Holy Grail Beauty Products

The Caudalie VinoPerfect really makes my crazy, combo skin glowy and youthful. Barely there texture and no weird finish or film when it's dry. So worth the money. For hair I love Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil. Even if it's just for the ends it moisturizes and keeps away frizz without weighing me down. And for my super oily, acne breakout ladies I cannot live without a weekly GlamGlow SuperMud mask. It really balances me out and you actually see all the impurities and oils seeping into the dry clay on your face. It's magical science!

So no pictures (I don't share them for privacy reasons), but the two things that revolutionized my skin care:

Biossance squalane cleansing oil. It's pricey, so consider yourself warned before you look for it. But using a cleansing oil prior to my regular cleanser has made a huge difference in how my skin feels. The oil helps break down SPF and the natural oil your face produces during the day so that you can actually get your skin clean with your regular cleanser. It's also helped balance my skin's oil production - I used to be combination skin (oil slick T-zone) but after starting oil cleansing, I'm "normal". You can probably find less expensive oil cleansers. I highly recommend it.

Essence. I've tried a few, and I really liked Murad's Hydro-Quench, but it's like $80, so I had to find something a little more reasonable. I've been using CosRx hyaluronic acid ($25) and it's the next best thing I've tried. You use it after cleanser (if you don't use a toner) or after toner. Moisturized skin absorbs products better (think about sponges - they accept soap better when they're wet, right?) so it's basically a prep step between cleansing and serums/treatments or moisturizer.

Basically, I learned that hydrated skin is happy skin. I focus on keeping my skin moisturized.

One of the biggest skin mistakes I was making was not moisturizing properly. I broke out a lot during 2020 and was using a lot of salicylic acid products to "treat" my acne, but it was only making my skin worse. I was also using too many products. Since I'm getting married in July, I got a facial in March for the first time in years to get some help. The esthetician said my skin was actually very dry. She also said I needed to simplify my routine to improve my skin. So I added the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream from a friend's recommendation, and stopped using so many exfoliating products. It has TRANSFORMED my skin. My acne has gone away, besides the few casual blemishes I get from wearing masks. I also use:

- DHC Oil Cleanser (PM)

- Krave beauty Hemp Hydrating Cleanser (my holy grail cleanser, uses AM + PM)

- First Aid Ultra Repair Cream (AM + PM)

- ISEHAN - Kiss Me Mommy UV Aqua Milk SPF 50+ (AM - favorite japanese sunscreen)

Before and after pictures below!

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Wow what an improvement! You look gorgeous in both BTW!

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Thank you Kari! It's amazing what a proper skin care routine can do!