The Regime

A year in the service industry has meant a year spent chatting with other 20-something girls about their grooming habits. Let's face it, half of what a server can do to ensure a quality dining experience is make sure that they look groomed, professional and put together - the other half is to not fuck up. This may sound superficial, but it is true of most professions where you spend much of your time interacting with other people, and the pressure to make sure you don't look like you crawled out of a recycling bin is amplified in an industry where the majority of your profit is based on how much strangers like you. For this reason, conversations around the hot window or the computer systems over where to get the best shellac manicure, whose ombre has turned out best, and what products everyone uses were commonplace. This led me to reflect on what I realize is my rather intensive skincare regime. That said, I have pretty good skin. Sure, I suffer from the occasional breakout, but I take care of my skin and it shows. So here it is - my skin care regimen.

The Products

Ok, so I use a lot of Kiehl's, you may note. I really do find most of their products to be very high quality for just shy of luxury brand prices.

I have recently been converted, during my stay in Paris, to Bioderma's sensitive skin cleanser. I use it primarily as a makeup remover, and for that, it is phenomenal. Bioderma is available in Canada, though it is much more expensive (I bought two of those 500ml bottles for €14.50, or $18.02CAD - Shopper's Drug Mart sells a 250ml bottle for $22.00CAD). However, if you're looking for a quick and gentle makeup remover, it is one of the best I've ever used. However, I don't use it as a substitute for my regular cleanser.
I use an exfoliating pad and either Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser or their men's line's Facial Fuel. The salesperson may have hesitated when I told her I needed the Facial Fuel - their men's line is, after all, specially formulated for men's skin, which, on the face, is supposedly thicker - but the menthol and caffeine in the face wash is irresistibly refreshing. I usually use the Facial Fuel if I desperately need external stimuli to wake myself up. 
The scrubbing pad was a gift from my mum, who has picked up a whole array in varying sizes, and after at least 5 minutes of internet research, I discovered the brand: SpaCells, by Supracor. One side of the pad is soft enough for daily use, and the other side serving for a firmer
exfoliation. It may or not provide the stimulating massage it's website claims, but I find it to be a lot simpler to use than facecloths.

Post cleansing, I tone. I know a lot of people find toners to be unnecessary, but the older I get the more prone I become to breakouts (my mum suffered from pretty severe adult acne, so it's in the genes), so I opt for the extra step. And because my concern is blemishes, I use Proactive. I loathe Kiehl's Gentle Facial Toner. I've used it many times, but I find that, rather than leaving my skin with the tingly clean feeling of most toners, I feel like there is a film of milk left on my skin.

Post cleansing, I use my anti-aging battalion. Too young to be concerned about aging? Exactly. I am doing everything I can to preserve my skin's current condition. I know that many people find anti-aging serums to be at odds with blemish prone skin, but I haven't found a correlation between anti-aging creams and breakouts personally.

I use Kiehl's again, this time their pricier dermatological line's Powerful Strength Line Reducing Concentrate. It boasts the highest concentration of vitamin C found in any over-the-counter [read: dermatologist prescription free] face cream. I love that it is lightweight and even warming. And the texture it leaves my skin is just lovely. I follow that up with their best-selling Midnight Recovery Eye treatment or Creamy Eye Treatment; the former is an anti-aging treatment I use at night, the latter, strictly a moisturizer applied in the morning.

Final step? I wait a couple minutes and, in the morning, slather on the SPF 45; at night, apply a liberal amount of moisturizer to seal everything.

And Carmex - because lips are important too.