My Autumn Skincare Routine

Darker mornings (ugh). Rainy weather (yay). Rapid weather changes (ugh). Turning on the heat (… ugh?). There are lots of things about Autumn (or any change in season!) that can throw your skin, and body, and sinuses, into disarray.

A prime example: I spent all day Tuesday with itchy, watery eyes. Did you know Fall allergies exist? Well, apparently they do. One allergy pill later and I felt right as rain, but wow, what a surprise.

Another example: in two weeks, we have gone from summer (80+ degrees every day) to pouring rain (literally, 7 straight days of rain, rain, rain) to colder temperatures (it didn’t get over 45 degrees until 1pm the other day). Those rapid weather changes can do a number to just about everything in your life. Plus, turning on the heat can cause your home to get drier, which in turn can effect your skin.

That’s right: we’re talking about my favorite topic of all time. Skincare!

It’s been a minute since I posted about skincare. To be fully transparent, part of why I stopped posting so much beauty content was because: 1) it wasn’t popular here on the old blog or on Instagram and 2) I kind of fell out of love with skincare for a little while. It started to feel arduous rather than fun—and nothing is worse than when a hobby because a huge pain in the ass, am I right?

However, in the past few weeks, I’ve been getting back into it, slowly but surely. I wanted to share my new, improved skincare routine that is helping me survive these rapid weather changes and the new season. Let’s jump right in.

1. Morning cleanser: ItCosmetics Confidence in a Cleanser | Evening cleanser: Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser

I love ItCosmetics, but I didn’t realize they had a cleanser until recently. And baby—is this a cleanser or what! It smells like lemongrass and is super moisturizing. I use it after I oil cleanse (plain jojoba oil, then wiped with a reusable wipe) and I make sure to wash my face for 60 seconds total. (If you aren’t following the 60 second rule, get on it!) It makes my skin feel so soft and ready for the day.

In the evening, I typically either use ItCosmetics again or my Murad AHA/BHA exfoliating cleanser. I received the Murad cleanser in one of my Ipsy Glam Bag Plus (es?) bags, making the entire Glam Bag Plus experience worth it. (You can read that review here.) It is exfoliating, so I don’t use it every day, but I have noticed with all these weather changes, that my skin texture has been fart noise, you know. Every 2 or 3 days, I use this in the evening. As a note of warning, you shouldn’t use this in the morning because AHA/BHA can make your skin even more sensitive to the sun!

2. Morning toner: Pixi Glow Mist | Evening Toner: Peter Thomas Roth Peptide Peel Pads

I received the Pixie Glow Mist in another Glam Bag Plus (review here). I use it in the morning because I find have a bit of extra moisture helps me apply foundation or concealer, or whatever I’m wearing that day. Plus, it just smells good and feels decadent to put on a face mist.

In the evening, I use the Peter Thomas Roth Peptide Peel Pads. (I reviewed the entire Peter Thomas Roth Peptide collection here.) I repurchased these peel pads because I liked them so much; they definitely help with my skin’s texture and my acne, plus they’ve helped reduce my redness and acne scars. A win-win. They can be quite strong, so if I notice my skin feeling sensitive, I’ll skip them for a night and just use more Glow Mist.

3. Morning Moisturizer: Purlisse Blue Lotus Daily SPF 30 | Evening Moisturizer: Sunday Riley CEO Vitamin C Cream + Purlisse Watermelon Aqua Balm

All three of these are also from Ipsy, which really seems like a shill, doesn’t it? I swear it isn’t, but why waste product?

Everyone should be wearing an SPF 30 or HIGHER, applied in the morning. Period, I won’t be discussing it any further! I like this one from Purlisse because it isn’t too heavy and doesn’t leave a white cast on me. (I want to note here: I have no idea if this would leave a white cast on darker skin. I tried searching for some reviews, but can’t find anything. If you know or have used it, please let me know and I’ll update accordingly!)

