Vintage Jewelry + Great Skin Is In!

I’m spilling the tea on my skincare routine because jewelry and great skin are always in.

Chances are that if you love to wear jewelry, you also try to take good care of your skin. After all, a great pair of earrings or a beautiful necklace enhances your pretty face. This is true whether you wear makeup or not.

I really want to thank you for so many compliments on my skin. I have said many times I would let you know what products I use and the time has finally come.

It’s never really been a secret. I simply hadn’t gotten around to telling you. My goal is to help you look and feel your best so it would not be fair for me not to give you the links or go into details as to why I use certain products.

First and foremost, I believe there are two essential things that I do that have helped me achieve good skin: I drink a ton of water and I stay out of the sun.

I keep two bottles of water on my nightstand and I drink one before bed and drink the second when I wake up. I also keep water on my desk and I also keep a bottle in the car. Hydration is very important.

Next, I protect my skin from the sun. Always have, always will. Funny story, my dad went bald at a very early age. In fact, I cannot remember him with hair. So as annoying as it was, he would always say “put a hat on.” I didn’t understand until later in life that he always wore hats to protect his own head from sunburn. Now I know why. Protect your skin. We have a pool. I go to a lot of Michael's baseball games and my daughter’s tennis matches so I am out in the sun a lot but I always wear sunscreen or foundation with sunscreen and a hat.

I’m 43. I suffer from many of the same things you do: stress, lack of sleep, hormonal changes, seasons with completely different climates - so how do I keep my skin aglow?

I believe what you put on your skin even before makeup or when you don’t wear makeup plays a big role in having glowing skin.

I started using Sabbatical Beauty’s products about 3 years ago and now I am religious about them. I actually met Adeline Koh, Sabbatical Beauty’s founder, through an entrepreneurial group and tried her products because I wanted to learn more about her successful business built around her products. I wanted to know about someone’s business and I learned how to take better care of my skin, win-win.

I start my day with a fresh face. I rinse with some cool water (keep in mind my skin is clean from the night before) and I use a swipe of what I believe to be a miracle product, Beauty Water. Better than a toner, this product (even with clean skin) pulls out whatever is clogging your pores - including blackheads. After Beauty Water, I use two lightweight serums: Asian Powerhouse and Marine Serum. If you start to use these products and think well how do you remember what order to put them on I just remember A before P. One more tip: let the serums sit individually before you layer on the next. Frequently I put on the Asian Powerhouse serum and then fix my hair or pick out my clothes, etc., and give each product a little time to absorb.

Now it’s time to prep for makeup. I use Bobbi Brown’s Enriched Face Base which includes a moisturizer and primer. It’s like the foundation for your foundation. I use Bobbi Brown's Hydrating Eye Cream for my eyes (you will see a trend very soon).

Foundation. I believe the foundation I use is part of that “glow” that many of you compliment me on. It’s Bobbi Brown’s Intensive Skin Serum Foundation. It has a broad spectrum SPF 40. I always use a foundation brush to apply as I really try to blend it into my skin and especially match up to my neck.

From there I fix my eyebrows. To fill in my brows I use Anastasia’s Brow Definer and I set it with Anastasia's Clear Brow Gel.

When I wear eye shadow, I use a palette from Bobbi Brown. In this case, Nude Drama II. Typically I treat myself to a new palette each season as long as it has “natural colors.” I swipe Ivory Eye Shadow across my entire lid and then highlight from my arch to the lid with a color called “Antique Rose” - how appropriate. On my lid, I use their cream shadow stick. Golden Pink is my favorite. I love them because I don’t have to worry about the shadow flaking off onto my under-eye area and it stays on longer. I finish with Dior Addict “It Lash,” my favorite mascara.

To highlight my face I use Bobbi Brown’s bronzer. I sweep a small amount of Bobbi’s Pale Pink Blush on my cheeks for blush.

