the one where I talk a lot about skincare and a little about makeup

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! Did you like my Friends-inspired title today? I thought I'd talk about skincare and makeup for today's blog post. 

Before I begin, please know that I do not consider myself an expert on this subject. I have learned most of this by trial and error, and a lot of these things that I do come from advice given to me by my Mom. She's the best! If you're a mom of girls, don't ever underestimate the lessons they learn from watching you; I promise, even if you don't think they're listening, they're observing and taking note of your every move. Also, share these kinds of things with them! You never know what will stand out in their minds! I can hear my mom's voice in my head all the time, starting with, "Jennifer, wash your face before you go to bed!" 🤣 Seriously, I am so glad she shared her wisdom with me. I know you're reading this today, so thank you, Mom! Another thing I want you to know is that I do not spend a lot of money on makeup. I've discovered that I can get by just fine with what's sold in stores like Target or Ulta. You should also know that I have incredibly dry skin, which is why I prefer so many creams and oils. 

I am starting with one of my favorite types of lotion for when the weather cools off. Did you know that the simple act of moisturizing your skin everyday will help with its appearance as you age, and in elasticity? I have read numerous things that say this, and I've heard that it can even help with the skin that becomes flabby on the underside of the upper arms. 

I try to make lotion a daily part of my makeup routine, especially when it's colder outside. Another favorite type of lotion during is this spiced chestnut lotion from Williams Sonoma. I buy this every year when I go to the Williams Sonoma outlet in Memphis, and I always buy at least two bottles. It smells divine!

The other thing I'm mostly talking about today is skincare. You can never quite cover up bad skin! I am thankful that Mom taught me this from a young age. I did get sunburned as a child, but thankfully, it didn't do too much damage to my skin. I never struggled with acne as a teenager either, because Mom taught me the importance of faithful skincare. She was always buying me facewash and moisturizer, and as a treat sometimes, she'd let me use all her yummy creams and potions from Estee Lauder. 

Everyday of my life, I use this to wash my face. 

At one point, what was inside this tub is what the label says, but now I keep refilling it with the giant container of coconut oil that I buy from Costco. I keep a plastic spoon in my drawer and scoop out a half dollar sized amount; I melt it by rubbing it in my hands, then I spread it all over my face. It literally melts my makeup right off. I rub it all over my mouth, and even my eyes, and it's never once irritated that sensitive skin. I love to do this in the shower, and I barely even have to use a wash cloth. If there's extra on my hands, I rub my hands over my arms or on the ends of my hair. Remember when I said at the beginning about expensive products vs. dupes? To me, this oil reminds me of the Colleen Rothschild face wash that a lot of bloggers rave about. I certainly don't want to be mean about people using expensive things; to each their own! But I just want people to know that this isn't something you have to spend a ton of money on. 

Onto moisturizer: when the weather starts cooling off, everyday I use this moisturizer twice a day. I've tried Eucerine and Aquaphor, but I like Cerave the best. 

It has the consistency of whipped lotion, and it never feels greasy or heavy. I'm working on this post at 6:30 at night, and I can still feel it on my face hours after using it at nine this morning. It's amazing!

This is my favorite lip product. I bought a multi-pack on Amazon, and I have it all over the house. I use it  first thing after brushing my teeth and up until I brush again before bedtime. This stuff works wonders! 

I'm including this picture of the Moroccon oil here, because it's right before I apply makeup that I put this onto the ends of my hair. I take whatever is left and rub it on my face or on my neck and chest area. I love how this stuff smells, and it has never irritated my skin. 

Onto makeup: I use this foundation and one of these two things pictured below. 

