Skin Cleansers for Sensitive Skin

I've been a victim of bipolar (aka sensitive) skin since I was probably 12 years old. Since then I've constantly dealt with dry patches on my cheeks but crops of blackheads in my T-Zone and fighting both at the same time is hard!! As anybody with sensitive skin would know, you want a cleanser strong enough to eliminate those pimples but gentle enough to not recreate the sahara desert on your face. The sensitive skin face wash game is a tough one at that. But at one point I finally made my way  to a dermatologist appointment, in which I've tried multiple recommendations of hers that have done wonders.

GLYTONE

Glytone is the face wash I'm currently using and have been using for about a year now. I feel like it gets the job done regarding cleaning out any bacteria build up, especially when I use it with my Clarisonic  (also recommended by my derm) 1 to 2 times a week. But i can use it on my usual dry areas and not worry about my face getting dry, red, and flakey. They have so many different formulas for so many different skin types. I personally use the Mild Gel Cleanser, it has glycolic acid to exfoliate dead skin and moisturize the skin at the same time. ($33)

CERAVE

Cerave face wash is probably the most gently wash I've found, also recommended by my derm when I first started seeing her. It's a great base, it won't dry out your skin or leave ti feeling tight at all, the only downside to it is that sometimes I feel like its not getting to the nitty gritty where I need it to. I'd def recommend for someone with little to no acne but just super dry skin. I still use their daily moisturizer every day after my Glytone wash. They have a  foaming cleanser that I have yet to try that may be a bit better, but I specifically avoid "foamy" cleansers just because of past experience with it drying out my skin. ($10)

AVENE

Avene was most recently recommended to me by my derm during one of my usual breakouts. I used it for a couple days and brought a travel size one with me during a recent trip. I found that my breakouts cleared up, but my only regret was using it on sensitive parts of my face, like cheeks and jaw, that normally get dry. It completely dried up my cheeks and I had to recover by coating my face in Aquaphor twice a day for almost a week. I would suggest either spot treatment with this face wash or for those with generally acne prone skin looking for something a little more gentle than Proactiv or something. Either way it cleared up my breakout but definitely not the most gentle on drier skin.
($20)
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Sunday Daze

I love Sundays, they're the epitome of a weekend. I always make sure to make my Sunday as quiet and relaxing as possible. I love having the time to relax as much as possible, so I always make my Sunday routines a bit lengthy.

I normally wake up around 8 or 9, I'm usually an early riser. I lay in bed for a while, check my phone, turn on Netflix, and don't get out of bed until I've finished at last one episode of House.

Then, I always drive to the bakery and get a lemon iced tea or a toasted almond iced coffee (no matter how cold it it may be), and buy a sticky bun also. It may not be healthy but the taste is worth it!

Once I come back with my breakfast, I turn on another episode of either House or Grey's Anatomy on Hulu and think about how I'm going to spend my day.

One of the biggest parts of my Sunday routine is face masks, I always make some organic face masks depending on my skin's stated. Whatever my skin has endured over the week calls for some serious rehab and rejuvenation. Normal problems I experience with my skin is dryness, acne, and dullness. Here's a few to help out your weekly skin problems!

1.  A great recipe for dryness is the Milk and Honey Mask, for this you'll need just milk and honey, 2 tablespoons of each. Mix the milk and honey together, then spread it across your face with a brush or your fingers and leave it there for 15 minutes. Just wash it off with lukewarm water and pat dry, and then rinse with cold water to close your pores off from any extra dirt. then ta-da!! You're done! It's one of the easiest masks but my skin always feels like its a day old afterwards!
2. An awesome mask for acne, and those days when it feels like a pimple is emerging every day is the Egg White and Lemon Juice Mask. All you need is the following: 1 egg white, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice, and 1/3 teaspoon of tumeric powder. Whisk the egg in a mixing bowl until it's frothy, then mix in the lemon juice and tumeric. After about 15 minutes, or wen the face mask has dried, use warm water to rinse off the mask, then rinse with cold water to close your pores off from any extra dirt. It'll shrink up your pores in just 15 minutes.
3. I always make a lip scrub each week, it's not only supper yummy, but makes me lips amazingly soft and makes any lipstick or gloss look 10x better! My favorite recently had been a Pumpkin Pie Lip Scrub, it's tastes amazing and is very seasonal! The ingredients are 1/4 cup of pumpkin pie mix, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (light or dark), and 1 table spoon of olive oil. Make sure you have a jar with a lid to put the scrub in after you've made it. Mix the puree and brown sugar as much as possible so that the sugar mostly dissolves. Then stir in the olive oil and mix until it's smooth! It's really not difficult and it tastes amazing, basically having a pumpkin spice latte on your lips :)!

I always like to do my "self-improvement" routine while watching Law and Order: SVU, it's a guilty pleasure, and season 16 is the best!!

Lastly, I always like to make a treat for the week. This week's treat can be found here, on my most recent post!

What are your Sunday routines? Mine change all the time, so I'm open to any


P.S. I'm starting an all green and clean cleanse, so if anybody has any tips or recipe ideas please comment them below!

Mint: the Magical Pimple Shrinker

It's fall and we've all most likely got quite the load on our plate with school work, events, and for some of us, college applications. All this stress is a well known cause of acne so it wouldn't be surprising if you've been breaking out like crazy lately.

I've heard of so many DIY treatments for acne, but I mostly hear the same ones over and over again (cinnamon, aspirin, etc.) well recently I've come across a new remedy that supposedly tackles those blemishes...and the twist...it doesn't dry out your skin! (My skin is very sensitive and easily dried out so it's hard to find a good treatment for acne without irritating my skin.)

The secret ingredient...mint! Peppermint contains menthol which reduces any redness or inflammation that can result in those blaring pimples on your forehead. This is one of the easiest remedies ever. Just follow these steps and you'll be on your way to the glowing summer (pre-stress) skin

1. Soak mint leaves in warm water for around 30 minutes then drain the water out
2. Using a food processor or mortar and pestle, put a handful of the soaked leaves in with about a tablespoon of tea tree oil and process/crush the leaves into a smooth paste
3. Rub paste on blemish area, leave for 10-15 minutes
4. Wash off with water, pat dry with towel