Beauty Bits: Morning Rituals

After rambling on about my nightly skincare routine last week (see post here), I received requests to reveal what is in  my current morning regimen.  And like the blogging puppet that I am, I obliged.  Here ya go.  Ma face schtuff fanned out nicely for the sake of being artsy.  I will say that while most of these items are used in regular rotation, I am not averse to changing on a whim and spontaneously arriving at my neighborhood Sephora with a force-field like pull directing me to the skincare department.  Upon arriving, I will subsequently stare off into oblivion, mesmerized by all the lights and rows of face creams, and just wander.  Then I will snap myself out of my trance and pull out my trusty I-phone that contains lists and lists (and lists and lists) of products that I have come across in my daily reading, blogging, tweeting, instagramming travels.  But for now, this is the line up.  For now.

1. REN Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Gel - To get my tired butt out of bed in the morning, I rely on cleansers that either foam or have a gel consistency.  Why? Who the heck knows?  In the evening I am usually using a cleansing oil to take off my spackle, errr makeup, so a nice cooling or foaming consistency seems fitting for the a.m. shower.  And since this is rose-infused, the scent is delightful and makes my skin feel extra soft. 

2. Mario Badescu Seaweed Cleansing Lotion - After jumping on the toner bandwagon, I am enjoying this for my morning routine as it calms my skin immediately and does not make it feel tight afterwards.  Alcohol free and gentle as a lamb, it is the perfect way to prep my skin for the barrage of makeup I will be putting on it later. 

3. Kiehls Ultra Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 - I use its sister product, the Ultra Facial Cream, in my nighttime routine, and love this range so much that I just can't help but use the lotion for the day.  With my oily skin, I do prefer lotions for day to wear under my foundation, and flip flop between this and the next product.  It has SPF, hydrates my skin all day and looks great under makeup.  This should be in every one's routine.  Seriously. Your face will thank me.

4. OLAY Complete All Day Moisturizer SPF 15 - Yes you have seen me talk about this during the summer in my post about sunscreen.  And yes I am still using it.  Yes, I still have a ton left.  Yes, I do believe secret OLAY elves come every night and fill it up so it never runs out.  No muss, no fuss, a great day moisturizer. 

5. Perricone MD Acyl-Glutathione Eye Lid Serum (c/o) - Try saying that 5x fast.  You can't.  But your inability to say it will only be won over by ability to be completely amazed at its awesomeness.  One of the only eye creams I have ever come across that can be used on the lid, this serum has become forever linked to  my eye makeup for its ability to help smooth my lid and allow anything I put on top to stay there until I decide to take it off.  And after you finish reading my blog post, head over to The Daily Perricone where I did a full review on it, and read that too.  And then sit back and ask yourself "how can I make the world better?"  By smoother lids and brighter eyes?  Unequivocally and undeniably - YES.  The rest of us thank you in advance. 

6. Ole Henricksen Truth Serum - How could I not love this serum after my intimate affair with the face wipes?  All that vitamin C goodness in a serum form?  Delicious.  After receiving this recently in a Glossybox, I have been hooked every single day.  It absorbs quicker than I can apply, and instantly makes my skin feel hydrated and nourished.  The best thing is my skin looks brighter all day when I wear this (and trust me I have tried it without because I am a total skeptic believe it or not), and after my imaginary blogging oath I took, I feel compelled to only speak the truth.  Or maybe the serum made me do it.  Food for thought.

Ok now I have given you night skincare AND day skincare - now I need to know what I am still missing.  My FOMO (fear of missing out) is quite real when it comes to beauty so don't leave me in the dark. Leave a comment below or tweet me @alittlebitetc with some skincare products I need to try.   



Beauty Bits: Wipe the Day Away



I rarely dedicate an entire post to just one beauty product that I am using, because there is too much to talk about to give the spotlight to just one item.  But.....I recently bought these in a I-have-no-self-control/weak moment/rainy day shopping trip at Sephora (remember that and remember my Viddy of it?), and well they have just tickled my fancy and I felt the world needed to know. The world!  (Mom - that would be you so listen up)  I have a been there/done that attitude about makeup wipes and often just purchase any ol' pack because my cleanser is really the one doing all the work.  Slacker wipes.  This is not the case when referring to these Ole Henricksen Truth To Go Wipes - they actually hold their weight in the cleansing ring.  Upon first opening - the most prominent feature of them is their intoxicating orange vanilla scent, which seems almost intensified by the visual cue of their packaging.  Someone in Marketing got a gold star for that one.  As if the scent wasn't reason enough to love them (my you are a demanding bunch), they are chock full of those ingredients that all those TV dermatologists talk about on GMA - Vitamin C, micro-algae and essential fatty acids and you always tune out in favor of drinking the milk in your cereal.  Well I am sure they do lotsa good schtuff to my face, but let's talk about what I actually saw over the past month.  To tout the already great cleansing power that they had in taking off my mask, I mean makeup, they also left my skin suprisingly brighter and more radiant.  Directions suggest wiping in upward circular motions (like who has the kind of dexterity) and well, I did the best that I could - but afterwards my skin always hydrated and smooth, unlike many wipes that I use which leave my skin tight and uncomfortable after.  No bueno.  Looks like what happens on a rainy day stays in my bathroom for good. Note to self.

And for the world that needed to know and now needs to buy - Ole Henricksen Truth To Go Wipes