New Year, New Faves: Winter Essentials

Winter Faves

Everytime the seasons change, I always have to switch up my facial skin routine! When it goes from Summer to Winter, I need to load up on the moisturizing creams. If you tend to have oily skin these products may not be for you since I have normal/ dry combo skin.

This Fall I went to Bali and Thailand where it was humid and nice for my skin. And the drastic change when I got back to a Bay Area winter wreaked havoc on my skin. I immediately started breaking out in dry patches. So here are some of the products I purchased with my VIB 20% off to try that have become my new faves (and some other fun things I purchased recently):

Loved:

Glossier: Brown Boy Brow – I purchased this after hearing good things, and also because I really wanted to cut my morning ritual time down as much as possible. I have pretty full eyebrows (from my Japanese side). So this products works perfectly for me and keeps the hairs in place. Their orders also come with this super cute pink bag and stickers so you can customize it and I’ve been using that as my makeup bag for some time now! Use this link for 10% off your first order!

Finley: Choker – Right now they have a marketing deal where you get your first piece free! (shipping which is a bit pricey ~$17). But I’d pay that for a choker so I tried it. So far I’m loving it, and it has lasted me through many sneeze attacks. Ladies you know what I’m talking about.

Trestique: Contour stick – Again, I wanted to get something that cuts down my getting ready time. And not having to use a separate brush definitely helps with that. This is also great to travel with because packing brushes are a pain!

Caudalie: Vine[Activ] Glow Serum – I used to use a Japanese serum but I recently learned you should always switch it up because your skin can get used to the product and not as effective so I began my hunt for a new serum and this one was the one! I got this one as a sample from sephora and loved it but got the vine[activ] version in full size.

Rupi Kaur Milk & Honey: I’ve always loved reading poetry and I knew I had to get her book when it came out. I finally got around to going to the bookstore and I’m slowly reading each poem one at a time. Pairs well with some black coffee.

Oldies, but goodies

Ok so I fibbed, I wanted to share some other goodies I’ve been using for awhile that I go back to all the time. So here goes:

Patagonia: Snap T pullover – I don’t know how many times I can post this jacket but I bought this last year and I am still wearing it constantly. It fits under my down jackets and North Face for extra warmth .

Innisfree: Rice sheet masks – When I take a plane, go on a road trip, or just have dry skin I throw a mask on at night for 15-20 mins. If you do this every day for a week I guarantee you will see a difference. Do not use for longer than 20 mins because the sheet gets dry and will end up drying out your face. For an extra refreshed feeling, throw the mask into the freezer for 2 mins before you apply, it helps to shrink your pores!
Tip: save the bag the mask comes in and once you use it the first time, put it back into the bag to soak up the remaining serum and use again the next day

Returned:

Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Oil – I have tried several facial oils and I there was nothing wrong with this one. It didn’t make me break out, but I just didn’t like the consistency and felt that it was too sticky for me to sleep with at night.

Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Serum – This serum was also pretty good, didn’t make me break out. But I also didn’t feel like it did much for my skin. And with a price tag of $55 I felt like I could get a better product that actually made a difference.

Kiehl’s Daily Reviving Concentrate – I originally bought this because I heard good things about their midnight recovery concentrate. I wanted to see if this was a good way to keep my skin moist during the day but it was hard to put makeup over it so I returned it.

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this New Year New Faves post. Keep hydrated and cozy everyone!

-Raychow