Growing up, I rarely had issues with my skin. I would get an occasional small pimple or raised bump every year or two, but nothing worth stressing over. Until last year, when all hell broke loose and my skin betrayed me. Okay, it's not that dramatic 😬 But it was pretty bad, and I knew nothing about skincare. So I looked up some YouTube videos, as one does in this day and age when one needs information quickly, and now I am obsessed!!! My wallet is definitely hurting a little, but my skin has thankfully been on the road to recovery and she's doing very well!
Basically, I say all this because I am no expert but I still wanted to talk about what has been working for me. Hopefully this will be helpful if you are figuring out what to try next!
DOUBLE CLEANSING
Right before I shower, I massage Hanskin's Pore Cleansing Oil all over my face. Even if I didn't wear makeup during the day, I still use this to remove sunscreen! It's a very gentle product, and I don't need to rub hard to get off waterproof mascara. It also exfoliates, which I love and very much need. I can't say how well it works with blackheads (mine are very stubborn) but my skin definitely feels smoother.
For my last step in the shower, I use Krave Beauty's Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser. (This helps to remove water-based impurities.) When my skin was at its worst last year, I'm pretty certain it was because of my foam cleanser. It really dried my skin out, to the point where it felt like sandpaper. (Side note: Not all foam cleansers are bad—that particular one just didn't work well for me.) This cleanser has a jelly texture, which doesn't strip away anything and is hydrating. I've been using it for about half a year now, and I love it. It lasts a long time too—I still have about 1/3 left!
TONING
I'm still experimenting with how my skin reacts to toners, so this is just my ... findings so far. I use Acwell's Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner every other night, or every two nights, depending on whether I think my skin needs it. I love the way it makes my skin feel so smooth, but I think I'm sensitive to this. (If you have any tips on choosing a toner, please let me know!)
MOISTURIZING
It's still really warm at night, so I've been using Benton's Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel to keep my cheeks from breaking out. My acne scars are still healing and they've been fading very slowly, so I don't want it to happen again. I don't really know how to scientifically explain how this gel works, but I know it helps my skin breathe by allowing heat to evaporate and not stay trapped under my moisturizer. All I know is this: if I don't use it, the redness from my acne is more obvious.
Speaking of moisturizer, the one I LOVE is Primera's Alpine Berry Water Cream. It is the perfect consistency for this weather! When I wake up, my skin feels so hydrated without being oily. (My only issue with this product is the price point 🥴)
And that's it! I'll use an essence or serum sometimes, but these are the core products I stick to every night. I still have a lot to learn, obviously, but I know it's going to take a while. Even though I've been intentionally experimenting for a year now, I'm still figuring out what my skin needs and how to make sense of how it reacts to certain products.
I'm going to be documenting all the things I test out on Instagram, so if you're curious ... check out what I'm up to at @amarisafloria!
I'm going to be documenting all the things I test out on Instagram, so if you're curious ... check out what I'm up to at @amarisafloria!
What are your nighttime skincare staples?
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Adult Fiction // Categories: Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Release Date: June 2, 2020
Publisher: Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House)
Format: Hardcover • 352 pages
Rating: 4 stars
"Telling Stella a secret was like whispering into a jar and screwing the lid tight. Nothing escaped her. But she hadn’t imagined then that Stella was keeping secrets of her own."
The Vanishing Half begins with two twin sisters who run away from their small town to find freedom and make something more of their lives. After fourteen years, one returns with her "blueblack" daughter and the other has left all she knows behind to pass and live as a white woman.
Brit Bennett does an excellent job at exploring how something as unimportant as skin color alone dictates the way people think. Everyone in Mallard, the small town that Desiree and Stella grew up in, favors fair skin. This community knows they would "never be accepted as white" but they refuse "to be treated like Negroes." So when Desiree brings her dark baby back with her, they have a lot to say. And even before Stella encounters the Black family that moves in across the street from her, she has already formed an opinion about them.
With the choices that each twin makes about how they want to live, we see how it impacts their well-being and relationships with everyone around them, especially their daughters. For Stella, did hiding the thing she thought would cage her grant the freedom she dreamed of?
Because it is a character-driven novel, it does read a little slow—but it was worth it! I do wish we could've learned a little more about Desiree and what she was thinking during the later time periods, but maybe that comes out in how her daughter Jude views herself.
I just love the way Brit Bennett wove this story through two people who look exactly the same and were raised with the same experiences, but had such different thoughts about being Black.
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