My mom has taught me a lot of things, but one of the most important things she taught me was to take care of my skin. She’s lucky. She has naturally great skin that she didn’t exactly pass on to me. While my mom and sister have normal to dry skin, I have oily, acne prone skin. They’re both repeatedly grossed out by the amount of oil I can get on one of those oil blotting sheets. Along with that, I have cystic acne. I tried a million horribly drying and chemical filled skin products (including some that bleached my washclothes!) before I finally went to a dermatologist and got on some medicine. Although the cystic acne was gone, my skin didn’t look great unless I had makeup on.
The past few years haven’t been kind to my skin. I’m 38 now and I can see some signs of aging. Not cool. After doing some research, I realized most anti aging products are geared toward normal or dry skin. Putting super moisturizing stuff on my skin didn’t cut it. Then last fall, my college friends told me about The Ordinary Skincare by Deciem. I researched it and ordered it and then fell in love with it. My skin started to look more radiant and yes, even a little younger. I blogged about it last December and since then I’ve turned friends and family on to it. I got some for my mom for Christmas and now she’s telling all of her friends about it. My sister loves it and of course, her girls steal it too. And here’s some proof this stuff works: My sister is 35. A few weeks ago she went to buy a car from our 24 year old brother. After she left, one of his co workers said, “How much younger is she than you?” At a cousin’s wedding a few weeks ago, someone commented that I couldn’t be over 30. Ok, that might have been the beer talking, but I think it’s the skincare!
A couple months ago, I ordered some new products to try. And again, I was pretty impressed with it. It’s so easy to try new stuff with The Ordinary because it’s easy on the ol’ bank account too. Here’s the roundup of the new stuff I tried:
Squalene Cleanser: Any cleanser made for acne prone skin is pretty harsh. I used to use Cetaphil which was pretty gentle too. I really like this cleanser because it takes my makeup off without stripping my skin of all the good stuff too. This is good for any skin type.
100% L-Absorbic Acid Powder: Don’t let the word acid scare you. Absorbic acid is a fancy word for Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps your skin look brighter and fresher. I mix this powder with a moisturizer every other night. I don’t use this in the morning as it interferes with my Niacinimide. I’ve definitely noticed a change in my skin since using this!
Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalene: I had been using the 2% retinoid and decided to step it up. I like this because it doesn’t make my skin peel like the Retin-A did. I use it at night because it’s a little oily and it’s helps with cell turnover. (As we age, our cells don’t turn over as much. So our skin doesn’t look as fresh and new.)
Mineral UV Filter SPF 15 with Antioxidants: I normally use SPF 30 but it wasn’t in stock when I ordered. This is the only product that I don’t love. The sunscreen is kind of hard to rub in and the texture is kind of thick. Since it doesn’t absorb, leaves a whitish cast on my face. It’s not bad, but I like my Aveeno sunscreen better. I may give it another try in the future.
Hylamide Subq Eyes: This product isn’t in the Ordinary Line. It’s another line of products owned by Deciem called Hylamide. The price point is a little higher than The Ordinary, but my friend convinced me to try this. It’definitely helped to soften the lines around my eyes and helped with dark circles during allergy season. It’s $16 so it’s still less expensive than some of the other products on the market.
Next time I order, I want to try some more Deciem skincare. I’ve heard good things about The Chemistry Brand Hand Cream and the Hylamide Pore Control. I’ve never been able to go out without makeup and now I can if I want to. The website is really user friendly and will show you what products are best and what products should never been used together. It really takes the guess work out of skincare. They’ve started carrying this in Sephora and it’s coming to Ulta in July. Since I work right by an Ulta, I’m happy about that. Guess that means I’ll be trying even more products. Might as well go get some on my lunch hour, right?
Hope all is well with all of you readers. We spent a week back in Iowa seeing family and attending my cousin’s wedding. It was great to see everyone, but I was probably most excited to see my niece’s new foal. He was born May 17 so he was almost two weeks old when I first saw him. I didn’t get to pet him since mama was protective (she tried bite me!) but it was fun to watch run around and explore. Sometimes it’s hard living away from family, but I’m lucky enough to be able to go back and visit. We have some visitors coming this summer and fall so I’m excited to play tour guide and show them around Arkansas. The whole visit was great except the travel home. Our flight was delayed so we missed our connection in Dallas. Then we got on another flight that was cancelled, then another flight with four delays. We were supposed to be back in Little Rock by 12:30 pm and we didn’t get home until 10:00 pm.
This weekend James and I went to the Little Rock Farmers Market. It wasn’t nearly as big as Des Moines Farmers Market but there was a lot of cool stuff. We got some treats for Deuce and some fresh veggies too. Speaking of Deuce, we had to leave him for 10 days while we visited our family. I hate leaving him for that long! Luckily, we found a great boarding place. They even managed to give him a bath!
Enjoy these pics of the new baby!
Foxy and Lowkie 
Lowkie
****All opinions are my own. I am not compensated for this post.****
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