Memorial Day Weekend Recap & Skincare in Your 30s

Wow...coming off a long weekend and heading back to work can prove difficult. For starters, my hair looks like this today:

And I'm not sorry.

It was a great weekend. Jake's brother, his wife and kids came to town and all of the boys went fishing with Papa up at Lake Moultrie both Saturday and Sunday. This made for a lot of free time for Momma. I spent it at the pool mostly. So while my boys were out looking like this:

My view was pretty much this:

I got to do a lot of reading on my Kindle - really enjoying The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. And I've got a hint of a tan now...been wanting to get a little base started before we head to Florida in less than two weeks. I'm using SPF though...don't worry...so it will probably be a while before I have any good color. I just really don't want to burn myself in order to get color anymore - the risks are so not worth it. This is what I'm using - SPF 12 was the highest I could find in a tanning dry oil {please let me know if you know of another that is higher!} So I just reapply often.

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I took the boys to the pool late Sunday afternoon after they got back from fishing and then again on Memorial Day. We avoided the beach as the tourist traffic is just insane and getting to the beach could take over an hour...not to mention also when you were ready to head home from the beach. Just not worth it - we can go anytime.

I went to Target on Saturday to get some skincare products to add to my regimen. Megan of Style Me Swanky had some great products to suggest and I definitely wanted to try a few. She said she has combination skin, so I thought what worked for her might also work for me. I really want the Clinique items she is using because I have always loved Clinique, but I only had time to get to Target, so I may just order them online from Sephora.

Here's what I did purchase:

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This foaming gel cleanser by L'Oreal looked promising. I had not heard of it before, but when I read the back and it seemed pretty gentle and was what I needed to get my makeup off at the end of the day, I decided to give it a go. So far so good. It doesn't irritate my skin and it gets all of my makeup off without a problem.

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Megan had recommended this facial cleanser by Neutrogena. I'm reading The Honest Life by Jessica Alba, so I've been a little more careful about choosing products with the least chemicals in them, so this definitely fit that description. I use it after I remove my makeup with the L'Oreal cleanser. To apply it, I wet my face, neck and decolletage with warm water and then use this:

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Megan uses the Clarisonic, but I didn't have the means to spend that much on a face care item at the moment, so I opted for this one I found by Acne Free. It was only $14.99 and came with 2 removable brush heads. So far, I really like it and my face feels really clean after using it. My pores are looking a lot cleaner. All it takes is a pea-sized amount of the cleanser applied on the brush head and it thoroughly cleanses all of those areas.

After that step, I pat dry and then using a cotton ball, I apply a light layer of pure grapeseed oil. This was a tip I read about weeks ago and I really like the results so far. My face seems clearer and brighter...and the fine lines are less harsh.

Now that I'm 30, I know it's a good idea to start using a retinol product. Megan suggested this one by Neutrogena, so I picked it up:

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A little dab goes a long way. I've been using it every night so far, but it does say if it starts to irritate, to go to once every other day. So I'll let you know if I have to do that.

Then lastly, the night cream I've been using for a couple weeks now is L'Oreal's Revitalift. I have no complaints so far.

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So that's my new nightly skincare routine. I'll let you know how I like it in a few weeks after I have a chance to hopefully see some positive results. I will say though, in just the couple of days I've been doing this regimen, my skin looks a lot smoother, brighter and clearer. My pores are definitely cleaned out! I'm hoping to see some improvement in the "crow's feet" and expression lines I've started noticing the last couple of years.

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