My Summer Skin Care Routine For Combination Oily Skin and Some Skin Care Tips For You

I have a combination skin. Its normal to dry in winters, rest of the year its combination-oily with a little dryness on and my nose. My T-Zone and inner cheeks also tend to get oily soon. I've been using a couple of products since April and they have become staples in my routine. I've also gotten the habit of doing a night time routine no matter how tired I am, and this has really helped me. Recently I made a few changes in the way how I go about my routine,(after watching Michelle Phan's graduation tips video) and that's been pretty beneficial as well so I decided to share them with you!

Here are some things I follow:

• Using ice as a toner: Sometimes when the heat is unbearable, I take an ice cube and rub it all over my face, going over my cheeks in circular motion. I've been doing this since years and it really helps soothe and tighten the skin, ice is a natural toner.
• Patting, instead of rubbing: Earlier I used to rub moisturizer in circular motions on my face and when I'd wake up, my skin would be super grimy. Ever since I tried 'dab-dab' motion I've woken up with much less residue on my face. Now I'm all about patting/dabbing; whether its face cream, eye cream or pimple creams, I only dab. It helps the product sink in to the skin hence its more effective.
• Always apply and ice pack to sore eyes: There are alot of times when I end up sleeping late, like 3am or so and when I wake up my eyes feel really sore. I take an ice cube on a hankie and apply it to each eye until it melts off. This is very soothing and instantly lifts up my eyes.
• Use face mask after face scrub: I don't even know why I used to do the opposite. But seriously, using a scrub prior to face mask helps the face mask sink in to the skin and work better. 
• Always remove makeup before sleeping: This is pretty self explanatory and since I've gotten the hang of doing a night time routine I always take off makeup at night.
• Sunscreen, always: Again, I don't need to tell you why. Always keep sunscreen in your hand bag as well!
• Drink water every waking hour: I find myself thirsty all the time and end up drinking water every hour and this has really helped hydrate my skin. Of course I also make a lot of trips to the bathroom, but its worth it. 

Now here are some products that I use regularly, each one is not used everyday, just as per my needs. Not all of them have worked for me. Most of these are easily available in India: 

The Cleansers:

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Black Head Eliminating Scrub, 100ml: This is the most gentle scrub I've used! I used to use it everyday but since last week, my skin feels quite normal so I use this only when I'm feeling extra grimy. Its nice for gentle exfoliation everyday.
• Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser, 100g: This cleanser packs some serious cleansing power. I use it once I get up in the morning, it cleans all the residue of my night routine and leaves my skin squeaky clean. Its best suited for oily skin. It can dry out skin if you're not regular with a moiturizer.
• Loreal Hydrafresh Gel Foam Combination to Oily Skin: This is the least used product here. I purchased it on a whim online and I'm not happy with it. It has SLS as a second ingredient and I guess that's harsh for my skin. Its quite pricey as well. I won't recommend this to anyone. I use it on days where I don't feel the need to use a strong cleanser like the Neutrogena Deep Clean.
• Neutrogena Liquid Face Cleanser, 150ml (not in picture): I've done a full review of this HERE. Currently I'm just using this because I want to finish it off. I use this to get rid of residue once I'm done with makeup remover.

Empties #1 - A post I thought I'd never do!

Whoa! Here’s one post I never thought I’d do. I’ve barely finished any makeup product in my life. Most of the stuff I manage to finish is skin care and bath related, but only if I don’t get bored of using them before they get empty. This isn’t a planned post, I didn’t set a target to finish x products by this month, I just happened to successfully finish a lot of products around the same time. Whilst recovering from the semi-shock and awe that I actually managed to do so, I decided to do a tiny post including their mini-reviews, because I’ve never talked about them on my blog. These products were finished around the mid May actually, yes, it took me so long just to take their pictures. 

Here’s what I managed to get rid of!:

Neutrogena Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Scrub and Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser:

The scrub is very fine and non-abrasive. Sometimes it doesn’t even feel like a scrub. Its very good for gentle daily exfoliation for my combination skin but I’ve seen no difference on the blackheads on my nose(only ones I have). I’ve been using it since July and it got over in May which means its very good value for money. During winters I used it every alternate day but otherwise, it was used daily.

       The Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser is meant for oily skin types only. One wash with this and your face will be striped off all impurities. It can give that dry stretchy feeling sometimes when I’m not regular with my moisturizer. But its my favourite cleanser for the summer season because it leaves my face instantly fresh and dirt, sweat free.

Both of these are fragrance free and neither caused any break outs for me. I love both of them and I’ve already repurchased.

