Paula's Choice products I am currently using

There are two choices for a skin care regimen on Paula's site- "Keep it Simple" or "Supercharge it"

OF COURSE I chose to supercharge it :)

Steps are:

AM and PM:

1) Cleanse

2) Toner

3) *Exfoliant 

4) *Treatment

5) Moisturizer (w/ SPF in AM)

*Treatments and exfoliants can be used am and/or pm

I'm gonna break this post down by what I do for each step and probably go off on tangents here and there...

Step 1 Cleanse:

I am currently going through all of my Paula's Choice samples before I decide which full sized cleanser to use.  I also have a bottle of  Moisturizing face wash by Simple Skincare that I need to use up before I order. 

Simple Skincare is the best line of drugstore skincare products in my opinion.  (Paula's Choice is my #1, but in a pinch I wouldn't hesitate to use Simple Skincare's products. They are waaaay better than Neutrogena, Pond's, Olay, etc etc) Oh- and I almost forgot Cerave!! Their products are amazing as well!!!  Top notch, even Paula highly recommends!

Simple Skincare products are hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, mild and well-formulated with skin-loving ingredients.  For example, the moisturizing face wash has vitamin e, panthenol and bisabolol to calm and soothe the skin. 

As a side-note to my side-note (I warned you about tangents), Simple Skincare just came out with a micellar no-rinse facial wash (these have been very popular in Europe for some time but are just starting to gain popularity in the US.)  I recently got some at CVS where they are having a buy 1 get 1 50% off sale and I love it!!! I will be replacing my facial cleansing wipes with this product.

As far as Paula's Choice cleansers, I really enjoyed both of the Resist cleansers. The Resist Hydrating Cleanser removed all of my makeup and left my face feeling soft and hydrated without feeling greasy at all.  This would be a nice cleanser for winter, or year-round for washing my face in the morning since I remove all of my makeup at night and don't need a harsh AM cleanser.

The Resist Perfectly Balanced Cleanser leaves my skin feeling more squeaky-clean.  This line was formulated to help fight wrinkles + acne.  This is perfect for summer, after a heavy session at the gym, a day of wearing lots of makeup, etc. This is going to be my go-to, as I can always add back moisture later on and I like to start my regimen with a really clean face.

I liked the other cleansers I sampled just fine, but these two are my favorites.

Step 2 Toner:

When we think of toner we usually think of harsh alcohol-based astringent liquids that we used to use as teenagers to fight acne and dry the heck out of our skin.  Paula's Choice toners are NOT formulated like that!  They are formulated to replenish the skin's surface layer after washing, leave skin smoother, soothe redness and replace moisture. 

Once again, I am partial to the two Resist products.  Probably because Resist products are formulated to combat signs of aging and the Resist Perfectly Balanced/Weightless products combat aging AND acne. Brilliant!  

Original Resist products are more moisturizing while Resist Perfectly Balanced or Weightless products seem to be lighter and less likely to clog pores in people sensitive to heavy moisturizers.  

I think both product lines are great, since sometimes I feel like I need more moisture (especially in wintertime or for my PM regime) and sometimes I want cleaner skin that is more lightly moisturized (summer, going to the gym, etc)

The Resist Replenishing Toner feels amazing on my skin after I wash my face!  It moisturizes and makes it feel smooth as silk.  There are so many amazing ingredients in it I don't have room to post all the details here because this post would be way too long for anyone to want to read.  I'm talking licorice extract to brighten dark spots, vitamin C, evening primrose oil,  vitamin e, ferulic acid, hyaluronic acid, etc etc! Click on the link for full ingredients.

The Resist Weightless Advanced Repairing Toner is the one I ended up ordering a full sized bottle of.  I love the high inclusion of niacinamide in it which helps reduce redness.  This is not as moisturizing as the Resist Replenishing Toner but I am going to slather on moisturizer shortly after anyways so that's okay.

I also ordered a full-sized bottle of the Hydralight Toner because it is nice and light and I wanted to use it as a facial spray as well as a makeup setting spray.  Sadly, it is too thick to spray through an atomizer :(  So I will use it as a summer facial toner. For the record, the Resist Weightless Advanced Repairing toner DOES spray through an atomizer.

