It’s 11:15 PM as I’m starting to write this, and I’m sitting on my bed with Bojangles fries and a metric fuckton of product. I live in the U.S.; we don’t even use the metric system; I don’t even know what a metric fuckton is. Idioms are ridiculous. Someone pray for me.
At the risk of becoming obnoxiously repetitive, I’m going to give you one last run down of my current stash and then actually move on to bigger and better things, as opposed to hypothetically disappearing off the face of the planet for an indeterminate amount of time.
For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to put all of this into the same order as the original Sunday Skincare Special posts, but rather than breaking it up into two posts, it will all be one massive mess. Oh, you’re telling me I said I was going to write shorter articles to keep my stress levels low? See, what you don’t understand is that I regularly wrote 5,000+ words in my essays as an English major. To me, this IS short. Kinda. Anyways, to the post.
Bed, Bath, and Body Works
- Wash hair: The saddest part about writing this is looking back at what I had a year ago and realizing I still have some of those products. I’ve repurchased Neutrogena T/Gel (for dandruff and oiliness) and OGX Sea Mineral Moisture (for being a damn good shampoo, although it may have been discontinued since then), but you know what else I have? Nizoral A-D Ketoconazole Shampoo 1%, and I literally still have that same bottle, more than half-full. Blogging like this is SO GOOD for keeping me accountable for how much I buy without first having used things up. My purple shampoo is Biosilk Color Therapy; it’s only redeeming quality is that it doesn’t have SLS in it, but it still manages to dry my hair out, and it really doesn’t have a strong enough purple tint to combat brassiness unless you use it every day. Which I would, except for the aforementioned dryness. In an attempt to replace it, I bought Deep Steep’s Color Vibrancy Shampoo, which… isn’t purple, as I found out upon using it the first time. It’s a good shampoo, as all Deep Steep ones are, but it doesn’t do what I want it to do, and since I bought it at Marshall’s, I now can’t return it. I also have the dregs of a bottle of Deep Steep Argan Oil Hydrating Volume Shampoo, which was fobbed off on me by my mom (for once the trade is working in my favor). I like Deep Steep shampoos a lot, but I never feel like they get my hair as clean as OGX Sea Mineral Moisture. OGX SMM also has a better price-per-ounce than Deep Steep even considering that I’ve purchased Deep Steep at Marshall’s for $5.99 per bottle (a lot less than the regular price of $9.95). None of that matters if the OGX really is discontinued, of course, but if it is, you know where I’ll be — crying in the aisles at Walgreens and Ulta.
- Condition hair: I’ve said before that I never use conditioner, and while I’ve backed off that to an extent, it’s still a fairly rare occurrence. The only conditioners I’ll use in the summer are from Deep Steep because they do the best job of rinsing completely clean but giving my hair a visible, touchable boost in strength and softness. Right now I have two, both given to me by my mom: Deep Steep Argan Oil Hydrating Volume Conditioner and Deep Steep Weightless Moisture Conditioner. My winter conditioner — so named because my hair can only stand it in the winter without becoming limp — is Paul Mitchell’s The Detangler. I’ll also use this stuff year-round as a hair mask.
- Wash body: Right now I’m using a bar of fragrance-free Nature Pure Vegetal Base Soap Bar, which is ironically actually most-interesting because of the goat’s milk in it. I’ve had it for less than a week, so I can’t speak it it’s effectiveness yet. I got it because I’m on a soap kick right now — I’m trying to find something nicer than my standard Dove Sensitive Skin bar soap, preferably something that’s been triple-milled. The big problem is that I’m super sensitive on my back and chest, more so than even on my face. 99% of the soaps and body washes I’ve tried have ended up making me break out in a rash. I’ve already lost two soaps to the cause — a bar of Thayer’s Witch Hazel soap in lavender (a discontinued scent) and a bar of Deep Steep soap in some fragrance I’ve already forgotten but might have been fig (smells good, though). They’ve been stashed in a drawer to be used up as hand soap.
- Scrub: Honestly, I’ve completely stopped using scrubs. COMPLETELY. STOPPED. Even though I have KP, I’ve COMPLETELY STOPPED. You know why? Because I’ve FOUND A SOLUTION TO MY KP. You wanna know what it is? Jokes on you, because I’m gonna talk about it later in this piece. Keep reading, suckers.
