Holiday Restorative: A Night-time Pampering Session
Are you in the holiday swing yet? With winter creeping up and festive parties on the horizon, I am already exhausted. Now that it’s dark before 5 p.m., even stopping by the farmers market after work feels like a chore instead of a pleasure. And I love the farmers market; it’s often the highlight of my week. Yet the drizzly weather paired with a blanket of early-evening darkness goes a long way in sapping my motivation.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the holidays (though I certainly won’t hold it against you if you don’t feel the same). But I can also admit that this is the time of year when I find myself getting run down. As a matter of fact, I’m currently getting over a cold that I picked up last week. Because I know about my tendency toward exhaustion this time of year: I’ve learned to let myself be exhausted. There, I said it. Experience has taught me that there isn’t any use fighting it as that only leads to further exhaustion. So, instead of pulling back, I lean in by doing a bit of extra self-care such as:
1. Drinking plenty of water
2. Making sleep a priority
3. Eating well
4. Taking care of my winter-time dry skin
5. Making peace with the reality that I am not at my best
And it’s amazing how a when I spend an extra thirty minutes on me, I get a lot more done for both myself and others. In the spirit of self-care, I thought I would share my It’s Cold, Dark and Sunday Night skincare routine.
Bliss Clog Dissolving Cleansing Milk
Clarisonic Mia in white
Surprise, surprise, I start my routine by cleansing. While I usually use Purpose’s Gentle Cleansing Wash, the Clog-Dissolving Cleansing Milk by Bliss is a true treat. Once I get my eye makeup off, I use my Clarisonic Skincare brush with a sensitive-skin brush head to exfoliate.
bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask
After I cleanse, I use another product from Bliss. The overall Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask experience is a little hard to explain, so please bear with me. First, this mask doesn’t dry on your skin; you can keep it on for as a little as five minutes.
By taking a single pump and rubbing the liquid between your fingertips before applying it to your face, you should get the right consistency to feel the mask working. It tickles. Soon you’ll notice tiny little bubbles forming that feel like a gentle facial massage. Does this sound strange to you? It is a little strange; it is also awesome.
Eventually all of the foaming bubbles pop away and after rinsing, you’re left with clean, soft, happy skin.
M2 High Potency Skin Refinish 20 percent
Now this is the stuff. M2 High Potency Skin Refinish is hands down my favorite serum. It is my go-to product for chemical exfoliation, getting rid of hyper pigmentation, keeping my pores clear and evening out the texture of my skin. I’ve used it for a number of years now and it is a staple of my skincare routine (and now there’s a paraben-free formula available!).
tarte pure maracuja oil rollerball
Next, I’ve replaced my moisturizing cream with an oil. I’ll be honest, I bought the rollerball above because I wanted to buy a smaller amount of product before investing in a full-size bottle, but I hate the rollerball. I hate it. It is difficult for me to get the product out. The only way I’ve been able to make it work is by tapping the rollerball on my fingertips and then applying it to my face. Ugh. Never again will I buy a rollerball that contains anything but a fragrance.
The oil itself is great and I’ve actually branched out and bought a few other oils, which I’ll likely review in the future.
Caudalie Vinexpert Eye & Lip Serum
I know there are a ton of Caudalie fans out there, for good reason, and my own favorite product from the brand is for two areas that a lot of other skincare brands overlook: the eyelids and lips. A lot of anti-aging eye products are meant for the area around the eye and often warn against using the product directly on the eyelid itself. However, eyelids are incredibly delicate and definitely need care as the skin is particularly thin in this area. The same goes for the area above the upper lip, which is prone to vertical lines. How awesome is it that Caudalie has a serum specifically targeted toward these two areas?
Korres Black Pine Antiwrinkle & Firming Eye Cream
I’ve written a little bit about the fine lines beginning to form around my eyes. Right now, I’m using the Korres Black Pine Antiwrinkle & Firming Eye Cream that is supposed to help treat those lines. I honestly don’t know if I see an improvement yet but will certainly follow up later.
Obagi ELASTIderm chest and neck
Last, don’t forget the décolletage! This is another area where skin is thin. It’s also an area that many of us forget to protect against the sun. If you have discoloration from sun damage, this is supposed to help correct it– though products like this will definitely make you more sensitive to the sun and so precautions should be taken during use. I use it as more of a preventative (it was a gift!).
I hope you found something useful in this post, even if it is just the suggestion to be kind to yourself. There’s still a ways for me to go until my own holiday season will wind down and I foresee quite a few more Sunday timeout sessions in my future.
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please leave me a comment, and thanks for reading.
Adie