Lotus Herbal’s Vanilla Velvet Daily Body Lotion and Johnson’s Baby Milk Cream are right out of my winter skin care routine. I finished them by the start of May actually. I love both of them because they’re extremely moisturizing for my super dry skin. The baby cream was used as a hand cream, its thick but absorbs easily and leaves the skin very smooth and soft. The Vanilla Velvet lotion is quite thin and absorbs super fast into the skin. Neither of them give that greasy feeling but they’re not as thin as TBS lotions either. The baby cream is fragrance free and the lotion has a light, non-over powering vanilla scent which I like a lot! I will definitely repurchase both again during winters, unless I find better alternatives.

L’Oreal Fall Repair 3X Shampoo and Conditioner:

The shampoo is actually a go-to product for me. I don’t have hair fall problem but I use these two anyways because they suit my hair. All those that I’ve used before have damaged my hair. The shampoo is nice and cleans hair with a single use itself(I wash my hair once in 3 days) but the conditioner isn’t suitable for my dry ends. Since I use a mask every alternate wash, it isn’t such a big deal to me. I also use hair oil sometimes and serum other times to take care of my dry ends. I have repurchased both, but I’m on the lookout for a better conditioner.  They’re not fragrance free, but I  like the smell, it’s a typical ‘L’Oreal hair product’ smell.

Marks and Spencer Creamy Coconut Shower Gel:

I was super excited about this, when I got it back in January. It smells wonderful, like a coconut flavoured biscuit, I’m not a fan of coconuts so I was happy that it doesn’t smell that coconut-y. Apart from the smell, there’s nothing I like about this shower gel. It’s a gel liquid, which is not moisturizing, and makes me feel soapy even after I’ve used buckets of water. It has very high SLS content. Will not repurchase again.

So that’s it for my empties- 7 products are not so bad right? I wouldn’t expect another empties post anytime soon though :P

Is it hard for you to finish products as well? Or are you a pro at it? Comment below and let me know!

~ My Fall - Winter Skincare, Vol. 1 ~

Good Evening ladies!

<3

 It’s the fall-winter season now, time for major changes in our skin care routine. I thought I’d share the skin care routine I have been following since the past few weeks, which has been working well for me. As I was taking pictures of my most used items, I realised that there’s a lot more left, and I’d have to divide all winter care into parts, so here’s the face and body edition. Hair, makeup will follow shortly along with an updated face care! 

This post can also be considered as a favorites post, because I am loving all the stuff I’ve mentioned here.

~Lotus Herbals Purestay Lip Gloss in Rose Bud- Review & Swatches~

{Psst...If you need a quick review just check "The Good" and "The Bad" points mentioned below!}

There are some products that make you 'oooh' & 'aaahh' when you look at their packaging, or feel their texture, or see their pigmentation and... and so on. And then, there are those bad eggs which just ruin your experience despite their attractive looks. Is Lotus Herbals Purestay Lip Gloss one of those misleading products? To me, yes. I was disappointed by my bad experience because this product has received great reviews all over the web, and I'm like, 'Why me??' *Sob*

Qty:- 8gms

Cost:- Rs.395/-
I got it for Rs.263/- or less, and I wouldn't have paid more than that.

Shelf Life:- 3yrs.

Description/Company Claims/Ingredients:- (copied from the website)

Purestay Lip Gloss is a lightweight, high-shine, perfectly pigmented preservative free lip gloss with rich, long lasting colour and nourishing shine that creates the appearance of fuller lips. Available in 10 shades.

Ingredients:- Evening Primrose Oil, Grape Seed Oil and Vitamin E.

*UPDATE: mybeautyexpress is now crazybeautyland.blogspot.com 

Well, this is how I felt about the Lotus Herbals Purestay Lip Gloss in Rose Bud :-

(I have this product since 4 months)

Lotus Herbals Kiwi & Grapes Revitalizing Skin Polisher- Review and Swatches

Its a well known fact that you should use gel based products during summer, simply because they are light weight. I for one, don't even like cream based products for body bath, they feel too thick. We both, me and Pranita, use shower gels all year. Once in a while I do use cream based goodies in the bath, but then I always end up feeling hot and warm, even if its cold. During winters I use Shea butters and thick lotions after bath, but in the bath it is always gel. That's why I went for this Lotus Herbals polisher. Apart from the attractive main ingredients( Grapes and Kiwi, oh yea!), this is gel based and not cream!

*UPDATE: mybeautyexpress is now crazybeautyland.blogspot.com

Price: Rs.245.
Qty:100 gm

What the company claims:
Especially formulated for sensitive skin . It gently deep cleanses, tightens pores and rejuvenates skin.

My take on the product:-
Its so pretty looking! And smells good too! Aesthetically speaking, its very appealing, with black and light green/white beads suspended in green gel, I find it very unique, considering its a drugstore product and everything. It also has a stopper underneath the lid.