Thursday, May 28, 2015

What my mom never told me...


On my 13th birthday, my mom took me and a couple of my friends to get a facial and have our makeup done at Elizabeth Arden in Beverly Hills.

I wasn't allowed to wear any makeup until then, so this was a big deal.

So was going to the now defunct The Bistro in Beverly Hills for lunch afterwards.

I mourned along with my mom when they closed the doors of our favorite restaurant in 1994.

No more chocolate soufflés. 

No more cheese bread.

I hear they opened an offshoot called The Bistro Garden somewhere else, but it's just not the same.

But I digress...


The facial was nice, but the makeup.... well, it was 1982, so let's just say blue eyeshadow isn't my color.

Besides, 13 year olds in full makeup? Not a good look.

Anyway, as part of my mom's present, we were allowed to buy some products to clean our little faces and the lady that sold it to us gave some advice, in her very French accent...

"If you start taking care of your faces every single day at this age, you will always have beautiful skin."

Now, that I'm older, I realize that she was trying to make sure that we'd be lifetime clients, but my young self took what she said to heart and I've been cleaning my face every single morning since then.

I know it's bad, but I could never get into the habit of cleaning it at night.


After I ran out of the products, that the oh so smart French lady had sold us, my even smarter mom bought me the much less expensive Clinique Three Step.



Anyone else use this?

I loved it! Especially that toner, because I thought the sting meant it was working.

Actually, it might have. I went pretty much zit free during my entire teenage years.

That was my face cleaning regimen right up until I was in my early 40s. Then one day it stopped working as well as it once had and my face started getting really dry.

Oh no! What to do?!

You see, all my life my mom told me lots of things were going to happen after I turned 40. Things like... my boobs would sag, my butt would fall and that I would lose my flat tummy... scary, right?!

It was at the time.

I was in my 20s when she told me that ;)

Thankfully, my boobs and butt are pretty much still in place at this point, but after two cesareans... well, that flat tummy has been MIA for a very long time.

The one thing she never told me is that my skin would dry up.

Sigh.

So, I remembered that my grandmother Bonnie had beautiful skin and she always used Ponds Cold Cream.



That worked for awhile, until I started getting adult acne and my psoriasis started flaring up.

Not okay.

After that, I did some research and after some trial and error, this is what I came up with and have been using ever since:


This is my routine:

When I'm done with my shower, I splash my face with water in the sink and then rub a dime size drop of the olive oil all over it with my fingers. 

If it's good enough for Sophia Loren, then it's good enough for me ;)

I also use olive oil on a piece of tissue to take off my eye makeup.

My brand of choice is California Olive Ranch (which I also cook with), because it's a true olive oil.

No, I don't have that huge bottle in the bathroom. I use a little dark glass bottle that has a dropper.

Then I take a clean white washcloth that I wet with warm water and rub all the oil off.

White, because I'm weird and like to see all the dirt that comes off my face.

After that, I squirt a little witch hazel onto a cotton ball and wipe the residue off.


I use Thayer's because it's alcohol free.

Then, if my skin feels really dry, I put a pea size amount olive oil back on my face and rub it all in.


Then I put on Burt's Bees Brightening cream, for the age spots that started appearing in my late 30s.


It seems to work, because the spots have at least lightened up.

That's what I get for using baby oil to tan my face in my teens and twenties.

Silly girl.

About once a month, I use Origins charcoal mask, because it really cleans out those pores and takes away the dead skin layer. 


That's it.

I've been doing this for about 4 years now and my psoriasis is much better, I rarely get a zit, and my face is nowhere near as dry.

I will tell you though that when I started using the oil, I did break out at first, but after a week it went away.

Now, I don't know if this will work for any of you, but it really helped me, so I thought I'd share my routine and the products I use. 

Please don't come after me, if you try it and you break out like a teenager that eats pizza everyday. 

You can buy all of them at Amazon, but I linked to the product websites, so that you could read more information. Which, by the way, I'm not being compensated. I just love them :)

What is your skincare routine?

xo
rue






32 comments:

  1. Soap and water. I'm pretty plain. The thought of putting any sort of oil on my face gives me the heebie-jeebies for some reason. But you are beautiful, so you must know what you're doing!
    Brenda

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  2. I am so glad you posted this! I have been battling zits, bad bad zits. I never had breakouts as a teenager, or my twenties, but now I am getting acne and grey hair at the same time. I used Clinique until recently, but it isn't working. I'll try some of the things you shared.

