MAMA STYLE: MY SKIN CARE ROUTINE

i decided this year to finally be purposeful about my skin care routine. i'm going to be thirty in october (woah), and i have a kid now, i'm somebody's mother, and also this summer i'll have been married nine years? nine years. whaaaaaaat. these are the wrinkle-makers, people. it's only a matter of time.

i had terribly troubled skin in high school. (you know, it wrote emo poetry and graffitied buildings.) i went to a few doctors and tried all kinds of washes and medications with no luck. when i moved back to the desert for school, my skin miraculously cleared up. poof! some combination of dryness and age i'm sure. since then my skin has been fine minus a hormonal pimple or two, so i've largely ignored-slash-abused it. i've learned the less i interfere the better, but now that "i'm going to be thirty this year", it seems a good time to beef up my arsenal just a smidge, so that when this aging thing really hits i'll be ready for it.

here is what i've been using lately and loving: 

// 1. DOVE WHITE BAR SOAP // i've been using this to clean my face since i was thirteen, on a dermatologist's recommendation. i've tried drugstore foaming cleansers, i've tried proactiv, i've tried really expensive boutique label cleansers... this is always the best. 

// 2. OLAY CLEANSING BRUSH //  i'd wanted to try the clarisonic mia for a long time (bloggers RAVED about it, i was so suckered in), but i just couldn't justify the price. then one day i stumbled on this olay brush at costco. it does a similar job at less than a quarter of the price. two thumbs up. it's amazing. i use it every night with my dove soap. (i chucked the cleanser it came with.)

// 3. BURT'S BEES BLEMISH STICK // i like to hear my pimples screech in pain when i use a blemish treatment. this one has a good kick, is all natural, and really seems to work. it smells funky, but i sort of like it.

// 4. KIEHL'S MOISTURIZERS // i'm trying to be better about wearing moisturizer at night. when i do remember, i like the basic kiehl's ultra facial moisturizer. during the day i'm all about the kiehl's tinted moisturizer. if i've had a lot of sleep (hah, when has that ever happened) i don't need anything else. one bottle will last me a good eight months or longer.

// 5. SAY YES TO CUCUMBERS FACIAL TOWELETTES // i love these wipes for lazy nights and mornings when i need a good refresher. they might not cut it for removing heavy eye make up, but i haven't needed to worry about that for a while (oh the glory of fake eyelashes).

// 6. DIY RAW APPLE CIDER VINEGAR TONER // raw apple cider vinegar is like a miracle food. it is good for everything from weight loss to curing allergies, alleviating heart burn, and making your skin look amaaaaazing. when rebecca posted about using it as a toner i finally got myself to whole foods to buy a bottle. it has to be raw, with the mother, and while rebecca recommends two parts water to one part vinegar, i go for 50/50. i smell like a salad and my skin literally glows. (the first week or so there's an adjustment period. i had some icky breakouts when i started using it and apparently that's common, the vinegar is said to pull out impurities, which is gross but also rad.)

// 7. ROC NIGHT TREATMENT // i use this both night and day. retinol is good for removing fine lines and clearing up blackheads. i've even noticed a difference in my skin's smoothness, which is more than i expected, for sure.

so. what's your skin care routine like?

anything amazing i HAVE to try?