4 Fabulous Beauty Products Starting at $4.00

When I first started blogging, my friend Katherine asked me to write about skin care. She asked what my routine was and what products I use. Until recently, I didn’t have much to say because I wasn’t taking care of my skin.

Last month, my friend, Rose, an esthetician, told me about two GREAT budget friendly products you can buy at Trader Joe’s for about $6-7 each. In answer to Katherine’s question about skin care, here is my new routine, starting with night time care.

PM Routine
1. Remove makeup with Trader Joe’s Jojoba Oil ($6.99).
I take a little jojoba oil (pronounced: “ho-ho-ba”) and gently rub it onto my face to loosen and remove makeup. Rubbing oil on your face sounds counterintuitive, but jojoba is a “good”oil.  Oil attracts oil and this one won’t clog your pores; in fact, it draws out the “bad” oil and cleanses your skin without promoting breakouts!

Rose uses it when she does facials at Miracullum Spa in Walnut Creek, California. It gets the makeup off, and my face feels soft after washing. I don’t even need to moisturize. The best part is Trader Joe’s sells 100% pure Jojoba Oil for about $6.

2. Clean face with Trader Joe’s Nourish All-In-One Facial Cleanser  ($5.99).
After the oil has been massaged onto my face, and loosened my makeup, (mostly mascara), I rub in a small amount of the All-In-One Cleanser. Don’t spend a lot of $$$ on facial cleansers – it’s not on your face very long, and you use it 1 to 2x a day. This is the area of facial care to go “cheap” on if your skin doesn’t have special needs.

3. Apply Retinol Night Cream. (Not super budget friendly, but worth the investment-check my amazon suggestion below.) At my last visit to the dermatologist, my esthetician gave me a generous sample of Skin Ceuticals Renew Overnight Combination or Oily ($39.70).

Retinol helps your skin repair the damages done by the sun and aging. It is a form of Vitamin A that should only be used at night!  According to Rose, this is something all women of all ages can use to keep their skin healthy and young.

AM Routine
1. Wash face. According to Dr. Bobby Buka, NY celebrity skin doctor, using a soft, warm washcloth and gently rubbing in a circulation motion has the same effect as using a Clarisonic microdermabrasion machine.

If you have dry or mature skin, just use water. ($0.00) If you have oily skin or your face feels dirty, you can do the jojoba oil + cleanser combo ($12). Rose also suggested using a disposable cotton exfoliating pads from the drug store for a similar result ($4).

2. Moisturize. I dab a tiny bit of moisturizer around the eye area (where my fine lines tend to show if my skin is dry). Lately, I’ve been using up the last of an Arbonne product my mother-in-law gave me almost 8 years ago. (Like I said, I haven’t been taking care of my face).

3. Most Important-Sunblock: I’ve been using this CC Cream by It Cosmetics. Now $38 doesn’t sound like a budget product, but hear me out. It is like a high quality sunscreen that doubles as makeup. The most important part of your facial care routine is sunblock-specifically a product with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. This one is SPF 50 with 9.0% titanium dioxide and 6.3% zinc oxide. What interested me was the 3,348, four star reviews on Ulta!

Instead of buying foundation, or taking time to add another step, this is a great two in one! Consider it a $19 high end facial sunblock ($30+ at the dermatologist or spa) plus a $19 foundation. From my experience, it’s a medium coverage cream and comes in 5 different shades. It boasts a ton of other benefits: “anti-aging, improves skin texture, brightness, and increases skin hydration by 79%, won’t crease or crack in fine lines . . . ” (Ulta Website).

In my experience, it’s hard to stick to a complicated skin care routine. The more you can streamline and double up on products, the better!

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SHOP THESE PRODUCTS

Trader Joe’s 100% Pure Jojoba Oil ($6.99)- In Stores or try
Dessert Essence 100% Jojoba Oil ($8.99)

Trader Joe’s Nourish All-In-One Facial Cleanser ($5.99)-In Stores or try
Say Yes to Cucumbers Gentle Milk Cleanser ($5.84)

Skin Ceuticals Renew Overnight Combination or Oily ($39.70) or try
Miracle by Radha Beauty Retinol Cream  ($18.95)-use only at night!

CC Cream by It Cosmetics-Ulta ($38.00),  or Amazon

Swisspers Exfoliating Facial Rounds ($4.49)

Today we’re linked up with:
#FashionFriday with Musings of a Housewife, All Things Chic, Mom Generations, Julieverse, Lady and the Blog, and Mommies with Style

Please Share: What skin care products do you love?

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