(1) I love the re-recorded 1989 album. I LOVE "Now That We Don't Talk." I love it so much. I don't know what we did to deserve Taylor Swift, but I'm thankful for her musical bounty.
(2) In the last 9 days, my mom has visited Dallas, I led my litigation team to victory in a chili cookoff, I flew to NYC and then took a train to DC for work, I wrote my grandfather's eulogy, and I attended more youth sporting events and practices than can fit on one hand. I also worked out every damn day and made an appearance at Dallas Truancy Court over a misunderstanding that is too long to type out but was thoroughly ridiculous.
(5) It finally got cold in Dallas and I dressed in what I have dubbed "Pumpkin Spice Profesh" clothing today and it made me happy all day even if those new boots are actually torture devices and I'm now once again on the look out for dark brown dressy boots.
(8) I have a new skincare routine that I am loving and I have had three real life people stop and ask me what products I'm using, so I feel like it's working. A friend from high school (hey Christine!) stopped by our house on her cross country road trip a couple of weeks ago- I hadn't seen her in person in many years and she immediately exclaimed, "your skin is GLOWING, what are you doing?"
I have extremely sensitive, papulopustular rosacea-prone, perioral dermatitis plagued, recently hormonal acne afflicted (I have never had acne IN MY LIFE, what in the F is this using concealer for the first time in my 40's) skin that has been VERY ANGRY for the last few months. For the first time ever I was wearing makeup on weekends and generally feeling uncomfortable if I couldn't cover up some of the redness and constant bumps. Through my own dermatologist I now have two prescriptions that are helping prevent flare-ups, but Dr. Bowe's products have complimented them beautifully, and most importantly, have not made my skin angry at all. And lately, everything has made my skin angry.
Because I promised Christine I would post it, here is my current routine:
(Cleaning is the first step to all of this. I am currently using Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser; it's inexpensive, cleans well, and is truly gentle.)
Morning:
Vitamin C (Asta C Vitamin C Age Defense Serum)
Moisturize (Bowe Glowe Microbiome Nourishing Cream)
Sunscreen
Evening (this is the skin cycling):
Night 1: Exfoliate
Exfoliate (Exfoliation Night Resurfacing + Brightening Serum)
Asta C
Bowe Glowe
Night 2: Retinol
Asta C
Retinol (Retinal Night Advanced Retinal Firming Treatment)
Bowe Glowe
Nights 3 & 4: Recovery
Asta C
Bowe Glowe
Repeat! Her Instagram page and website give a ton more details and all the science behind all the things (like why the creamy Vitamin C serum is a better formulation for most people than the liquids and why retinal is more potent and easily absorbed by the body than retinol, etc), but I can say that I no longer use anything else and pack the full size bottles in my toiletry bag when I travel for work because I don't like being separated from them. (This is 100% non-sponsored. Dr. Bowe has no idea who I am and I have bought all my products with the few dollars my bulldog leaves behind, but I love them and now my mom is using them as well.)
And now, it's pumpkin time as my mom used to say, which means it's time to go to bed. I didn't realize she was referring to Cinderella and the pumpkin carriage expiring at midnight until I was way older. Probably because she always said it was pumpkin time WAY before midnight, so I failed to make the connection. Now that I too am in my 40's I understand. The only time I see midnight now is when a flight gets super delayed on my way home from a work trip and I really do feel like the magic has run out.
Happy almost Halloween everyone!
Scared of 13. 11.5 seems hard enough as it is. Also I am tempted to just buy all of those skincare products you linked because omg what a freaking simple regimen and compared to some (ahem skinceuticals) the price points are not THAAAAAT scary or terrible. Are you finding it lasting? How did you pick these specific items out of her line?
ReplyDelete13 is absolutely delightful in so many ways as a parent. But I think it's so hard to actually BE 13 and that makes it hard to watch your sweet child be 13 and it's your job to let so much of it be hard and just be there for them as they work through life and friends and hormones and omg I long for the toddler years with intensity sometimes.
DeleteOn skincare: I adore the simplicity of this routine. I'd started following it with my own products a year or so ago and the single active product, spaced out for effectiveness, was working really well, but I have no doubt her products work far better (for me anyway). They are strong yet gentle and I've been really pleased. I use all of her external products and just follow along with her skincycling plan. Because you're only using the exfoliant and retinal 1-2x per week, I think they'll last a long time (my original bottles are still going strong). I'm on my second bottle of the moisturizer, but it lasted a good 6 months, using it twice a day, and she sells refills that are less expensive and less wasteful, so I like that. The Vitamin C is fairly new. I'm still on my first bottle, but I expect it to run out sooner than the others because I use it 2x a day every day.
All in all I've just been really happy with the products and the routine. I'll keep you posted if anything changes!
I purchased all the items in your routine and am so excited! One night down and my skin feels different already. :-)
DeleteThat TGIF friday sounds just perfect.
ReplyDeleteJust a comment about the skin: I had three different dermatologists diagnose me with rosacea starting in my late 30s. When I was 48, I was diagnosed with celiac disease and went on a gluten free diet. Over the next year, my rosacea lessened, and I stopped using all the prescriptions. Then it just disappeared and I have remained rosacea-free for 15 years now. While not all rosacea is caused by gluten intolerance, some is and the only way to know would be to go gluten-free. But before doing that, if you haven't, it might be prudent to have the celiac blood tests, because the test is only valid of one is still eating gluten. Wheat is an inflammatory agent and has a number of symptoms. Celiac itself has over 200 symptoms. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you for mentioning 'Now That We Don't Talk'! I didn't know I needed another song on my regular Taylor Swift playlist, but I definitely did. Love it.
ReplyDeleteLove this! I'm listening to that song at work right now.
DeleteI ordered based on this post (well asked for it for Christmas!) What sunscreen do you recommend? I use Coola now but was wondering if you had a recommendation that works well with this routine. Also, do you use a separate eye cream? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh yay! My mom has been using the products for the last month and really loves them. I hope you do too!
DeleteI don't have a great sunscreen recommendation. I'm secretly just hoping Dr. Bowe makes one because I have many I like, but none that I love. I have a few formulations from Supergoop that are good. I also have one from Skinceuticals that I do really like. I basically have a bunch of little bottles of good sunscreen scattered around the house, my car, and my various purses so I'll use it. But if I were to rebuy one right now, it would probably be the Supergoop Unseen sunscreen.
(And I don't use a separate eye cream. I was for a little bit- one by Neocutis- but my eyes get angry when anything gets near them more than 2-3x so I've given up. My eyes will just have to age while the rest of me doesn't.)