Take 5 | Winter Skincare Update
Winter in California was quite short lived. We had some chilly days and rain days, but for the most part it was a warm one. Many of you may not know but California is in a major drought right now and it is so very apparent to many of us living here. It's supposed to be an El Nino (heavy rain) year so fingers crossed that it still happens. The weather forecast for next week is already looking like mid 70s (~21C), soo there's that. Anyways, we went from warm mid 70 degree weather in late November to 45-60 degree weather. I know for many of you that may not be anything, but that is "Winter" in California for ya. I've altered my skincare to revolve around these 5 products (or some variation) and my skin could not be happier.
My skin has been relatively well behaved, but as always I have experienced some dry patches and some oil in the usual T-Zone area. I have been reaching for a recent addition to my skincare lineup and that is the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel. I have *FINALLY* got my hands on this little gem after years of seeing YouTubers using this religiously. I was hesitant of the idea of this - a gel to oil cleanser? Sounded iffy. But this does a phenomenal job at cleaning my face and leaving it squeaky clean. There is no feeling of tightness, but just a thoroughly clean feeling. It seriously removes all trace of waterproof liquid liner, waterproof mascara, and liquid lipsticks. Ahhhhh-mazing. But Oskia really needs to be more readily available for sale in the U.S. cause guys, this was 'spensive and I don't think I can buy it again without feeling real guilty.
I'm running low on my Pixi Glow Tonic so I picked up the Lush Tea Tree Water (definitely influenced by Celina of The Celution) to see what all the hype was about. I have fairly clear skin and don't have any issues with acne except the occasional spot, but I've been using this specifically across my forehead, nose, and chin to help keep oil production at bay (lovely image, eh?). It's only been a few weeks since I've been using this regularly but I have no complaints yet! And I do want to say that there is less oil remaining at the end of the day so double thumbs up from me.
Next up after the toner has been the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate which I am finally nearing the end of. I'm absolute crap at finishing up products as I get much too excited about using new stuff (It's something I'm working on lol). I digress - but this stuff works like a dream! I mean I am still a huge fan of the Sunday Riley Luna Oil and am sooo excited to go back to it once I've finished every last drop of this Kiehl's one. I was going sans oil for a small while and when I got into the routine of using it I could definitely tell that my skin looked much better in the morning. The redness in my cheeks was minimal and my skin just looked refreshed.
For maintenance I've been alternating between two masks: the Aesop Parsley Seed Masque and the Oskia Renaissance Mask. The Aesop mask definitely helps to rid my face of all the unwanted oil & gunk and leaves my skin feeling brand new. The Oskia mask is a new addition and has done an A+ job at helping my skin feel plump and dewey. This Aesop mask has been lasting me far too long and I do, but don't, want to finish it up. I've been very generously gifted a LOT of Asian face masks lately from friends, and I'm thinking about putting these aside to finally get to those (snail goo - here's looking at you).
Have you tried any of these before?
What skincare products have you been loving lately?