My vegan and cruelty free skin care routine
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Skin care talk! Finally! This is a much requested topic and the first of my beauty series - hair care and make-up to come soon.
A little bit of background on my skin - I have suuuuuper dry skin. It can get flakey in the winter and I also experience quite a bit of redness. My skin is also pretty sensitive, which made me nervous for a long time to actually try new products and get a routine down. In terms of acne, I have never struggled with a lot aside from the occasional period breakouts.
For most of my life, I didn’t have a super solid skincare routine. I didn’t even really wash my face very often (just a little embarrassed to admit that but it’s fine).
Which leads me to April 2020 - I discovered Haldi, which is a brand that puts together product recommendations for you and also helps you nail down a routine. It sounded too good to be true, and honestly it has been for me. They have truly changed the game for me and introduced me to just about every single one of my current products.
A quick sidebar on Haldi: you take a survey about your skin, current products, and what your goals are and they put together a curated list of recommendations. Totally free to you! I think they do this in hopes that you shop through their storefront, but there is no cost upfront and no subscription/commitment necessary. [If you end up wanting to take the survey, you can use my name ‘LYNDSEY’ when taking the survey when it asks for a referral name!]
If you feel like you have a pretty good handle on skincare and don’t need any help when it comes to defining a routine, that’s totally fine too. You can just peruse what I use. So let’s get into it!
Morning
Cleanser: OSEA Ocean Cleansing Milk
This cleanser is one of my holy grail products - it’s a super smooth and light cleanser. It has never made my skin feel irritated, but it always feels fresh and clean. I think this is a good all-skin type cleanser, it doesn’t feel overly moisturizing or drying.
2. Toner: Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator
This toner is a really nice base to apply after lightly drying off my face post-cleanse and before I go in with my serums. It’s not drying at all, which is an issue I have had with toners in the past.
3. Hyaluronic Acid: Josh Rosebrook Hydration Boost
I like this hyaluronic acid! I have only tried this one and the ordinary one and definitely prefer this one because it feels a lot less sticky. But if you are on a budget I would opt for the ordinary one because it’s also fine!
4. Vitamin C: Ursa Major Brighten Up
I really like this Vitamin C! It smells nice - most of my products are fragrance-free (which I love) but this one has a nice natural slightly citrus smells that is so pleasant to use in the mornings when I am still trying to wake up. It’s also very moisturizing!
5. Moisturizer: Youth to the People Adaptogen Deep Moisture Cream
If I can only bring one skin care product to a desert island - this is it. This is my number one. I love this moisturizer. It is sooooo moisturizing - this is the only moisturizer I have ever used that actually feels like it’s leaving my skin thoroughly hydrated (and I have tried so many). It is not cheap, but these little jars last me 8-10 months, so honestly I think it’s worth it. A little goes a long way! I can’t speak to how this product feels for oily-skin - perhaps it’s too hydrating. That would be my only caution!
6. Sunscreen: Thank You Farmer SPF 50
Sunscreen is last but not least! As long as you are using daily sunscreen on your face, I don’t think the brand really matters too much. However - Haldi turned me onto this Thank you Farmer SPF 50 and I really do love it. This sunscreen is a standard white-cream base, but has almost no scent which is nice and hard to find for sunscreens. Another brand I like is Supergoop, but this one is much cheaper!
Evening
Cleanser: Tata Harper Oil Cleanser
This is a bit of a splurge - I’m not going to lie. I could happily and gladly use my OSEA cleanser morning and night (and I did do that for a while). Buuuut I love using this at night currently. It’s an oil-based cleanser, which makes it quite a bit more hydrating than the OSEA milk cleanser. I think it is worth the splurge.
2. Toner: Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator
I use this morning and night! See above for my thoughts!
3. Exfoliator: Herbivore Prism
Okay - I did not realize that exfoliants could be so gentle. I always pictured exfoliators having the micro-beads or some kind of hard tiny particles to aid in the scrubbing process. However! This product does not - it feels like a serum. It’s the only one I have used that is gentle enough for my face. And I notice a huge difference in my flakiness in the winter, so this is one of my top tier products.
3. (Alternate) Acne Treatment: Sunday Riley UFO
I will sub-out the exfoliant for this acne treatment on an as-needed basis. Typically this is around when I start my period. I have found that this serum works really well for my acne - it’s drying, which helps to clear out the acne fast. But because it’s drying, I try to limit my use of it and I also will only use it on the areas I struggle with acne the most - my chin and jawline typically. It’s expensive, but because I use it infrequently it has lasted me over a year now!
4. Serum: Pai Rosehip Oil
This is a really nice face oil! It’s very oily and will turn your skin very slightly yellow for a minute, just FYI. But I really love it at night, just before I use my moisturizer. It feels very calming after using one of the two products above, which can be a little harsh and drying.
5. Moisturizer: Youth to the People Adaptogen Deep Moisture Cream
I use this in the morning and night because it’s so good. I have a couple of other moisturizers that are fine, but they don’t compare to this for me :)
Other Products I Have
Moisturizer with SPF: Josh Rosebrook Nutrient Day Cream with SPF 30
I like that this has a moisturizer and SPF in one, but I usually opt for my YTTP moisturizer + stand-alone SPF on top of that. I think this Josh Rosebrook is a good option if you have less dry skin, or like the simplicity of having less products.
Moisturizer: Tata Harper Illuminating Moisturizer
This moisturizer is a splurge and one that I don’t think is necessarily worth it but I was really curious about it. It’s made with real diamond dust, but I didn’t find it leaving my skin noticeably glowy and it’s not moisturizing enough for my skin.
Mask: Josh Rosebrook Advanced Hydration Mask
This is my favorite mask! It doesn’t look like much on - it’s pretty sheer - but it does leave my skin feeling very hydrated, which is my main concern.
Mask: Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask
This mask is another one I like - it exfoliates and hydrates, so it’s a great one for me to use in the winter time. It’s not as hydrating as the one listed above, but a great multi-purpose mask.
There you have it! A recent review of my skin care faves I’ve been using the last couple of years.
My 5-6 step morning and night routines may seem like a lot, but they take less than 5 minutes each and are a nice way to connect with my body and check-in with how it’s feeling. Sometimes I will massage my face a little extra if it seems like it needs it.