My thrifty facial skin care routine

On July 20, the Georgia primary elections were held and my husband was working on one of the campaigns. His candidate lost. We were extremely upset, not only because the wrong man won and my hubby is now looking for work, but because the candidate is a good friend of our's. Also, my job has been really tough for the last week, so, needless to write (though I shall!), I have not been feeling up to writing a post. Until now.

See, we had a bunch of people over yesterday for a board meeting (and today, too - though a different bunch of people for a different board - and, for the record, I am "board" with meetings. Ha ha. See what I did there? I am a GENIUS with words. OK. Moving on.), and the girls were talking about blogs and it made me miss writing. So, yay for board meetings! I now rescind my earlier pun.

And what else is there to write about on a Sunday but skin care routines. What? You can think of a million other things to write about on a Sunday? Fine. Go away.

I love learning what other people do for their skin care routines because when I turned 23 (I'm 29 now) I suddenly had adult onset acne. It was not pretty, and I was embarrassed by my skin for about a year. Thankfully, my face cleared up after using Institut Esthederm Cellular Water facial cleanser and Bio-Hydrant moisturizer for just two weeks. Ridiculously expensive, these products worked miracles on my face. I am not saying they are cure-alls for everyone but I am SO glad they worked for me.

Again, the products were ridiculously expensive so I had to find an inexpensive alternative to maintain my clear skin. And the following routine is what I found, and what I have used for the last six years because it does such a great job.

Every morning and every single night, I wash my face with Oil of Olay Gentle Foaming Face Wash for Sensitive Skin and apply Oil of Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin (includes sunblock - SPF 15 - very important!) all over my face AND my neck.





I have slathered my neck in moisturizer since I was about 12, when I read an article about how neck lines really show a person's age. I may be a wrinkled little prune by the time I am 65, but my neck will be smooth dadgummit! Also, when I put the moisturizer on my face, I use my index fingers to smooth around my eyes and I gently massage up, not down, when I apply moisturizer everywhere else on my face. This is extremely anal retentive, but that is just me. :)

Every other morning, in addition to washing my face with Oil of Olay Gentle Foaming Face Wash for Sensitive Skin and applying Oil of Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin all over my face and neck, I start by gently massaging Aveeno's Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub on my face - steering clear of the area around my eyes.



I love the way this stuff makes my face feel and look - my face actually appears more, well, radiant (hence the name) after I use it - and additionally, it smells wonderful.

The price is one of the best parts of this routine:

Oil of Olay Gentle Foaming Face Wash for Sensitive Skin = @$4.50 at Wal-Mart for 7 fl oz
Oil of Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin = @$8 at Wal-Mart for 6 fl oz
Aveeno's Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub = @$6.50 for 5 fl oz

Now, what skin care routine has given you the best results? I really want to know.

Proof

See? I really did get married.

A travel-size life

The hubby just got home from a business trip and he came back with roses, chocolates, and other romantic gifts! Actually, the only truthful part of that statement is that he just got home from a business trip. I have to give him some credit, he DID come back with:

(i) a two-serving bag o' coffee
(ii) two tea bags
(iii) three little plastic cups
(iv) a travel-size shampoo
(v) a travel-size conditioner
(vi) a travel-size lotion
(vii) a mini soap
(viii) a mini razor kit
(ix) and the kitchen sink

Whenever we stay anywhere that offers toiletries, coffee, etc in the room, we end up bringing back almost everything that isn't nailed down. I have always grabbed items from hotel rooms and other locations because we do, in fact, pay for them when we rent a room, but I learned a whole new level of - let's call it getting our money's worth - from my husband.

Do y'all do this? At what point do you say, we have enough travel-size items? I guess the main question is: do we really need them? Though if we didn't have them, I would miss pretending to be a giant as I pour shampoo on my head.

My niece can drive better than your niece

A photo from about a year ago, but my goodness does this make me smile.

Thrifty Finds: Butterfly Flower Eau de Toilette

I'm not actually a huge shopper. This might seem odd since I write about my favorite shopping finds on my blog pretty often. In fact, I typically dislike shopping unless I am looking for home decor, but I had a wonderful time visiting the North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawsonville with my mom the other day. We stopped by the Bath & Body Works there and my goodness, I was glad we did.

I haven't needed to buy lotion or perfume in forever (this is due to a Bath & Body Works shopping spree a few years back and some kind gifts from family and friends), but mom and I popped into the store just to look. We came out with a few steals!

One of these steals is a delicious-smelling perfume: their Butterfly Flower Eau de Toilette.



This has to be my new favorite summer scent. Regularly $29.50, this wonderful 2.5 FL OZ perfume was on sale for $6.62! An unbelievable deal for such an incredible scent. I knew it was a keeper and that I need to go back for more when the hubby gave me a hug and told me I smelled so good today.

What is your favorite Bath & Body Works scent?