Nighttime Skin care Routine

Last week I shared my morning skin care routine and today I am back to share my nighttime routine.

I think this is similar to the morning where most things are the same with a few additions/changes.

Step 1: Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

I am a huge fan of double cleansing. Especially when I wear makeup or actual sunscreen. (Not just what's in my moisturizer.) This step makes me feel like I am getting off most of the makeup, dirt, grim, etc. before using my regular cleanser. I haven't been using it much during quarantine, but definitely a must on a normal day to day basis.

Step 2: Tula Cult Classic Purifying Face Cleanser

This is still the same cleanser I used in my nighttime routine 2 years ago. I absolutely LOVE this product! I honestly don't know if I will EVER change to anything else. It would have to make some big promises. 

Step 3: Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask

This is one of those "sometimes" steps. I use this mask once a week usually. Every once in a while I will use it twice. This is usually if I have a breakout or an event coming up! This is one of my favorite masks and the only one I use consistently. I usually see my skin clear in a day or two of using it. It's also super reasonably priced! 

Step 4: Origins Super Spot Remover Blemish Treatment

I obviously only use this step when needed. This gel is such a lifesaver. I just dab it on any blemishes I may have and will usually see a reaction the next day. This paired with the above mask will have your skin clear in no time! 

Step 5: Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

If you need hydration in the eye area this is for you. 

I mentioned in my morning skincare post that I am in the market for an eye cream/treatment. I am on the hunt for a new one. (I think I know what I am going to try.) Once I have one that fights wrinkles for nighttime I will switch this to my morning routine.

Step 6: Kiehl's Powerful Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate

I feel like this is the big shot in my nighttime routine. It's another product with vitamin C but it also has hyaluranic  acid in it. I used to use two different "serums", but switched solely to this one about a year ago. 

Step 7: Tula Hydrating Day and Night Cream

This moisturizer is great. It's super light weight but stills feels extremely hydrating. (This is what I also said I love about my morning moisturizer. I might have said the exact same thing about my Supergoop moisturizer. Can you tell I don't like heavy products?)

I used to use this day and night like the product advertised, but it does contain a small amount of retinol which made me switch to only nighttime. Plus I needed SPF.

Step 8: Herbivore Phoenix Cell Regenerating Facial Oil

Final step in my nighttime routine. I think I started using facial oil a little over a year ago. 

I had heard rave reviews on this one so I decided to spend the money and get a bottle. If my concentrate from Kiehl's is the big shot in my routine this is his little brother that is just as good! 

I have definitely noticed a huge difference since adding this to my lineup. It makes my skin glow and I don't even know what else. Just look better! hah. This is a product I would spend the money on again and again!

So now you know my whole skin routine. There's a few other products here and there, but these are my staples. I might be giving y'all an update on this very soon as I have my eye on a bunch of new skin care items. 

Do you have any holy grail products I should try? I always love hearing new skincare products/brands/etc. I used to love buying new makeup, but I swear as I get older I get more excited about skin care. Give me a new serum over new lipsticks any day now! 

Morning Skin care Routine

I feel like one thing a lot of people are keeping busy with during this quarantine is skin care. 

I know I haven't worn makeup in over 2.5 weeks and have been doing my morning, evening, and mask routines religiously. (Because, I mean what else is there to do?) 

I realized I hadn't posted an updated skin care routine in almost 2 years!! Like what?? That's such long time. Not everything has completely changed but there have definitely been some additions and subtractions to the routine. Read on to see what my morning routine is like currently. 

Step 1: Tula Cult Classic Purifying Cleanser

This is the same as 2 years ago. I absolutely LOVE this cleanser. I honestly love the whole Tula line. (I've never disliked anything I've tried.) This cleanser is super gentle which is always nice. It also leaves my skin feeling nice and clean. 

I can't even tell you how many times I have rebought this item.

Step 2: Bliss Micro Magic 

I only do this step twice a week. I actually just added this to my skin care routine since the quarantine started. When I got my facials last year my esthetician said I needed to add some type of exfoliant to my regimen. I started using my clarisonic again and just didn't love it. When I got this as a free birthday gift from Ulta I decided to give it a try. I've been using it for about 2 weeks now and I love it. It really exfoliates my skin and it has a minty tingle feeling to it that I love. It's still fairly new so I will keep you posted on if it stays. 

