P.M. / Evening Cleansing Routine

photocredit: http://www.ugallery.com/acrylic-painting-good-night

Good Evening!

After a LONG day I thoroughly enjoy the ritual of cleansing my face. I feel like I'm wiping away the day's makeup and grime but also troubles and stress. Its an opportunity, in my very hectic life, to do something nice for myself that also (hopefully) has long reaching positive effects.

When I first arrive home I grab an unscented, natural baby wipe and remove just the first layer of face makeup - everything except my eye makeup (because that's gonna take a little more oomph). Right now I'm using the Target brand unscented ones and I love them. They do not cause my skin to break out or react AND they're super cheap...certainly cheaper than some of the makeup removal wipes available.

Now I KNOW this is NO substitute for properly cleansing your face and heaven forbid I go to bed just like this. I wouldn't be doing my skin (or my pillowcase) any favors if I did!

After my night's activities: dinner, clean up, prep for the next day and putting my baby to bed, I can retire to the bathroom and really get to work.

I scoop about 1/2 a teaspoon of Trader Joes Organic Virgin Coconut Oil onto clean dry hands and rub it on to my DRY face. Note* because of where I store it (under my sink) the coconut oil is ususally a white colored solid and melts in my hands upon contact with my face. If you store the coconut oil in a warmer environment it will appear as a clear liquid in the jar. Either way is fine, though the liquid may be messier to handle.

photocredit: Trader Joe's website

I rub the oil in to my face taking special care to *gently* remove my eye makeup. This stuff doesn't sting, it smells like the tropics and if a little gets in your mouth its edible anyway. At this point I try to give my skin a nice massage, taking the oil all the way down to my neck, and get the circulation going under the skin. I know I've mentioned her before, but Caroline Hirons (a TRUE professional) has an excellent blog post about facial massage.

After thoroughly rubbing the oil around and my makeup into oblivion  its time to remove. I use Target brand cotton ovals. You could also use a warm, damp flannel (washcloth) which I think would be heavenly. However, I don't use that because they tend to accumulate quickly if I haven't done a wash in a bit (a bit meaning two weeks...it happens).

I wipe all the makeup and oil off, including whatever product is around my hairline and down my neck.

Then, I dampen my face with warm water and give it a good rinse. The oil remaining on your skin will prevent the water from really penetrating your skin but thats fine. Then I take about a half teaspoon of my cleanser of choice, Lush's Angels on Bare Skin, and I mix in in my palm with some water to make a paste. Cleanse and rub, getting all that paste and scrubby goodness around. Because this cleanser contains lavender flowers and finely ground almonds, it acts as a gentle exfoliant. Once I have scrubbed for about a minute or two I rinse thoroughly (getting all that aforementioned scrubby goodness out of my hairline where it unfortunately tends to accumulate).

photocredit: Lush website

After rinsing, my skin is clean but not squeaky and feels hydrated and plump.

I tone with Lush's Breath of Fresh Air toner. It contains sea water and aloe vera and rose absolute, which smell and feel divine.

photocredit: Lush website

I then apply my evening moisturizer, Josie Maran's 100% pure Argan oil (about 4-6 drops). If I'm feeling a little parched or want to treat myself, I'll top that with Lush's Full of Grace Serum bar (rub that between my hands to melt a little product and then pat on over the oil). I finish with the Kiehl's Rosa Arctica eye cream and some Lush Honey Trap lip balm. A couple of times a week, depending on necessity, I use one of the Lush lip scrubs (Popcorn is my absolute favorite) and then apply Honey Trap on top.

photocredit: Kiehl's website

That's it. Its a pretty simple skin care regimen and I am sure there are areas I could expand upon or add extra skincare to, but I find this system works for me (and the tiny bit of free time I have at night before bed).

I hope you'll try one or more of the skin care products from Lush. I love that they're handmade, fresh AND cruelty free. If you do, leave a comment below and let me know how you get on with it!

xoxo
Jessica