Let's Be Honest: This Is Christina's Kinda Skincare Routine

So, let me start off by saying that while I love skincare more than anything, I am abso-freaking-lutly horribly at maintaining a routine. I don’t have a morning or night kind of deal and I definitely don’t do it daily. Shame on me, I know, shame on me. What I will say is, I listen to what my skin is saying and modify what I typically do based on how my face feels that day. I sound crazy, I know.

First, I typically do a majority of my skincare routine late afternoon or early evening. I work a pretty physically demanding job, so I much rather sweat everything out at work and then wash it off when I get home. Second, I have very dry skin. I mean, the thickest of creams don’t quench my skin’s thirst or dryness. Besides using thick creams and drinking gallons of water, I don’t quite know what to do. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. And lastly, third, I have acne when I don’t exfoliate enough. From my experience, all of my dead dry skin tends to clog my pores. I hate it, but it is easily solved if I somewhat stick to my routine.

Here is my final little ramble before I begin, I try really hard to find cruelty-free products. Most of the products I use are cruelty-free and any products that I do use that are not, I am trying to find great alternatives for them so I can phase them out. Please, once again, let me know if you have any alternatives that are cruelty-free for me to try out. Now that I have rambled on for decades in this blog post, let me walk you through my process.

My typical (simple) skincare routine:

1. I always cleanse first. I know it’s not advised to cleanse in the shower, but whatever, I do. It tends to be the first thing that I do and I make sure that the water isn’t melt your skin hot. My favorite cleanser is Neutrogena® Naturals Purifying Facial Cleanser. It’s ahhhhmazing. It clears everything off my face and keeps it feeling so smooth and moisturized.
   

   
2. Then I use Lush Angels on Bare Skin to exfoliate. I love lavender and that was one of my main reasons for buying it. It’s got the nice gritty texture that I look for in exfoliators thanks to the ground almonds. Even my boyfriend uses this stuff like it’s the best thing on the earth.
3. After my shower is completed, I go in with my toner. Lush Breath of Fresh Air is the best toner I have ever used. It tightens my skin without making it feel too tight or dry. After spritzing (probably a little too much) on my face, I walk around and let it air dry. Not only do I love the way it feels, I adore the smell of it. Nothing smells better than the combination of seawater and aloe vera to me. Nothing.
4. This is where I start to mix things up a bit depending on how I am feeling that day. Usually without fail, I use Ole Henriksen Truth Serum® Vitamin C Anti-Aging Collagen Booster. I am 23 and so I probably don’t really need anti-aging serums, but I love the way this serum puts a lot of moisture back into my skin. I think it makes it feel supple, soft and not nearly as dry as normal. This is by far the most expensive thing that I own when it comes to skin care, but it really is worth every penny.
   

   
5. Lastly, if I don’t use the serum or in addition to the serum, I use Pond’s Dry Skin Cream. I absolutely love this stuff. I put on a light layer if it is early in the day, but at night I cake this on like frosting on a cupcake. It makes my skin feel so smooth and as hydrated as possible. I’ve never had it clog my pores and it gets rid of really dry patches in less than three days. Despite this, I need to find a similar product that does not test on animals.

Now, I do have a few products that I want to give some shout outs to. I don’t use them as regular as the five products above, but I do use them enough to consider them important. There aren’t many, but let’s talk about the honorable mentions!

1. Anything by First Aid Beauty. I have loved everything that I’ve tried here and I can proudly vouch for them all. I love FAB products because they are effective, cruelty-free and they have products that suit my dry ass skin. They have products that work on very specific skin types and if you can’t find something you need, I would do some research on FAB. *I need to try their creams so I can start using one instead of my Pond’s cream.*
2. Witch Hazel of any brand. I love using Witch Hazel when my skin is really freaking out for some reason. It seems to clear up most of my spots within a few days. The only downside is that I cannot stand the smell. I just tell myself the benefits are worth the scent.
   
   

Well, that’s it my friends. This is my pretty simple routine. I do it once a day, if at all. I try to stay in that order but sometimes I’m lazy and will do two out of the five steps. Hey, we are all human and I refuse to get upset about it. I will say, exfoliating is my favorite thing to do in this routine. Let me know what your favorite step is in your skincare routine below!

