Skincare Routine: Makeup Remover

To be honest, I don't really have one makeup remover that is my all-time holy grail, but I have accumulated a few that I really do love. I don't usually wear makeup every day, but when I do I always make sure to take off my makeup when the day is over. So, without further adieu, here we go!  

Glossier Milk Jelly Cleanser
I use this makeup remover on two primary occasions. When I wear a minimal face of makeup, I usually use this makeup remover at the end of the day. It is a great product when you don't have a full face of makeup on, but want to leave your skin both makeup-less and feeling fresh and clean. I also use this makeup remover when I take my makeup off really late at night and wake up the next morning and have a little bit left over on my face (we've all been there, don't deny it). It's super gentle, made with clean ingredients, and does not hurt my eyes at all. 

One Love Organics Cleansing Oil and Makeup Remover  
I was gifted this by my amazing mother (thank you mom) and I am obsessed with it. It is a little bit pricer, but it is totally worth it. I love this product because it starts off as an oil consistency, but as you rub it onto dry skin it becomes more like a cleanser. It is super gentle, but it does a great job and also leaves my face feeling like it was just washed. If this was not super expensive, I would use it every day as a face wash as well. I use this when I really have a full face of makeup on, like after prom full face of makeup look. My mom found this product from ONDA and it is truly an incredible brand that both my mom and I really stand by. All of their products are clean and focus on, according to their website, selling products that have "ethically sourced, natural, non-toxic, and organic ingredients." Truly amazing. 

Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm  
Now, if you are not looking to really invest in a product like the ONDA one above, I would highly recommend this Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm. Similar to the ONDA remover, you put this on dry skin and then it gradually turns into more of a cleanser as your hands warm the product. It does a fabulous job removing my makeup, including full face prom makeup. The one aspect of this product that I am not crazy about is that after using it, I still feel like I need to cleanse my face with a face wash (click here to read all about my favorite face washes), but besides that I really love it, not to mention that Clinique works very hard to create products that are great for all skin types!   

L'Oreal Micellar Cleansing Water 
This is really my on the go lazy girl makeup remover. If it's in the middle of the day and I am switching my makeup or if I am just feeling too lazy to really go through the process of washing my face, I'll use this Micellar water. It does a great job of removing my makeup, especially dark eye makeup, and leaves my skin feeling as best as it can without involving fully washing it. It is also an AMAZING price! This is the ultimate lazy girl product and great for travel as well! 

Xoxo,
Salut Sophie

Skincare Routine: Facewash

I have a tad (very) aggressive skincare routine. I have a plethora of products and, though there are a few staples that always remain constant, I am constantly changing what I am using depending upon what my skin needs, the weather, season, and time of day. Because of this, I have decided to launch a series of blog posts explaining my skincare routine in sections. I by no means have perfect skin nor am I a professional when it comes to skincare, but I have a passion for skincare and finding not only good products for my skin, but also supporting brands that have natural and clean ingridents for my skin and the planet. To kick it off, we will start with the most important part: cleansing. 

Though I do have a few cleaners to remove my makeup (Cinqiue, ONDA beauty, and Glossier) those will be included in another post because, for me at least, washing my face is very different from removing my makeup. 

I have three staple facewashes in my skincare routine and they are all from Ole Henriksen. I absolutely love this brand: it is good for you and the planet and made with ingredients that are simple, clean, and easy to understand. To listen to me rave about Ole Henriksen in more detail, check out my blog post about the Find Your Balance Oil Control Cleanser here. 

FIND YOUR BALANCE OIL CONTROL CLEANSER
This is my every day holy grail facewash. I used to use a SkinCeuticals one that I loved, but to be honest, the brand is super expensive and (an unknown fact) they test on animals, as they are owned by L'Oreal. I switched over to this cleanser about a year ago and I have been through two bottles since. It is AWESOME. I do not have particularly oily skin, but I was drawn to it because it has, a quoted from the website, "potent active botanicals—green tea, eucalyptus, algae (kelp) and Irish moss extracts—with natural antiseptic properties, and neem seed oil." I love the tingly feeling that this wash has on my face and it leaves my skin feeling clean, cool, and not irritated. I use this facewash at least once a day and I cannot recommend a product more.

