Most students at my University live in a suite style apartment. The closest thing to a traditional dorm that’s left at my University is the Greek housing where 3 or 4 people share a bedroom and there’s either 1 large bathroom or two rooms will share a bathroom. Regardless of the design or layout, there just isn’t enough space to have a ton of skincare or even makeup. There just isn’t the space for 3 cleansers (not to mention your roommates will use your stuff, I promise it’ll happen). Only the most essential, biggest bang for your buck product should end up in your skin care box. Links do include affiliate links with Amazon.com. Or in you’re in the UK Amazon.co.uk. This is not sponsored content and reviews are as always my own.
For my time in college, everything was multi-purpose and fast. If a product could actually do two things then that was aweesome.
1. Clean that face honey. Clarisonic it up.
I swear by mine. If you haven’t read it, here’s my review of the Clarisonic Smart Profile. My face is super clean and my dead, flaky skin is removed. I can be half asleep and as long as I move my brush around properly and hit every spot I know it’s clean. I may or may not have been able to fully clean my face when coming home from the bar. I am a dedicated cleanser. They are 100% worth their investment and I have bought so many ridiculous skincare things.
You can’t find the Smart Profile anymore (DISCOUNTINUED!!!!!) the Mia Smart is the replacement but they still sell the brush heads for the older design. Personally, I prefer the Smart Profile because the brush head is smaller and it gets into the smaller features of my face like my nose easier. When I wrote that the Mia Smart had JUST been released. I’m using mine until it’s done/dead/out. That’s had a huge impact on how pretty my skin is. #nohumility
The Mia Smart also removes several brushes from your makeup brush set. Since it has a blending brush attachment, it gives that flawless foundation look and works for liquid blushes, bronzer and highlighter as well.
If you can’t afford the Mia Smart they also have the Mia Prima($99), Mia I ($129) and the Mia Fit ($219). You can use it in the shower, the charge lasts me about a week. The brush heads do last approximately 3 months and cost $27 each to refill. I can start washing my face while my shower is heating up. And sometime in the dorms……. with those old pipes and lots of people showering (typically at the same time), that can sometimes take awhile.
This really does work well for men and women. It decreases the amount of redness in my husband’s face. Guys there is a Clarisonic designed just for your, but honestly any these models will work.
2. A Good Facial Spray
If you’re in a rush, these give you that little bit of moisturizer to rehydrate your skin so you can sprint out the door. If you get the mineral water facial sprays there’s other benefits like decreasing redness and irritation. But it takes all of 5 seconds to spray and run out the door. If you read my Bathing in the French Court post I went over the perks of using mineral water facial sprays. Facial sprays are by no means a new thing. It’s been around forever. I’ve also updated my French Skincare Philosophies post to include more French skin care companies. There are a lot of French skin care companies that make facial sprays. Just sayin’.
List of Facial Sprays I use and enjoy:
I’ve used more but they’re much more expensive and I don’t feel a difference between the less expensive and more expensive product. Honestly, a lot of these you can get at TJ Maxx which a lot of college towns have today.
Guys you may think this is only for the ladies and ‘not masculine enough’ if your face feels tight after you wash it, it might be worth a good facial spray. They don’t smell super girly either. My husband uses the Caudalie Grape Water Facial Spray and he’s a big broad Marine.
3. Embryolisse Lait-creme Concentre
Dermstore is the only place I’ve ever bought this facial cream but it’s heaven on my skin. I do have dry skin so I can put it on pretty thick. But this magical cream doubles as a primer. Embryolisse Lait-creme Concentre has a cult following in France and they take their skin care very seriously. A little does go a long way with this cream. I’d stay away if you have very oily skin. I don’t like heavy silicone primers or moisturizers and this just blends and blurs my skin beautifully. Top with a BB or CC cream or a tinted sunscreen and I’m flying out the door.
For the guys, this works for you too. For a lighter drug store moisturizer CeraVe does make a good one that works well on men’s skin, it’s just too heavy for most women’s skin in my opinion. If it’s too heavy for mine I can almost guarantee it’s too heavy for about 90% of women out there and I can use La Mer’s Creme de la Mer every night and not breakout. That moisturizer is notorious for breaking out people’s skin.
2. Microfiber Makeup removal pad
Face Halo is what every YouTuber seems to have but like everything is life, there’s cheaper alternatives every. Amazon has some has several but I really like this one here. You get 7 in 3 colors and it even has a laundry ag and eye pads as well. It’s the one I bought. But if you want the original you can purchase it here for a 3 pack at $22. Or you can get 7 for less than $20 here.
Guys these work well as a gentle exfoliant too.
3. Micellar Water for Makeup Remover/ Face Wash
Besides removing makeup these also do an awesome job of cleaning your face in the morning. Especially if you’re running late in the morning. Throw this on a pad, hair in bun, sweatpants away and you can wash and walk to class. I never did that, ever…… ok I did this all the way through my freshman year. I do this now when I’m running late to work and I can drive and wipe. Thankfully it’s rare for me to wear anything more than sunscreen to work and I have an extra tube of that at my desk.
There’s only two micellar waters that I use:
1. Garnier SkinActive Micellar Water
2. Bioderma SensiBio H2O
Garnier SkinActive does come in a formula for All Skin Types, and Waterproof Makeup Removal. There’s also one that’s mattifying that I’ve never felt was mattifying. The cheaper deal is actually at Amazon.
Like Garnier, Bioderma also has a formula for All Skin Types, Waterproof Makeup, and mattifying.
