ColourPop Mile High Collection

I bought this collection of eye-shadows on a whim because I had never bought anything from ColourPop before and it was twenty-five dollars for six shadows and I really couldn't pass up that opportunity. If you have never swatched a ColourPop eye-shadow before, it's basically like wiping your finger on butter. They have the most gorgeous pigment I have ever seen from any eye-shadows I have ever used and they have an amazing wear to them. They also shipped this collection to my house in no time at all which is a big thing I look for in a company, especially when it comes to makeup!

 I would highly recommend investing in this collection because it has five beautiful shimmery and glittery (but not over the top) shades and a gorgeous matte brown shade with a red undertone to it (perfect for the fall), so you can do an everyday look and a nighttime look. I think that the best thing about this collection is that even the darker toned colors like So Quiche and Cricket can still be used for a day look because they aren't so dark and smokey and if you buff them out enough you can get a gorgeous day look with them, but if you pack on the color it will make an amazing smokey eye. I think Mittens is such a gorgeous matte shade for the lash line and even the crease. If you have a light hand you can get a really nice deep crease with it. Truth is an absolute beautiful inner corner highlight and under the brow bone as well. My favorite color out of this whole collection is LaLa because it is the most beautiful copper I have ever seen and I have blue eyes so coppers are my go to. This brand is unlike any other. They have such amazing products for the budget shopper. I'm talking quality like NARS shadows for only five dollars! You don't have to save up a months paycheck to buy good quality products which is my favorite reason to shop on ColourPop's website and I think you should do it too!

Skin Types

Hi Readers!

I wanted to make a post about the importance of knowing what skin type you have. It's a major issue for me to go onto YouTube and see girls talking about their skin and what they are using on their skin when in reality they don't even know what kind of skin type they have and they really shouldn't be telling other girls how to take care of their skin when they aren't taking the right steps to take care of their own skin.

There are three major skin types: normal, oily and dry.

Normal Skin:

If you have normal skin then you have a balance of oil in just your t-zone and your pores are only noticeable in your t-zone. You also tend to never breakout and you are considered to be very lucky because you just have such nice skin (I'm definitely jealous I can't have a normal skin tone). If you ever do suffer from a few breakouts they are mostly caused by stress or hormonal acne caused by your period. In the summer months your skin can possibly be more oily since you are sweating a lot and I recommend that you don't use a lot of hydrating products since your skin is already producing more oil. In the winter it can appear a little more dry because there is less moisture in the air. I recommend using more hydrating masks and moisturizers in the cold months. Also always remember to drink water! Water is a very important step in keeping your skin healthy and clean.

Oily Skin:

If you suffer from oily skin then you have large pores all over your face. You tend to break out frequently all over your face, neck, back and chest and your skin produces more oil all over instead of just the t-zone. You can also suffer from cystic acne and a lot of blackheads. It's not the best having oily skin, but you can definitely take care of it so you don't deal with as many breakouts and sometimes to the point where you might only breakout around your period! To keep control of your oily skin I recommend you really try a cleanse, tone and moisturize twice a day. It's hard to remember to do both but if you do you will totally see a difference, I personally know. You'll probably break out more in the summer, so keep things light on your skin. No heavy cleaners, moisturizers and use a foundation that is light, like a tinted moisturizer or BB cream. In the cooler months you might be drier, so try to hydrate a bit with just a hydrating mask every other day.

Dry Skin:

Dry skin is tricky. A lot of people think they have dry skin because they have dry patches. That is not the case. Dry skin is categorized as very tiny pores. You rarely breakout and your skin has a very low production of sebum (oil). I feel like not a lot of people have dry skin, but you will know if you actually have dry skin. It's very easy to see. To take care of dry skin you just have to drink a lot of water and use a lot of hydrating products. I would recommend something with hyaluronic acid in it. Hyaluronic acid is a powerful humectant (moisture-binding ingredient) that keeps your skin hydrated and plump. Very good to use in a serum under a really hydrating moisturizer.