TRANSFORMING WALNUT SCRUB
This exfoliator is, to say the least, transforming. I started using this a few months ago when my facialist recommended that I try to exfoliate three times a week. It has completely changed my skin for the better. It does an amazing job of getting off the dead skin cells on my skin while not being too rough to irritate my already very sensitive skin. I use this, as my facialist said, three times a week and what I do is use the find your balance cleanser first, leave it on my skin, and then apply the walnut scrub on top of it. I'll leave these two cleansers on for about a minute, using my hands to rub in the exfoliator, and it is like a mini facial!  

THE CLEAN TRUTH FOAMING CLEANSER
This cleanser I usually only use about once a week when I am feeling like my skin really needs a pick me up. Since it contains African red tea extract and vitamin C, it really helps to revitalize and rejuvenate the skin. This cleanser is also intended to remove makeup, though I do not consider it to be more of a makeup remover. It does a great job of getting off excess makeup from, per say, the night before, but I would not use it as the only wash to get my makeup off. It is still gentle on my skin, but I do really see a difference in the vitality and coloring in my skin after I use it, not to mention the fact that it smells so good! 

Xoxo,
Salut Sophie

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Overnight Hydrating Mask

I have always loved face masks and am always willing to try new ones so when I saw this Kiehl's overnight mask in the store a few months ago I just had to try it. I love Kiehl's products in general and my family and I have been avid believers and users in the company for years. I have been using the Ultra Facial Overnight Hydrating mask since this Christmas and I will say I have seen a great improvement in the hydration of my skin: it feels smoother, nourished, and not dry at all. Though this is likely due to multiple things, I do credit this mask for helping to maintain hydrated and moisturized skin. 

What I love most about this mask is the fact that I can wear it over night. Not only does this simplify my beauty routine for the night, as all I do is wash my face and put on a thin layer of the mask, but I also wake up feeling like the product has fully soaked into the skin and really moisturized my face. My face feels incredibly soft and dewy after using the mask and it also looks rejuvenated, almost like I just got a facial. I try to use this mask 1 to 2 times a week and I HIGHLY recommend it. 

Xoxo,
Salut Sophie

PS. You can get the mask here

Ole Henriksen Find Your Balance Oil Control Cleanser

For the past 5 years of my life I had been using the same SkinCeuticals cleanser. Wile I did love my SkinCeuticals cleanser, I just wanted to try something new. Every now and then I would try new face washes, whether it was at a friends house or something I got in my birch box (which I also highly recommend btw), but I never could find something I loved just as much as my OG SkinCeuticals one.

I had heard a lot of YouTubers talking about Ole Henriksen and I had always used his spot treatment, which is actually a gift from God, but I had never tried any of his other products. I was pondering through Sephora one day and honestly just stumbled upon the Ole Henriksen section. I looked around at the products and, since I already love my moisturizer and tone, I figured I would try a face wash, the Find Your Balance™ Oil Control Cleanser was it! 

What drew me most to this face wash was hands down the scent. It has hints of tea tree in it, which I absolutely love the smell of. Additionally, the consistency of the product is very nice: it's smooth and gentle, but also gives that tingly clean feeling when you use it (my favorite combination). While I don't have incredibly oily skin, this face wash leaves my skin feeling fresh, revitalized, and squeaky clean. If I haven't already sold you on this product, let me emphasize that this facewash is about $25. While this is on the higher end of a drug store price, it is very reasonable for the quality and amount of the product. Additionally, Ole Henriksen is known for using genuine and healthy ingridents, which is not only important for you and your skin, but also for our environment as a whole: it's a win win! 

Xoxo,

Salut Sophie