The Skincare Nerd's Gift Guide

This week we are talking Gift Guides. That’s right, I’m bringing you four Gift Guides this week. Last year I did one big Gift Guide, but this year I’m breaking it up into four different ones and I hope come back each day and check them out!

Up first is going to be for the skincare loving guy or gal! Whether your budget is big or small, these items are great if you are looking for a gift for someone who truly enjoys taking care of their skin.

1. Expensive Mask:

   The holidays are the perfect time to get someone the expensive mask you know they will not buy for themselves. Here I’ve linked a few that I absolutely love that are worth the larger price tag.

   1. Herbivore Botanicals Blue Tansy (Great for oily/acne prone skin types)

   2. Farmacy Honey Potion Mask (Great for dry/aging skin)

   3. Korres Wild Rose Vitamin C Sleeping Facial (Great for brightening)

2. Mask Brush/ Mask Bowl:

   Sometimes certain face masks require mixing in a small dish and a gift like this is really nice to receive. Make sure that the brush has synthetic fibers though because they won’t be porous and soak in moisture. This set is a great option!

3. Gift Certificate for a facial or other skincare treatment:

   Facials can be a treat that we don’t often buy for ourselves, so receiving one as a gift can be really nice! Make sure you do your research and ask around your area to get specific details and recommendations on who is the best in your area. The last thing you want to do is gift a bad experience!

4. Skincare Tools:

   If someone is into skincare products but hasn’t experimented with tools, try getting an ice or jade roller for their face. It’s a fun way to step up your skincare game and use something that you might not have bought yourself.

5. Satin Pillowcases:

   These are great for both your hair or your skin. The satin allows you to glide smoothly over the pillow when you’re sleeping, and reduce the tugging on your face.

6. Headbands for Doing Skincare Routine:

   This one would be a great add on or stocking stuffer. If the skincare junkie you’re shopping for loves to do a lot of face masks, a headband like this one would be perfect to keep their hair away from their face when doing treatments.

7. ‘Eat Beautiful’ Cookbook:

   I absolutely adore this cookbook because of all of the information on specific foods and how they benefit the skin. If your skincare nerd loves to cook, this would be a great gift to incorporate beauty into their diet.

8. Aveda Shammy:

   This cloth by Aveda is great for removing masks, products, etc from the face without scratching the surface of your skin. I used these in school and love them so much! I use mine at home all the time. Plus you can throw them in the washing machine to clean them!

9. Sheet Masks:

   I usually buy a big set of face masks every year and give a few to everyone I’m giving gifts to. No one can ever have enough sheet masks because they are one time use. They are a must have for stocking stuffers.

10. Gift Cards to Ulta/ Sephora/ Target/ Amazon/ Dermastore:

    When in doubt, buy your favorite skincare nerd a gift card to go buy more skincare. I know that gift cards can sometimes seem impersonal, but if you buy one and say ‘this is for you to pick out a new face mask or cleanser’ specifically, it can make the gift feel more personalized. I promise you that no skincare junkie will be sad about money they have to spend on more facial products.

As you can probably tell, I didn’t want to just focus on skincare product recommendations. I wanted to try to recommend more detailed gifts besides the obvious ones. Of course when in doubt shower everyone you love in Rosehip Oil. hahaha (Did you really think I could get through a skincare gift guide without mentioning it? haha)

Coming soon also, I’ll have a Makeup Lover’s G.G., my Top Cookbooks to Gift, and stocking stuffers!

Andrea

Disclosure: Amazon links are Amazon Affiliate links meaning that I make a commission off the purchase of the product through my link. I would never recommend a product that I didn't love and all opinions are my own. I am thankful for you choosing to purchase through my links, as it helps me create more content for Andrea Fontana Beauty.

How do I love Glossier? Let me count the ways.

Did I already spoil this post with the title? 

