Ulta Archives - Style is Everything

To say I overbooked myself for the month of September would be a complete understatement! I am not usually so on the go, in terms of actually traveling places. After being in different cities, airports and dealing with outside pollutants and a severe lack of sleep and let’s be honest, since I’ve been traveling I definitely haven’t been eating as healthy as I should. My skin has taken a beating so I’ve been trying to take care of it the best I can so I’ve been trying new mask this past month and y’all, I’ve found some great ones that I couldn’t wait to share! I’ve actually tried and used all of these mask I’m going to share with y’all today! Also, I have oily skin, just to let you know ahead of time so you’ll know how to interpret my results. Sharing beauty on the blog is still so new (this is only my 2nd post) skin care is something in the beauty world that I totally feel some what like a pro talking about. Makeup is still scary to me since I don’t wear makeup everyday, skin care is something I take serious.

Intense Snail Hydro Mask from Tony Moly // $8

Warning, this mask is a gel and feels super slimy- hence it’s made from snail mucous. I promise if you can block out the fact that it’s snail you’ll love it. Despite it being a gel and slimy it was super lightweight and did not leave my skin feeling greasy afterwards. My skin felt so smooth, soothed and looked radiant. This ones would feel amazing if you put it in the fridge a little before you put it on!

Now that I’ve tried this mask I’m super excited to try more of Tony Moly’s products, my sister swears by them and y’all the packaging on some of them is so cute! Check them out!

Alba Botanica Deep Sea Mask // $8

I mentioned this mask in my daily skin care routine post, it’s kind of like my ride or die mask. I use it at least once a week. It’s a clay mask that I’ll put on after I wash my face at night just to give my skin a little refresher. It smells great and doesn’t over-dry my skin.

Best part about this one besides it being under $10 is that you can pick it up at Target!

Ole Henriksen Truth Sugar Glow Polishing Mask // $42

I also mentioned this one in my previous skin care post, it was one I received as a sample but ended up loving it so much that I bought a full size. It smells amazing-like baked cookies! It’s an exfoliating mask, its not too rough but if you have super sensitive skin take that it to consideration. I’m obsessed with the whole Ole Henriksen skin care line but incase you’ve never heard of the brand this is the perfect introduction to it. Some mask work best on damp clean skin, this one needs to be on dry, clean skin. My skin is left feeling so soft and brightened. Also, if you’re looking for a great way to boost your skins radiance try this vitamin C oil, it comes out orange but once it absorbs you totally can’t tell, I promise!

Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask // $58

With fall right around the corner this mask is THE mask you want to wear – it smells just like pumpkin pie! As soon as I put it on I made Brian smell my face, haha! My face was left feeling soft & radiant.

If the price makes you nervous, always ask someone at Sephora or Ulta if you can try a little sample or I found this sample pack that let’s you try a few of Peter Thomas Roth’s mask, it’s such a great deal for travel sizes or if you aren’t sure which ones you love.

Peter Thomas Roth Irish Moor Mud // $58

I haven’t tried the Glam Glow mud mask which I’ve heard amazing thinking about but this mud mask is hands down the best one I’ve found! I literally feel my face being detoxified when I wear it. It’s like the juice cleanse for your face. Bye, bye dirt and germs!

If the price scares you & you’re unsure if it really is THE best mud mask, ask for a sample or snag the sample pack!

Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask // $80

Ok so clearly I am a fan of PTR products. Here’s the thing, when a products does what it says it’ll do…. times a 10 you know you’ve found a winner. This gold mask is the most expensive mask I own but it’s the holy grail of face mask….at least the holy grail within my budget. This mask works on anti aging and fine lines, giving you a youthful appearance and radiant glow.

Yes the price is steep but it works so in my opinion it’s totally worth it. My advice is buy the sample pack that way you can try this mask multiple times so you can see for yourself just how amazing it is! It works great and is still way under the price of some of the other top anti aging mask….and this one has gold in it, hello who doesn’t want to feel fancy!

Sephora Pearl Eye Mask // $5

This was a total impulse buy and the first sheet mask (it’s only for the under eyes) I ever tried. I was in Sephora picking up a few things and decided to try one the many mask offered by the Sephora line. I have terrible insomnia and tend not to get enough sleep so my under-eyes are always a concern for me. I use this eye cream from Origins in the morning that I keep in the fridge so it’s not an refreshing to help wake up my tired eyes.

