My 2013 Skincare and Haircare Favorites

Rounding out the list of my 2013 favorites is skincare and haircare. Finding stand out products for both categories has required a lot of trial and error but since I found these items, my skin and hair have definitely changed for the better.  

As an aspiring dermatologist, keeping my skin clear and healthy has always been my primary focus. As I grow out of my teenage acne years and travel into adulthood, my skin is changing, and along with it, so has my skincare routine. These products have stood out among the rest and have been repurchased because of the improvement I have seen in the texture and overall quality of my skin. I have combination/oily skin and I am prone to breakouts so if you have a similar skin type, then I recommend these products.

Favorite Makeup Removers:

Neutrogena Makeup Remover | Soy Face Cleanser

I have a love/hate relationship with the Neutrogena towelettes. It wasn't until I utilized them for a different purpose that I really fell in love with them. During long college days, the last thing I wanted to do was spend 10 minutes at the sink taking my makeup off. These towelettes were a perfect because they would take all my makeup off quickly and all that was left to do was to rinse my face with my normal cleanser and go to bed. I had always suffered from acne so I really didn't notice what the towelettes were doing to my skin until the week of finals. During this week, I wore no makeup and my skin only required my soy face cleanser at the end of the night. After a week, all my acne was gone and I had relatively smooth skin. As finals week came to a close, my roommates and I got dolled up and went out to dinner to celebrate. After I came home, I proceeded to use the makeup wipes and follow my usual skincare routine. The next day, I woke up to breakouts and I knew who the culprit was. I stopped using the wipes on my face and used them only to take my eye makeup off. My skin has improved like you wouldn't believe. On days that I go sans makeup or need to wash my face makeup off, the soy face cleanser does a great job at cleansing my skin without leaving it feel stripped or dry.

Favorite Acne Cleansers:

St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub | Acne Free Cleanser | Clarisonic Mia with Acne Brush Head

This St. Ives scrub is an oldie but a goodie. I've used this scrub for about 5 years and, before I had my Clarisonic, I used this scrub once or twice a week to give my skin a really good exfoliation. It has a really grainy texture and salicylic acid to help take off any dry patches you may have while helping to keep breakouts at bay. I keep this cleanser in the shower and use it whenever I want a good physical exfoliation.
I had heard about this Acne Free cleanser from beauty vlogger Claire from HeyClaire. She said that because this cleanser had benzoyl peroxide as the main acne fighting ingredient rather than salicylic acid, her skin responded to it better and helped diminish her breakouts. Since I had been using products with salicylic acid to no avail, I decided to pick this up. Using this along with my Clarisonic has really helped to purge my skin and eliminate the cystic breakouts I once had. I have repurchased this cleanser and will continue to do so.

Favorite Toner:

Clinique toner | CVS Cotton Rounds

I found this product one day while looking through my sister's vanity. She said this toner really helped to keep her skin breakout free. Seeing as she has porcelain skin, I ran to the nearest Sephora to pick this beauty up. I definitely saw what it was she liked about the product. Using it after washing my face helps to clarify the skin and to get rid of any remaining makeup residue that my cleanser may have missed. This leaves my skin balanced and ready to absorb my moisturizer. I've included my favorite cotton rounds to use with this toner because I noticed that using a cotton ball would waste too much product because the cotton ball would absorb most of it whereas a cotton round is less wasteful and has a larger surface area so wiping your whole face is much quicker.

Favorite Moisturizer:

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask

If you have dry skin or dry patches on your skin like I do, go buy this! I searched high and low for a good moisturizer and no matter how expensive the price tag, they still didn't offer me the hydration my skin needed. Little did I know, what I had needed was sitting right in my makeup stash. This product is advertised as being a mask to use one or twice a week to give hydration to the skin but I found that if I use a thin layer on my face, that it acts as the perfect everyday moisturizer. What's also great is that this product contains no SPF, an ingredient which I have found causes me to breakout. 

Favorite Masks: 

Freeman Revealing Peel Off Mask | Murad Clarifying Mask

When my skin is feeling congested and in need of a little TLC, I like use masks to alleviate the problem. On bad breakout days, I like to use my Murad sulfur mask. I use this product as either a spot treatment overnight or as an all over mask for around 10-15 minutes. The next day, the breakouts either look dried out or they're completely gone. It's a fast and effective product. 

When my skin just feels dull and dry, I use my Freeman peel off mask. I cleanse my skin as usual then I apply a medium layer of this mask all over my skin. Once its completely dry, I peel the clear mask off and with it, comes dead skin cells and even a few blackheads. It's a great quick and easy way to get the glow back in your skin. 

Favorite Body Moisturizers: 

Neutrogena Body Oil | L'occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

I read a while back that Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere to uses the Neutrogena Body Oil and the L'occitane hand cream, both of which I had never heard about. I have dry patches on the backs of my arms, but I forget to moisturizer daily. This oil solved that problem: because it's so thin in consistency, spreading it takes seconds and my skin drinks it in super quick so I'm not waiting around for my moisturizer to set. The hand cream is also a dry skin savior. I never worry about dry cuticles now because this provides my hands with the perfect amount of moisture. 

Favorite Dry and Shower Shampoo:

Samy Fat Hair Thickening Shampoo | Samy Fat Hair Dry Shampoo

Rounding out the list of my favorites are two newcomers but have quickly risen in the ranks as one of my daily staples. I bought both of these products because they were affordable while still being sulfate free. I don't like to use sulfate shampoos because they're overly stripping and leave my hair greasy the very next day. I tried the Wen cleansing conditioner, and although I liked it, I couldn't justify paying over $30 for a shampoo. This shampoo is affordable and gives me the same result Wen did. Because this shampoo was on a buy-one-get-one-free deal, I decided to try out their dry shampoo. I had used Batiste dry shampoo for a while but didn't like how I could feel large powder particles on my scalp. This shampoo is a much finer mist with smaller particles and leaves my hair feeling refreshed and clean. I love this product so much I even bought a back up so that I'm never without it.

If you have made it this far, I truly appreciate it. Let me know what your favorite beauty products were for 2013: I am always in need of some beauty purchase enabling. Hope you guys have a great year and thank you so much for reading.

xx Yuliya