I have known about Glossier for years, but had never purchased anything due to the abundance of products I already had. Once I quit my job and trying new things became fun again, I knew that Glossier was next on my list to try. The main reason I love Glossier is that their skincare and makeup ideas resonate closely with mine; healthy and effective skincare that gives you a glowing look, and makeup products that simply accentuate this natural and healthy vibe. All of their products are easy to use and many are multi-use which allows the modern woman to easily incorporate them into her fast paced and busy life. 

With the release of Solution, a exfoliating toner, I knew the time had come for me to place my first order. We all know how much I love a good exfoliating toner.  I didn't want to go too crazy, so I only purchased 3 things with my first order. If you are new to my blog or videos, these three items are very reflective of my favorite types of products. I ordered Boy Brow (a tinted brow gel) in Black, Haloscope (a stick highlighter) in Moonstone, and Solution (the exfoliating toner). 

I wanted to use the products for a little while, especially the toner in order to give you honest feedback and I'm obsessed with all three. If you want to see how I use the two makeup products be sure to click this link and watch my Everyday Glowing Skin Tutorial Video because I show how I use both of those items in it. 

Boy Brow: I freaking love brows. That is no secret. So I am extremely picky when it comes to new brow products. Boy Brow is naturally what I think of when I think of Glossier because they are known for this product, so this was an obvious place for me to start when deciding what to order. I got the shade black because I knew it would be very cool-toned (I cannot stand a warm brow with my coloring)  and it is a perfect match for me. As you know I have a history with Benefit Cosmetics and used to live for Gimme Brow for it's ease and ability to thicken the appearance of brows quickly. I can honestly say I love Boy Brow more (Plus it's cheaper...just sayin' haha). I feel like it never makes my brows look wet and my hairs still look very much like brow hairs, just thicker and darker. For me it's extremely undetectable and not opaque, so it gives me a very natural and full brow appearance. If you do not have very full brows, I would still recommend this product for you, I would just use a pencil afterwards to fill in the areas that you are lacking a little hair.

Haloscope: I heard about this product from Katie Hughes, a makeup artist, and she said that she loved it, specifically in the shade Moonstone, because it made the skin look wet and I cannot agree with her more. It's not sparkly, it's a sheen that gives your skin such a healthy and dewy look. I love to swirl my middle and ring fingers together around it in and dab it on my cheekbones and it's just heaven. Some people apply it straight from the stick, but I feel like this moves my makeup around too much and requires me to need to blend it out more. 

Solution: I was nervous to swap out my old exfoliating toner (The Dermadoctor Ain't Misbehavin' one) for this one, because I was nervous for breakouts to come back, but I can say that I feel like the transition was an easy one. I knew my old toner wasn't clean and that I would have to get rid of it (click here to read my post on cleaning out the chemicals in my skincare). Solution has Glycolic and Lactic acids in it (the AHA's and the stars of my old toner) but also has salicylic acid (BHA) and Gluconolactone (PHA), which I think is key for my acne staying at bay; I like the combo of different acids working together. I love the packaging because it keeps things sanitary, but my only critique is that I feel like one pump is not enough toner for my face, but 2 pumps is too many. Am I the only one who feels this way? Comment below if you agree or disagree. Solution is also much cheaper than my old toner, so this change is great! If you have regular breakouts, dry skin, little white heads from oil buildup, or other texture issues, I highly recommend this product. 

Have you tried anything from Glossier before? If you want 10% off your first order be sure to click this link! Up next on my list to try are the new Lidstar Eye Glows, the Stretch Concealer, the Cloud Paint Cheek Colors and the Skin Tint! I will be sure to keep you guys updated as I try more stuff from this brand because so far, I'm LOVING it!

Have a beautiful weekend,

Andrea

Science of Skincare (S.O.S. #3): What is Cell Turnover and Why Should I Care About it?

Welcome back!

