Earlier this month I was browsing Instagram and found one of my favorite ladies on there had a post about her skincare. She has dry skin so I was excited to see what she was using. Her makeup always looks so flawless, smooth, and dewy I had to find her secret!

Her name is Jen Hubbard and her Instagram can be found under JENHUB. Look her up! She does amazing work and her color combos are always right up my ally (i.e. gray taupey lips!).

Neutrogena Deep Clean Invigorating Foaming Scrub - Jen says she swears by this and it kind of surprised me since I usually think of the Deep Clean line as something for oily or combination skin types. I had a coupon for CVS so I said what the hell and decided it try it. I have been using it for about 3 days so far (morning and night) and my skin feels so smooth! The tingling feeling does NOT leave my skin dry whatsoever. It feels refreshing like you are giving your skin a cool drink of water. There is no tightness or peeling, none of that. I don't think I will be using it twice a day every single day in the winter (maybe in the summer) just to make sure it doesn't overly exfoliate but I do think I will be using it as my morning cleanser.  I think men would like this too because of how refreshing it is. If my opinion changes I will let you know but as of right now, it has the Jackie O. seal of approval!

L'Oreal Paris Collagen Moisture Filler Day/Night Cream - With a scent of baby powder and a texture that melts into my skin what is not to love? L'Oreal did a great job with this cream. It really does sink into your skin but also leaves moisture behind on the surface to leave you dewy and fresh. It really helps soften and comfort my skin. I've been using it morning and night for about three days. At night I've been putting my Fresh Seaberry Oil on first and then after that absorbs I massage this cream on top. I feel like the combo has really helped my skin hold onto moisture better. This also is a fabulous prep for foundations. I haven't seen my foundation sticking to or creating dry patches which is what my main concern has been lately. 

xoxo

xoxo

I already touched on cleansing oil in my cleansing post so I won't go into that again. But here is the link in case you missed that one...

Cleansing for Dry Skin

As for moisturizing or "treating" your skin, oils can be fantastic (especially in the winter months). I use a body oil everyday in the shower and use an oil on my face every night before bed.

The first oil that I really fell in love with is Josie Maran's argan oil. It is so silky and makes my skin feel wonderful the next morning when I wake up. I use this on my face but you can use it anywhere. The only thing that stops me from using it all over my body would be the price. While it isn't the most expensive oil on the market it is pricey selling at about $50 for 1.7 ounces. This oil is great because I also find that it actually heals my occasional breakouts to eczema rashes. I think a lot of it has to do with the essential fatty acids in it. It is also fragrance free! This product is also a SUPER multitasker! You can use it on your nails, hands, face, hair, eyelashes, etc.

I have tried more affordable argan oils from other brands but nothing treats my skin like Josie's does. I don't know what it is. Josie has other products with argan oil in them that are just as amazing. In my next post about ointments/balms I will touch on those other products.

She also makes a radiance argan oil that is sooooo pretty! It is luminous under foundation and the best oil for summertime (or anytime!) because it has shimmer in it. This one is scented but nothing too strong. Its scent is honey chamomile and lavender, very relaxing in my opinion. I love it and I love me some sparkle!

Josie Maran Argan Oil

Josie Maran Radiance Argan Oil



The second face oil I have been loving is by Boscia. It is a lovely oil encased in a gorgeous bright pink glass bottle. The pink bottle is what called to me at first (glamour girl oil to the max!). I picked this up and hadn't really started using it until this past week. So far it's really nice at smoothing and softening my skin and I would say I do see a sort of "glow" to my skin when I wake up in the morning. I don't think the glow lasts after that but that could also be from me being sick. This is great for moisturizing and smoothing out the skin though. It is recommended for anti aging or to prevent signs of premature aging. So far I still would recommend Josie's oil before Boscia's if you were to ask me which high end oil you should get. It all depends on your skin's needs.

Boscia Tsubaki Beauty Oil




Body oil has become an essential for me. I shower and before I get out I use Neutrogena's Sesame Body Oil on my wet skin. It does not make me feel greasy one bit. My skin doesn't feel tight when I use this which is great in the winter with the indoor heat and hot showers. It is really really wonderful and has solved my dry itchy (like crazy) skin problems. This can be found in the drugstores as well as Harmon's. They also have small travel size bottles if you want to just test it out without buying the $15 full size bottle. It smells lovely and light. The scent actually reminds me of white grape juice, yummy. It doesn't linger though so I can still wear perfume. If you don't like the though of putting it directly on your skin then you can also put it in a bath too.

Neutrogena Sesame Oil



There are a few more oils I plan on trying out in the near future including Tarte's Maracuja Oil and Fresh's Seaberry Moisturizing Face Oil. When I try them I will do another post to let you know how they work!

xoxo

My skin does change very slightly during the change of the seasons but I am definitely classified as dry. The only thing that might change is that in the summer I don't get that tight feeling after washing my face or don't have to wear as thick of a moisturizer at night.

One thing I always try to recommend when people ask me about skincare is exfoliating. It is my top trick for making sure my skin is looking good and not flaky. For those of you who do not know, exfoliating is taking a facial scrub or even a clean damp washcloth and basically massaging your face with it. The "roughness" of the products takes off the dead skin cells that tend to stay on the outer layer of your skin. Those dead skin cells can lead to dry patches, breakouts, and dullness. So again, exfoliating is your #1 friend!




I recommend exfoliating at least 2 times a week depending on what you use and how your skin is. I don't recommend exfoliating more than once a day though. It can irritate the skin too much leading to redness and itching.

Do not scrub your eye area! This skin is thinner than the rest of your face and very delicate. Treat this area with respect and you will see respect back. The more you rub your eyes the more wrinkles you will have later on.

Another tip for exfoliating is to moisturize very well afterwords. I tend to exfoliate in the shower in the morning so I just use my daytime moisturizer or argan oil before my makeup depending on how my skin is that morning. Every once in a while though I will deeply exfoliate at night before bed and put on a nice thick moisturizer before I go to sleep. This makes your skin so soft and silky the next day it is lovely.

There are other loofahs and such you can also use on your face but do be careful as these can collect bacteria over time and that can just clog your pores.


A few of my favorite exfoliants:

St. Ives Apricot Facial Scrub - a classic in my book and always in my shower... It is rough enough that you could use it all over your body but also gentle enough where you could use it on your face a couple times a week. This stuff is a great deal for the price!

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant - You could use this daily which is one of the things I like about it. It is so gentle. Once I rinse this off my skin it feels like a baby's bottom.

Mac Volcanic Ash Exfoliator - This is pretty abrasive but the Mac girl that recommended it to me said it doesn't make the tiny tears in your skin like some harsher exfoliants can do. It is black but don't be scared as it all washes away and leaves the skin glowing! They made this part of the permanent skincare line but for a while it was very hard to find due to its popularity and being limited edition. It also leaves behind a nice fresh scent. This is a once a week type of exfoliator when not using any other products for exfoliating.

Clarisonic - This is a spinning brush tool that you can use with your daily cleanser. I would recommend using this as often as needed but not more than once a day for dry skin. It really is a nice tool to have. The Clarisonic brand has different heads for their brushes depending on what kind of cleaning you are looking for or your skin type. It is also supposed to make your skin absorb serums and moisturizers better than it did before. There are many brands (even drugstore brands) that carry very similar brushes to this. I have heard good things about them but I personally have not tried any out. Olay has one I've heard is really great and retails at just $25 instead of a whopping $125 for the Clarisonic. You can find it here: Olay Pro-X

photo from Sephora.com

If you have found any great products for dry skin during your trial and errors I would love to hear! :)