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  3. I love reading other peoples skin care routines! Right now I am using pretty much everything from Mineral Fusion. I might try your olive oil.

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  4. It's working for you, Rue! I've never been very loyal to any certain skin care routines. Maybe I need to start being loyal to something as the years keep adding up...

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  5. Your post is so interesting, Rue! And by your pic I can see this is working well - you are so so pretty.

    I am a die-hard Mary Kay fan. I don't sell it, just use it all the time for nearly everything but their mascara (I buy a new tube every month, I have eye bacterial paranoia.)

    I love Burt's Bees avocado for hair - huge fan of that, and his pomegranite lip balm.

    I tend to still have oily skin - but thankfully was never zit prone in the teen years - it's been nice getting older and not too wrinkly yet but I never EVER was a sun worshipper either. I would watch my older and younger sister use baby oil and lay out all day - and I'd be with my spf 65 in the pink bottle, huge hat, sunglasses and in the shade calling out to them "I smell your flesh burning, come on you guys, don't do this!" I look years younger than they, and they'll be the first to tell folks why. So I got teased looking sick and pale back then, I just blame Jane Austen. LOL.

    Sorry so long. Hugs.



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  6. I use diluted baby wash to wash my face, witch hazel as a toner and coconut oil to moisturize. I have been told by a plastic surgeon (I was there to get a cancerous mole on my shoulder removed) that I look much younger than my years so it must be working.
    I want to get some of the Burt's Bees stuff because I have noticed an age spot on my face.

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  7. I have been using Clinique moisturizer for 46 years. I use their moisture surge now, too. I have always had dry skin so no acne problems. I can't put any fragrance on my skin as I get a histamine response. Itchiness and red skin then ensues :)
    xo Laura

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  8. I have a pretty basic skin routine. I wash my face with a bar of soap in the shower each morning. Then I apply Oil of Olay Age Defying Night Cream, mostly under my eyes, but a little bit all over my face. I put this on both in the morning after my shower and also at night just before bed. I am 61 and my face is very wrinkle free, even after decades of living in the Arizona sunshine. BUT, I think a lot of that is simply genetics since my parents didn't wrinkle badly as they aged either. *knock on wood* I don't drink a lot of water... not nearly enough, but I know I should since it helps to keep the skin a bit plumper.

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  9. Lucky girl, Elizabeth Arden in Beverly Hills, no less! Fabulous! I used to use Clinique. My sisters are much older than I am and they would give me all of their free samples. I have been playing with that stuff since I was about five. I have used a bunch of stuff in between, but now I am back to Clinique...Moisture Surge is awesome.

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  10. That is some great advice, every year I try to remind myself in the Summer to start putting on my tinted moisturizer with SPF. I did use Clinique for about 10 years. Loved how creamy and rich it was and how soft my skin felt. Both my mother and grandmother (her mother) swear on Pond's and still use it to this day! I've been wanting to try the Origins, charcoal, since arriving at my 40s my skin has had some serious changes, and have heard some great things about it! I am going to check that out! The funny thing is, when I cook with olive oil, I take a very small amount on my pinky and swipe under my eye!
    You make me homesick when you mention California! Beverly Hills, ooooh lala, tres chic! I could go for some chocolate soufflé right about now! =)
    xo Christine

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  11. You have shared some great tips here, Rue! Thank you!

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  12. I love reading what other women use for skin care. I've been using Merle Norman Super Lube for about 6 months now and it has really helped my dry skin. It sounds like something you'd buy at automotive supply place, doesn't it? I put it on and leave on for 10 minutes and tissue off, followed by moisturizer.

    I'm going to look for the Burt's Bees Brightener!

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  13. Enjoyed reading about your trip to EA. My grandmother swore by Ponds, too, and that's what I use (I have super dry skin.) I keep a small bottle of Jergens Ultra Healing by the sink, too, because I'm always washing dishes (broken dishwasher). When I'm gardening, even in shade, I wear a hat and sun block.