I bit the bullet last spring and spent money on this Super Goop brand of facial sunscreen. My friend Marilyn told me that Elf has a dupe for this now! I don't know if it's any good or not, but I will try that before I purchase this again. I do love the glow it gives your skin, but I could achieve the same thing with the Elf brand illuminating primer. I really like this Neutrogena tinted moisturizer with SPF. I use it everyday now, just a drop mixed into a drop of this foundation. I apply this all over by rubbing it onto my skin with my hands. I have found that I like the appearance that gives more than using a beauty blender, a sponge, or even a foundation brush. I've tried them all and this is what works best for me. I also use a very minimal amount of products, because I want a minimal or natural look. I read this helpful article right before I sat down to write this post, and there's excellent advice that she gives. What she says about Botox may step on some toes, but I do agree with her. I think it's inevitable that aging will eventually catch up to us all, no matter how much we try to hide. I'm definitely not saying I'll ever get it; but the chances are slim.

I use a couple of drops of this oil in my foundation to thin it out a bit before I apply. The amount of drops I use depends on how dry my skin is at that moment. 

Have you tried this brand of blush? I love it and have tried a few over the past year or two. I know a lot of people love the cream makeup products, but when I tried a cream blush, it did not stay put. I feel like this adheres nicely to a moisturized face. 

I apply it to my cheekbone area, my upper forehead by my hairline, and down the bridge of my nose, before blending it all in with my brush with this transparent powder. 

This is my current favorite eyeshadow palette that I've used since early summer. 

I mentioned that I am into the natural look more right now, so I only use this one color that I'm pointing to all over my eyelid. I apply it pretty heavy to my lower lid, the inside corners of my eyes, and then I blend it all upward with a heavier brush. I use the dark brown color to line my upper outer lid, and the lower outer lid as well. One thing I've noticed is how little eyeliner we need as we age. When you line just the outer parts of your lids, your eyes look bigger and more open. When you line the entire lower lid, your eye appears very small and tired looking. You should try this trick on yourself! 

I finish with my favorite brand of mascara from Amazon.

I just do enough to cover my lashes, and I only apply one coat. I've learned that the more I try to look a certain way, the less I am able to achieve what I'm going after. This is why I think I like the more minimal or natural look. I can be really good at makeup, especially given my history at working at a makeup store in my twenties. I just don't want to spend a lot of time on makeup, so I've tweaked it until it just takes me a couple of minutes to do all that I do each day. This is all subject to change, though, as I continue to age. I also know that a few of you (and my mom) use the Seint brand of makeup, and it's beginning to appeal to me more and more as I keep watching makeup videos. I feel like it's definitely the minimal side of it that I am loving. 

I've mentioned this oil so many times, but I use it not only on my hands, but also on my feet. You know how your toes can get really dry along the tops or at the cuticles? This helps tremendously! I use it everyday. 

I've never mentioned it before, but for a few years I 've been using one of two things to rid my face of the peach fuzz that most of us have. I alternate between this battery operated little shaver below, or the Tinkle brand of shavers from Amazon.

A lot of bloggers talk about how doing that helps the makeup apply or adhere better to your skin, but that's not why I do it; I only do it because I hate seeing that fuzz on my face when I'm outdoors. 

As you can see, I don't use a lot of makeup. After the moisturizing and foundation part of my morning routine, this is all I use. I pretty much use the same thing year round, but I will change up the shades of things like foundation or blush. Also, I always use my hands or a clean wash cloth and wipe off a good bit of what I just applied. I never want to appear to be too made up. 

The one thing I didn't get a picture of what I use for lipstick. My current favorite thing to do is to line my lips completely with an NYX liner of a darker shade, then I use a more neutral and lighter shade on top. I lean toward the browns in the fall, so the one I'm using right now is a sienna color with this color on top.

I shared an entire post about lipstick last year that I'll share again here. You should watch it again to see my favorite lipsticks, or you can just watch to laugh at me as I attempted to do a tutorial video. 

And just so you can see a finished off face, here are a couple of pictures of me when I was dressed for the day. 

And for kicks and fun, here's one of me with a clean face. I've always heard you shouldn't try to look too different with makeup than you do without. But those are just my two cents. 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Hopefully it was useful in some way as we settle into the cooler months of the year. If you have any tips, tricks, or advice, please pass it along to me! I love learning new things or just knowing what friends do that differs from what I do. Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!