Tag: skin

My Dry, Textured, Eczema-Prone Skin’s Been Freaking Out: What’s Helping the Most

Featuredby liftbakeloveLeave a Comment on My Dry, Textured, Eczema-Prone Skin’s Been Freaking Out: What’s Helping the Most

My skin has been going through it this winter. It’s been extremely dry along with weird texture and a couple of eczema flare-ups. I know it’s probably because of lack of sleep, super cold dry weather, and did I mention lack of sleep? I have had to really baby my skin but to health, but now it’s actually looking pretty great. These are the products that have made the biggest difference. In this post, all links are affiliate links (thank you for your support!), but all opinions are my own.

Versed Gentle Pore Clearing Serum – I have a bunch of gentle acid toner type products, and a lot of them still end up irritating my skin just because of the state it’s in. This is one of the only ones that’s actually gentle on me. I use it a couple nights a week to lightly exfoliate and smooth texture and haven’t had any irritation. This has been my go-to chemical exfoliator when I want my skin to look less rough and textured but don’t want to risk making things worse.

Prequel Half and Half Fluid Moisturizer – I love Prequel products, and I use them constantly (I honestly think I own almost all of them). This one has been making the biggest difference for me right now in my morning routine. It’s the most lightweight and hydrating liquid moisturizers I’ve ever used. It gives a dewy, radiant skin look that actually lasts for a long time, and it doesn’t irritate my skin at all. I’ve been using it every day since it came out, and I think I’m on my third bottle. I notice a big difference in how my skin feels during the day when I skip this, and I’ll keep buying it again and again.

Prequel Barrier Therapy Skin Protectant Cream – This is my go-to nighttime product when my skin is itchy, super dry, and eczema-prone (all of which has been happening a lot lately). It’s specifically made to help with irritation and itchiness due to dryness and eczema flare-ups, and it absolutely delivers. It really helps calm those things down. I’m on my second tube, and it’s a giant tube so I can use it on my face, on my body, everywhere. My husband has also been using it because he’s eczema-prone, and it has really helped him a lot. This is another one that I’ll keep repurchasing and might pick up the rich version to try next.

Experiment Super Saturated Serum – I’ve also fallen in love with Experiment skincare, and this is the first product of theirs I tried. I now own all of them except for the cleanser. I’m more than halfway through the serum, and I’m absolutely going to buy more. It gives my skin so much more hydration, and I notice a huge difference when I skip it in how moisturized and healthy my skin feels. I definitely feel like my skin has also been in better shape since I started using this. Plus, it’s refillable.

Experiment Molecular Mesh Moisturizer – I have so many moisturizers to work through right now, but this is easily one of the best moisturizers I’ve ever used. I’m going to run out and repurchase before I can even try some of the others because I keep going back to it. I can use it in the daytime, and I can use it at nighttime. I’ve even used it as a primer and mid-day. It makes a huge difference for my skin but it’s also lightweight enough that I can layer it with all these other products with no issue. I can really tell when I’m not using it. It just makes my skin feel so much better and more moisturized. The combination of this and the Barrier Support Serum has been doing a lot of heavy lifting for me lately.

Hint Cuticle Oils in the White Rice and Peach Boba scents – This isn’t really skincare, but I’m including it because this time of year my hands get absolutely wrecked, and I absolutely love using cuticle oils to make my nails and hands feel better. Hint just came out with their Lunar New Year oils. The packaging is so cute, but more importantly the scents are incredible. White Rice and Peach Boba are the first two full-size pens I bought because I love them so much. I usually buy the sample packs so I can compare scents and recommend them (I’m an affiliate, use greenfriend for 10% off at Hint) so grabbing full size pens is a big step for the collection I have at this point. I’ve been using these pretty religiously to keep my hands and nails healthy, and they’ve been amazing.