I learned a long time ago to apply your concealer and corrector after the rest of your makeup is on. That way if you get flakes from mascara or eye shadow, you're not trying to correct something that has the wrong product in that area. I use Bobbi Brown’s Corrector followed by Bobbi Brown's Concealer. I apply everything with a concealer brush from ELF, so it’s extremely reasonably priced and can be found at your local drugstore. When I’m finished, I blend my entire face with a beauty sponge also found at Target or Amazon and it works just as well if not better than the pricey “Beauty Blender.” I use them to powder off my face to set it. Last, I use Brightening Brick from Bobbi Brown to give me just a hint of a glow.

Now it’s time for lipstick! My favorite part. I have 5 Bobbi Brown lipsticks that I love and adore including my “signature color” Parisian Red. I promise to do a separate post with links to my favorite lipsticks soon.

All of these products help me look and feel my best and give me the confidence to take selfies and be on camera for all of you. I do not use a filter on my pictures. I only correct them using the brighten feature and shadow minimizer because sometimes the light is not ideal and obviously, I want you to see how the jewelry looks in natural light.

What you put on, you have to take off. Friends, this is really important. I actually think a nighttime routine may be more important than a daytime routine because you go to bed with it. Just like sleep restores you, the products I use at night help restore your skin.

There are many benefits to having a nighttime routine including signaling my body that day is done, releasing the tension, and preparing to close my eyes and have sweet dreams.

I use an oil-based cleanser called Rose Cleansing Balm from Sabbatical Beauty. I like the balm because I feel like a thicker product allows for better control when taking off your makeup plus you can give your face a nice massage. Then, I use SB’s Beauty Water again. When you look down at the cotton pad you will be shocked and pleased at how much gunk it takes off.

I also use ELF's Lip Scrub which helps prevent feathering of the lips and dry skin around the lips. Personally, I feel that mask-wearing adds to chapped lips so this is a quick and easy remedy.

Then I alternate days between serums: Sabbatical Beauty and Retinol Cream.

My sister turned me on to a product called Diamond Line Refine by KD Skincare. It does contain retinol and other active ingredients and I do believe it helps with the fine lines on my forehead and crow's feet by my eyes. It does have a tendency to be a bit drying so I alternate nights with more Sabbatical Beauty products.

When I am not using the KD Diamond Refine, I use Sabbatical Beauty’s Dorian Grey Serum followed by Camellia Gold Oil, which again is another product I believe helps me achieve my glow and it’s a product that contains real gold flecks? For a jewelry gal, it’s like a dream come true. Again, I try and give the products 5-10 minutes in between layering them. It seems like a long time but really it is not by the time I put on my pajamas and take all the throw pillows off my bed.

Last, when I get into bed, I apply Bobbi Brown’s Intensive Eye Cream and a swipe of ELF’s lip gloss. Yes, it has a hint of pink but you’ll feel pretty as you drift off.

That’s my routine to achieve healthy, glowing skin.

Now if you're thinking, “But Veronica, I don’t have time for all of this.” Let me tell you, it’s about a 30-minute investment of your time and I multitask doing things you must do at the same time, especially when doing my morning and nighttime routine.

In the morning while waiting for serums to absorb, I get dressed, brush my teeth, and fix my hair. Then apply my makeup. The whole routine takes about 20 minutes and I do a lot of other things while I do it.

My nighttime routine can be as quick as 10 minutes and again, I do things while I wait for the serums to absorb: brush teeth, put on PJ’s, and get my bottles of water. Frequently, I like to make the routine a little bit longer because it is part of my wind-down routine.

Thank you so much for all your compliments on my skin. Much like I enjoy picking out and wearing jewelry, I enjoy taking care of my skin, too. After all, everyone sees your face, including you, so you should love what you see in the mirror.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. This is not a sponsored post and everything I am sharing is from my own experiences. Everyone’s skin is different.

For me, you can obviously see from all the products mentioned, from Sabbatical Beauty to Bobbi Brown, I also credit good skin to finding products that work for your skin and stick with them. I could never bounce from product to product or brand to brand without it causing breakouts or problems like flaking/dry skin which then would affect how my makeup went on.

You are all beautiful with and without makeup. Remember jewelry can go a long way, too. Putting on a pair of earrings is even faster than makeup.

XOXO,
Veronica

This post while full of my own personal opinions and experiences contains affiliate links.
I will get a teeny tiny commission if you purchase these products and add them to your routine.

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