I’ve only been able to find Bioderma in the US on Amazon. For those in the UK: Click here to take you to the Bioderma store on Amazon.co.uk
4. Simple, gentle cleanser.
Cleanser is one of those things you can and should have two of. I keep 3 in my rotation and have forever. I use an oil based cleanser, a water based cleanser, and an emulsion type cleanser. With those 3 I hit everything I need to from a skincare sense. I use my emulsion cleanser in the morning since all I need to do is wash my evening skincare away and then I have my oil based and water based for a deeper clean I do at night.
For my emulsion cleanser I use Shiseido’s Creamy Emulsion Cleanser (you can find this at TJ Maxx for 50% off). I actually have 5 emulsioin cleansers that I’m playing around with right now. My favorite drugstore product is La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Facial Wash. The biggest problem I’ve had with emulsion type cleansers is to get a complete rinse. Cetaphil, CeraVe, and Peter Thomas Roth’s Water Drench cleansers just don’t feel like they rinse away from my face. When I use a micellar water after washing with these 3, it always comes back with residue on it. But I’d still try Cetaphil and CeraVe to see if it works for your skin type. My husband uses CeraVe and he loves it, so it’s just something specific to my skin. Men: Men seem to like Cetaphil and CeraVe a little more than women based on observation. I just should probably do a quick poll and see what people thing.
5. A solid BB cream
You’ll be surprised how amazing your face will look with just a BB cream. It just takes way too long to go full makeup in the morning. For most people it’s quite drying for you skin. And frankly, it’s just really hard to get all that makeup off my face. Double cleanse nothing, it still doesn’t want to come off. You’ll be up late studying or your roommate will keep you up so a simple quick makeup routine can do all the wonders. All I continue to do is a BB touch up with a little concealer where I need it, typically under the eyes and a little over the eye lid. I do match my concealer to my skin tone instead of going lighter. When I go lighter I always feel like I require bronzer/blush/highlight combo to add color to the cheeks and that just defeats the purpose of quick and easy makeup.
I wear Maybelliene’s Dream True BB cream which has salicylic acid because who doesn’t want clean pores? It’s a medium coverage but has no SPF so add that one.
Guys you can use a BB cream too. In South Korea it isn’t uncommon at all for guys to wear a little BB cream. Think of it as a bit of a filter. When done right it blends effortlessly into the skin. In North America is almost unheard of for guys to wear a BB/CC/DD cream but many offer really good skin care benefits especially if you have a problem with acne and dry skin. Don’t want to believe me? Check out FashionBeans who specifically addresses men’s grooming concerns and has several suggestions of BB creams men can easily use.
6. Coffee
Tired? Welcome to COLLEGE!!!! Those BB creams help cover up the sleep deprivation but a good cup of coffee just gets the motor going. Invest in coffee. 20 oz or less has great antioxidant benefits for the body. Caffeine do good stuff for the skin when applied topically. It’s a good stimulant in the morning or afternoon (or all the time for me). Running to the energy drink aisle is a huge no-no for me. It’s horrible for your cardiovascular system (and skin for that matter) and you need that in tip top shape to make it through college. Football games last awhile, you’re not going to sit down and you will walk several miles on campus at a speed walk in the heat of August. Skip the energy drinks, grab a Venti coffee, and try to keep the Red Bull to a minimum (but Red Bull and Vodka is still a good after studying adult beverage).
Honest to goodness, a cost saving form of coffee that is quick is a Nespresso. Between my husband and I we spend around $110 a month on Nespresso pods. That’s $55 a month each. That’s 2 weeks worth of lattes at the campus coffee shop/ Starbucks. And you can cut open those Nespresso pods add sugar and olive oil and you can your own body scrub and those are crazy expensive (Frank and Body are $18 a piece). You can save $100 or more a month purchasing a Nespresso.
If you don’t like the taste of black coffee International Delight makes a great caramel macchiato creamer that’s lactose-free. #celebratelactoseintolerance
7. Tinted Sunscreen
I have 10,000 sunscreens. But my two favorite are Supergoop’s Zinc Screen SPF 40 ($42) with the Supergoop! Setting powder ($30) which has an SPF of 45 that I use throughout the day and it lives in my purse. For roughly the same price I also use Dior’s Capture Dreamskin Cushion ($82) when I want that perfect flawless dewy look. The Dior Dreamskin does give an amazing look but it is absolutely NOT a foundation so anyone reviewing it as a foundation clearly didn’t read packaging. It’s strictly a UVA/UVB sunscreen (SPF 50) and skin care ingredients. I also use LaRoche Posay’s SPF 50. The active sunscreen is titanium dioxide so for those who refuse to use anything unless it has zinc oxide in it you’ll want to look at the Supergood! Zinc Screen. The other con is that the tint is rather impressively yellow. I can wear it because I have a more neutral undertone, but my mom who is more pink, it makes her look like she’s dying. It looks horrible on her.For pink undertoned peoples, look for the untinted.
I am a huge fan for the SPF 45-50 range. The difference between a 35 and a 50 isn’t much. It’s really nothing which is why dermatologists suggest an SPF 35 or above. The only reason I favor SPF 50 is because I know I don’t apply enough product. You’re suppose to apply a dime sized or more of product and I just don’t hit it so in realty I’m getting something closer to an SPF 35.
These are just a few of the things I think help a college students skincare. At the 18-23 range, anti aging isn’t a problem but preventing it is which is why you’ll hear me harp on sunscreen so much. I wish I would’ve worn more in my youth because now I can see that sun damage start to creep in along my hair line and it didn’t form overnight.
Hope everyone enjoys the read. Remember the links are affiliate codes for Amazon so if you could make a purchase or two from that it would help this blog (and keep my Amazon Affiliate codes active).
Love y’all.
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