Byoma Bio-Collagen Radiance Facial Mask – I recently got this and I’ve only used it twice so I’m adding it in at the end. To be fair, twice is saying a lot because I’m not great at using masks. I own a bunch and a lot of them just sit around. But my skin has been so dull and dry that I wanted something that could help and give me that bouncy, glass skin look. This promises to be transformative and is under $20 so I figured it was worth a try. You leave it on for 20–30 minutes and then peel it off so I’ve been throwing it on right after I put my toddler to bed. The first time I used it, I was genuinely shocked. My skin felt softer, looked glassy, and felt more moisturized right away. I used it again the next day and my skin just felt and looked incredible. I know this has gone kind of viral lately, and it lives up to the hype for me.

What other products would you like me to review? Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here, and thanks for reading! As always, some links may be affiliate links that support the blog and some products may have been gifted, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.

Testing Out Y’our Skincare

Featuredby liftbakeloveLeave a Comment on Testing Out Y’our Skincare

I’ve been trying Y’our skincare for the last month and wanted to share my thoughts! Y’our did send me my customized routine but this post is not sponsored and all thoughts are my own. Y’our creates personalized skincare regimens tailored to individual skin types, lifestyles, and environments using AI and based on a quiz that you take on their website.

Things are a little (honestly, very) hectic with a 6 month old, so I’ve really appreciated having a super scaled down routine that’s quick and still works for my skin. I use 2 of the products in the morning and 3 at night, and when I’m exhausted and running late, that’s been fantastic to have such a fast routine. Even when I only use these four products, my skin has stayed stable and looking good, even if it’s not at its most 100% optimal, which I’ll touch on later. I’ve looked back at pictures of me without makeup recently, and it looked like I was wearing foundation.

The quiz you take to create the routine was super fast and easy. I even missed reviewing the products, and when the day cream I got included chemical sunscreens I can’t use, they sent a new one that was reformulated without them.

The packaging is super functional, and I love how no-fuss it is. I especially appreciate that the moisturizers are in airless pumps that are easy to use when I’m half asleep. I do wish the cleanser was in a pump bottle because I’m usually using it as a second cleanser so it’s annoying to twist off the cap and get the cleanser out when I already have wet hands.

Because I love skincare and have so many favorite products, I’ve been incorporating the Y’our skincare into my longer routine. I’ve found that they work great with the other products with no pilling or other issues. If you’re a skincare enthusiast, I’m not sure this would be enough for your full routine – I’m still adding in my vitamin C, retinol, last-step occlusive layer, extra moisturizers, etc. But if you’re looking for a consolidated and quick routine that’s super effective, I recommend giving Y’our a shot!

What other products would you like me to review? Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here, and thanks for reading! As always, all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored. There are also no affiliate links in this post.

Best Moisturizers for Dry Skin: My 5 Top Picks from Make Beauty, Rephr, Farmacy, Prequel, and Bloomeffects

by liftbakelove1 Comment on Best Moisturizers for Dry Skin: My 5 Top Picks from Make Beauty, Rephr, Farmacy, Prequel, and Bloomeffects

I’m now 36 weeks into pregnancy and couldn’t be more excited, but my skin even drier and itchier than when I posted at 30 weeks. I have a bunch of friends who are going through super dry skin issues (pregnant or otherwise) so I wanted to put together this list of what’s been working really well for me for my face. As far as I know, these are all pregnancy-safe as well! Thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here for new posts. All links in this post are affiliate links, and if you choose to shop through them, thanks for supporting the blog!

Make Beauty Moisturizing Reverse Emulsion – This is still my favorite hydrating serum (and if you’ve been to this blog before, you know I’ve tried so, so many serums and moisturizers as I have incredibly dry skin). I’ve used this as a moisturizer and primer, mixed with other primers, mixed with foundations, after a shower, during my nighttime routine – it works so well no matter what I do with it. It leaves a dewy but not wet or sticky finish and makes everything look better if I’m using it before makeup. It just feels so nice and is actually hydrating. I also have a bottle of this in the fridge, and it feels so great to throw on when I’m overheated and my skin is getting super dry and itchy.

