Vanity of Vanities, Part II

Let's talk about skin care and make-up.  I want to bore all my male readers (and probably many of my female ones) to tears.  My stat counter is giving me numbers that are much too high these days, most likely due to NaBloPoMo.  Gotta do something to remedy that.

Not really, but I just got back from an Arbonne party and the topic is on my mind, plus I've got no other inspiration for topics today, so this is it.

I've been blessed with fairly good, clear skin.  When I was an adolescent my skin care routine consisted of Clean and Clear face wash and nothing else, and (not to brag, since it certainly wasn't by my own merits, but I'm just stating facts here) my friends always talked about how lucky I was to have such nice skin.  In the winter if I noticed painfully dry spots I'd dab some baby lotion on my face, but for the most part I did nothing, and looked fine.  Sigh.  Those were the days.

Heading into my twenties, I upgraded my regimen a wee bit, and actually started using moisturizer!  (I know!)  The basic Olay stuff caught my eye on the drugstore shelf, and I had no complaints when I started using it, so I kept using it.  The biggest benefit I got from it, although I didn't realize it at first, was the built-in sunscreen.  My face has really benefited from not getting lightly sunburned all the time.  In the cleanser arena, I didn't so much upgrade as make a lateral move, from Clean and Clear to St. Ives Facial Scrub.  It worked fine.  I didn't have any problems, but then, I'd never had problems with my skin.

Fast forward to fairly recently, when I started to notice that my skin doesn't look nearly as even and fresh and firm as it did five years ago.  I'd been reading Amalah's Advice Smackdown since its inception on her personal blog, and I'd never felt tempted by all the products she talks about, figuring that my basic clean-and-moisturize regimen was working fine for me.  But as I started to feel more dissatisfied with that regimen, I went to her archives for help, and decided I needed a tinted moisturizer.

Since I'd always been happy with my drugstore moisturizer, and since the price tags on the higher-end stuff made me cringe, I decided to try the first tinted moisturizer I found on the shelf, which was Neutrogena's basic SPF moisturizer with a light tint.  Would anyone else be interested in trying it?  I have most of a tube sitting in a drawer in my bathroom.  I highly do NOT recommend it, as every time I put the stuff on, my face starting itching horribly within an hour or two.  Also, the "light" tint was too dark for my fair skin, so it looked bad anyway.

(It still kind of shocks me that I have fair skin now.  As a child I was one of those kids whose skin is brown by the end of May, and my face was dark-ish to match.  Somehow as I've gotten older this has changed.  Maybe the sunscreen had something to do with it?  Anyway, I am now deathly pale.  My current moisturizer is in the shade of "porcelain."  Porcelain!  I am delicate and pale, possibly consumptive.  Be careful, I might faint in your lap.)

After my bad experience with Neutrogena's tinted moisturizer, I decided I needed to just get something high-quality that wasn't going to make my skin mad at me.  Also, I needed a good concealer for the ever-more-noticeable bags under my eyes.  (Remember when I asked for recommendations?)  Also, I'd been noticing that my forehead had been breaking out regularly, which was a new thing for me, so maybe it was time to upgrade my cleanser as well.

Is it possible that anyone is still reading this?  I'm the one writing, for heaven's sake, and I'm boring myself nearly to tears.  Man, the depths that we sink to for NaBloPoMo.

At any rate, I saved up a pretty good chunk of my allowance and took a trip to our mall's brand-new Sephora, and got some new products to try (all of which I'd seen recommended various places on the Internet).  Currently I'm using the Philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser, Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer (in porcelain!), and a Stila Cover Up Stick.  This stuff has made me realize that "you get what you pay for" is a cliche for a reason.  I'm still planning to do some more shopping around and trying different stuff to find the products that I love best, but I'm happy that I'm in a place now where I can look in the mirror at my clean-scrubbed, blotchy face and have some ways to make it look acceptable to me.

It is a little sad that my days of washing my face once a day and looking great anyway are over.  This new phase is definitely more expensive.  But it turns out it's kind of fun too.  I used to hate to shop.  When did that change?

Comments

[Lindsay]

So, you recommend the moisturiser (in porcelain!)? I have problems with skin care stuff as well because I am apparently too pale from the rest of the skin care consumers to justify creating stuff in shades with match my colouring. Everything I try is way, way, way too dark as well and it drives me insane. As for loving to shop, I think my love for shopping began at about the same time I started making money and appreciated what it was for. This has been both a good thing and a bad thing (on both the appreciation of money front and the shopping front).

