My two favorite moisturizers for face
Nothing knocks my skin out of whack quite like travel, sunscreen and hormones. And the last three weeks, I’ve been dealing with a lot of all three. I am well aware that the amount of skincare I bring with me when I travel is not the norm – I have a huge travel bag for my skincare and beauty that really needs its own little suitcase. But even still, I find myself out of my skincare routines (honestly, all routine…) during the summer when I travel to the shore, and this summer, it’s brought me a beautiful bounty of acne outbreaks. Couple that with PMS and my weird sensitivities to sunscreens (I tried a new one that my skin did not agree with), and my skin is the hottest mess it’s been since before accutane.
With our big trip to Italy happening next week, I needed to get my skin back in to check, and have been trying to identify the things that are making it break out, and incorporate some more acne fighting ingredients into my skincare routine (if I find things are working, I’ll definitely put together a post on this). But sometimes, you need to go back to basics…
One of the biggest things that makes the biggest difference is controlling the moisture and pH of my skin to get the oils to work with me, instead of against me to create breakouts. When I travel, I’ll often try out some sample size products or bring alternatives in my skincare stash to store at the shore. But what happens is that, often, those products will throw my skin off balance or just aren’t the right fit for what my skin needs at a particular moment, and I find myself seeking the products I know work. And this week, it’s been my two staple moisturizers that I immediately reordered when the new products I was trying didn’t work.
When you’re looking for moisturizers, you want to make sure you find one for daytime wear and another for nighttime. Your skin needs different things during the day than it does at night, when your skin has a chance to replenish and heal without the interruption of sun, pollutants or just the daily grime. You also want to know what your skin type is – dry, normal, oily, combination or sensitive (you can read more on that here if you’re unsure). Personally, I am working with combination/sensitive skin during the warmer months, and run more dry/sensitive during the colder months when I am sweating less.
With combination skin, it’s tricky to find the right balance to control oil in certain areas (the T-zone where I am breaking out because of that oil build-up), while also hydrating and avoiding stripping the skin in other areas that run much more dry (around my eyes and my cheeks, which show more of the fine lines of dehydration because of the sun). For me, that means choosing products carefully, and looking for ingredients that are oil-free during the day, and provide me with the ceramides like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to restore oils and balance skin at night. And when I get down to it, my two favorite moisturizers do both of these things. So let’s talk about them…
My favorite daytime moisturizer: Summer Fridays Cloud Dew Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer
The biggest goal for my daytime moisturizer is that I want it to control the oily zones in my skin, without drying me out. Because I can run dry and have sensitivities to a lot of sunscreens, I want something that I layer under an SPF that I trust not to break me out, without building up too much product on my face. Often, a lot of the product won’t even seep into the skin with other moisturizers, leaving me with flaking and pilling product on my skin’s surface, which collects and traps dirt on the surface of my skin, inevitably clogging my pores. This product, from one of my favorite lines, Summer Fridays, is the only moisturizer that I have found I can layer without getting pilling of product on my face when I layer.
This moisturizer is great for so many reasons – it’s packed with the hyaluronic acids and ceramides that my combination skin needs so it doesn’t get too dry or tight. Those same ingredients are able to get below the skin’s surface so they don’t just build up, and they are all-packed into this gorgeous, silky, lightweight formula that is an oil-free gel that just seeps right into the skin while leaving your skin soft and plump. It’s such a unique texture, and while I normally hate gels because I find they pill most frequently on my skin, this one is absolutely the exception.
Regardless of your skin type, this moisturizer I think could really work well for anyone because of it’s clean and vegan ingredients, that clutch hyaluronic acid component for hydration, and it’s unique oil-free gel forumla. Bonus? It also comes with a tiny plastic scooper spoon, which means you don’t have to dip your hands into your product, which is keeping the integrity of the product for longer. Personally, I am layering mine under my favorite, dermatologist-recommended sunscreen from EltaMD, and it just gives the best finish for summertime, whether you’re on the beach or wearing it under makeup.
My favorite nighttime moisturizer: Farmacy Honey Halo Ultra-Hydrating Ceramide Moisturizer
This moisturizer is truly one of my favorite skincare products I have ever used. From the price, to the ingredients, to the most luxurious texture and scent of any product, I just love this moisturizer and have repurchased it again and again. Because I have really dry skin in the winter and use a lot of active ingredients in my nighttime skincare routine that are prone to drying skin out, this product has been an essential in my skincare stash for all seasons. If you haven’t tried Farmacy’s products, I could go on for ages about everything I love about this line. But this product is perfect if you have dry, combination or sensitive skin.
The last few weeks, I was using a different moisturizer at the shore, and I could absolutely tell the difference. With all of the sun during the day, combined with active ingredients (retinols, AHA/BHAs, Vitamin Cs) in my regular routine, my skin was getting stripped and the products I was using were thick creams that were really just clogging my pores and sitting on the surface of my skin, but leave it dehydrated, dull and showing off lots of fine lines around my eyes. Switching back to this moisturizer this week has the biggest difference, and I have to tell you, I find the scent so soothing, that it almost triggers my brain to get ready for bed. It’s like a little spa in a bottle, and with a great price tag. I love to layer my nighttime moisturizer all down my neck, chest and hands, which means I run through it a bit quicker. This super affordable option just really gets the job done with a magnetic scraper spoon that clicks onto the top and lets you go down to the very last drop. Feeling extra dry? I love to layer it with their Honey Grail facial oil for the most luscious skin in the morning.
One of the simpler mistakes you can make in your skincare routine is using the same moisturizer for daytime and night. While it might feel cost-effective, you’re not giving your skin what it really needs when it needs it. Overnight, your skin has a chance to replenish and restore the skin barrier, which is so key in really maximizing the benefits of many skincare ingredients, without all the noise of the sun, makeup and just regular pollutants that get to your skin’s surface during the day. The reality is, you’re wasting your skincare dollars if you aren’t helping to repair your skin while you sleep, so finding a moisturizer that is going to aid in that process and let your skin do it’s own thing is just throwing money down the drain. As you sleep, your skin has the chance to restore itself to its natural pH and moisture, so you want to look for products with a ceramide complex that will give you hydration from below the surface, without leaving your skin clogged and greasy in the morning. This will give you plump, hydrated skin come morning.
Bottom line – get yourself some moisturizers, plural, that are going to let your skin recover and prevent breakouts that can happen so easily with the wrong ingredients, especially in the summer. Find helpful ingredients that speak to your skin needs and get below the surface for hydration. And always consider how your skin might change during the various seasons, and what you’re noticing on your skin’s surface. Don’t be afraid to adjust! You know your skin best and should be able to see those results – positive or negative.