Step 3: Olehenriksen Truth Serum

This is the same serum I used in my last skincare post. I feel like vitamin C has become such a big thing in skin care in the last few years. This serum works really well for me so I don't see any need to replace it. It feels really light on my skin, but also tightening. Is that possible? I also love the smell first thing in the morning. It's a nice little wake up call. 

Step 4: Supergoop Superscreen Daily Moisturizer

This was another buy after my facials last year. I'm always SUPER conscious about putting sunscreen on my face and really limiting the amount of sun I get in that area. When I told my esthetician this she was surprised to hear that I wasn't using a daily moisturizer with SPF in it. I left her office that day and immediately went to Sephora in search of a new product. I try to buy clean when I can and this one pretty much checked all my boxes. I've gone through 2 or 3 of these and don't see myself switching any time soon. It's really lightweight but still feels super hydrating. It also doesn't have a scent which I always love in a facial moisturizer. 

Step 5: Eye Cream

This is currently nonexistent in my routine. I have a nighttime one that I really like, but have been on the hunt for another. Ideally I would like to switch my nighttime one to the morning and find a good wrinkle one for night. I'm thinking about trying this one. If you have one you love leave it in the comments below. 

What's your morning skincare routine look like? How has your skin been during the quarantine? 

If you have any must have products please let me know. I'm always open to trying new things. 

What I Bought 3.23

Happy Sunday!
I usually never post on the blog on Sunday. In all honesty I had all intentions of getting this post up on Friday and it just didn't happen.
This past week I had an idea for a new post series. The series is "What I Bought This Week". At the end of each week I thought it could be interesting to share with y'all all the things I purchased.

I want to preface with I  understand that some people aren't shopping right now and that's ok and totally understandable. I realize that some people will think this is highly inappropriate given the timing and everything that's going on. I also understand where you are coming from. However, this is a fashion and lifestyle blog and hopefully somewhere you come for inspiration and possibly even aspiration. I will also say a lot of the things this week are justifiable for staying sane during quarantine.
So read on below if you are curious about what I bought this week.

Dining Room Table
J and I are both working from home now. We don't have an office and are setup at the kitchen table. With us both having a monitor and a laptop there is just not enough space. I found this table for pretty cheap and knew we could use it for a little while in our new house as well. We also have had our dining room table for 3 years now and it was a hand me down. This was much needed.
Adidas Ultraboost
I have been running outside 4-5 times a week since all the gyms closed. I get really bad shin splints and my running shoes were about a year and a half old. I decided to treat myself to a new pair. I found them on Amazon for a really good deal. They are also 30% off at Nordstrom right now.
Reusable Straws
We finally ran out of our plastic straws and I decided not to buy more. We have metal ones but my friends recommended these to me. I love them and so does J.
Blue Light Glasses
I need new glasses really bad. (It's on my list of things to do this year.) Until I can get new ones I thought I would try out some blue light ones since I am always on my phone or computer.
Where the Crawdad Sings
Really hoping to read a bunch during this time. I got this one, Winter in Paradise, and the Jessica Simpson one to start off with.
Colored Pencils
I've had an adult coloring book for a while and never gotten around to using it. Finally got some colored pencils and will be coloring this afternoon. If you need a coloring book I thought this one & this one looked good.
Self Tanner
It was on sale last week and being tan makes me feel better.
Tula Day and Night Moisturizer
This was also on sale and I use this stuff daily so thought it was a good time to get a backup.

I hope y'all liked this post. This week I bought some really random stuff I feel like. I probably won't do this every week, but thought it seemed like a fun/good way to share products with y'all.
As always I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. If you need to talk I'm always here! Send me an email, leave a comment or slide into my DMs on insta.

Skincare Routine: P.M.

Back in June I shared my A.M. skincare routine with y’all and promised my p.m. routine would follow in a couple of days. Well fast forward a few months and I am finally getting around to sharing my p.m. skincare routine. There are still some few products I want to add, but this is what I currently do every night. (Except the occasional Saturday, I always try to do this no matter how many drinks I’ve had or how dreamy my bed sounds.)

Step 1. Clinique CleansingBalm

Have y’all heard of double cleansing? If not it’s basically when you use a product to take off all your makeup/dirt & grim from the day before you actually wash your face! That’s where this product comes in. It starts off as a solid and quickly melts into oil and removes all your makeup. I love this stuff! I can definitely tell a difference when I don’t use it.

