The Skincare Routine that Changed my Life
So excited to be partnering with Paula’s Choice today for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.
Although I’ve never suffered from severe acne, my whole life I have been plagued by what I dubbed “bumpy skin.” For as long as I can remember, I have always had texture on my cheeks: small, tiny bumps that weren’t painful or had pimple heads, but just never went away. Wearing foundation would usually make them more visible and it was incredibly frustrating to have skin that was so rough. On top of that, when I did get a pimple, it would almost always be a cystic pimple and left me with several scars along my upper lip and forehead. So, while my skin has never been full blown acne, I’ve still struggled with several issues and have never felt confident with how it looked.
I’ll admit, after trying several skin care regimens in high school, I gave up trying to find something that was going to work for me. I completely gave up. I slept in my makeup. I dealt with more breakouts. My cheeks had more texture and became super splotchy. There was one day (right after I had met Dustin) that I skipped all my classes because I had a huge cystic pimple on my upper lip that had blown up overnight and I was so embarrassed to show up to class and sit next to him with it (I still have a scar from popping it way too early.) I spent a lot of time hating my skin and with my left knee and my scars, really feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.
It’s only in the last 6 months, after regaining some confidence back in my leg and learning to be more confident in showing off my scar, that I decided to work on getting my skin to a better place. I started spending money on skin care over makeup and trying different cleansers and masks. I saw a little bit of improvement but nothing Earth shattering. So, when the team at PRIMP (Pretty in my Pocket) reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in trying out Paula’s Choice Skincare, I decided to go for it, because what did I have to loose?
Right from the get go, my experience with Paula’s Choice was very positive and exciting. I got to have a free consultation on the phone with a representative, who asked me about my skin type (dry-normal) and what my concerns were. I told her all about my textured skin, my blotchy red patches and my large pores and she immediately customized my skin care routine to address my concerns. She explained why she was picking out each product for me, how it would address my skin issues and how to use them. The phone call took 7 minutes tops and I hung up feeling like someone really cared about my skin and really wanted to send me products that would work.
So, I waited and within TWO business days, my new skin care regimen was at my door! How’s that for a turnaround?! I immediately opened my box and looked at all my new products with glee and felt a bit overwhelmed. There were a LOT of different products and I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep them all straight. Thankfully, Paula’s Choice sent me nifty little stickers to help me label each product for AM or PM use! It took me a few minutes to figure it all out and label them, but once I had stickered them up, it was easy to know which products to use and when.
My consultant sent me the complete Skin Recovery System to help with my dry and uneven skin and then sent me their skin perfecting 2% BHA Liquid to help reduce redness and even out my skin texture. I’ll admit, this routine is a little extreme (aka, a couple steps) but after going through it for a few days, it became a habit to just reach for each product and not feel like it was taking forever.
The Skin Recovery System included the following stand out products:
Skin Recovery Softening Cream Cleanser-
Since I’m going through winter in Arizona, my dry skin is 10x dryer and it’s been such a battle finding a cleanser that doesn’t dry me out even more. I was so surprised to find that the consistency of this cleanser was thick and milky, perfect for cleansing my skin without drying it out. I love that it’s gentle enough to use around my eyes and really takes the makeup and dirt off my face.
Skin Recovery Enriched Calming Toner-
I’ve never been a big toner person, because it seemed like an unnecessary step, but holy cow, this toner may be my favorite product in the whole line. After cleansing my face and patting it dry, I gently rub the toner over my face with a cotton swab and I swear I can SEE my skin becoming brighter, evening out and hydrating my skin right before my eyes. On days I shorten my skin care because of time, I make sure that I still use the toner.
Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum-
This is the other product that has completely stolen my heart in this line. Rubbing this honey-like serum into my skin feels like splurging in a luxury every night. It feels so rich and replenishing and I can feel it creating a protective barrier on my skin. Plus, it gives my skin a beautiful dewy finish, so on days I want to skip the foundation, I still can walk out of my house feeling fresh!
Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid
This. This is the stuff that has helped eliminate my texture and reduce it to next to nothing. I don’t know what magic is in this little bottle, but after using it every day for the last four weeks, my textured skin has reduced DRAMATICALLY. Putting on foundation is now my favorite part of my makeup routine because my foundation melts into my skin since it’s so smooth!
Paula’s Choice Skincare Review & Final Thoughts:
Even though this post is sponsored, I can honestly say that this skin care routine has changed my life, 100%. I don’t wake up every morning and feel so frustrated about the bumps on my cheeks or feel like I need to pile on the foundation to even out the redness. In the last two weeks, I have had 5 different people approach me at church and at the store just to compliment me on how beautiful my skin is. THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE!
Not only do I feel like I finally have products that are helping me treat exactly what I want to improve (and are actually working), these products are very affordable. For example, my once-a-week hydration mask retails for $21.00 where I’ve spent over $70.00 for a big name brand that did almost the same thing. I’ve learned that in order to really enjoy my makeup, I need to first take care of my skin and invest there. It makes it 10X easier to want to take care of my skin when I have products that do not break the bank.
Throughout the last four weeks of using this skin care, I’ve only had ONE cystic pimple and it was by far, the weirdest and most pleasant experience with a cystic pimple that I’ve ever had. It appeared suddenly one night, I went through my night time treatment with all of my Skin Recovery products, popped it and it was 90% gone the next morning. No swelling. Almost no redness. NO scarring. Basically, everything that I’ve come to expect with one of those pimples didn’t happen. I truly believe that I have Paula’s Choice to thank for that.
I’m going to keep on using these products for the next few months and can’t wait to update you and show you all how it continues to work!
If you’re still not convinced, Paula’s Choice offers a 100% back money guarantee (within 60 days) and they are cruelty-free. So basically, you have nothing to loose, except amazing skin.
Also, since PRIMP is hooking us up with this awesome deal, I’d love it if you checked out my profile there! PRIMP is an amazing community for beauty-lovers, where we can share our photos, reviews and favorite products all in one place. And, you can shop from your favorite Power Primpers (like meeee) right on the site!
Okay, let’s here it: Have you tried Paula’s Choice below? What skin issues do you struggle with?