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  14. Coconut oil seems to be very popular for everything. I use Dove soap to wash my face and Ponds dry skin cream. My daughter is always trying something new. My mom did the baby oil thing back in the 60s. I have fair skin and man! When I was a kid, we would go to the beaches in So Cal and I would get so fried and my mom would put Noxema on me. Very surprised I don't have skin cancer. Kathleen in Az

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    Replies
    1. I never really burned and if I did, then I would turn brown the next day. My mom never burns and gets so dark, even after just two days in the sun, you wouldn't recognize her LOL

      xo

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  15. I enjoyed reading about your skin care routine! I wash my face in the shower and bath every morning with Dr Bronner's organic lavender soap (and my body, too). Then I use a daily moisturizer (Neutrogena) with sunscreen in it for my face. At night, I simply use witch hazel to take off my makeup. I then use a little bit of organic coconut oil for my nightly moisturizer. I am almost 53 and have no wrinkles except some around my eyes, no age spots, and only get the rare zit. I am so glad to know about Thayer's witch hazel...I will be ordering that from amazon. I was using witch hazel with alcohol in it because I didn't know there was a kind without it!

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    Replies
    1. Oops, meant to say shower OR bath. I don't do both every morning, lol.

      I also meant to say that I think diet has a lot to do with skin condition, too. If one eats healthy and drinks a lot of water, you're more likely to have pretty skin. My son just went through a bad acne period and he admitted he had been eating a lot of junk. He's back to healthier eating and his skin is clearing up.

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  16. If you haven't hit menopause....just wait! I never had skin issues until I hit menopause. My skin dried out horribly. I have to rotate moisturizers every few months because they stop working. I do wash my face at night with Cetaphil and use a night moisturizer and of course, use an exfoliating scrub on it in the shower every morning. The only constant is the Cetaphil. Everything else gets rotated regularly....grrrrrr...so frustrating! I HATE menopause!!!

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  17. I think at one time or another I used all of the products pictured until you get to your current regime. I have used witch hazel but not the other three. Sounds like a good program and in the affordable range. Thanks for the advice.

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    Replies
    1. I hope it works for you, if you try it, Barbara :)

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  18. I grew up with a sweet, but clueless mother. My skin is leathered and weathered after 66 years of sun damage. My daughter somehow became a girly girl and as redheads, she and her brother both have taken care of their skin since they could apply their own daily sunscreen. My daughter will always have nice skin.

    What part of LA are your from originally? I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley.

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  19. I love Oil of Olay products, and I also use witch hazel. I also use a Buf Puf in the shower at least once a week,
    I use a liquid makeup that has SPF 10, as well as an Olay anti-aging (ha!) lotion with the same.If only I had known then what I know now...

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  20. wow! I never thought about using evoo to remove eye makeup. I use the Lavender version of thayers witch hazel- see my review here http://bit.ly/lvwh29

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  21. That French lady wasn't just trying to sell you. French Mama's actually bring up their daughters, to care for their skin, from a young age. And they always do nightly 'cleaning' etc. I read a lot of French books, and did the nightly cleansing for awhile. Then reverted to my non-French ways...

    But first, I have never sun bathed. And my skin is amazing, for a 78 year old woman! It is! I can see it. Compared to others, my age and younger. Plus people say so.

    For years and years, I have used Oil of Olay moisturizer with sun screen, daily. 365 days a year.

    So I give credit for my mostly unlined face (at 78!) to my mother and her lovely skin... And to my avoiding the sun, at all costs. And to my Oil of Olay moisturizer.

    Just sayin'.....

    Tessa

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  22. this is interesting. I have sensitive skin and can't use heavy creams...have to use Neutrogena ....but I dry out terrible in the winter and I have a feeling that a little olive oil wouldn't hurt!

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  23. I don't have any routine! Should really I guess as I am not getting any younger. Glad you have found what works for you! xx

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  24. I don't really have a routine either, but have used some of the same products-I want to try the Burts Bees stuff you use since I too have dark spots from the sun and pregnancy.

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  25. I must admit i don't use anything on my face apart from my hubby's soap, and only because it smells of him! haha :) but it seems to work as i have very little skin problems apart from a little dry skin on my forehead which disappears when i use Palmers Shea butter cream every once in a while :)

    Have a lovely weekend! <3 x

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  26. Hi, Rue...I've used Clinique foundation for about 25 yrs and still love it. I use Ponds some but mostly Jergens Skin Cream.
    Thanks for all your tips here.
    xo

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  27. I'm strictly a DHC girl. I'd be lost without their olive oil cleanser, which I think is the number one cleanser in the world. I can understand why. Once you try it, you're hooked.

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  28. 😉 It gets even more fun when you hit your fifties!
    You must be doing something right, you are beautiful.

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  29. Thank you ladies for all your answers :)

    xo

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