Step 2. Purity FacialCleanser

After I use my cleansing balm, and wash that off, I use Purity facial wash. The reason I use this over Tula at night is that I really feel this gets any last traces of makeup off. Most people don’t mix cleansers, but this seems to work for me. If you wanted to pick between one of my cleansers I would definitely say Tula. However, I like using both for different reasons.

Step 3. Kiehls Avocado EyeCream

This stuff is awesome! I had heard/read a ton of rave reviews and thought I would give this a try. I’ve really noticed a difference in my under eye area since using this. You can almost feel it turn from a cream to a liquid as you tap it on your skin. (You could use this product for day and night if you wanted.)

Step 4. Serum

I have two “serums” pictured here because I like them both, and I have yet to commit to one. They are both very different, and I like them both A LOT! I’m almost out and need to commit to one, but I'm not sure which one so I’ll tell you what I like about both of them.

A.   Origins PlantscriptionAnt-Aging Power Serum

This does exactly what it says it does. I feel like the anti-aging part of this really works. I have noticed a big difference in my forehead since using this. I also like that it’s a true serum so it feels lite on your skin.

B.   Kiehl’s Powerful StrengthLine Reducing Concentrate 12.5% vitamin C

This stuff is also V true to its name, and helps reduce lines. I feel like I see almost an immediate reduction in lines on my forehead when I use this. It’s different than a serum and feels almost like a cream. It also has a lot of vitamin C in it and I use vitamin C in my morning routine.

I really have no idea which of these I will choose, but I need to decide.

Step 4. Tula Hydrating Day& Night Cream

I definitely love Tula products. This was the first moisturizer I could use with a serum on a regular basis and my skin would not break out or get really oily. This is definitely my Holy Grail moisturizer!

Optional in-between Step 2 & 3 Origins Super Spot Remover Blemish Treatment Gel

I say optional because you might not have a breakout every night. If you do though, this stuff is AHMAZING! It will literally get rid of your zit in 2-3 days. I put a tiny dab on my zit and continue on with the rest of my routine. I usually notice a difference the next day, and by day 2 it’s barely noticeable!

What is your nighttime routine? Do you use any of these products? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. I’m always looking for new products!

  

Skincare Routine: AM

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know lately I have been getting into skin care. I’ve always been pretty #blessed when it comes to skin. Not so much in the breakout department but I’ve always had makeup artist and estheticians tell me I have great skin. (To be honest I still don’t know what they mean but I just take their word for it.  Haha) Now that I’m getting older (late twenties); I think it’s important to try and keep my skin looking good. I’ve finally got a pretty good morning and nighttime routine down so, I thought I would share just what those are with y’all. I’m going to break it up into two posts: Morning (today) and Night (next week).

Step 1: Ice Roller 

(Sorry I don't have a photo of this. I shot this in my friends apartment in NYC and didn't bring my ice roller with me.)

I ordered an ice roller about a month ago after seeing everyone rave about them. Now that I’ve been using mine I totally get the hype! (I actually understood it the first time I used it.) It helps depuff, reduce redness and just really wakes me up. It’s almost like getting a little jolt of energy in the morning because it’s so cold. And if you drank 1 too many glasses of wine at HH on Thursday the ice roller feels even better the next morning. Haha! Best $10 I’ve ever spent!

Step 2: Cleanser

I’ve talked about Tula before and it’s by far one of my favorite brands. Whenever someone asks me what I recommend for cleansers or moisturizers, I immediately tell him or her to go on tula.com and buy the discovery kit. I love the cleanser because it’s so gentle, and leaves my face feeling fresh & clean. Another great thing about Tula is it should work for everyone no matter his or her skin type. It was developed by a gastroenterologist and is probiotics based; which means it balances what your skin is missing. You can read all about it on their site. (I’m a total nerd and find this really interesting!)

Step 3: Eye Cream

I will be the first to admit that I do not sleep enough. (There just aren’t enough hours in the day!!) Because of this I tend to always look tired, even if I’m really not! I also have bags under my eyes (thanks mom!) so, that makes it worse. However, since I’ve been using the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream, I have noticed a HUGE difference. This helps brighten and depuff, which is why it’s perfect for your morning routine! It also helps my concealer go on really smooth and crease free!