- Christina

*Disclaimer: We are not professional skincare consultants. We highly encourage that you do your own research or consult a skincare professional if you have any specific questions about a product. We also do not make any money off these links / these are not affiliate links. We are making it easier for you, as the reader, to find the products we use. We just want to keep it 100% real with you.

So Fresh, So Clean: Kaitlin's Skin Care Routine

Skin care is a newer love for me. When I was younger, I wasn’t huge on skin care. If I needed to take off makeup, there was a cheap makeup wipe waiting for me. A good mask was like a Sunday ritual, but that is about it. Don’t worry, that quickly changed when I entered college and has grown into its own kind of monster after I graduated. To break it down for you, I’ll go into my morning and nightly routines, and all the little things in between.

Morning Routine:

My morning routine is nice and simple, which it should be for waking up and greeting the day. I prefer washing my face with lukewarm water. It’s hot enough to be enjoyable, but cool enough to leave my skin happy. As soon as skin is damp, I apply a dime size amount of bareMinerals Blemish Remedy Acne Treatment Gelee Cleanser. I massage it in for a minute and then rinse. My face always feels super clean afterwards and it makes me happy. Following up, I dry off my skin, making sure it is still a little damp and then I apply my serum. My serum of choice is Tu’el Rehab Acne Serum. This stuff is so amazing. I’m a combo skin kind of gal, and it helps keep my oily spots matte and my dry spot hydrated. Next up, I lather on Tu’el Make Amends Cream. Like I said with the Tu’el serum, this stuff is a lifesaver. At the beginning of the year, I changed all of my skincare products. The combo of these three has completely changed my face and has gotten me back to my high school, acne free days. Now, I bet you expected we were done for the morning, but I have one more step. I’m a pale girl, but everyone should be implementing sunscreen into their skincare routine. Trust me, your skin will thank you. I finished up my daily morning ritual with bareMinerals Prep Step Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Mineral Shield Daily Prep Lotion. For my ladies who say these have SPF in their foundation, it isn’t enough. Plus, this stuff acts like a primer as well, leaving your skin flawless and happy. Here’s a breakdown of my morning skin care routine for my tl;dr people.

1. With lukewarm water, I was my face with bareMinerals Blemish Remedy Acne Treatment Gelee Cleanser
2. After I’m done washing, I give my skin a little serum love with Tu’el Rehab Acne Serum.
3. When my skin is prepped for moisturizing, I treat myself to some one on one with Tu’el Make Amends Cream.
4. After it’s all said and done, I finish up with bareMinerals Prep Step Broad Spectrum SPF 50 mineral Shield Daily Prep Lotion. I love my skin and my skincare routine is the best way to show it.
   
   

Night Routine:

Get ready for this, because my night routine is a bitch. If you ask me, it is totally worth it. Your skin feels so clean and happy after it’s all said it done, you can hear it sing hallelujah! Was that a bad joke? Meh, probably, but I’m trying to get you motivated for what lies ahead. Without further delay, let’s dive in to  the best nighttime ritual of your life. To start off simply, I’m just washing my face in lukewarm water with my trustee bareMinerals Blemish Remedy Acne Treatment Gelee Cleanser in hand. We’ve been here before and it’s nice and familiar, but things are about to get tricky. Filling up the sink with cold water, which means, yes, your sink needs to be clean, and having an extra hand towel ready, things are already sounding difficult. Making sure your hands and face are completely dry, let’s move into Tu’el Acne Skin Deep Pore Cleansing System. With a full pump, We will take Tu’el Cleansing System part one, the oil, and massage it into your skin. Make sure you are treating your skin to the best night of its life (every night). Your skin deserves this massage. After things are really rubbed in, do a full pump of Tu’el Cleansing System part two, the herbal toner. Before we get further, this stuff smells like heaven, so you won’t even feel the need to complain. Massage in the herbal toner, you want to do this for about 30 second to one minute. Here is where the cold water in the sink comes to play. After it’s all massaged in, splash a little bit of cold water on your face. You’re breaking down the oil and herbal toner, and it’ll probably have a slimy white look to it. Splash water on it two to three times, until you are down to the base level of your skin (and trust me, you can feel it). Next, take that extra rag and put it in the cold water and ring it 50 percent out. Apply it to your face, fully getting off any excess and just giving you face the final clean it deserves. Phew, you’ve made it this far, we just got a little bit longer. Every other night, I apply Tu’el Power Peel Refining Glycolic Acid Gel as soon as I’m finished. This just helps with any of my subtle scarring and refining my skin’s surface. This isn’t necessary, but I love it. After this is all said and done, I finish up with my Tu’el Rehab Acne Serum and Tu’el Make Amends Cream. This leaves my skin ready to say goodnight and sink in for a good night’s sleep. Here’s my nighttime breakdown, because I got you.