[Shelby]

I'm totally with you. I was the little brown girl growing up, but now I too use the lightest possible shade of makeup. Although maybe it's because I just don't get outside enough . . .

[Mary Catherine]

Neutrogena's never been good for me, but I've always had problem skin. I like BareMinerals - it's a powder, you use a big brush to apply it, it doesn't have harsh additives, it has really good coverage but it doesn't make you look heavily makeup-ed. CoverGirl makes a decent knock-off brand for, like, a fifth of the price, but it doesn't cover quite as well and you do have to be careful to go a shade lighter than you think you'll need (which it sounds like you don't have to worry about since you're already at the lightest shade).

[Maggie]

Makeup. Boo. I think I would rather just be horrifyingly ugly all the days of my life. Although. I did buy a tube of mascara last spring (which took me approximately an hour to select and was ultimately chosen on the basis of "tube prettiness") which I now occasionally (gasp) wear...on weekdays! I guess that change is inevitable, is it not? But you will still never get me to wear dangly earrings more frequently than about, oh, once a year. I think I would make a good Amish woman.

[blog nerd]

Sensitive, angry, fair skin? One word.

AVEDA.

It is miraculous stuff. The sensitive skin line.

The tourmaline charged line will make you RADIANT and, being a young fresh chickie like you, you may notice that you won't even need tinted moisturizer after a few weeks of their skin care system.

I love their make up colors, too. Very natural looking.

You have very healthy shiny hair so whatever you are doing works. But my very fine, frazzled, frizzy curls also do much better on their hair care products.

It costs but if you are already shelling out for Sephora its worth a try.

I love it. And everything smells really nice. All natural, hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic.

Also--if you go to one of their salons or stores they treat you really nice. The offer you some nice licorice tea and if you get your hair cut there they will give you a free hand massage.

I like free pampering.

[cjmr]

I'm sooo glad my husband doesn't care for make-up, because my skin is hypersensitive to everything (except, for some reason, St. Ives facial scrub) that I'd either be constantly itching or constantly spending tons of money on new hypo-allergenic stuff.

How hypersensitive? Well, I can use a hypo-allergenic hand lotion for about three weeks before it starts making my hands break out. My allergist finally told me just to use straight vaseline.

[Lisa]

I had that amazing clear skin in high school too. But that has changed. Somewhere in my 20s, I started breaking out routinely at a particular moment each month. I blame whatever happened along the way to screw with my fertility. That hormone imbalance thing. Dang hormones.

[Diane]

I've been thinking I should upgrade my skincare regimen as well. Since it is currently consists of: 1. Nothing, I don't think that should be too difficult. Thank you for the suggestions!

[maggie]

Since I just spent my allowance (for the next year) on a pair of boots, I have been dropping Philosophy hints like crazy. Christmas is coming!

[Caroline]

If it helps, you always look lovely in the pictures. :)

[Jen]

I started using moisturizer when I was 22, figuring I would thank myself later. I also use Olay.

And no, this wasn't boring, actually pretty interesting as I am thinking about the same kind of things.

[Kate]

Due to budgeting, I have never invested much in makeup and skin care. I've been blotchy and dry (pale sensitive combination skin) since I was 13. New products always seem to work well for about...a month, at the end of which I have a tub or tube of something that makes my skin itch and blotch.

So now I use nothing but water. I never use soap. Occasionally, I use a very very gentle cleanser, if I've been wearing makeup...but I only wear makeup for date nights and weddings so that's not often. My biggest challenge (and the most helpful thing for me) is learning not to touch my face!

Fortunately, my skin loves second-trimester pregnancy, so no breakouts right now! :-D

Someday when I have the money I'll try a regular regimen. For now, I try to leave well enough alone rather than muck about with cheap, irritating stuff.

[Keri]

I recently upgraded to Philosophy and I love it!

[Christiana]

I have loved make-up since childhood when my mom would let me play dress up with her Amway sample book once she was done with it. But within the last few years I've slowly phased it out as not as important or whatever - in my early pregnancy I was down to a regime of eyeliner and lipgloss - but I got a make-over for my birthday (Prescriptives - and now I'm hooked) realized HOW much better I looked in the mirror and I'm back at it again. The only Neutrogena product I like is their classic glycerin soap which my Grandma got me hooked on, and I was in to Bare Minerals for awhile as well (but our closest Sephora is a good long drive away and I'm a slacker when it comes to ordering that sort of stuff off the internet - I want it NOW), so when I ran out... it sort of got phased out.

