I was asked the above in a question by someone that wanted every product I used and here it is. Step by step on what I do daily in order to prevent my skin from looking dry, dull and flaky. I’ll preface this by saying that while I am loyal to certain brands I sometimes have to stray from their basic products because they may not be as powerful or I just might find an alternative that is a lot easier on my wallet. So here we go.

These are the products that I use the most but some that I like just aren’t bought anymore because I don’t experience much dryness here in LA like I did in NYC.

The first thing I always wash my face with is Neutrogena’s Fresh Foaming Cleanser. I use this for two reasons(I’ll touch and the second one later on in my blog) but for now I’ll stick to just one. It’s gentle, you don’t need a lot in order to get it to foam up and it’s really good at cleaning up oil that my skin may have accumulated during the night.

The second thing I do is turn into a chemist. I mix my Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub as well as the Morning Burst Facial Cleanser and use those to exfoliate. Notice that I purchased the Target brands of the original face washes because they do the same thing and are sometimes, not always, cheaper. Target and CVS are really good at making generic skin care products that work exactly the same, fyi. The grapefruit wash is also excellent for clearing up adult acne. The morning burst is great because it has vitamin C, ginseng AND caffeine. I am a huge fan of caffeine for both inside and outside of my body. Not only am I addicted to coffee but I’ve been putting medium ground coffee in my body scrubs for years because it helps with skin circulation which we need to help fight cellulite. Now that I’m using it for the face too it’s like a total body experience. We need out cells to keep rejuvenating as we get older so anything with caffeine is a plus. The ginseng in the scrub also helps to make your skin stronger so less elasticity can be lost. Now it’s said that ginseng should’ve be used on skin that is too young but that’s all relative. Some women start to get fine lines in their early 20’s while others, like me, are just starting to see them and I’m already in my 30’s. It all depends on the individual skin but I recommend preventing things before anything gets out of whack.

On to the third step: Philosophy’s Microdelivery Enzyme Peel. I received a sample of this once and fell in love. This product has done wonders for my skin. I use it on my face 1-2 times a week and highly recommend it. It’s pricey and I have yet to find a suitable alternative for it but this specific bottle has lasted me over a whole year already because of how little needs to be used. I also store it upside down to prevent too much leaking out when I first open it.

After my face fully dries I apply some of this on and leave it for the maximum time of 3 minutes. This is a really quick exfoliator that leaves my skin smooth after I wash it off. Before I moved out to LA I suffered from a sullen appearance every morning. I always compared myself to a vampire that hadn’t fed in years because thats how washed out my face looked in the mornings without makeup. Now after using this product for the last year and a half I can walk outside my apt without NEEDING to use any foundation or tinted moisturizer. That was the case when I was living in NYC and it still remains today in LA.