#pm routine

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The other night I was feeling the need for a sea-theme routine, and so a little double-masking seemed to be in order. I deep cleansed with the Dr. Jart+ Dermaclear Trans-Foam clay after the nooni Deep Sea Water cleanser, followed by Deep Sea Water Spray and Toner before the very fun and deeply saturated NO:HJ Pearl Modeling Foil mask. I feel like the "Modeling" part is a bit of a misnomer, however; I was expecting something much more rubber-based and it was still a pretty standard-seeming sheet mask with an extra shiny bonus. Once it all absorbed, which actually took a while because there was a LOT of essence in the sheet mask, I followed up with Deep Sea Water cream and a double-hit of salmon egg under-eye brightening: first the Botanic Farm eye gel pads and then the SkinFood eye cream to seal things in and keep it all plump and de-puffed. I also tried Instagram stories for the first time, and I'm not sure how I feel about it? I like the multiple-text options and the fact that I have a LOT more friends who are active and use Instagram, but the filters are lame and there's not really any good way to save snaps and videos for use later. So, we'll see. I'm pretty invested in Snapchat, but Insta has a lot more buy-in and a good convenience factor. I'd love to hear which one you all prefer: Snapchat or Instagram Stories?

Good lord it seems like it's been *actually forever* since I did a nighttime facial with a sheet mask, and truth be told, I'd kind of forgotten how much I enjoy the process and the ritual of it all before tucking in for the night. I haven't had the time or the energy to do a big mega-routine lately, but this quick, sugar-based routine was just what I needed to refresh and reset. I started out with The Skinfood's Black Sugar oil cleanser and foaming scrub face wash—usually I would throw the wash-off scrub mask in there too, but I didn't want to slough off too many layers all at once despite how grimy and clogged I felt after so long without a good nighttime exfoliation. So to up the cell turnover, I used Mizon's AHA & BHA toner, which I'm always a little afraid to use during the day so I save it for before bedtime just in case. I'm always pleasantly surprised at how little it burns and how well it preps for additional steps. Next came this Holika Holika Strawberry sheet mask. It was super saturated with lots of essence, but I got next to no strawberry scent out of it and the nose and mouth holes were comically large, leaving whole sections of my face uncovered. Still, it absorbed nicely and was the perfect complement to my beloved Botanic Farm Fermented Soybean Pudding Sleeping Pack. I slapped on a hearty dollop and woke up the next morning to a slightly brighter-looking and definitely more refreshed and rejuvenated mug. I've got to get my nighttime skincare routine back in the zone—it's been too long, y'all!

I was in the mood for something lazy & easy last night, so naturally, I needed some Gudetama in my life. I did a quick double-cleanse followed by the Gudetama peeling gel, which I'm pretty sure doesn't actually do anything; I still had some sebaceous filaments in my corner nose pores after a pretty rigorous rub, so that might actually be going in the trash. A spritz of lightweight toner next to prep for the sheet mask, which was a pretty standard-weight sheet and actually kind of burned a little bit the whole time I had it on. It wasn't a pleasant tingle, either, I ended up taking it off before my usual 30 minute mark. I had some red and irritation on my face as a result, but I gave it a breather as I did some salmon Hydrogel eye patches—I love these things but they are so slippery and slide-y that I can't do much when I have them on. Finally, a lightweight Mizon sleeping pack felt really soothing to slap on after all that Gude-trauma (GET IT), and some brightening salmon eye cream to get some moisture into my tired-ass eye area. So, not a super enjoyable regimen, tbh, but I did wake up a bit smoother and brighter, so maybe I just need to suck it up and get back into my regular evening regimen.

The My Beauty Diary Gold and Marine Collagen two-piece chinstrap mask didn’t feel like it did any actual “lifting” along my jawline (sigh), but it was fun to wear and absorbed nicely without residue or pilling. All in all, it was a nice, simple and effective regiment to get my mug ready for the week ahead.

I had way too much fun with Snapchat's Easter filters the other night. I wanted to do a quick and easy deep clean and lightweight moisture regimen, since it was warm enough to keep the windows open overnight. I do love the Innisfree green tea line, which was one of my first KBeauty purchases long ago, and is great for my combination skin the spring and summer months. I also actually used the Dr. Jart+ Trans-foam Clay as a cleanser (like you're supposed to) and it did a really nice job of cleansing without over-drying. We then proceeded to listen to the last episode of S-Town, however, so I proceeded to ugly-cry most of it all off anyway.

So the other night I really just wanted to do a "Jelly" regimen and try out one of my new fancy multi-step swab/sheet masks, the Meg Two-Step Jelly Mask. And HOT DAMN they ain't kidding when it comes to the jelly-ness of this particular mask! You can see some of it running down my neck there in the last photo—I have never seen or experienced so much extra-thick and extra-extra essence from any sheet mask, ever. In fact, I felt kind of dumb afterwards for not saving the pouch and all that extra and trying to recycle for another use. I got some in my eye when I was trying to slap the slippery thing on, and that was unpleasant, but overall I really liked how well it all finally absorbed after about 45 minutes on, and how plump and soft and prepped for more product my face felt afterwards. I'm not sure if the lactic acid swab actually did all that much beforehand, but it wasn't super messy and didn't sting or irritate too much, so: meh. Otherwise it was a pretty straightforward nighttime regimen, with the J.One Black Jelly pack followed by the Jelly Cream and Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye cream to finish up everything up and seal in all that delightful jellified goodness.

Picked up some new kbeauty goodies recently and I was itching to give them all a try last night. I've never used Amor Pacific, so I got this little set of a powder exfoliating cleanser and face mist, and they both felt very refreshing and moisturizing, but I would have been down with a bit more tingle for my exfoliation (but that's just me). A new brightening hydrogel from Dr. Jart+ was also on the agenda, and though it was very slippery, once it finally held on, my skin drank it all in, felt plumper, and definitely seemed a bit more radiant (though that might have just been some extra shininess from all the moisture, but I'll take it). This regimen consisted mostly of my current favorites, however: Shiseido Perfect Cleansing Oil, Dr. Jart+ Dermaclear Microfoam Cleanser, Lagom Cellus Mist Toner, belif True Cream Aqua Bomb, and Mario Badescu Hyaluronic Eye Cream. All great products that have so far shown results in keeping my mug smooth and hydrated. I'm still at least going to be making some sort of effort to pare down my regimens and simplify a bit, but sometimes there's nothing you need so much as a really clean, really nourished and happy complexion.