[Sarah]

Pregnancy hormones
And then, breastfeeding hormones
Are death to my skin.

In my "normal" state
My skin is good, but not great.
I'm content with that.

[mary]

Sarah -- HEAR HEAR! Awesome.

Also, the Philosophy stuff -- I have a sample bottle in my medicine cabinet that I am afraid to try. Both because I am afraid of skin breakouts but also because I am afraid I will like it too much and have to switch from my $2 Neutrogena soap!

[MaryBeth]

Im de-lurking (daily reader!) to plug the BareMinerals. You seem like a girl who likes to look like the best version of herself, not a made-up one. It is perfect for that AND it is good for your skin! I have loved make-up and whatnot my whole girly life, and have been blessed with really good skin (knock on wood(, but I get more compliments now (almost daily) on my skin with the Bare Minerals.
Oh, and I have used many pricey products, but my favorite cleanser after all that is still the Olay Regenerist daily gentle scrub.

I love your blog! Thanks for letting me chime in.

[Margaret]

I love Aveeno's brand of face care products, especially the clear complexion variety. It's enough to deal with mild breakouts, but gentle enough that it doesn't dry my skin out.

[Margaret]

I love Aveeno's brand of face care products, especially the clear complexion variety. It's enough to deal with mild breakouts, but gentle enough that it doesn't dry my skin out.

[Salome Ellen]

I personally think you should also be grateful for your good ancestors ;-)!!
For those of you who don't know, Arwen -- and all her sisters, and Camilla with any luck -- will never have those crow's-foot wrinkles at the corners of their eyes, because they've inherited the lack of them from my mother through me. My mom had wrinkles all over when she died at 89, but still no crow's feet. That said, Arwen takes better care of her skin than I do; you go, girl!

[parodie]

I was using various cleansers regularly, and was quite shocked when (for various boring reasons) I stopped using anything at all for several weeks and found that my skin significantly improved. I still find that I get breakouts (I have nothing nice or pleasant to say about adult acne) but only for a few days a month, so I'm not complaining. It's interesting to read what works for others, though...

[Hoo]

I'm still reading! Always in search of sheer-ish foundations with some protection as I am the whitest-shade-of-pale apparently. And hypersensitive too. Since the early 90's, according to the dog-eared card at the register, I've made approximately annual visits to the Presciptives counter in Macy's. It doesn't give me hives. But I saw Bare Minerals on TV and I'm all curious.
Every since I've started thyroid meds my skin has become softer and less dry. Of course I forget to take it all the time, helping not so much!

[Ellen]

Always interesting to hear what products other people love. I had flawless skin in high school but then wound up with acne issues in my mid-twenties. A round of Accutane knocked it out earlier this year, but now I'm looking for a new skin care routine to meet the needs of this new phase in the life of my skin. Ah, the dilemmas of being female and being vain. :)

[Kim]

They have a tinted moisturizer in porcelain?! I am there. After I get a job.

[Pearl]

I wish I was porcelain, it sounds so much nicer than 'biscuit' or whatever they call the stuff I use. My skin is pretty happy with anything I stick on it, except under my arms, where I get horrendous eczema if I use anything other than Vaseline Intensive Care deodorant in one particular scent. When I was living in the States and couldn't find it I actually had to get people to send it to me from home. If they ever discontinue it I'm sunk.

[Lisa]

Ha, I'm going through a similar phase, except I live in La La Land, AKA Los Angeles and work in the entertainment industry and some of my female acquaintances have been veritably OUTRAGED by my lack of expensive skin care products and/or interest in said products.

For example, I'm 29, and three of my girlfriends who are 27 were SHOCKED that I don't use eye cream. They told me I needed to start right away (that was six months ago and I can't bring myself to spend $20 on something I don't really know that I need).

Anyway, I use Dove soap to wash my face, Olay moisturizer with sunscreen to moisturize, and St. Ives every other day and it works pretty well. I don't have any wrinkles yet and everyone at my office thinks I'm some sort of assistant because they think I look 22.

So my regimen HAS worked to a certain extent, but I love Sephora, it's absolutely mesmerizing. I went a couple of months ago and bought the Bare Escentuals starter kit so I could feel somewhat girlish every now and then (since I usually don't wear makeup). And I've been eyeing the Philosophy facial wash, so please let us know how it works! I have used the Philosophy body wash (I got two bottles free from work) and it's great.