Step 3 Exfoliant:

I decided to go with a BHA exfoliant since I have some clogged pores I would like to clear up.

I ordered a full sized bottle of the Resist Daily Pore-Refining Treatment with 2% BHA which is working out well for me so far.  

If I didn't have clogged pores and just wanted to smooth and refine my skin, the Resist Daily Smoothing Treatment 5% AHA is great!  I love the creamy texture and the slight tan tint it has!!

I also ordered the full size Resist Weekly Resurfacing Treatment with 10% AHA that I use every Thursday evening.  When I wake up Friday morning my skin is soooo smooth!!!

Using this once a week this stuff is going to last forever!!!

The Exfoliation step can be done both AM and PM or just once a day.  Of course I have been exfoliating twice a day and my skin is fine with it.

Step 4 Treatment:

I decided to really go all out in the treatment department.  I get a little gung-ho when I put my mind to something and I have put my mind to making my skin look great and repairing the sun damage from all of that stupid tanning I did!

I decided to go all out with retinol, multiple antioxidants and an extra heaping dose of Vitamin C.

I went with the Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment  which is Paula's strongest retinol product.  I am using this mixed with some jojoba oil in my PM routine only, after my BHA exfoliant and before my antioxidant serum and so far my skin is fine with this combination.

Paula's Resist Moisture Renewal Oil Booster could be used instead of jojoba oil, but I already had jojoba oil in the house and it's the first ingredient in the Moisture Boost.  Paula recommends mixing the retinol with a bit of oil to reduce the chance of skin irritation.  This is working great for me. (Jojoba oil does NOT clog pores or make skin oily.  That's another post for another day!)


For a smaller dose of retinol in my AM routine I'll use either the:
Skin Recovery Antioxidant Serum with Retinol (.01% retinol) This serum contains plant oils and is good for dry to very dry skin.
Or the:
Skin Balancing Antioxidant Serum with Retinol (.03% retinol) According to the website, this has the lightest texture of all of Paula's serums and a weightless finish.
Oooor The:
Resist Intensive Wrinkle Repair Retinol Serum (.1%).  This has a tenth of the amount of retinol that I am using at night but still a significant amount. Might be overkill if I am using the 1% at night. This is for all skin types.

I am waiting for my samples of these products to arrive before I pick one.  I want to make sure the texture of the product I go with works well under makeup.  All of Paula's serums (except the water-based Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Serum) contain silicones and also make great primers under foundation!

This article has very helpful info on how much retinol is right for each individual, how much retinol is in each of Paula's products, and how to include both retinol and AHA or BHA exfoliants in a skincare regimen. 

For antioxidants I got the Resist C15 Superbooster + Resist Super Antioxidant Serum Power Couple!
The ingredients these products contain have unbiased scientific studies (which Paula cites) showing that they stimulate collagen production, repair visible signs of aging, smooth, brighten and firm skin.  #Winning!

Step 5 Moisturizer/sunscreen:

Oh Moisturizers, I am a sucker for moisturizers. 

Simple Skincare makes some great moisturizers if you want to pick something up from the drugstore. So does Cerave!  Cerave's PM facial moisturizer has niacinamide, ceramides and hyaluronic acid in a hypoallergenic formula that even Paula raves about. Cerave also makes fabulous mineral-based sunscreen, gentle cleansers, etc.

BUT, as great as Cerave is, Paula makes even better products.  I keep Cerave and Simple Skincare around as my backup in case I run out of Paula's Choice before I have time to order or if I want to slather on extra moisturizer during the day. 

I also like to use the less expensive and more widely available drugstore moisturizers to make tinted moisturizer by mixing in some Clinique non-streak facial bronzer.  (This stuff gets amazing reviews on Makeupalley and by Paula's Beautypedia team as well.  Nevermind that it says it's for men, I haven't grown a beard yet from using it!)  Speaking of bronzer gel, you can also mix a bit into your mineral sunscreen to prevent that whitish cast (I got that tip from Paula's site).

For an AM moisturizer with SPF:

I bought a full size tube of the Resist Super-Light Wrinkle Defense SPF 30- this light moisturizer contains a slight tint to counteract the whitish cast from the mineral sunscreen! This one will be my summer go-to for sure.

