July 2, 2013

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One of the biggest beauty regrets I have doesn’t have to do with a bad hair style or a crazy makeup routine I sported during my high school years.  No, my biggest beauty regret is that I didn’t do a better job taking care of my skin and protecting it when I had the chance.

When I was in my mid twenties, the aesthetician I saw, began warning me about the pigmentation that was beginning to develop from exposing my skin to the sun with little to no protection.  Back then, very few daily moisturizers had sunscreen already in them, and in fact I know for certain that I never wore sunscreen on my face unless I was going out to the beach.  Living in Southern California, where the sun is shining 90% of the time, my nose and forehead routinely experienced sunburns, and I started to get dark brown spots on my forehead, right along my hairline

Because the area was inconspicuous, and at the time I thought my skin was invincible (you think every part of you is invincible in your mid 20’s don’t you?), I ignored her warnings and kept on doing what I was doing, which was a whole lotta nothing.  Now, as I approach my late 30’s, those dark sun spots have crept down my forehead and invade just about every part of my skin.  Some days they really, really bother me and I feel subconscious going out without foundation on.  Other days I could care less and realize they’re the least of my worries and try to see them as a sign of a life well lived.

Either way, no matter how I’m feeling, I do know that I’d like to try and see if I can do something about those spots.  I’m not into the thought of chemical peels or microdermabrasion.  While I’d love to spend hundreds of dollars (not really), on designer creams, I can think of a million other things I’d like to do with my money.  And since right now in this season of my life, I’m dedicated to going a bit more bare and simplifying my beauty routines, focusing on the inside as well as the outside, I’m going to try a little 30 day experiment, where I stick to the same 3 part routine and hope to see results.

I’ll be using Aveeno’s Positively Radiant Brightening Cleanser morning and night.  It’s a gel cleanser so I can use it with my Clarisonic, and it has a light smell and feel to it.  My face feels clean yet not stripped down after using it, which is the true test of a cleanser’s gentleness.  During the day I’ll continue using my Postively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15 as I always do, and I know it does it’s job protecting my skin while never feeling like a sunscreen.  At night I’ll use the Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream, which is also formulated to target dark spots.

Because I already use Aveeno daily moisturizer and lotion, I know they’re gentle and nonirritating.  Since all 3 products are focused on targeting brown spots, as well as tone, texture, dullness and blotchiness, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that when combined into this magical trifecta, I’ll start to see the dark spots fade a bit.  I’ve taken photos of my skin without makeup on, focusing on some of the major dark spots, and I’ll share a before and after at 30 days and we’ll see if there truly is a difference.

This routine is simple enough for me to handle on a daily basis, especially for the next 30 days, I love that it’s affordable, and I especially love knowing that if this combination does indeed work, I can shop for the products at Target and don’t have to make a special trip to the mall.  Life’s busy enough, right?

So do you have any beauty regrets that you wish you could reverse?  If so, is there anything you can or are doing about them?  I’m hopeful that with consistent use, I’ll start to see results and then the only thing I’ll have left to worry about are the crows feet around my eyes, growing by the day ha!  See you back in 30 days for an update on this experiment!

AVEENO® Daily Moisturizing Lotion: Give your skin a naturally beautiful fresh start. This nourishing lotion improves the health of your skin in just 1 day! It contains ACTIVE NATURALS® Colloidal Oatmeal and is blended with rich emollients to help protect and soothe dry skin.

Compensation was provided by AVEENO® via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of AVEENO®

*Photo courtesy of Yung Bean Photography