Skincare Review

Night time moisturizers have always been a mystery to me. Since I have oily skin, should I use something for oily skin? Nope, then I wake up with dry patches on my cheeks. Combination skin formula? Oh, sorry, you'll have to have an oily t-zone all day long with that one.

I was getting a little frustrated.

But then I decided to give some high end versions a try, and they seem to be working for me. Skincare is something I'm willing to spend a little more on, though I'm not going to fork over hundreds of dollars for something that may or may not work for my skin.

Before my dive into skincare experimentation, I used Neutrogena moisturizer for combination skin religiously every night. Though I wasn't over the moon with it, this particular blend did give me the best results I had seen. I just think that even though I have oily skin, I don't have hydrated skin. My cheeks and nose would get dry patches occasionally, and the rest of my face would have to be blotted regularly throughout the day like normal.

Uhg.

Then I asked for the Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Brightening Sleeping Facial for Christmas, and my life changed. I have to say that I have to use this sparingly, as it does leave some residue on my face that I don't always need. But for the most part, this works to give my face a little extra help with both hyper-pigmentation from acne scarring as well as dark circles. I loved this from the first moment I used it and saw immediate improvement!

After hearing Zoe rave about it, I also gave the Clinique Moisture Surge a try. This has been my go-to moisturizer for the past month. It has the perfect formula for my skin, leaving it hydrated without residue, and gives my face the right amount of moisture in all the right places. It goes on smoothly and I only have to use the tiniest bit to get the results I want. I love this and honestly can't say a bad thing about it.

I also have to say great things about the Earth Therapeutics Hydrogel under eye patches. Back in February, I wanted to find something that would give my eyes some relief after my impending international flight to Japan. When I went to Prague, dry skin was a major problem for me, so I thought I would look for something to help that.

Unfortunately for me, eye patches are friggin' expensive. I looked at the (incredibly expensive) Bliss ones, toyed with getting the giant package of Shiseido smoothing ones, but then gave up. Though my eyes were a problem, they weren't that much of a problem. I could live without.

After some heavy duty internet prowling, however, I stumbled upon these gems. They're under $10 for a pack of five, they are available at Ulta, and they work wonders. My eyes feel lighter and energized after using these for about a half hour. When I'm feeling particularly stressed or tired after a long day, I pop these on my eyes and watch the magic happen. (And yes, they completely fixed my jag lagged eyes in Japan.)

I'm still venturing into the world of expensive night time moisturizers, but I like what I've seen so far. Next on my list are Benefit's Total Moisture facial cream and Lancôme's Bienfait Multi-Vital Night. I also want to get into the world of eye creams for my poor, overworked eyes. I know that most of my Christmas list again this year is going to be made up of masks, tubes, and pots of all of the prestige skincare I can find, because I'm on the way to discovering the secret to getting my skin to behave.