- Shave: Same old Harry’s razor, same old Edge Sensitive Skin in a two-pack. New razor blade, though. Don’t forget to change your razor blade every month!
- Lotion: Ok, this is where you’re really going to see the insanity that is Shopping At Marshall’s Unsupervised. In theory, I’m an adult, but in practical application, I’m a lotion hoarder. Here’s a list of all the opened ones I have right now: Origins Comfort Mood Whipped Body Soufflé (a seasonal scent), Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Body Lotion, Deep Steep Argan Oil Body Lotion in lilac blossom, and Deep Steep Argan Oil Body Lotion in rosewater and aloe. That’s not even counting all the one’s that I’ve impulse-purchased but later returned because I didn’t need them or I didn’t want them or I felt guilty as hell or I realized I was slowly making myself go broke. This is a really stupid addiction, too, because I don’t even really use body lotion: I generally hate how it feels and don’t find it particularly effective. If you remember from a year ago, I outlined the two types of body moisturizer I needed: a daytime one with SPF and a nighttime one with the ability to fight my KP. (There’s really a third category, too: “savior for dry, cracked hands,” which is filled by Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula Hand Cream.) Technically, the Aveeno fits the bill as a daytime lotion because it has a measly SPF 15, but I can and should do better than that. As far as nighttime KP treatments, my life changed FOREVER when I started using body oils. It doesn’t even matter which one I use (currently a bottle of Shea Moisture Raw Shea and Cupuaçu Daily Defense Bath, Body & Massage Oil, which, wow, what a name); I just rub it into my skin while I’m still dripping wet from the shower, towel dry off, and voila! No KP after about 4-5 days of treatment. It’s definitely got the edge over Amlactin because (1) it doesn’t sting like the wrath of a million bees, (2) it doesn’t smell like literal ammonia, and (3) it actually moisturizes my skin. Life-changing, I swear. Except not wallet changing, because remember when I said I was using a bottle of Deep Steep in Rosewater and aloe? Well, I lied, because I don’t have one bottle, I HAVE FIVE. I LITERALLY OWN FIVE OF THE EXACT SAME LOTION, WHICH IS NOT EVEN A PRODUCT I REALLY USE. Granted my mom bought three of them for me, so it wasn’t a huge strain on my wallet (they’re $4.99 a pop at Marshall’s), but it was still an idiotic decision and I’m not sure I understand it, even to this day. I think I own enough lotion to last me the rest of my life, except it’s all stuff I won’t use up. Please don’t judge me; I’ve already judged myself and found myself severely lacking.
- Hair oil: Remember how I said I was going to drop serious money on Beauty Protector’s hair oil? Well, I didn’t; I bought the OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Penetrating Oil, and it’s basically the same stuff with a different smell. I need to use slightly more of the OGX than I did of the Beauty Protector, but my label on the bottle says I’ve been using it since November of 2017, and I’m barely a third of the way through the bottle. It’s such a better price for a product that gives the exact same results. See? I can make rational decisions. It’s only lotion that makes me lose my head entirely.
Routine Skincare
- Makeup remover (PM only): I ordered a tub of Banila’s sensitive skin makeup remover, but then Amazon cancelled my order. And then it was graduation weekend and I kind of needed something with which to take my makeup off, so I caved and bought another tub of Clinique’s TTDO at Sephora. But then I made a point to reorder the Banila anyways. *shrug emoji*
- Skin cleanser: I’m on my third bottle of Glossier’s Milky Jelly Cleanser, and I’m having a hard time convincing myself to go for anything else. I’d still love to have multiple rotating cleansers, but I got so frustrated last year at how horrible they were all turning out on my skin that I’m kind of burnt out about testing new ones. I’ve still got a running list of things I’m interested in, but right now I definitely prefer the devil I know to the devil I don’t. And also this cleanser isn’t a devil at all. It’s the right pH and it’s gentle and friendly. It smells like Elmer’s glue mixed with low-quality artificial rose scent, but you can’t win them all. Also I have a track record of not caring about weird smells in skincare so long as they don’t break me out. Take that as you will.