Note: Combination skin isn't really something that is real when figuring out someone's skin type according to what I learned in school. I have yet to find someone with combination skin and I know a lot of people who say they have combination skin and maybe they do, but on all the clients I have given facials to I haven't seen any combination skin. I know tons of people who say or have said they have oily skin and dry skin. There is no possible way you can have oily and dry skin. If you have oily skin and have dry patches it is because you aren't drinking enough water and your skin is dehydrated. Dry patches does not classify dry skin and the reason oily skin is called oily skin is because your skin has an overproduction of sebum in it, it can't be dry, but it can be dehydrated. Remember to drink water. If you drink water I promise you won't see dry patches anymore.

Steps to keep your skin clear (for any skin type):

• Cleanse - Everyone knows they at least need to cleanse their skin, even if it's just when they take a shower (although you should be cleansing your skin every morning and every night). You don't really need to look for a specific cleanser. I'd really recommend Purity by Philosophy. It's a very light, creamy cleanser that smells nice and is super gentle. It won't leave your skin feeling tight or stripped, but clean and fresh. Any crème cleanser would be best for any skin type since it's gentle, but Purity is just one that I truly love and think is absolutely fantastic. You can find Philosophy at Sephora, Ulta or their online store.
• Tone - ALWAYS TONE YOUR SKIN AFTER CLEANSING!!! Toning is such an essential step to keep your skin clean and healthy! Again, you don't need to go out there looking for a  specific toner. All you need to look for is something that will be gentle. If you suffer from any kind of sensitivity, like redness in your cheeks then go for something with lavender, aloe or rose in it. I recommend the brand Thayers. It's an alcohol free toner and comes in many different scents like rose petal, lavender, unscented, original, medicated, lemon, cucumber, peach, etc, and each bottle has an aloe vera formula so no matter what kind you get it will be soothing to your skin.You can find this brand at Whole Foods or their website.
• Serum - You don't need to use a serum to have good skin, but they do help. I swear by any serum that has vitamin c in it. Vitamin C is an incredible thing to have for your skin. It is an amazing thing to put on your skin because it helps brighten your complexion, fight dark spots and even out your skin tone. It is also an antioxidant that helps your body fight off free radicals. Like I said earlier you should use a hyaluronic acid based serum if you have dry skin.
• Moisturizers - I loooove to moisturize my skin. I can't go to sleep unless I have moisturized my skin. Moisturizers are so amazing for your skin because they help keep your skin hydrated and especially having a good one on while you sleep is going to make a huge difference. When you sleep your skin is working overtime. It is turning over cells and fighting off day the day. I love my moisturizers from Lush and Philosophy. I use Skin Drink from Lush and it's still my holy grail moisturizer. I recommend it for anyone who needs a little more hydration in their life. It is amazing for dry skin and great in the cold months. I recently switched over to using Philosophy moisturizers because I wanted to try something new. I use their oxygenating Take A Deep Breath moisturizer for the daytime and then their Hope In A Jar nighttime moisturizer for when I go to sleep. They are amazing moisturizers but I still love my Lush one. I recommend that you get it because it doesn't matter what skin type you have you can benefit from using it. Just don't wear it under your makeup because it is a bit thicker.

I really hope you have taken something away from this post. I really want to educate people about their skincare because it is so important to take care of your skin and a lot of people don't know how to and they use products that aren't right for their skin. I hope you can figure out what your kin type is and learn from what I have written. I might do a post soon about products for each skin type or products I recommend.

Thanks for reading!!!
Lindsey

A Skin Care Introduction

Hi Readers!

      My name is Lindsey and I am 21 years old. I am currently in school to be an Esthetician and I'm almost to my 300 hours which will get me my license which is so exciting!! I wanted to start this blog because through the first 300 hours of being in school I have really grown to love learning about skin care and products and I really want to share with other people how to take care of their skin and how to love taking care of their skin.