This mask amazed me at how well it worked. Not only did it feel refreshing while it was on but as soon as I took it off I notice a different, my under-eyes were brighter and my bags we’re less noticeable.

After trying the eye mask I ventured into trying more of the full sheet mask from Sephora and haven’t been disappointed!

MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator // $ 30

This isn’t exactly a mask in the same sense that all the others I’ve mentioned are; letting them sit for a set amount of time but it’s close enough so I had to share in case you’re in the market. I usually don’t use an exfoliator by itself, I either have it in my daily cleanser or in a mask but my sister let me try hers and after I was hooked. It’s one of the gentler exfoliators on the market and left my skin feeling so clean and soft without over-drying and irritating. It’s from MAC so you know it’s good, I mean who’s ever had anything bad from MAC?

If the price makes you hesitate, don’t forget to ask for a sample!

Please let me know if you’ve tried any of these I’ve listed and let me know what you think & if you have any I haven’t mentioned let me know, I would love to try out some new products!

I’m getting ready to head out on a cruise to Mexico so I already have this cucumber mask & this blue algae mask I got for my birthday in my fridge waiting for me to come home to to put on my sun kissed skin!

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Yes you’re on StyleIsEverythingBlog.com and yes this is a beauty post. Is the world ending? Not yet but this is definitely a crazy leap for me. Y’all I’m stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit….ok a lot of it and stepping a little into the beauty world. I am by no means trying to be a beauty blogger, I am so not cool enough for that. I typically shy away from anything other than fashion related posts but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I wanted to bring a little someone more to SIE than just my closet. I’m such a newbie when it comes to skin care, makeup and hair….I’m pretty simple and/or just flat out don’t know what I’m doing. I figure I can’t be only 20-something that is a little clueless in the beauty department so I wanted to share my journey (a simple girls view) on what works and simple tips and tricks I’ve found that work for me!

To kick off my new beauty section I wanted to start with the basics. You can apply all the makeup you want but if you don’t have good skin, you don’t have a good canvas to work with.

To start off with I will tell y’all that I do not have acne prone skin but I do get the occasional blemish. Hello I’m a girl. I live in the south where humidity reigns queen. I get stressed. I eat pizza & french fries. I do have oily skin. Primarily in my t-zone which I know is pretty common, but overall I have what some would call, dewy skin. I’ve tried a million products but for the longest time I just hated the way my skin felt and looked. It looked dull. I’m the type of girl that would rather go bare faced than wear makeup so to have dull skin is just no good. After searching the internet & talking to my sister (she’s a beauty guru) I decided to try a few Korean skin care routines. Korean beauty is big on using oils and gels. At first I was completely confused as to why someone like myself who has oily skin would want to put oil on their face…Korean women have some of the most beautiful and glowing skin so I ate my words and tried it. After just one time of double a double cleanse method I was hooked!

To start with I use Ole Henriksen pure truth melting cleanser // $34

It’s a gel that you apply onto your dry skin, even if you have full face makeup on. The gel literally melts into an oil and literally melts your makeup and any dirty off your face. I will put it on my face and then get into the shower in the mornings to rinse it off.

After I rinse off the gel cleanser, I wash my face with a foam cleanser. I’ve used both Ole Henriksen African red tea //$30 (it smells amazing) & currently I’m using the Sephora brand cucumber foam cleanser // Both are great! The foam cleanser washes away any dirt & oil without striping away natural moisture from your skin.

I have a Clarisonic Mia 2 // about $170 depending on which system you get. My print is a limited edition so I wasn’t able to link it.

I try to use mine everyday but there are sometimes I forget to do it in the mornings especially if I’m running late. If I forget in the mornings I always try to do it at night. Once a day is what I like to do. If you’ve never used a Clarisonic before trust me on this one, you want to. For years I heard the hype over them but didn’t understand what the big deal was and what set it apart from any of the cheaper drugstore brands cleansing brushes. Ladies, I will say that after owning one you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one. A Clarisonic cleans your face better than your hands ever will and even better than any exfoliator. It has timed settings for each section of your face. After just one use you’ll notice a difference. After using it everyday, you’ll notice a huge difference over time. You should change out your brush head every 3 months (this will depend on how often you use it and how well you take care of it). There are so many brush heads to choose from based on your skin type and it’s needs. Seriously one of the best investments you can do for your skin!