Rephr Light Hydration Cream – I was grabbing a bunch of Rephr brushes to try out and review (coming soon!), and this moisturizer was added as a free gift. I didn’t know anything about it, but I figured I’d try it out because the ingredients looked great. I’m now obsessed with this moisturizer – I already bought another tube and bought the intense version to try. It’s so hydrating while being incredibly lightweight so I can use it any time of day. It really calms down my skin when it’s feeling particularly irritated (thank you pregnancy skin issues!). When I’m feeling extremely tired and want just one thing to use, I’ll almost always grab this especially because I can just squeeze it out of the tube and don’t have to fuss with a jar (I know that sounds silly, but it makes a difference to me). At the time of writing this, it’s on sale for $9 but even at the usual $28 price point, I would happily repurchase this over and over again.

Farmacy Honey Halo Hydrating Ceramide Moisturizer – This is the one of the best moisturizers I’ve tried for my super dry skin. It’s incredibly thick but still absorbs super quickly and plays well with my other night time skincare products. Usually by this time of year, my skin starts to get flaky and itchy because it’s so dry, but I’ve had no issues since I’ve been using this. I find that I need so little of this that it lasts me way longer than I expect, which is good because it’s one of the moisturizers I don’t want to be without in my routine. The only thing I don’t love about this is that it’s hard to get the last bits out of the jar, but I will definitely put up with that for how well this works for my skin.

Prequel Skin Utility Ointment – This is a multi-purpose ointment hydrates dry, cracked, chapped, and chafed skin that I use on my face but also my cuticles, lips, and sometimes even places like my elbows. This feels so much better as a last layer on my skin than an oil or something like vaseline but works so well to keep moisture in overnight. It’s not sticky or heavy at all, and I can tell a huge difference between when I’ve been home using it vs not having it with me while travelling. It somehow even works for my super dry skin to help with my moisture barrier even if I only use one moisturizer (which I almost never do but sometimes I’m just so tired).

Royal Tulip Moisturizing Nectar – As much as I love all these products, this one is hands down my favorite (although I do really love having both this and the Prequel Ointment to switch between). This is the most tenacious slugging product I’ve ever used – seriously, it will absolutely still be on your face the next morning, and you will notice it if you don’t wash it off. If I need extreme moisturization or know it will be particularly dry overnight, this is my go to last step. It starts out the texture of thick honey and turns into more of a serum texture as it warms up on your skin (and so doesn’t stay sticky). My skin feels so much softer and hydrated in the morning!

Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see here on LiftBakeLove, and thanks for reading! As always, some links may be affiliate links that support the blog, but all reviews/opinions are completely my own and unsponsored.

Best Body Moisturizers for Dry Skin During Pregnancy

by liftbakeloveLeave a Comment on Best Body Moisturizers for Dry Skin During Pregnancy

I’m already 30 weeks into pregnancy and couldn’t be more excited, but my skin is drier and itchier than ever. I have a bunch of friends who are going through super dry skin issues (pregnant or otherwise) so I wanted to put together this list of what’s been working really well for me. As far as I know, these are all pregnancy-safe as well! Thank you so much for being here, and it would mean so much to me if you subscribe here for new posts. All links in this post are affiliate links, and if you choose to shop through them, thanks for supporting the blog!

My go to body lotions and oils:

Osea Undaria Algae Body Butter and Saltair Body Lotion in Exotic Pulp– I’m pairing these (and the next two) together because they are almost interchangeable. I’m so glad I have both, but one of them is definitely the luxury version and the other is the budget version. The Osea body butter is the most luxurious, thick, and effective body butter I’ve ever tried. It’s next level moisturizing, and if I could, I’d use it everywhere every day. The Saltair Body Lotion is slightly less moisturizing despite being a fantastic body lotion. I can definitely notice a difference between the body butter texture and lotion texture. That said, both sink in really quickly, apply easily, and provide lasting dry skin relief. They also both have an amazing citrus scent that I love and that makes me want to use them. My husband and I both agree that the Saltair scent is definitely better, and I absolutely love that it comes in a huge pump bottle. The Osea is about $8 per ounce and the Saltair is about $1 per ounce, so when I run out of the Osea, I think I’ll be relying on the Saltair for my citrus scented body lotion needs.