1. Getting my face wash on with bareMinerals Gelee Cleanser.
2. Filling the sink a quarter of the way with cool water, and having an extra hand towel ready for some messy fun.
3. Pulling out my Tu’el Acne Skin Deep Pore Cleansing System and starting with part one, the oil. Massaging the oil deeply into my skin, giving it the tender, love and care it always deserves. Next up is part two, the sweet smelling toner. After everything is deeply massaged in (each part takes between 30 seconds to a minute), I splash my face with the cool water from the sink.
4. After I have gotten down to skin level, I use my extra hand towel and put it in the cool water. Ringing it out at about 50 percent, and then putting it on my face to whip off any excess. We are finally done with deep pore cleansing system. You can take a deep breath now.
5. Every other day, I use the Tu’el Power Peel Refining Glycolic Acid Gel on my face to help with scarring and making everything baby smooth.
6. Finally, the bread and butter of my skin care routine, applying my Tu’el Rehab Acne Serum and following it with Tu’el Make Amends Cream. After all this, you can imagine that I am ready to start counting sheep.

Other Skin Care Products I Love:

I like doing a mask once a week. Hell, even sometimes more than that. Masks are such a rewarding treat for your skin. Depending on how it’s feeling during the week, pick out the best ones for you. These are the ones that are working (overtime) for me.

1. Origins Clear Improvement Mask: While it works best for acne prone and oily skin, this masks truly dominates every skin type. It leaves your face so soft and clean feeling, you’ll be addicted after one use.
2. Origins Original Skin: Remember how rose infused products were all the rage? Well this mask is a good reason why. It’s a texturizing mask that smells like a wildflower garden, and it leaves your skin feeling brand spanking new. I love, love, love, love this mask. And Origins new Maskimizer priming mist preps your skin for a new sensation.
3. Tu’el Detox Clay Acne Mask: Kiss your acne bye bye with this mask. It’s a little tingly when you first apply it, but like masks above, it’s such a treat when you wash it off. These masks work overtime, so you don’t have to. While it helps treat acne, it also is loaded with Aloe and Vitamin E to help soothe your skin with sweet, natural love. It’s a win/win/win in my book.

Yes, my skin care routine is a bitch, but it is totally worth it. As you may notice, I spend a pretty penny on my skin care products because I love products that are natural and good for my skin. If you find something cheaper that works for you, go for it. These are just the products that my skin is loving, and ones where I’m actually seeing results. Skin care is different for everyone, so if you struggle with a little bit of acne, then I’m the perfect gal for you.

*Disclaimer: We are not professional skincare consultants. We highly encourage that you do your own research or consult a skincare professional if you have any specific questions about a product. We also do not make any money off these links / these are not affiliate links. We are making it easier for you, as the reader, to find the products we use. We just want to keep it 100% real with you.

Hi There! Meet The Faces Behind Three Babes Beauty

As a way to kickoff our new beauty related blog, we thought it would be best if we introduced ourselves - the three wannabe beauty experts behind the posts - and find that deep soul connection with our long lost beauty loving readers out there. Okay, okay. Maybe not that deep, but a good connection builds a solid foundation. If you’re lucky, we might even tell a few jokes that help you achieve the perfect blush. ;)

To start off, we should clarify that we each have very different and strong opinions about skincare and makeup. No matter which beauty spectrum you are on, you will always be hearing our honest opinions. We vary in age and skin type, which helps us cover a pretty broad range of beauty products for you.

