I hope everyone is having the laziest possible Sunday! I'm writing today to give you some insight on my skin care routine. To give you same back story on my skin story, I had horrible horrible skin starting from the age of 9. I tried everything imaginable, creams, lotions, pads, scrubs, so many antibiotics and antibiotic creams and nothing ever worked. Finally in eighth grade my doctor felt that the last possible solution was to put me on accutane. While this was an absolute blessing and my skin had been blemish free since I ended my treatment until recently. I realized probably a little over a year ago that I was starting to get breakouts here and there, and because of the severity of my acne in the past I freaked out and took any possible preventative measure that I could. Since I don't ever want to get back on a severe treatment like accutane again, I've found a combination of products through trial and error that have worked miracles for my skin in the last few months.

Step 1: every single night and morning I make sure to get rid of all of my makeup with any sort of makeup removing wipes.  I have found that a lot of these work quite similar but honestly I love these shea butter packs from Forever 21. I find them so soft and not harsh on sensitive skin. Another great thing is that they're only $5!! Sometimes wipes can be so expensive and since they all really do the same thing, there is no need to pay a fortune. 

Step 2: every other night I wash my face with a charcoal cleansing bar. In between these nights I just use a regular foaming cleanser from Nivea. I only do this every other night because it is quite coarse. It really digs deeps into your pores and charcoal is one of the BEST things for your skin. I love this one from Nivea because it actually has a minty scent to it. 

Step 3: once a week (usually Saturday or Sunday) I do this charcoal face mask from origins. I am OBSESSED with this. This has worked ALL the wonders for my skin. I have never been so impressed with a product in my life. Again, charcoal is really proving itself with how amazing this mask is. Only use it one a week because honestly, that's all you need. Depending on the week I only need to put this on specific areas of my face rather than lathering the whole thing. Immediately once this comes off your pores feel so tight and so clean and everything just dries right up. This is a little pricey, $30 for this bottle size at Sephora, but if you use it once a week as directed it should last you about three months. 

Step 4: after your face is all dry and clean from your mask (or just your regular wash, depending on the day) I always follow these two steps. First I spray Lush's Eau Roma toner water on my face (usually one spritz is enough) topped off with Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizer. I use these two together to really put moisture back into my skin and also to make my moisturizer go much further than it would without the toner This moisturizer is my absolute fave. I used the Clinique 3-step face wash system before I went on accutane and didn't like anything about it OTHER than this moisturizer. Again, a little pricey, $32 a bottle but SO WORTH IT. 

I was always confused about putting moisturizer on oily skin, but my doctor has explained to me than if you don't moisturizer your skin, your face is going to produce even more oil to make up for feeling dry. Although it may seem like "no way am I putting more moisture into my already oily face"... Trust me, just try it. 

Step 5: last but not least, if you've got a blemish that has popped up out of now where and you need it gone STAT, I love this quick fix from Clean & Clear. You out it on your blemish over night and BAM, by morning that sucker is gone. This is not a long term fix but if you're in a jam this stuff reeeeally does the trick. 

Let me know if any of these steps were helpful or what your skin care must haves are! 

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram: @shortstoutstyle 

Ashleigh