Fall 2017 Skincare Routine

This post is sponsored by Clarisonic and Her Campus Media. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Living the Gray Life possible!

I think this is the first time in my entire life that I’ve ever had a full-on skincare routine. I’ve been a 2x-a-day face washing girl with day and night moisturizer for probably the past 8 years. I haven’t strayed much from it because it worked to an extent, but since August, my face has been a bit out of control, and I figured that as a 20-year-old, I should probably start taking better care of my skin.

Recently my face has been that of a pubescent middle schooler, and I’m not too fond of that.

I don’t know if it’s hormonal changes, if it’s my anxiety, if it’s the stress of school, or a combination of everything, but whatever it is, I’m not happy about it.

It’s messing with my self-confidence, and it’s just straight up frustrating to look in the mirror and see my forehead covered in red bumps. To deal with it for the day, it’s always the toss up of covering my face in makeup to try and hide the problem or letting my skin breathe and feeling like everyone’s staring at my face all day.

STEP 1: Remove Makeup

On the rare occasion that I am wearing makeup for the day, I make sure to remove as much as I can with a makeup removing wipe or some makeup remover. I wear at most eyeliner, mascara, and bb cream on a daily basis.

This step isn’t always a thing, but I figured I’d include it just because.

STEP 2: Cleanse

I’ve been a lover of Clarisonic for over a year now, and when HerCampus reached out and asked if I wanted to work with them for a second time, I said 100% yes, sign me up.

I religiously use my Clarisonic every single day.

It’s helped clear up and keep my skin clear. My skin feels super smooth and just has this glow to it that I absolutely love. My Clarisonic has changed my skin for the better, and I don’t think I’ll ever not use it.

Depending on my skin that day, I’ll either use the Clarisonic Pore & Blemish Gel Cleanser or my Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Facial Cleanser.

If it’s a pretty bad acne day, I’ll whip out the Clarisonic Pore & Blemish Gel Cleanser. This helps clear up my skin in less than a week. If it’s an average day, or if I’ve already used the Clarisonic Pore & Blemish Gel Cleanser, I’ll opt for the Clean & Clear.

Just for you, head over to Clarisonic and get 15% off all devices featured using the code HERCAMPUS! Clarisonic also offers monthly payment plans upon credit approval. See terms for details.

STEP 3: Fight that Acne

As you can probably tell from the beginning of the article, I’ve been kinda mad at my skin and how ridiculously pimple-filled it’s been.

I opened Google, searched for ‘drugstore acne products’ and I found these Noxzema Ultimate Clear Anti-Blemish Pads. At $3.97, I said sign me up.

I’ve been using them for about a week, and all I can say is wow. My skin is clearing up, it’s not overly drying, and I think I may have found my new holy grail drugstore acne product. The only thing that takes a bit of adjusting to is the smell. I personally don’t think it smells that strong (think mint and eucalyptus), but my boyfriend is not a fan. That’s the only not-so-great part.

Onto my new favorite things. I’m about to change your life with these face masks, okay. So get ready.

You may or may not remember last year when Cristina posted about those Que Bella face masks, and they changed the entire blogging world for the better. Umm, well I think these might just be the new revolutionary face masks for the blogging community.

I found them at Target one day when I was having a really not-so-great day and was partaking in some retail therapy. The mini-tubes run for $3 a piece, and there’s definitely enough for 6+ masks in each. The large tube runs for $7, and I honestly think that’s enough for the entire year.

They smell delicious, the peel-off mask is heavenly, and I’m asking for the full-sized version of the mini-tubes for Christmas. If you’re looking for them, I found them in the aisle with the Burt’s Bees stuff.

STEP 4: Moisturize

If you read last year’s morning skincare routine, you’ll know all about these moisturizers. They’ve been my staples for forever because they work, and they’re fairly inexpensive. I will say though that when the night moisturizer runs out, I’ll be trying out something like this PM Perfector by Formula 10.0.6 or maybe this Apricot Night Cream by Earth Science.

The newest addition to my moisturizing face routine is this Yes to Blueberries Age Refresh Eye Firming Treatment. I’ve been using it for about a month now, and I love it. Is it really doing anything? I don’t know. But at least I feel like I’m going to be youthful for a while.

Alright well that’s my skincare routine as of late! I have a dream of being that woman with all the serums and creams that keep her face looking youthful and radiant and seemingly has her life together.

One day. One day.

What are some of your go-to products that you use in your daily skincare routine? What about Clarisonic? Have you ever used their products before? If so, did you like them?

~abigail gray