Summer Skincare Series: Face Care

It’s the time of year where I try to let my skin breathe and soak in the Vitamin D (safe from harmful UV rays, of course). This week, my family leaves for Florida. For anyone familiar with Florida at this time of year, the weather is hot and humid. Most makeup will drip from your face. In preparation for the warmer temps, I’ve found some gems in the skincare department that I’d like to share with anyone who’s always looking to update their skincare regiment.

Here are some of my summer skincare lifesavers:

1. Neutrogena Hydroboost Hydrating Cleansing Gel: This is not a new find for me. I’ve been using this cleanser for over a year now, and I am in love. Not only does it leave my face feeling soft and hydrated, it also is an AMAZING makeup remover. It even cleans waterproof mascara.
2. Garnier SkinActive Glow Boost Moisturizer: Moisturizer has been something I’ve struggled with over the years. I have combination skin, so I want something that makes my skin glow, without looking oily. This is a recent addition to my skincare routine and I love it. This moisturizer is a vegan formula that hydrates your skin while also illuminating it. You’ll be glowing!
3. Neutrogena healthy skin enhancer: I’m not a huge fan of foundations. I find many of them very heavy on my skin. I typically opt for tinted moisturizers or bb creams. Of all the one’s I’ve used so far, this product is my favorite. It has a very light, sheer coverage and has SPF 20, so it keeps your face safe from harmful UV rays.
4. Milani “Make It Dewy” Setting Spray: As I mentioned before, I prefer my face to appear glowy. I like the look of a fresh face. I used Milani’s “Make It Last” setting spray for a long time, so when I saw this in stores, I immediately gave it a try. I find that it makes my makeup last longer and maintains that fresh, dewy skin look I love. Sweaty or glowy? No one will ever know.
5. Garnier SkinActive Glow Boost Facial Mask+Scrub: Long name aside, this is another vegan product by Garnier that has become a favorite of mine. For so long, I opted out of exfoliating my face. I always found facial scrubs harsh on the skin. However, this product has little apricot seeds that gently exfoliate, leaving my face soft and glowing. (Someone count how many times I say glow in this post).
6. The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Mask: My bottle of this product is almost completely used. This is my favorite face mask. Once applied, you feel a slight tingle on your face, which is when you know that it’s working. Tea tree oil gently clears out your pores and leaves your skin feeling clean. I try to use it once a week, or I switch off with the Glow Boost scrub as a mask.

These are just six of my favorite products that help keep my skin clear and healthy during the summer, and year round! Stay tuned for the next post in this series where I recommend some of my favorite body care products I’ve found at Bath and Bodyworks and other places.

Also, I just want to stress the importance of keeping your skin hydrated by drinking lots of water, especially in the heat. It’s one of the best ways to maintain healthy skin.

Happy Monday!

Hayley

The Art of Go-Getting

In elementary school, there was this song called “Never Too Young” that used to play on the intercom some mornings. It was a song who’s lyrics inspire young people to accomplish their goals without letting their age interfere.

As silly as it sounds, this song still pops in my head every now and again. When I think about it, age is something that can hold people back from working towards their goal. How many times have I found myself hoping to do something in life and I’ve thought “I’ll wait until I’m older.” My reasoning would always be the same: when I’m older, I’ll be taken more seriously.

I don’t know when it happened, but there came a point in my life where I decided instead of waiting, I was going to just do. I figured out that getting people to take you seriously didn’t require a certain age, it required you to take yourself seriously. Ifyou trust in your own abilities, you can truly take on any task big or small.

I reflect on this a lot as I take on my fifth year as an organizer for a 5K race. It can be a lot of work, especially when a majority of the work hits me right around finals week in college. Last week, I had plans of posting this blog post, but I found myself defeated by stress. School work was hard. Planning was hard. Sleep was needed. I couldn’t find myself willing to talk about being a go-getter because I felt I really wasn’t one-

-then the words “Never Too Young” popped in my head. A friend of mine asked me what motivated me to start the race. I was a junior in high school and had no experience in event planning, especially for a sporting event. What motivated me was a choice. There are two ways of handling tragedy: to dwell on it or to find a way to make it into something positive. I decided to take the latter route. I could have waited. I could have said “I’m way too young, I can’t do this.” Sometimes today, that thought crosses my mind and the only way to push that thought out is to replace it with “but I did it before.”

The art of go-getting is simply doing. You plan. You work. You go for it. It’s done. You learn from it. You figure out what you can do better. Then, you do it again. And when your mind tries to stop you. When someone says “why don’t you wait til you’re older?”

You answer, “but I’m never too young.”

See those dreams?

Go get ’em,

Hayley