For winter I will go with either the Resist Cellular Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 25
or the Skin Recovery Daily Moisturizer Lotion SPF 30. (need to use up a few more samples before I can decide!

None of these contain potentially irritating chemical sunscreens like Ocinoxate, Avobenzene, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, etc etc.  I am definitely allergic to chemical sunscreen and I am so grateful to find good mineral-based sunscreen moisturizers like this to choose from.

I could also use a light moisturizer that doesn't contain sunscreen like the

Resist Anti-Aging Clear Skin Hydrator
and then go over that with the 
Barely There Sheer Matte Tint SPF 30- I love this stuff!!!
It's like a BB cream and gives me perfect light-medium natural looking coverage and matches my skin tone perfectly.  It was really helpful to me that I could buy a sample of every color for just $2.50 so I could choose the perfect shade rather than just taking a wild guess.

Oh, decisions, decisions!!  6 weeks of winter to go, I'll get this figured out! :)

PM Moisturizers:

The two moisturizers that I love that also contain retinol (.01%) are the
Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer with Retinol (identical formula to the PC4Men Night Time Repair)
and the
Resist Intensive Repair Cream.
I can't decide which of these I like best...Or how to best incorporate them with my 1% retinol so that I don't overload my skin to the point of irritation.  

For a PM moisturizer without retinol the Skin Recovery Replenishing Moisturizer won the sample competition (I have tried samples of all of Paula's moisturizers!) and I bought a full sized tube.

HERE'S THE BREAKDOWN!:

AM:

Cleanse with: Resist Perfectly Balanced Cleanser

Tone with: Resist Weightless Advanced Repairing Toner

Exfoliate with: Resist Daily Pore-Refining Treatment with 2% BHA 

Antioxidant treatment with just a bit of retinol:
Skin Recovery Antioxidant Serum with Retinol (for dry skin)
OR Skin Balancing Antioxidant Serum with Retinol (weightless)

Vitamin C treatment: Resist C15 Super Booster

Moisturizer with sunscreen:
Resist Super-Light Wrinkle Defense SPF 30 (weightless)
OR Skin Recovery Daily Moisturizer Lotion SPF 30 (for dry skin)


PM:

Cleanse with: Resist Perfectly Balanced Cleanser

Tone with: Resist Weightless Advanced Repairing Toner

Exfoliate with: Resist Daily Pore-Refining Treatment with 2% BHA 

*Or once a week: Resist Weekly Resurfacing Treatment with 10% AHA

Super-strength retinol treatment: Clinical 1% Retinol Treatment  in a few drops of jojoba oil

Vitamin C treatment: Resist C15 Super Booster

Antioxidant serum: Resist Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum

PM Moisturizer without retinol: Skin Recovery Replenishing Moisturizer

Whew!

Paula's recommended "Supercharge it" skincare routine is very similar to the Korean skincare routine I am hearing about on popular beauty blogs and from YouTube gurus- except the Korean routine goes up to 10 steps, including cleansing with oil before cleansing with cleanser, and a three step moisturizing process.  Yikes!  I think the Supercharged routine is plenty!  I'm getting tired just thinking about it. 

That's all for now!! :)

Paula's Choice

I have been experimenting with products like crazy the last few months and I have soooooo many products I want to talk about!!!


When I say products I mean EVERYthing beauty related- longwear lipstick, hydrating lipstick, lip stain, lip balm, lip exfoliant, foundation, BB creams, CC creams, Tinted moisturizers, concealers, color correctors, pressed powder, loose powder, primers, highlighters, powder blush, cream blush, gel blush, bronzers, mascara, gel eyeliner, powder liner, kohl liner, liquid liner, matte shadow, metallic foil shadow, shimmer shadow, brow definer, shampoos, conditioners, hair masks, serums, leave-ins, moisturizers, facial cleansers, toners, antioxidant serums, retinol creams, exfoliants..................I have been BUSY!  This has been my #1 hobby and money pit (and I am loving every minute of it!)

