Clear Skin?

Hey guys! So I know I've mentioned before that I have really bad acne. It's cleared up somewhat over the years but I still have those really weird skin weeks where your face just gets crazy unmanageable. I know I'm not alone on this. It's easy to get caught up on your own flaws, especially break outs. Everyone gets them, and there's no need to feel embarrassed about it. Don't look at someone else as being "better" or more "pretty" because their skin is more clear than yours. The best thing you can do is find whatever works best for you, no matter the color, the brand, the size, or the price.Everyone is different and everyone's skin is different. My goal in this blog is to introduce to you to products that may be different from what you use, or maybe even something you've never heard of. It's good to be open minded when it comes to cleansing and such because your skin is forever changing, you can't always stick to the same routine. 

Right now I would say my skin is pretty average but I've decided to try something different from my usual cleansing method. At the moment my usual cleansing routine is in more of the drug store budget. On a usual basis, I wouldn't trust less expensive products to work as well for my skin as other not expensive products. Keep in mind I'm a suffering college student and I'm broke as a joke, so I'm not exactly looking for those brand name products that practically set your entire bank account on fire just because you skimmed the idea of purchasing such a product. I'm talking a comfortable kind of pricey. Also because I'm picky, I like to keep it vegan. Once again one of my favorite companies falls into alignment with both my requirements, Arbonne. 
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Product Introduction: 

1) What Am I Using Now?

 Presently, I am using two different products from the same company:

• To Remove Makeup Nightly: Night Relaxing All In One Cleansing Wipes from Clean & Clear.
• To Wash Face Twice Daily: Deep Action Cream Cleanser from Clean & Clear.

Pros:

• Products work well together.
•  Leave me oil free.
• Price
•  Smells good.
•  Skin feels clean after use.
• Removes makeup well.
• Doesn't dry out skin.

Cons:

• Doesn't seem to clear up clusters well.
• Burns some.
• Not a very intense clean, which I need.

 2) What Am I Switching To?

 Arbonne Clear Advantage Clarifying set. I have used these products before, but I just couldn't keep up the price and I wanted to see what the drug store lines had to offer. I don't believe some brands are worse off than other because of what they look like or what they're priced at. I do however thinks its important to take a look at what goes onto your face and body, and what it is made out of.

Of course, like always I'm super excited that this product is vegan! I love the packaging because it makes it really easy to keep and store the products in its box throughout use.

Pros (First Impression): 

• Vegan
• Animal Friendly 
• Unscented
• Whole Set

Cons (First Impression):

•  A little more expensive, but I'm willing to give it a try.

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How I Cleanse:

1. I clean off all my makeup. I don't really trust a wash for this because if you're not careful, you may miss spots of your face when rinsing off. This can cause a lot of buildup and maybe even some breakouts. THAT IS NOT OKAY. Because I had already purchased them, I decided to stick to my Clean & Clear All In One Cleansing Wipes. I use them to clean my eye makeup and eyebrows first, then my face. Then I warm up a wash cloth to super duper hot, ring it out, and once it's cooled until a comfortable heat (Still Hot!) , I place it on my face and let it sit for a few minutes while pushing it into the skin to bring out any blemishes that may be ripe for the picking, if you feel me.
2.  After I'm done cleaning off all my makeup, I wash my face of really well (In this case using the Clear Advantage Cleanser) by squirting a little of my face wash onto my Beyond Belief Facial Cleansing Brush, and moving out in tiny circles around my whole face and then coming back around a second time really focusing on my trouble areas. 
3. TONER TIME! I like to use just regular old cotton balls for applying toner because I don't see the point of getting all fancy with it. So I apply my tone one time around my face and then a second time on those gross clusters.
4. Finally is moisturizer time. I loved that this set came with a moisturizer because it just makes things so much more convenient and I don't have to worry about the products not working well together. Even the moisturizer is medicated, so I just like how a simple product can be so complex and functional to the entire process. PLUS It's super important to moisturize anyways or else your gonna look way older than you are in a few years. That's not cute. Okay? Okay.
5. AND LASTLY the spot treatment. I've always had a love hate relationship with almost any spot treatment I've used because I love how well most of them work, I just don't appreciate the patchy dryness that's seems to be included with clear skin. BUT ANYWAYS!! I apply my spot treatments with a Q-Tip just so that it I have any remaining dirt out bacteria on my hands it won't get into my already irritated spots. Squeeze just a little on the q-tip and buff it into the blemish to try and message the medicine in.
6. After all of that, I let it dry and either continue with my makeup routine or go to sleep.... Or maybe I don't sleep. Or maybe I do...
7. To do my usual morning cleanse, I repeat all the steps except the wash cloth, I try to keep that for whenever I come home to let my skin open and breathe.

