplistic brown bag including 200mg of scrub for about $15 with free U.S domestic shipping. I ordered mine and in less than a week he arrived at my doorstep.

Using frank. is rather interesting. I decided to try mine post shower once I shaved and cleansed. With a wet “bod” I started with a small handful of the coffee based scrub. I started with my arms working in circular motions and my legs. Growing up I’ve started to develop minor acne scaring on my face, small bumps on the back of my forearms and top of my thighs. I concentrated the scrub on this areas and let it dry for about 7-10 minutes. As you’re rinsing the scrub off you can automatically feel a difference in your skin. I immediately jumped in front of my mirror to see if I saw any changes and I did! Now, I’m not talking about a miracle cure for all skin aliments in the first go around but I’m definitely talking about a change. I noticed the texture and irritation diminish significantly after just the first use.

frank. has very simplistic ingredients with four different types of scrubs to choose from. There’s Original, Coconut Coffee Scrub, Cacao Coffee Scrub and Peppermint Coffee Scrub. Original is meant to target dry skin, stretch marks, cellulite, eczema, psoriasis, varicose veins, acne and scarring. Coconut  scrub targets sensitive skin. Cacao Scrub is actually a mixture of chocolate and coffee which targets damaged and dry skin by adding back the moisture skin can lose over time. Finally, Peppermint Scrub is targeted from those who need muscle and skin rejuvenation. I personally tried the original to start but I am interesting in trying the Peppermint Scrub for it’s muscle relaxing treatments.

Now, onto the smell. It smells exactly like how you would think a coffee scrub would smell. You definitely can smell the orange essence that in the scrub which can make for an interesting smell but once washed off I feel like I smelled like coffee. The smell of coffee on my skin only lasted about 30-45 minutes after jumping out of the shower and can go away quicker with any lotion application. Don’t worry you won’t be smelling like Starbucks all week, even though in my opinion that doesn’t sound too bad. The other scrubs are described as smelling like “summer” (coconut scrub), “chocolate cake” (cacao scrub), and “after diner mints” (peppermint scrub).

Lastly, is it worth the hype? Since I bought frank. I’ve used it a total of three times since writing this blog and I can without a doubt say yes! I’ve seen a tremendous change in my skins irritations, as well as, scaring from acne on my face just in a few uses. I’ve tried almost every exfoliating and moisturizing scrub on the market from high end to drugstore and I’ve finally found my match with frank.