Today I am going to be educating you on what cell turnover is and why you should care about yours. If you aren't that familiar with the skin and don't spend much time taking care of it, this is extremely important for you to know about. Cell turnover is huge when it comes to combating aging and keeping your skin healthy and glowing.  I will be talking about exfoliation as well a little later on because it is a vital step in maintaining good cell turnover. If your mind immediately goes to apricot scrub, PLEASE do not stop reading this (also please throw it in the trash). 

So what is cell turnover? It's the process of new cells being created in the lowest level of the epidermis and moving outwards towards the outermost layers, to where they will eventually slough off as dead skin cells. When targeted, it can help with so many skin issues which is helpful when trying to combat more than one issue at a time.

As we age, the time that it takes for a cell to move through this process and become a dead skin cell lengthens, meaning your cells aren't renewing as quickly. This is why skin starts to lose it's glow as we age. The dead skin cells can sit on the surface causing your skin to look dull and can prevent products from penetrating well. No matter how much you try to, you cannot hydrate a dead skin cell. Ever wondered why a baby's bottom is so smooth? They have ridiculous rates of cell proliferation and their skin cells turnover very quickly. Did I just depress you? Hopefully I can bring your spirits back up by telling you how exfoliation can combat aging!

Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. It can be done by buffing, scrubbing, chemically breaking down different components of the skin and more. It's generally broken down into two different categories of physical and chemical exfoliation; physical being those that buff or scrub the dead skin cells away and chemical being those that dissolve the keratin or other cells to get rid of the dead skin cells. The exact type of exfoliation that you need is completely dependent on your skin and preferences (although if you've read previous posts you probably already know that I believe in chemical over physical for most).  

If you're going to use a physical exfoliator you want to make sure that the ingredients creating the exfoliation can dissolve (i.e. sugar, jojoba beads (made of wax),etc.). Things like apricot scrubs can cause micro-tears in the skin so please don't use them EVER. If you have any acne you definitely want to stray away from physical exfoliation because it can spread bacteria and increase inflammation. 

Chemical exfoliators are what I believe to be the most ideal for most skin types. I prefer to gently exfoliate a little bit every day instead of doing a really harsh form of exfoliation once in a while. This ensures that my cells are turning over consistently. I like it too because of the added benefits of keeping my pores unclogged and my skin less likely to break out. To do this, I recommend a few different types of products. You could use AHA's, BHA's, fruit enzymes, rice enzyme powders, or Retinoids, just to name a few. They vary in strength and carry other benefits besides exfoliation. For example, Glycolic Acid is my favorite AHA and while it's great for gently exfoliating my skin (I use it in my toner every night with Lactic Acid), it also helps stimulate collagen, thicken my skin, and aids in moisture retention for my skin. Some fruit enzymes can also contain brightening properties. If you have more questions about which chemical exfoliant is right for you, please send me an email or message and I'd be happy to help you. Below I've listed some examples of these chemical exfoliators (**Amazon links are affiliate links meaning I make a percentage of the sale if purchased through my link. If this makes you uncomfortable please feel free not to use. If you do, thank you! Your support helps me bring more content to you!)

Here's a quick list of benefits in speeding up cell turnover regarding different skin issues:
1. Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (i.e. acne scarring): increasing cell turnover helps bring darkened and damaged cells to the surface and the scarring fades. 
2. Sun Damage: depending on the amount of damage, increasing cell turnover can fade and lighten sun spots.
3. Dry skin: product absorption is much more effective when there are no dead skin cells building up on the surface.
4. Aging: serums and treatment products are more effective because they can penetrate.
5. Acne: pores are less likely to become trapped with dirt and oil and house bacteria, if dead skin cells aren't sitting on the surface. 
6. Dullness: removing dead skin cells can remove the dull look of your skin and bring back your glow. Newer cells just simply look better than old ones. 
7. Fine Lines: plumper and newer cells will decrease the appearance of fine lines. 

I hope you learned more about your skin today and what you can do to combat aging and keep it healthy! As always, leave a comment below with requests for more S.O.S. topics that you'd like to see.

Until the next post,

Andrea