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Summary:

Overall, I think this product change for me may very well become a permanent one. Day by day you can see major changes ( It's hard to tell in the pictures, sorry!) to my skin, and I love that it works so fast. This just goes to show that you get what you pay for. More expensive things are always nice, but when budgeting sometimes makeup and cleansers and skin products can fall pretty low on the priority scale. Looking at what products are made from, especially products that go directly onto your face is important. It's important to use the right things on your skin, not only to have less acne but just to keep yourself healthy. Your face is the first thing someone will look at, so just do everyone and yourself a favor, take care of your skin the right way. I did use this product twice a day, one in the morning once at night. It's okay to use the spot treatment before applying makeup, because it dries completely clear. Make sure you allow time for it to dry fully, or else if you use powder foundation it can get a little caked up in those spots.

Most of my redness is results of scarring, on Monday's ( Even Tuesday ) photo you can see my skin is irritated, and my blemishes are much more "full" than Thursday night's photo. To save time I didn't get a chance to take a picture this morning, but almost all my blemishes are completely gone. Even the ones that began to form last night have dried up. I am one happy camper! Sorry the flash is so harsh!

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Where to find the products mentioned: 

 

#1) Beyond Belief Facial Cleansing Brush - $24.99

I do think that if you don't already have a brush to use with your cleanser, that you should definitely get one. It doesn't have to be all fancy and what not. I know this one is a little pricey, but its a lot better than paying the $99.00+ for Clarisonic. Granted, Clarisonic probably does have a lot better results, but I don't have the cash for that and even if I did, I'm sure keeping my phone on and food in my stomach marks a little higher on the priority scale. And this brush works really good for the price, the replacement heads are not expensive at all. Totally worth it for a trial thing. I bought mine from Sally's but I know they also sell them on Amazon. 

#2) Clear Advantage Clarifying Set - $83.00

  Items are also sold separately, you can find them here.

If you don't already use some kind of cleansing method for your face, I recommend that you start one. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, it's just important for your skin to be clean, and healthy. When you gunk it up with makeup, and lotions, and all that good stuff, your pores can plug up resulting  in crazy breakouts. Nobody wants that. So if you decide to do a wash, you should definitely do it everyday, or every night just to keep your skin clean and while you sleep it can get a break.

 #3) Sea Mud Face and Body Mask - $49.00

Okay, so this one is a bonus. I didn't mention it in this blog entry, but I should have! I love this mask so much, it really feels like it cleans your skin out. I personally like to use it at night (The same time I clean my brushes) and I leave it on until its completely dry. Then next day my skin is so soft and it looks good but also feels really good. This mask is thick and easy to put on. A little goes a long way. It's green and the smell might be a little strong at first but I don't mind it. This is definitely a really good mid-week skin pick me up! I think everyone should have one! MUD MASK FOR EVERYBODY.

#4) Clean & Clear Night Relaxing All-In-One Cleansing Wipes - $5.39

When taking off your makeup, there should be three steps:
 1) Fully remove your makeup using a makeup remover, not soap.  
2) Wash your face with a designated face wash that is beneficial to your skin, not soap.
3) MOISTURIZE BEFORE BED. This is beyond crazy important. BEYOND. Unless you're into looking 80 when you're 20. That's cool too. 

Since I've covered two of the three of these in my product list already, I will now continue to cover the third. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT USE SOAP TO REMOVE YOUR MAKEUP. HAND SOAP IS THE WORST. Especially perfumed soap! Body wash is alright to use on your BODY but not your face! Perfumes and other chemicals WILL give you acne, I can promise you that. You only have one face, so take care of it! Best thing to do is stick with oil free makeup removers. I like these wipes because they're inexpensive, they do the job and them smell isn't bad at all. They're super easy to store because they already come in their own packaging, and you can just throw it away when you're done. PLEASE DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. Trust me. 

#5)  Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser (Oil Free) - $4.94

Although I do appreciate the clean feeling this cleanser leaves, I can't help but like the Clear Advantage cleanser more. I have super oily skin, over night I have breakouts and for that reason I need a strong cleanser that can keep up with my skin. Don't get me wrong, this one feels so good! So if you have dryer skin and don't need to be feeling any dryer this might just work for you. It smells a little weird but not bad, you feel the cleaning right away, and being that it is a cream it makes a super easy super fast cleaning option. Perfect for beginners and experts!

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Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I hope these recommendations are helpful to you and help you in some way! I update this blog every Friday, so don't forget to check weekly!

 If you have any ideas or suggestions you can leave them in my comment box or email them to my business email bethmarieebeauty@gmail.com

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