Sometimes I feel like I'm throwing away my money when I purchase high end cleansers and toners. I'm still young, so it just doesn't seem like the high price tag is justifiable for the benefits I'm getting out of products that stay on my skin for such a short period of time. My thought process is that as long as I'm getting every last trace of make-up off and cleansing my skin with something gentle, I'm taking good care of my skin. Although I'm not as strict about make-up, when it comes to skin care, I make sure to keep it as natural as possible. Luckily, there are way more natural products in drugstores now than there was even 5 years ago. I love that you can find organic skin care lines at your local drugstore, in the same price range as it's chemist brand neighbors down the aisle.
I want to share my favorite natural drugstore products. I use 2 of these daily, and the other 2 weekly, and they all do a great job of taking care of my skin.
Yes To Cucumbers Calming Cucumber Facial Cleansing Gel: Of the three versions of Yes To products (the other two are carrots and tomatoes), the cucumber line is created for sensitive skin. This cleanser definitely doesn't make my face red in spots like some others do. It is very gentle, yet still does a good job of cleansing my skin. I don't use this alone to get off my make-up, though. As with any cleanser, I use something before-hand. If you have dry skin, don't be put off by the word "gel". My skin in combo, and when I use this cleanser in the morning, it doesn't make my dry spots feel tight in any way. This contains organic cucumbers, green tea, dead sea minerals, aloe
vera, olive oil, broccoli, and other ingredients you won't find in most drugstore skin care. This doesn't contain
parabens, petroleum, or nasty
SLS. The last thing I have to say is that the cleanser smells
divine. The scent reminds me of one I'd smell in a spa. It always puts me in a good, calm mood. The whole time I've been writing this paragraph I've been flipping the cap open to take whiffs.
Alba Sea Algae Enzyme Facial Scrub: Another great smelling product. If anything, at least
smell these next time you're at the drugstore.
Hahah, no, I really don't like when people go on about how great a product is because of it's smell. But if something works well, a good smell can make a huge impact because it makes the experience of using the product a pleasurable one. Anyways, I use this about every other day. The exfoliating factor in this is corn cob meal, which make up the actual grainy beads. Sea algae enzymes and aloe
vera, according to the brand, rid your skin of impurities, revealing a cleaner complexion and increasing circulation. I usually use this in the shower, after the steam has opened up my pores a bit. It's important not to be to rough, or this will make your skin break out in angry red spots. The exfoliating beads are doing the work for you, you don't need the extra force of your hands. After I use this, my complexion definitely looks
brighter, and my skin feels smoother. My flaky spots are gone. Unless you need something a little more heavy-duty, I think this could be
anyone's favorite
exfoliator. It does an amazing job.
Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Face Mask: My skin has become more and more prone to clogged pores this past year. This was actually the first mask I've ever bought and used regularly. Before this, I used the occasional home-made concoction for dry skin, but nothing meant to pull anything out. This clay mask contains Burdock, which has been used for centuries as a blood-cleanser. On the less gory side of things, it also does a
good job of ridding your skin of toxins and impurities. After using this, my pores are visibly reduced in size. My skin looks and feels deeply cleansed. There may be fancier products with fancier ingredients on the market.. but like I said, I'm still young and as long as I'm keeping my face clean, I'm happy and my skin is happy.
Alba Green Tea SPF 30+ Sunscreen: I bought this because I wanted to start being religious about keep the back of my hands and chest area protected from the sun (those are the tell tale spots when it comes to a
woman's age!). The packaging is very practical, no pumps, just a flip-top cap so you don't end up with the product all over your purse. What I was pleasantly
surprised by was how well it fares as a facial moisturizer. This sunscreen has it all, natural broad-spectrum SPF, with some good-for-your-skin ingredients packed in there. Not to mention it's water resistant. It does go on a bit greasy, but I promise you it dries really nicely. My skin absorbs this well, and I'm able to apply make-up over it just as I would be with any other moisturizer under. It has a
spf of at least 30, which is great because for many moisturizers with
spf, the typical number is 15. And even then, I'm worried about that number being reduced by the fact that the product is in fact a moisturizer, and not a sunscreen. I wouldn't replace my facial moisturizer with this, but for the summer months this is definitely what I'm using daily. And don't slap me, but this smells
extremely good.