Out of aaaaaall of these products I have been most impressed of all by Paula's Choice skincare products and what a difference they have made in my skin.  Without good skin all of those other products can't perform as well or help you look as pretty as you otherwise would.  Good skin is the absolute #1 most important building block to have in any beauty regimen.

I am guilty of sun-worshipping and last year I tanned like it was my job.  I love having a tan!! But when winter came and my tan faded I could see the sun damage.  Pair that with a year of being single and partying a lot, sleeping with makeup on and a lifetime of considering slapping on light moisturizer a skincare routine and I felt like I had aged 10 years overnight!

THEN I went and put a huge sunlamp in my makeup room so that I would have good lighting to do makeup with and OMG I had a full blown beauty crises!!! I could see every pore, fine line, dry spot, dark spot, blemish and wrinkle.  The horror!

I decided I needed to start an anti-aging skincare routine ASAP.  I did a little research on what ingredients do the best job at reducing signs of aging and slowing down skin's aging process.

I started my new routine with some Neutrogena retinol serum, some Indeed Labs hyaluronic acid and ceramide serum and a light oil free moisturizer.

The retinol smoothed out my skin after a few weeks, I really liked it.  But upon further research I could not find anywhere on the packaging or website what concentration of retinol was in the product.  I also learned that it is foolish to use separate creams and serums for ceramides, hyaluronic acid, etc as the best products will multi-task and contain a combination of antioxidants, ceramides, etc.

I learned this when I discovered Paula's Choice!  I ordered a bunch of samples from the website- very reasonably priced and free shipping.  I also watched a bunch of Youtube videos by her research team which were very helpful.  I started on the Resist cleanser, toner, vitamin C serum, 1% retinol, BHA exfoliant and weekly resurfacing treatment, moisturizer and also got a free matte eyeshadow palette with my order which I love!!!

I am going to list all the products I use in my next post with their full names, links to them on her site, why I chose them, what they do and maybe some reviews on the other samples I tried too.

For now I just want to say that they absolutely HAVE made a BIG difference in my skin's texture and appearance.  I have a much healthier glow to my skin and smoother texture.  I have no breakouts or blemishes at all and I have very sensitive skin so that's saying a lot.

I have also vowed to always wear sunscreen from now on- which I had thought impossible for me until I learned that I am allergic to chemical sunscreen (octinoxate, avobenzene, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate...) but I am totally okay with mineral physical blockers like Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide and of course Paula has some awesome options for mineral sunscreen and some amazing tinted moisturizer and foundation which also provide protection.

I cannot say enough about how happy I am to have discovered her skincare line and makeup and NO I am not getting paid to say any of this, I have never received free products from the company or anything like that.  I stumbled on her from doing internet research and I am so grateful I did.

I also love her Beautypedia  where her and/or her team of researchers rate practically every cosmetic and beauty product on the market from drugstore to high end and analyze the ingredients, performance and value of the products.  I love that they are unbiased enough that they will actually highly recommend products made by their competitors if they are of good quality.

They break down the marketing hype and look at the actual ingredients in products and what amount of active ingredients are in them and if they are in sufficient quantities to make a difference, based on scientific studies of those actual ingredients and what percentage of them is needed.

They also point out ingredients in products that can be potentially irritating for sensitive skin or that are not good for skin.

There is a cosmetic ingredient dictionary on her site as well!   You can look up each ingredient in your expensive high-end makeup and compare to similar drugstore products and come to the realization like I did that they are essentially made of the same damn things and many of the high end products are guilty of adding fragrance, alcohol and other potential irritants to their products as well as using miniscule amounts of gimmicky ingredients as selling points.

I completely owe all this knowledge to Paula, I love being marketing gimmick proof.  I could go to a cosmetics counter and they could try to sell me some over-priced cream of horny goat weed anti-aging goop and I could flip it over, analyze the label and be like "The horny goat weed has no scientific studies to prove it has anti-aging abilities except one small-scale biased study conducted by the company that makes this product.  In addition, the horny goat weed is listed after the fragrance which means there is hardly any of it at all in there, plus why is there fragrance in it when that is a skin irritant?"  :D Thank you Paula!!!!!!

I will be talking much more about Paula's Choice in the future.  I have gushed enough for one day :)