Acne, blotchy-ness, redness, & dry spots Part II

I know you all have been anxiously awaiting part ll of this series. I am really slacking, huh? Again, I would like to thank those of you who gave me lots of suggestions and concerns you have. I really like learning about other people's beauty interests and concerns. 

So, Part l I talked about exfoliating and moisturizing, two things I do every single day. Again, I'd like to point out that those of you with acne-prone skin should be using something with 2% salicylic acid, unless you have an adverse reaction to it.

1) One thing that I find extremely beneficial for red, irritated skin is using cooling products. You can buy them pretty much anywhere. Not only do they help with skin appearance, they feel amazing! 

A product I am dying to try but have not yet is the Boscia Cool Blue Calming Mask. It gets 4 out of 5 stars on Sephora. It is a "peel off mask that instantly cools, calms, and hydrates." Some of the reasons I am excited to try it (besides the fact that it is cooling) are: 

• It has willow herb, which reduces redness and soothes skin
• It has aloe... we all know how awesome aloe is. =)
• AND lastly... it has sea whip! For those of you who do not know what sea whip is it is like sea pens, which is soft coral. Why is this awesome, you ask? It is one of the world's known natural potent-as-hell anti-inflammatorys. 

See... exciting, yes?

Some other cooling masks I found are:
Aveda Outer Peace Cooling Masque, an awesome DIY mask that I would like to try, The Body Shop's Tea Tree Face Mask, and Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Daily Moisturizer (I know it isn't a mask but it is cooling).
All of these can be found at various drug stores, website, and/or salons. I just wanted to give ideas with different price points.


2) Another product that improves the quality, look, and feel of your skin is BB cream. BB means 'beauty balm' and it is a miracle worker. I like to use it in place of foundation because it helps...

• even out my skin
• protects it from the sun (most BB creams have broad spectrum sunscreen)
• and firms my skin

As a lot of you know I am very partial to Urban Decay products and I LOVE their Naked Skin Beauty Balm, which they have in two different sizes. It is one of my all time favorite products I have ever used. 

So many different companies make BB cream now and you can purchase it almost anywhere. I have heard that Olay has amazing BB cream, and you cannot beat $11. Maybelline, Covergirl, Garnier, Aveeno, and Physicians Formula all make beauty balm as well, if you are looking for a drug store find. Sephora carries a lot of other brands that make BB cream besides Urban Decay like Tarte, Smashbox, Bobbi Brown, Stila, and more. 

BB cream is great to use alone or under foundation. It has moisturizing properties so if you are planning on doing your makeup after you moisturize and you want to use BB cream, I would just skip the moisturizer and just use the BB cream unless you have super thirsty skin. 

That is all for Part II. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns! I will try my darndest to post Part III in a timely manner. Thank you and stay tuned! ;)

☮gretchen elizabeth

Please note, I am not paid to do these reviews nor am I doing this for the benefit of any company. It is just my own personal opinions, experiences, likes and dislikes!

Acne, blotchy-ness, redness, & dry spots Part I

Hello, beauty babes! Some of you graciously informed me about some of your beauty concerns. I would like to help address those as much as possible as well as give you some directions to look at products you can use. Also, if you have any really specific questions please feel free to post on here, my Facebook or email me. Today I am going to address multiple skin concerns that are a lot of times, related to one another.

I think no matter what skin type you have, you will experience acne, blotchy-ness, redness, and/or dry spots. So here are some of the tried and true ways I use and have read about.

1)The most important thing you can do for your skin is exfoliate it. Every day. Why you ask? Because I said so. Just kidding... because when you exfoliate it gets rid of the old, dead skin cells and speeds up cell turn over and renewal. Also, it makes your skin look MUCH brighter. This helps with all the above skin concerns. So right now I am using St. Ives Apricot Apricot Scrub. If you are prone to breakouts, I would highly recommend this. 

If you are concerned about blemishes, you need to be using a face wash that also has 2% salicylic acid, which helps get rid of those pesky pimples. You can buy the St. Ives face wash just about anywhere... Walmart, Walgreens, grocery stores, and so forth. Another one I like that goes on sale ($16 to $10) from time to time is Wexler's Acnescription Exfoliating Acne Cleanser. That one is at Bath and Body Works (if they still sell it, I am not 100% sure). You will just have to play around and try different ones!

2) Another thing everyone needs to be doing, no matter what skin type you have is daily moisturizing, sometimes twice a day. It is best to use one with broad spectrum SPF in it as well. Broad spectrum basically means blocking UVA and UVB rays. The FDA has really been cracking down on companies throwing that term around and only products that block both are able to be labeled as broad spectrum now. 

So, I have not tried every single moisturizer in the world. Here are some that I like: 

• Mary Kay Timewise Age-Fighting Moisturizer Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 30 ($22 from your local independent consultant or from marykay.com)
• Korres Pomegranate Balancing Cream-Gel Moisturizer ($32 from Sephora in stores and online, korresusa.com, and I am sure more) Downside, no SPF. It is also pore-minimizing.
• For you guys (you can use the other two as well but if you want a more 'manly' one...) Jack Black Double Duty Face Moisturizer SPF 20 [it is broad spectrum] ($17 at Sephora, it can also be purchased at Nordstrom, getjackblack.com, Ulta, and more) This is what my boyfriend uses and he really likes it!

Hopefully this is a nice start for you all. I will definitely be posting Part II and Part III very soon. I am very excited for this little mini-series. Stay tuned!

☮gretchen elizabeth

Please note, I am not paid to do these reviews nor am I doing this for the benefit of any company. It is just my own personal opinions, experiences, likes and dislikes!