- Acid toner (PM only for now): I have two — Stridex Maximum 2% Salicylic Acid Pads, which work fine but dry the shit out of my face, and Pixi Glow Tonic To-Go Pads (because Target was out of liquid Glow Tonic), which interestingly enough sting my face and make me hate them. This is my second tub of Stridex, but I definitely think that liquid Glow Tonic is the superior purchase. IDK, man, I’ve never had good luck with BHA products; they’re never as effective on me as AHA’s are. Food for thought.
- Hydrating toner: Heritage Store Rosewater & Glycerin. It works. It’s cheap. It’s boring. When it runs out, I’m gonna buy Clinique’s Moisture Surge spray to see if I can use that in conjunction with a hyaluronic acid to stop using the dreaded moisturizers entirely.
- Serum: This is another place where I’m hesitant to use much because of how badly my face was fried last year. I have a tube of Differin, which is excellent and should be used by everyone. Other than that, though… I technically have some Sephora samples hanging around — seven packets of Ole Henricksen’s Truth Serum and the dregs of a sample bottle of Caudalie’s Vinoperfect, but I haven’t touched either of them for fear of what they’ll do to my face.
- Oil: I have two — a bottle of argan oil from Acure and an unopened sample of Kiehl’s Daily Reviving Concentrate.
- Moisturizer: Two again — Weleda Baby Skin Food, which weirdly enough I absolutely love, and Cerave Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM, which weirdly enough I absolutely hate. It’s in time-out right now because I think it’s making me break out in a rash around my mouth. Not totally sure, but very suspicious and very pissed. And yes, I only like the Weleda BABY version, which uses beeswax as an occlusive. I can do beeswax; I can’t do lanolin, which is central to the regular version.
- SPF (AM only): Nivea Sun Protect Water Gel SPF 50. Read Tracy’s review. ‘Nuff said.
- Chapstick: It took me a while to figure out everything I was using because I tend to stash chapstick everywhere I could possibly want it, but it turns out I’m actually a lot more boring than I though. I have a couple of tubes of Jack Black’s Intense Therapy Lip Balm in various flavors, and I have a tin of C.O. Bigelow’s Rosebud Salve. Eventually I want to try the Smith’s rosebud salve to compare the two, but so far, I just haven’t cared enough to spend the extra money on what’s probably an indistinguishable product.
Three-step Facial
This is where there’s a slight routine change because I’ve actually learned a new facial routine. Jude Cho of Fifty Shades of Snail has a method for temporarily decongesting blackheads and sebaceous filaments, both of which are once again the only issues my skin really has. I don’t use her method frequently unless my skin is REALLY congested with blackheads that I’m looking to pull to the surface, but it is an option, and I have found that it works (although some times better than others).
- Clay mask: Vichy Masque Argile Purifiant Pores, which I got on clearance at Target, and Glam Glow Supermud Clearing Treatment, which I got as a sample at Sephora. The Glam Glow is intense, scrubby, and kind of burns, but it definitely sucks all the shit out of my pores. The Vichy is much more gentle, which is definitely my preference these days. It’s got no bells or whistles — just plain old mud in a glass jar that I hopefully won’t break. It’s great.
- Acid peel: Still plugging through my sample tube of Aquareveal Satin Bright. It’s finally almost empty, so I’ll have to figure out what to replace it with. Honestly, right now I’ll probably just use up the acid pads that I have as peels because I’m not doing a ton else with them. After that, we’ll see. It’s not a product category I’m particularly interested in, so I’ll probably end up grabbing something from Pixi while at Target or picking up something random from Marshall’s. Such is my life these days.
- Gel or cream mask: The only true mask I have in this category is The Body Shop’s British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask. I want to like it, but honestly? It burns. It’s a pretty mild burn, but still. It’s there. And it might be causing me to break out in a rash after I use it. What I’ve actually been using is just food-grade honey, sometimes mixed with a drop of essential oil if I want to feel fancy. Honey is a natural antiseptic, so it can help combat bacteria acne. It’s also an efficient humectant, drawing water from the air into the skin and then trapping it there. It also doesn’t burn, and that’s pretty much good enough for me these days. The bar is really low.
Skinny Dipping 