Abby shared some of her skincare favorites with us last week. She loves to wear all kinds of makeup, loves her bright lipstick, and tends to have an oily skin type. I, however, wear a bit less makeup, wear a nude lip most of the time, and have a drier skin type. These are my favorites.

Pre-Cleanse and Cleanser:

If I have worn a full face of makeup, I always pre-cleanse. Right now, I’m loving Dr. Dennis Gross Hyaluronic Marine Meltaway Cleanser. I apply it to my fingertips and then directly to my made-up face without adding water. I massage it all over the skin in a circular motion, including my eyelids and mascara. I then rinse with warm water and it turns to a milky consistency and washes clean with no residue. Then, I follow with the Augustinus Bader The Cleansing Gel to make sure my skin is fully clean and prepped for my product.

Toner:

I happen to be a fan of Dermalogica’s Antioxidant Hydramist. I spritz it all over my face to restore a PH balance.

Essence:

I love a good essence. I bounce around, but right now I’m loving The Optimist from Maya Chia. Aside from being packed with amazing antioxidants, it smells divine.  

Eye Cream:

Again, I have so many favorites that I bounce around. I love the Zelens Triple Action Eye Cream and the Saint Jane Eye Cream. I’ve started incorporating that at night 15 minutes after I put my Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream on. I tend to put that around my eye area as well, so I have to wait to dab on the Zelens.

Retinol:

You’ve probably heard me rave about the Zelens Drops, and although they are all fantastic, the Power A Drops are my holy grail nighttime serum. This retinol serum truthfully does not irritate or dry out my skin and it visibly improves the tone of my skin when I wake up in the morning. COVID has kept this amazing product off my vanity, but it has finally made its way back stateside and back to Bellacara. I could not be more thrilled!

Antioxidant Serum:

Abby was right; there is no better morning ritual than a morning antioxidant serum. I enjoy the C Drops from Saint Jane, the Zelens C Drops, and nothing beats Melanie Simon’s C Serum for instant glowy gratification - but my ride or die will always be Skinceuticals CE Ferulic serum.Just to make sure I don’t get vitamin C fatigue and my skin gets a shake-up, I alternate one month CE Ferulic and one month one of the above serums. But every other month is CE Ferulic.

Moisturizer:

I have to agree with Abby on this one. It’s Augustinus Bader for the win. I use The Rich Cream morning and night. I also love a good face oil. Here I usually play around a bit. I have a bunch of in-store favorites and depending on the time of year, how dry my skin is, whether I’m wearing makeup over it or not, I choose one or another. The list is long.I love the Saint Jane Luxury Serum with CBD for calming inflammation and redness and evening out my skin tone. When it comes to layering under makeup, I am a huge fan of Zelens Z-22 Face Oil and RMS Beauty Oil. For a nighttime add on, Maya Chia Super Couple is amazing.Augustinus Bader just launched The Face Oil and if it’s anything like the other products, I’m sure I’ll be as fanatical about it as his other products.