Without further adieu, here is our open love letter to you! Get ready to eat your heart out, world.

Christina

Favorite Makeup Artist: Mary Greenwell  
Favorite Beauty Icon: Blake Lively

Skin Type/Color: Dry, Olive  
Eye Color: Hazel (brown/green/gold)

Hi, how ya doing? My name is Christina and I am 23 years old. As an animal enthusiast and conscientious consumer, I am probably the biggest penny pincher out of the three of us. I just cannot stomach the thought of having too much shit to choose from. It causes me stress and anxiety - and it's not as if I'm gonna let makeup stress me out. I typically prefer skincare over makeup due to me having extremely dry skin. I mean, more dry than jerky in the desert, dry. Thanks to my adoration for skincare and my forever dry skin, I am pretty dang good at going about my day without foundation and pretty much only using cream products. So, my makeup preferences are pretty much exclusive to lipstick, cream blush and liquid eyeliner. My goal is to find the perfect moisturizer and facial masks to keep my dry skin, plump. Join me as we find the best animal and eco friendly products that keep you stylish and drop dead gorgeous.

P.S. I promise to try to avoid ranting about *saving the environment* as much as possible.

Hillari

Favorite Makeup Artist: Patrick Ta  
Favorite Beauty Icon: Grace Kelly

Skin Type/Color: Combination/oily-ish, Porcelain fair 
Eye Color: Gray-green

Bonjour, mes amis! Je m'appelle Hillari and the only Paris I’ve been to is in my home state of Texas. Still, a Francophile girl can dream, but that’s beside the point. Like any good Southern woman, I’m going to keep my actual age a secret. I will, however, admit that I have been making 29 look fabulous for a while. I’ve always been the girliest of girly girls so my love affair with makeup started young. My makeup style - if I have one at all - is best described as polished and classic with pops of color. I love a bright, bold lip color or unexpectedly vibrant eyeliner. I love the beauty styles of Olivia Munn and Chrissy Teigen. Their skin always looks luminous and natural - something I’ve yet to master. I think it really starts with how you take care of your skin. While I’m not about to shell out $310 for 2 ounces of Creme de la Mer, I am willing to spend a little more on quality products that actually make a difference for my skin. (Coughcough VIBRouge at Sephora coughcough.) I’m a firm believer in removing your makeup every night before bed. Be prepared to see me on my soapbox about this fairly often. Since my skin tends to be more on the oily side of combination, I am forever searching for the perfect combination of primer, foundation, and concealer to keep me from looking like I’ve been frying chicken on the fourth of July. The quest continues. Who knows? Maybe it will take me to Paris.

Kaitlin

Favorite Makeup Artist: Rachel Goodwin  
Favorite Beauty Icon: Audrey Hepburn

Skin Type/Color: Combination, Porcelain Fair
Eye Color: Deep, Reddish Brown

Hello Sunshine! I may not be the light that radiates your life, but maybe my beauty tips can be the next best thing. My name is Kaitlin and I’m inching closer to my dream age of 24; a little over two months to be exact. I believe makeup is one of the greatest declarations of self expression. For myself, I prefer a blend of classic and natural makeup looks, but I love exploring all the newest beauty styles. The foundation of all great makeup looks is a balance of great skincare. You have to be kind to your skin, and it will reward you with a subtle glow. I’m still searching for my holy grail of makeup and skincare products, but every day I’m one step closer. My biggest goal is to find the perfect combination of simple eyes and bold lip on myself, or even the perfect go-to, everyday look. I’d love for you to go on a beauty adventure with me, and I hope you get a delight out of my snappy comments. Fair warning: I worship the likes of Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams and Kerry Washington, so be sure you know what you’re getting yourself into before we start.

Now that you know a little about us, we cannot wait to introduce you to our much loved or much hated products. Look out for our next post soon!