Buckling down on my skin care routine for winter!

Anybody else lazy or inconsistent with their skin care routine? I'm guilty of this. But my skin has always looked its best when it is exfoliated and moisturized, so Annick is going to have to make an effort.

Here's my current usual routine.

Morning: 
- Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser
- That's it.

Yes, that's right, no moisturizer. It's a sin.

Night: 
- Say Yes to Cucumbers Facial wipe for makeup removal OR Bioderma. I make sure that my eye makeup is FULLY removed. Cleanse with Cetaphil to remove any residue.
- I usually spritz my face with Caudalie Eau de Beauté.
- Sometimes I moisturize with my Nuxe Crème Prodigieuse.

That's it! I really should be ashamed. I don't do much to my skin, and it shows.

I would like my skin care to look like this.

Morning:
- Cleanse with Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser
- Moisturize with Nuxe Crème Prodigieuse

Night:
- Ditch the use of facial wipes, and use Bioderma for makeup removal. It is much less irritating to my skin.
- Cleanse with the Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser + Clarisonic OR cleanse with a non-abrasive exfoliating cleanser. Point is, re-introduce regular exfoliation to my routine. My skin loves being exfoliated.
- Use a non-drying toner such as the Caudalie Eau de Beauté regularly
- Moisturize every night with the Nuxe Crème Prodigieuse, or a heavier moisturizer.

Weekly:
- Do a clay-type face mask once a week, or more.

Goals:
- Introduce some type of exfoliating cleanser when the Clarisonic feels a bit too much.
- Hopefully introduce a night cream as it gets colder.
- Perhaps find a gentler makeup remover than my Bioderma ... like a cleansing balm. They've always intrigued me (I may or may not have an Antipodes cleansing balm on its way to me right now).

I feel like my skin easily goes on oil-production overdrive if I don't keep moisturizer in my routine. And I'm such a lazy bum when it comes to applying it.

Winter always wreaks havoc on my skin. As an oily skinned gal, my skin become oily and flaky by the end of the day, yet tight and dry at other times - it's just terrible. This is why it becomes important for me to crack the whip!

Do you have any skin care goals for winter? Does your routine change dramatically?

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A (mini) Nuxe review

Not too long ago, I saw a Nuxe travel bag, with various sample sized Nuxe goodies in it at my local Shoppers Drug Mart. It was only $15 and was going to give me the chance to try out some of this coveted brand's products so I thought I should get it, just for fun. It turned out to be way more awesome that I had bargained for.

First off, Nuxe products have quite a strong scent, so before you purchase some of their items, I strongly suggest you take a sniff at them first, especially if you're sensitive to scents in general. I like it, but it did take me a few tries to get used to it.

The travel bag consisted of the following: 
- Crème Prodigieuse Normal Skin to Combination face moisturizer
- Rêve de Miel Hand and Nail Cream
- Huile Prodigieuse
- Rêve de Miel Face and Body Cleansing Gel
- Eau Démaquillante Micellaire

As you can see from the pictures, the Rêve de Miel Face and Body Wash has been completely used up. You can't tell from the picture but my hand cream and face cream are almost empty. This post is a long-winded way to say that I absolutely love each of these products. So much in fact, that the Crème Prodigieuse has been repurchased in its full size glory.

First off, I think I can honestly say that the Rêve de Miel face and body wash is the best face wash I've ever used. Once I'm done with my inferior Spectro-Jel and Cetaphil, this will be purchased, I guarantee you. This cleanser is strikes the perfect balance of a thorough cleanse without stripping my oily skin. It does have a slight foaming action (however, Nuxe claims this does not contain any soaps) and works wonderfully with my Clarisonic. Again, this is quite heavily scented, and in my opinion, it does take a point off this product. However, I did get used to it with time and I didn't necessarily like the smell to start with (I hate the smell of honey in general) but grew to really really like it. It's quite a comforting smell to me now! Even though this can be used on the body, I used it on my face only. I'd be curious to try is as a body wash though!

The Rêve de Miel Hand Cream is delicious - it's moisturizing, sinks in well, and it does not leave your hands feeling oily. However, again, this is quite heavily scented and I cannot use it at the office (my boss is sensitive to smells). I use it at home a lot tough. I don't think I'll repurchase this hand cream because I find the Almond Hand Cream from the Body Shop more moisturizing. Plus, I have about 50 tubes of various hand cream lying around the house - I have to use them! A 75ml tube retails for 17$.

I don't know if anyone has read the great review on Cafe Makeup about the Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse? This is what influenced my to try this product but I wasn't sure I wanted the full size version, hence the trial size. Well after having tested it out for a month or so, it is prodigieux, to say the least. This thing is AMAZING, I kid you not. This soothes my freshly waxed or shaved legs, leaves my hair shiny, and soothes any dry skin patches. Amazing. It sinks in almost immediately, and you only need a tiny amount. I've used it at least 10 times and it hasn't made a dent in the bottle. If you have dry and uncomfortable skin, I think you would get a lot of use out of this product. I personally do not have dry skin and was still able to find many uses for it, namely for legs, hands and hair. This has the typical Nuxe smell but I find the Huile Prodigieuse less scented than the other products.Their 50ml retail for 26$ in Canada.

Finding a moisturizer when you have oily skin, as I'm sure some of you know, is a pain. The Crème Prodigieuse Anti-Fatigue Moisturizing face cream is honestly the first face cream I've ever though actually works with my skin. It's quite thick and creamy in consistency, but then it sinks in wonderfully on the skin, leaving your skin plump and moisturized, but matte in a natural finish sort of way. I really do kind of believe Nuxe's claim that it helps tired skin - I don't know what it is but my skin always feels fresh and awake when I put this on. I absolutely love it and, as mentioned, have already bought the full size version. Finally, a moisturizer that works! Again, this is quite scented, but it doesn't bother me, and the scent lingers for only a little while. I've tested the Normal to Combination skin Crème Prodigieuse, but they do make one for dry skin. A tube of 40ml is 32$ in Canada.

I haven't tested out the Eau Démaquillante Micellaire very much but so far so good - it takes off my makeup without much rubbing. However, I do like the fact that my Bioderma is unscented and takes off the very heaviest of makeup without much trouble. I'll probably only use this Eau Démaquillante for little to no makeup days where I just need refresher. It's very good - I'm just not as taken by this product as the other Nuxe goodies I've tested. The full size 200ml bottle of this is 22$ in Canada.

Damn Nuxe, you really know your stuff! My apologies for this long winded review, but in my honest blogger opinion, these products are amazing. If you're not sure where to venture with Nuxe, I'd suggest you try out the Huile Prodigieuse first as it has so many great uses.

I hope this was helpful in some way to you! I'm in the process of testing out a few other Nuxe products, including their famous Rêve de Miel balm. I haven't been disappointed yet by this brand... now if only they could lower their prices (significantly!) so that I can purchase all their products, that would be swell.