For work, I only wear lipstick, black eyeliner, & sometimes a touch of eyeshadow. I rarely wear foundation/concealer/powder unless I want to really impress someone (say, I'm doing a training session) or I'm feeling awfully fancy that day. I try to limit the face makeup to costume events because, no matter what I use & how diligent I am about removing all the makeup as soon as the day is done, I get nasty pimples.
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| "All Is Vanity" by C. Allan Gilbert, 1892 |
Also, my skin care is dramatically stripped down, making my life easier & skin happier. I remove my eye & lip makeup with baby wipes -- plain ol' generic, supermarket-brand baby wipes. I've tried organic, natural ones, but the cloth was rougher & the cleanser stung my eyes. Yuck. And all the makeup remover products I've tried don't work as simply & cleanly. After that, I usually rinse my face with tap water. Done!
When I wake up in the morning, I rinse my face with tap water again & put on a light Olay moisturizer. About once a week, I lightly scrub my face in the shower with a puff to exfoliate. Otherwise, I try not to mess with my skin or it will go crazy.
My hair needs a bit more work. I use a modified 'no-poo routine,' shampooing about once a week & using just conditioner & water the rest of the week. I learned about this from the Curly Girl book & related websites, as a way to help de-frizz naturally curly & wavy hair. Most shampoos are too harsh & full of detergents that cause frizz, plus, in stripping away natural oils, they encourage your scalp to overproduce oil. A lot of environmental/natural-living types are eschewing shampoo because of all the unnecessary chemicals in it -- you can whip up natural, cheap alternatives that work better (but that smacks of effort to me).
I'm OK with a simple rinse-&-condition, leaving the shampoo for when I get a buildup of hairspray & other products (I'm just not that natural ;-). I also add this fantastic leave-in conditioner from Beauty Without Cruelty. Really makes my hair silky soft, plus enhances the waves.
We have similar routines, I rarely wear makeup unless it is fun makeup (and that really only happens for roller derby events), and I also do the whole no poo thing. Love it! Burts bees lotion on my face in the morning and I'm all set for the day.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks for participating by talking about your regimes! Simple is often the best way. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how the solution to acne is not to use more products, but use less! So much for the five-item routines sold at the drugstore.
ReplyDeleteI tried once-a-week 'pooing, and it left me with a greasy itchy scalp. I do shampoo/conditioner twice a week, plain water the rest of the days, and that seems to keep it in line. Yay curly girls!
I use Dove soap or Cetaphil on my face, with jojoba oil if it's feeling dry and aloe vera gel for breakouts. However, I DO wear "slap" -- my foundation is the one thing I won't leave the house without since it has sunscreen. Also, because of my rosacea, protecting my skin from the elements is a very good thing. I break out less when I put on my slap. Eye makeup and lipstick are reserved for events, of course.
ReplyDeleteI can't go more than a day and a half without washing my hair -- major oily scalp and limp hair, plus I work out in the mornings. The only time I could skip the daily styling was when I had pink, blue or purple hair -- I'm guessing the bleach dried things out enough that skipping a day wasn't a problem.
D - Yep, keeping it simple really pays.
ReplyDeleteLovleAnjel - I think they promote those '5-item routines' just to make more money!
lazysubculturalgirl - Hee, 'slap' ;-)