A little pick-me-up for your skin

What is the first thing you do when you notice your skin looking dull and tired?

Clean up your diet? Add a new product to your routine? Treat yourself to a facial? Whenever I notice my skin looking a bit “off”, it’s pretty much always due to lack of sleep. If I travel, change up my routine or I’m stressed and busy- it immediately shows on my skin. Can any of you relate?

Whenever I have those crazy and busy periods of time in my life I always try to remember to keep a healthy diet and apply a thick layer of my all-time favorite skincare product every single night- Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. Every time I travel, go on road trips or a weekend getaway- that is the first thing I put in my travel beauty bag. It’s probably one of the best drugstore skincare products I’ve used and it never irritates my skin- even when it feels very sensitive. It also helped me deal with extreme irritation when I first introduced tretinoin products into my skincare routine and it’s the only moisturizer that would bring relief to my skin. I also tried CeraVe Cream since I love their cleansers but it irritates and burns the heck out of my skin so even though a lot of people say both of these are very comparable, Cetaphil is much more gentle on my skin.

Another thing that never fails to give my skin a quick little pick-me-up are face masks. When acne is an issue, I reach for something clay-based like Bobbi Brown’s Instant Detox Mask or Eve Lom’s Rescue Mask; when it’s dullness and lack of glow, I go for something brightening like Bobbi Brown’s Radiance Boost Mask. After a nice little mask session, I like applying a brightening serum- like Sunday Riley’s Good Genes Treatment which is also doing wonders for my acne scars at the moment. It’s a pricey product but brings overnight results- you can see my review right here.

Right after washing my face in the morning I love using a facial spray: Mario Badescu’s Facial Spray with Aloe and Rosewater has been a favorite of mine for many, many years and recently I also fell in love with Pixi’s Hydrating Milky Mist.

Whenever my skin is feeling dull, there’s nothing I love using more under my makeup than MAC’s Strobe Cream. It’s actually a great skincare product that sometimes I use as a moisturizer, even when not wearing any makeup. It contains mineral pigments that brighten skin and nourishing antioxidants. Another very similar product that I talked about here is Pixi’s Glowtion Day Dew lotion. I also love adding a touch of a highlighter on top of my foundation just to give my skin a little healthy glow, but without going over board (I’d avoid using it wherever you have large pores though, especially if you’re having a bad skin day).

YSL Strobing Light Highlighter, The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer MAC Strobe Cream and Pixi Glowtion Day Dew

Good sleep, healthy diet and a few trusty skincare products are three things that are guaranteed to bring your skin back to normal, whenever it starts to feel a little dull due to stress or lack of sleep.

Do you have any favorite products you reach for when your skin needs a little pick-me-up?