       I want to share with all of you my skin care story so that you can understand I am not coming for a place of being lucky with my skin. Obviously when we go through puberty we all end up with acne. In my case, as someone with naturally oily skin, I had lots of acne and I had no idea how to take care of it. Hormonal acne is probably the worst acne to have and the most annoying acne. I never was really taught the right way to take care of my skin by my mom. She never really cleansed her skin or used a toner or anything, she mostly just used a moisturizer before bed. She never told me to always wash my skin and make sure it was clean. She did share with me that she also struggled with acne as a teenager and made me feel that it was hereditary and I was just going to always have bad skin and there was nothing I could do about it. I don't even want to know how much money I have spent on useless skin care products in hopes that they would be the cure of my acne.

        I didn't know about the steps you need to take to make your skin good. If you're like me and you have oily skin it's sadly inevitable, but you will always struggle with acne. However if you take care of your skin and do the proper steps to keeping it clean and healthy then you will have great skin and probably only suffer from hormonal breakouts! About 3 years ago, my mom and I went into Lush on Newbury street in Boston and one of the workers there talked my mom into buying all these skincare products for me because my mom knew how much I struggled with my acne and she really wanted to help me get clearer skin. The employee at Lush told my mom about 2 products which were Ultrabland and Eau Roma toner water. Ultrabland is an oil based cleanser which is wicked good at taking off makeup. I'm pretty sure that a lot of people know this by now, but oil fights oil. I know it may sound crazy, but if you use an oil based product on oily skin properly than you won't get more breakouts or feel like there is too much oil on your skin.

        I did only use Ultrabland for taking off my makeup but because I used that product instead of something filled with chemicals my skin improved by 50%. I swear by Ultrabland. I will say that you should never use an oil based cleanser as just your regular cleanser. Always use it as a pre-cleanse to get off your makeup for the day and then go in with another cleanser. The Eau Roma toner water is such a wonderful product too. If you don't know, toners are probably the one step in your skin care that you cannot miss. Toners help balance the pH level in your skin. When you cleanse your skin you aren't just cleaning off all the dirt and makeup from your day, but you also strip your skin of it's natural oils, which is called your acid mantle. The pH scale is acid to alkaline, so when you cleanse your skin you put it into an alkaline state and a toner restores it to an acidic state.

        Without toning you are going to leave your skin without a good barrier which can make impurities, dirt and other things get into your pores which will clog them resulting in acne. Also if you use any kind of cleanser that makes your skin feel tight afterwards and don't use a toner than your skin will produce mare oil which will also give you more breakouts. I could not live without toning my face. It's something I will never skip in my skincare routine. Now for moisturizers I feel like you could use any kind of moisturizer as long as you make sure that it is non-comedogenic which means that it won't clog your pores. I do feel like you can't go wrong with all natural products because they are the best for your skin, but as long as it's a product that doesn't clog your pores you should be fine. My holy grail moisturizer is Skin Drink from Lush. I swear by Lush products if you couldn't tell. It is not too heavy, doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy and it just melts right into your skin. You can't go wrong with it, it's the best.

         Skincare is a very important thing. I know first hand that it is hard to remember to clean your face every morning and every night. If you make it a step in your day then it won't be as hard to forget. Make it as important as brushing your teeth or taking a shower, even eating breakfast! Start off by cleaning your face every night and then once you see a difference in your skin and how great it looks because you've started to make it a priority then you can add it into your morning routine before you brush your teeth. I for one can't go to bed unless I have cleaned my face. I literally won't fall asleep unless I feel like my face is clean. Also remember that drinking water can also play a HUGE part in the appearance of your skin. It will make it more healthy and glowing, even if your forgot to clean your skin that morning.

          I really want to share with people the importance of taking care of your skin and how it can make you feel when it looks good and healthy. I wish I had known how to take care of my skin when I was a teenager because then my skin would look even better than it does now. I know that going to get facials is a pretty pricey thing to do, but you should try and go get a facial every month. Having someone cleaning your skin out properly and tell you what might be happening to it and just using the right products could make a huge change in your skin too. I hope that you have taken something out of this post. It was my first one on skincare and I want it to just be a broad overview of taking care of your skin. If you have any comments on skincare or products that I use besides the ones I have listed then please comment on this.

Thanks for reading!

Lindsey