🤎 all about routines 🤎

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I hope your week got started on the right foot. My Monday was good...a tiny bit frustrating at work for a few minutes if I'm honest, but I got over it quickly and moved on with my day. It all ended up okay, though and it ended up being productive.

In research of some different and (somewhat) interesting blog content, I thought I'd share about my morning and evening routines here. I'm not sure how riveting this will be, but it may be to two of you! Bill, you may want to skip this one. (My wonderful stepdad Bill is a faithful reader, even though I don't write about the boys much anymore.) I'll start with the morning.

I love using Thayer's witch hazel toner every morning and night. It wakes up my face and starts me off clean and fresh before I moisturize. While my face dries, I brush my teeth, then I moisturize with my very favorite moisturizer of all time.

I love this stuff so much. It's the only thing that drenches my very dry skin and never leaves it feeling greasy. I let that dry and use that time to put away laundry or make the bed, or get my clothes laid out. Then I get out all of my makeup and line it up on a towel in a way that makes sense to me. And this is where my husband makes fun of me and accuses me of being like a surgeon with his instruments.

I start with foundation that isn't pictured because I emptied my jar this morning. (Hopefully my order will arrive today! Yikes.) I always always always mix my foundation with two things if I have them and one is something I don't have right now. I use a dime sized amount of Fit Me foundation by Maybelline (shade #122) and I mix it with a pump of Elf face illuminating primer and two drops of Moroccan Argan oil that is safe for facial use. Did I mention how dry my skin is? It is. From head to toe, I am super dry.

I start with my eyeshadow, then go to my eyebrows, then blush, bronzer and a powder to set it all. Mascara is always the last thing, because I'm not great at it and it takes the longest. I put all of that away, wash my hands and then give my hair a blast of heat with a hair dryer. I sleep with it piled on my head and that always makes a crease. After that I wash my hands again, put lotion on, get dressed, then I use this cuticle oil on my hands and feet for the days I wear sandals. 

(This is my favorite lotion, the Williams Sonoma roasted chestnut scent. It smells so good and it's even my husband's favorite.) 

When I go upstairs to get comfy at night, I take that time to wash my face. I've been using coconut oil for years to wash my face with. I just like the stuff, but I later found out that it's really good and beneficial for your skin. So I take a big scoop of that and warm it between my hands, then I rub it all over my face, even my lips and eyelids. The makeup LITERALLY melts off of my face and you don't have to pay that high Colleen Rothschild price of their cleanser that does the same thing. I use a washcloth to wash it all off, then I use the Thayer's toner again.

I don't use a fancy kind of coconut oil and probably bought this either at Target or Kroger. After that I give my face a rest and before I go to bed is when I brush my teeth and moisturize one more time for the day. 

Everything I use is super cheap and can be bought at any grocery or drugstore. I do believe that for every fancy product, there's a dupe that is equally as good and lots cheaper. I'm not willing to spend a fortune on my face and skin. Maybe I will someday, but I'm not there yet. Sometimes I will invest in something good, like a lipstick or some powder or foundation, but mostly? I just use inexpensive brands. I don't use fancy brushes, either, just the same ones I've had forever, but that I take care of by cleaning and storing upright. A beautiful (slightly) older friend of mine told me the secret to looking good is by not trying too hard. And my mom taught me that all the fancy and expensive products in the world won't help bad skin. So, we should all take care of our skin. I use sunscreen, I never get sun on my face anymore, I never rub my skin in a downward pattern (Mom always said that could cause more wrinkles!), but in an upward pattern. I also haven't gone to bed without washing my face in over twenty five years. The thought of sleeping with makeup still on horrifies me, I don't care how exhausted I am, I won't ever skip this vital step.

Lastly, for a bit of fun, here's what is sitting out on our bathroom counter right now.

These scare Todd half to death every year when he sees them for the first time late at night. One year he almost took them both out by throat punching them. I'm cracking up, but it's true. He thought it was a person. 

And I also play music while I get dressed with this little jewel.

We have these little Google mini Nests all over our house and I can tell my Google to play something downstairs or at Home, which carries the sound all through the house. We have a Spotify account that we pay for monthly so that we don't have to listen to radio or advertisements and it's one of the best things we ever did. This is what all of us use in our vehicles too—Apple car play for the boys and Android Auto for us Apple haters. 

So, what's your routine at night or in the morning? Are you anything like me with major OCD tendencies? Todd just laughs at me, and then shakes his head. I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!