Along with using my Clarisonic, I like to exfoliate. I won’t do both in the same day just because I feel like it’s a lot happening to my skin.

I use the Ole Henriksen truth sugar glow polishing mask // $42

Y’all this stuff smells so good!!! Like the gel cleanser, you apply this to dry skin. After I wash my wash I’ll stick my head outside the shower, towel dry my face and hands off & then apply the mask. Let it sit on my face while I finish showering and then rinse it off. It like the gel cleanser melts into an oil. It’s the weirdest thing, you put it on and you can fell the sugar & pomegranate seeds but after it sits and you rinse it off, they’re melted away & you’re left with soft, glowing skin.

After cleansing, washing & exfoliating my face, I tone it. I use Murad hydrating toner // $28

I mist it all over my face & let it dry before applying my face moisturizer. Toner refreshes your skin and rehydrates. It’s getting your face prepared and ready for what comes next.

For moisturizing my face I use Ole Henriksen vitamin plus // $45

One of my biggest struggles throughout the years has been finding a moisturizer that doesn’t make my already oily skin super oily. Even if a label says for oily skin it never really helped with the oil or if it did it wouldn’t moisturize enough and would leave my skin dry. This Vitamin Plus moisturizer is so lightweight yet is super intense in moisturizing. I have hit the holy grail with this one!

This next step is one I honestly didn’t start doing until like a year ago. I always assumed my face lotion had enough spf that I didn’t need to apply it separately. I also had a love hate relationship with moisturizer that had spf in it because most them would make my face super oily (once again he struggle). I use Coola Mineral Face SPF 30 Matte Finish Cucumber // $36

Doesn’t make my face oily at all, it’s mineral base so it won’t clog your pores and it leaves a matte finish which is an added bonus. If you use a face moisturizer that has SPF in it then you might not want to apply more, I mean it can’t hurt but it would save you a step in the mornings and an extra layer on your face.

This step is my favorite of my getting ready in the morning, my eye cream. I know I sound like a total old lady but y’all it’s so refreshing first thing after you wake up and take a shower!

I use Origins GinZig refreshing Eye Cream // $30

I keep mine in my fridge so it’s nice and cold when I apply it! It wakes up tired eyes, brightens, reduces puffiness & dark circles. Life changer!

If you’re looking for a great spot treatment that actually works, try this one from Murad – acne spot treatment // $18.

Whenever I start to feel a blemish, I dab a little of this on the area and usually it will disappear or if it does appear it’s ready to be popped (I know TMI) but it’s like this stuff speeds up the whole process all together which is a great thing, no one wants blemishes to hang around!

Want to give your skin extra moisture? I know there are super expensive night creams that I’m sure work well but if your on a budget try using Grapeseed oil. Once again the oils are changing mylife. It feels super weird at first and your face is super shiny, it’s oil, but once you wake up the next morning it’s all absorbed in and your face is super moisturized.

I use Now grapeseed oil //$ 11

For makeup remover and face cleansers I use either Thayers Witch Hazel // $11 or Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water // $7. Both work great. The Micellar water is excellent at taking off eye makeup, it doesn’t burn your eyes!

At last but not least, what would a skincare post be without talking about at least one face mask! I’ve used so masks that I absolutely love so it was hard to narrow it down to just one to squeeze into this post, I could honestly do a whole post on masks alone…I actually might do that.

This mask from Alba Botanica //$8 is one I use weekly which is why I chose to include it. It doesn’t over dry my skin and it seems to be working well in coordination with everything else I use. It doesn’t really have a scent which is fine with me, as long as products don’t smell bad I’m ok. It’s just an all around basic skin car mask. Apply to clean skin and let sit for like 5 minute and then rinse.

This was definitely one of this longest and more detailed most I’ve done, with outfits it’s a different ballgame. I would love to know of any products and tricks you use, I’m always look for ways to stay fresh & beautiful!

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The Best Face Masks

daily skincare routine