Osea Undaria Algae Body Oil and Saltair Nourishing Body Oil in Exotic Pulp – These two are even more similar than the lotions. If I didn’t love the Saltair scent so much, I don’t think I’d be able to notice a difference if I used these with my eyes closed. These are both incredibly nourishing body oils that absorb easily and make my skin feel amazing. I’ve noticed a huge difference since using the lotion and oil combo on my skin. If I just use the lotions, I have to apply a few times a day, but when I use the oils on top, I can get away with a once a day body moisturizing session. And with my incredibly dry skin now, that’s a huge deal. The Osea is about $10 per ounce and the Saltair is about $5 an ounce. The packaging is equally lovely between the two, although the Saltair is better for travel. If you want to treat yourself, the Osea oil is fantastic, but I’m truly so happy with the Saltair.

What I’ve added to my shower routine so I don’t walk out of the shower with super dry and itchy skin:

Saltair Body Wash in Exotic Pulp – My skin has felt so much better post-shower since I started using this body wash. It smells exactly the same as the lotion and oil which is amazing, but what I love most about this body wash is its gentle and hydrating formula. It lathers up beautifully and leaves my skin feeling incredibly soft and refreshed, without any dryness or irritation. I noticed an improvement in the overall texture and hydration of my skin after just a few uses which is really impressive considering how dry and itchy my skin has gotten. I also love the packaging with the pump – it’s so easy to use in the shower. Of course, it’s also affordable at $15 for a huge bottle.

Frida Mom In Shower Lotion – Obviously this was made exactly for my use case, but it really does do exactly what I need. I don’t have to apply lotion right after I shower with the body wash and this, which is awesome because I really need a nap now after I shower. You apply this directly on wet skin, rinse, and then you’re good to go. It doesn’t have a strong fragrance so it doesn’t counteract the Saltair, and the packaging is really easy to use. This isn’t very expensive, and I would pay a lot more for it because of how effective it is. I honestly think I’ll continue to use this even after pregnancy so I don’t have to think about putting on lotion right after the shower (which I never do anyway even if I really should).

When I want something fragrance free and need a break from the Osea and Saltair products (I love the scents but they are quite strong), this is the quick but effective routine I use instead:

Good Molecules B5 Hydrating Body Serum – I love how incredibly lightweight and fast absorbing this is. Of all the products on this list, this is the one I notice the least. If I need an extra boost of hydration before the other lotions or oils, this is now my go to. Not only is it really affordable, it really does help with hydration and helping with how dry and itchy my skin is right now. It’s not greasy or sticky, and I love that it comes in a pump. I didn’t notice any fragrance or have any issues with this. It does look like a bunch of people had a reaction to this product when I reach the reviews, so if you’re going to get this, I recommend patch testing first just in case.

Prequel Barrier Therapy – This is a huge bottle (10oz) for only $18, and you can use it on both your face and body (which I do). This is one of my favorite moisturizers to use literally all over. It makes my skin feel so great, helps with itchiness, doesn’t irritate my skin at all, and is just super soothing. When I’m having a particularly bad skin day, this is always what I reach for. I surprisingly haven’t had an eczema flare ups since using this, which has been really surprising given how wonky my skin has been otherwise. If I had to pick one thing from this list to recommend to anyone, it would be the Barrier Therapy. This product does sell out quite often but I find it comes back quickly – just make sure you sign up for the waitlist!

What’s your best dry skin products for particularly dry and irritated skin? Thanks for reading, and let me know what you’d like to see next in the comments!