Prices vary from store to store, but the
Y2C Cleansing Gel typically retails for about $10.
Alba Facial Scrub also goes for $10 in most stores. The
Boots Clay Mask retails for $8.99 at Target.
Alba Green Tea Sunscreen averages around $12.
The Balm Bahama Mama Bronzer is the only product I have by The Balm. I've been looking for a bronzer for a while, and had my heart set on finding a matte one, but I swatched this in the store and it looked pretty enough to make me want to try it out. It does have a sheen to it, just more subdued than how it shows up on my hand. The color is perfect, no orange. The texture is smooth.. I apply with a 109 in really quick, circular motions. It truly does make me look tan, not like I have anything applied on my face. Say hi to my weirdly pale looking hand.
I got the blushes in the first store I've ever found with a full NYX display.. I am so excited now. I went for Terra Cotta because, surprisingly, I think it makes a pretty highlight. Like for a bronzer or dark blush when applied extremely lightly. I don't know if I would use it as a blush, the color is kind of weird on my skintone for that. Mauve is a pretty mauve-pink (color description skillzz). Just a good everyday shade, but one I'd definitely apply with a light hand as well.
I got Brown Script because I've been in desperate need of a warm brown, whenever I do any eyeshadow look with browns they always blend out into a gray or even purple.
In the store, this lipstick looked both gorgeous, and like an exact dupe of mac's Shy Girl. I has SG on that day, actually, and spent 30 minutes comparing the two with this face D: ...trying to decide whether I should spend the $12 for a color so similar to one I already have (WHO CARES IF THE SHADES ARE EXACT MATCHES, THE FINISH IS DIFFERENTTTTTTT!). So in the end I bought it, of course. Whisper is a sheer, peachy color with gold glitter... on my hand and under Victoria Secret's lighting, anyway. Back home, this morphed into a metallic finish, gold-flecked sheer lipstick.. thing. It's not ugly, it's just not worth the money. The good thing about these lipstick is that they are very creamy and moisturizing. That can be a bad thing too though.. I kind of like my lipstick with a bit of grip. Applying gloss over this lipstick would be a slippery nightmare.
This is from In the Groove. I chose this over "I Like It Like That" because that one seemed way too purple and I thought this was more bubblegum-pink.. but I was wrong. The two lipsticks are soo similar, I have no idea why they came out together. "All Styled Up" is more pink, but the purple is definitely there. I don't really like shades like this on my skin, the only thing they work well with for me is dark smokey eyes.. and even then, I'd much rather go with a different lip color.
This is a well known permanent color, kind of a brighter version of "All Styled Up". "Speed Dial" is medium blue-pink with some golden shimmer in there. I really like this color.. it's the barbie pink I've been looking for. With this lipstick I find that I need to apply several layers to get full color-payoff, but that doesn't mean it isn't a pigmented lipstick.
I've been lemming a bright orange lipstick, and that's what I went in for. This is what I came out with, instead ("Morange", you're next on my list). It's a bright coral, which I think pulls more pink than orange. I personally like that.. I think pinky-coral is way more flattering than orange-y coral. This is a great color for summer, and can be layered to achieve different levels of color.
Looooooove love love love love this lip gloss. I bought it to go with Vegas Volt, but I think it'll be gorgeous with just about any shade of lipstick. It can tone down oranges, add a hint of peachy coral to your pinks, and it goes hand in hand with coral shades.
Harmony is wayyyy lighter than this, I swatched it heavily to show it's undertones. It's just a muddy brown color that works amazingly well for contouring for a large bracket of skin tones.
Famous MSF that I missed out on when it came out with Warm & Cozy. I'm sure a lot of you have seen it a million times, but here it is on my skin tone for reference. The texture it amazing, and it seems to adapt to whatever your blush color is when using it as a cheekbone highlighter.
I know this is a popular one, and I've checked it out in the store a few times, but it never seemed as pretty when I'd swatch it. I'm happy I finally got it though. When actually applied to the cheeks, it becomes a really pretty peachy pink. I like using this on it's own with a Cream Color Base to highlight, or more commonly, under a powder blush.
