BBG's Tips: Taking Care of Dry Skin

Taking care of dry skin is so hard and there isn't exactly much talk of taking care of dry skin, much less anyone in the beauty community with dry skin, so now I set out on the task.

The Routine

First I wash. I wash my face with a cream cleanser after removing my makeup separately with a wipe or coconut oil. The cream cleanser that I currently use is from Aldi's skincare brand, called Lacura (Buy this here). The one I used to use was by Aveeno in the Ultra-Calming Line, for sensitive skin (Buy it here). Then I use a toner. Usually just witch hazel, but I'm thinking of switching to something that takes less moisture out of my skin, possibly an essence (I've been looking through ones from Etude House) and a serum. after I use my toner, I use a cream. I use Nivea Creme (German formulation) at night and Cetaphil Moistuizing Cream (Here) in the morning, sealed with either Coconut or Olive Oil in the winter. In the mornings, I do not cleanse my face, but just use a toner to remove the excess oil that is possibly dirty from the night before. My skin is pretty good about not breaking out, but a surefire way to get one is to leave on my moisturizer without ever cleansing in between. I only do this when I do not have a toner and then I must be extra dilligent about cleansing every night. 

My routine does change with the seasons and the time of day  because of how much time my skin has to absorb moisturizer and is my skin does not become as dry during the day. However my skin rarely becomes oily, even in the summers. 

Other General Tips

• Drink Water. Keep yourself hydrated. It will only be good for you. There was a point where I was drinking a liter of water a day. I looked radiant and had less dry spots and less blemishes.
• Don't touch your face. Keep you hands away. Your hands are dirty. I don't care what you washed.
• Also don't pick at your skin either. Dry skin girls sometimes suffer from peeling skin, but don't peel it or it won't heal. It will just come back tomorrow and possible get infected.
• Do your routine quickly. If you moisturize quickly after you have done the other parts of your routine, you can avoid the problem of putting moisture on dry patches which then peel. Go quickly because then you can seal in the water as moisture. 
• Always wear moisturizer. This one isn't just for dry skin girls, but is especially important for us. 
• Sunscreen is a must for EVERYONE. Melanin is not sunsceen. 

Blushing Black Beauty: FitMe Dewy and Smooth

THIS FOUNDATION IS AWESOME SAUCE. I love it.

It's not what I consider dewy, but I do have very, very dry skin, so hardly anything is because my skin sucks up the oil before I can leave the house... It's more of a radiant finish on my skin. Very calm looking and pretty. It doesn't accentuate dry patches or hair on my face, but just looks really pretty.

IT IS SUPER SMOOTH THOUGH! SMOOTH LIKE BUTTER. It's looks so smooth on my face. It looks like I don't have skin or any blemishes for that matter. People think I look so flawless when I wear it so of course, it is my favorite foundation at the moment. So smooth. I have used it both with and without a primer (Baby Skin) and I love it more with, but without is very pretty as well. My skin looks so soft when I wear this foundation.

It matches my skin very well. It looks very unified and natural. The foundations matches my face so perfectly and no matter how many times I check it in the mirror, it still looks as it did when I first put it on.

Granted, I do have dry skin with minimal blemishes, so coverage and staying power are not my points of expertise, but texture and sensitivity I can do just fine.

This foundation did not break me out and once again, looks smooth as hell on my skin.

Blushing Black Beauty: UNDERTONE MADNESS

Finding my undertone is one of the hardest things. Who ever thought knowing what color your skin is would be so complicated? I certainly didn't. I'm having the hardest time trying to figure out what my undertone is and I'm just gonna go ahead and admit that the fact that I didn't know my undertone was a big part of the reason I was afraid to buy a foundation.

I'm still not completely sure whether my skin tone is warm or cool. I just know that my undertone is yellow and that man drugstore foundations have red and pink undertones and those make me look a little ghastly or just completely strange... I have found many orange/peach undertoned foundations and those work beautifully... when they come in my shade. I just want a foundation that matches my skintone. I have maybe one that fits me perfectly. (FitMe!!!!!!!)

As far as colors that look good on me, this really depends. Not all colors I use look suuuuper good on me, but some I just use because I like the color. I like cool toned lipsticks, but I will admit during the summer, my cool toned colors look really bad on me, but during the winter I can wear anything. No idea why...

You've got to admit that's a strange phenomenon though. I'm guessing the real culprit here though is that my skin tone is largely neutral, but tends to change skin depth as I tan and that makes me dislike lighter colors on my skin more often. The paleness in the winter makes me wear more deep colors though because in the summer I feel as if they almost BLEND IN. (GAH!!!!!)

I don't really know my undertone just because I know that there are little resources, but many theories about WOC's skin undertones and that our undertones are different than people with less pigment's undertones and that makes me kinda sad because I wish it were simpler to find it.

Here's what I do know:

• I love to wear peach and coral lipsticks. The ones with POPPING color that draws you to the mouth immediately.  Fruity?
• I also love to wear brownish pink lipsticks. Cooler tones of these look better on me. Ones that lean toward mauve or purple.
• Mauve lipsticks look bright pink on me. I don't know what this means. I just wanna know why a pretty purple color turned hot pink on my lips. WTH?
• I used to prefer pale cool pinks, now I like bright coral colors. This may just be my sense of style changing IDK.

Anyways. It's complete CHAOS.