Step 4: Serum

I got a sample of Olehenriksen Truth Serum in my Sephora Play box a few months ago and have been hooked ever since. It has vitamin C which helps brighten, and that is always a good thing in the morning. It also is a collagen booster, and I am all about that! When I put it on I can feel my face tighten. Not in a weird or uncomfortable way but, in a “this is totally working” way. I love when you can actually feel or see a product work. It helps me feel like I’m not wasting money. 

Step 5: Moisturizer

(I usually let my eye cream & serum soak in for a few minutes before this step.)

Another Olehenriksen product I love is their C-Rush Brightening Gel Crème. It’s pretty new however; I heard rave reviews and love my truth serum so much, I thought I would give it a try. First of all it smells amazing! Literally smells just like a creamsicle. It also helps brighten and like I said above you can never have too much brightening in your morning routine. I also love that it doesn’t leave my face feeling sticky or oily. That is my biggest issue when I use moisturizer so, if a product doesn’t do that it’s a winner in my book.

And there you have it. After this I put on my makeup and out the door.

What is your morning routine? Do you use any of these products or have any others I need to try. I would love to hear about it in the comments below. As always if you have any questions you can leave them below or shoot me an email at fashionablylateblonde@gmail.com

I'm Baaackkkk!! & Tula Review

Hey y’all!

Oh my it’s been FOREVER!!!

Who knew moving, starting a new job, & living in the same city as your boyfriend and closest friends could be so time consuming? Not this girl.

Anyway, I am finally BACK!

I have tons of content coming your way and my full time photographer, (aka my momma), is back at my disposal.

Without further ado let’s jump into today’s post shall we?

I’ve finally written my Tula review. Yes months and months later. Haha!

I cannot say enough good things about this brand. I started with the discovery kit; which is what they recommend, and it was great. I’m going to go product by product and tell you my thoughts on each. This is the order I would use them in as well.

Let’s start with the cleanser. This has changed my skin so much. I don’t have bad skin by any means; however, I do struggle with bumps on my forehead. (I’m not sure if it’s under the skin acne or what but, it can flare up from time to time.)  I use the cleanser once a day with my clarisonic and those bumps are pretty much gone. If you’re thinking “how does this girl only wash her face once a day?” I don’t   I wash my face twice a day, and I use the clarisonic once a day. And sometimes I will use a different cleanser. (Purchased full size cleanser)

Next up is the serum, and I use the serum. I really like this one because it doesn’t leave your face feeling sticky like some serums can. The consistency is like a lotion verses a gel, (this is stated as a reference). I didn’t purchase the full size, as I don’t find this step absolutely necessary for me.

The third step is probably my favorite…the hydrating day & night cream. Let me preface with I canNOT use any type of moisturizer for an extended period of time, or with other products, without my face becoming really oily and usually breaking out a little. I can use the serum, multiple nights in a row, and my skin is fine. I also love that it’s the same moisturizer that you can use day and night. It’s not heavy at all but, it definitely hydrates your skin. I seriously love this stuff! (Purchased full size day & night cream)

The last product in the discovery kit is the revitalizing eye cream. Again an amazing product, it’s just not something I purchased in the full size. I think eye creams are the hardest to see results from but, I have nothing negative to say about it. As long as it doesn’t burn the skin under my eye it’s a win in my book.

All in all Tula has amazing products in my book. They all leave my face feeling fresh, clean, and not oily at all. Another thing I forgot to mention about these products is they are unscented!! I have purchased products before and the scent was so strong it would give me headaches, and I would have to stop using it. That is not the case with anything I have tried of theirs.

If you haven’t tried Tula yet, I highly encourage you to buy the discovery kit and see what you like.  While you’re on their site, I would highly recommend signing up for their email list. They are always doing sales, special gift sets, and coming out with new products. (I’ll link some of the stuff I want to try.)

Tula Discovery Kit | Facial Cleanser | Hydrating Day & Night Cream 

Things in my cart to try: Pro-Glycolic 10% pH Resurfacing Gel | Probiotic Exfoliating Treatment Mask | Probiotic Illuminating Face Serum | Probiotic Multi-Spectrum Eye Renewal Serum

Let me know if you have any questions about their products, my routine, my skin type, or anything else.

I hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Let me know if you decide to give their products a try. 

P.S. They just launched auto delivery today which means you'll never run out of your favorite product!!