At night, I mix a small dollop of the Sunday Riley CEO Vitamin C cream (still reeling that this costs $85 a pop!) with a squeeze of the Purlisse Watermelon Aqua Balm. I love how the CEO cream makes my skin feel, but it is so heavy; the aqua balm helps cut it a little bit and not leave me feeling disgusting.

4. Products I Might Use

Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm: It’s actually just lip balm, but honestly, you could use it on your nipples if you’re breastfeeding (or just feel like you need it, no shame). I use this for my extremely dry lips that I get whenever the season changes, the dry spots I get under my ears in the winter (it’s eczema, I know it is, please), and anything else that might call for it (like a sore nose from a cold). It’s unscented and lovely. I actually used all of the tube I received as a sample and bought another one. I’m very cheap, so that’s a testament to how much I like it.

Hello FAB Coconut Water Cream: I love moisturizers and this one is very, very light. If my skin is feeling sensitive, but not exactly dry, I like to use this one. It’s great for when I’m breaking out and don’t want to feel even more like a grease ball. It is a little expensive, but I feel like it’s worth it. (And if you can snag a sample from Ipsy, it’s even more worth it!)

NEOGEN White Truffle Oil Serum: When my skin needs a little extra TLC, oil is where it’s at! I use this before my moisturizer and let it dry for 10 minutes. It’s technically an oil, but it absorbs like a serum, so it won’t act like a sealant. I like to use this at least once a week, just for that little extra added boost.

IBOM Lemon Verbena Clay Mask: This is one of my favorite masks at the moment. It smells amazing and, like any good clay mask, helps suck all the impurities out of your skin. Oil, acne, whatever you need to purge, this mask is ready and waiting. It does have some exfoliating elements so I don’t use this when my skin is particularly dry or sensitive, and I rinse very gently.

There you have it! My skincare routine, start to finish, morning and evening. How do you switch up your routine in the Fall?

Beauty Review: Peter Thomas Roth Peptide 21 Collection*

I love trying new skincare products. In fact, it’s one of my favorite parts about having my blog; getting the opportunity to try new things and see what works for my skin is just one of the many perks of blogging.

As an example: a few weeks ago, I received the Peter Thomas Roth Peptide 21 Collection to review. (I received this product from Influenster, not Peter Thomas Roth directly.*) Peter Thomas Roth is a brand I would never actually buy myself—even though I’ve heard great things about them—because it’s just a little out of my price range.

So, we’ve come to the downside of being sent products to review: sometimes you find stuff you really, really love that is way more money than you would ever spend on a product.

Here is what’s special about the Peptide 21 Collection:

“Peptide 21™ proves there is strength in numbers—and diversity! An unprecedented amount and array of 21 Peptides and Neuropeptides allows the multi-action serum and moisturizer to effectively treat every area of the face and neck. Enhanced by cutting-edge Gamma Proteins, these formulas help improve the look of fine lines, wrinkles, elasticity, radiance, uneven skin tone and texture. Peptide-building Amino Acid peel pads complete the collection, providing powerful exfoliation while optimizing results.”

I received all three products from the collection to review: the Peptide 21 Wrinkle Resist Serum; the Peptide 21 Lift & Firm Moisturizer; and the Peptide 21 Amino Acid Exfoliating Peel Pads. All three products focus on the main task of anti-aging using peptides. Funny enough, I think they are using “peptides” as a clever stand-in for “collagen.” As most of us know, topically applying collagen isn’t super effective when it comes to skincare; our skin can’t absorb it in a way it can be used for anti-aging. They claim these peptides “support” collagen proteins that already exist in our skin, but I’m not too sure on all that. (Science is not my strong suit!)

However, I will say this to start this review: I like every single one of these products. However, there is something a little gimmicky about the peptides stuff—I don’t know enough about it to know for sure, but I know enough about marketing to know when a gimmick is a gimmick.

That being said, again, I really like all these products. Do I think the peptides do anything? Not really.

What I Like

My favorite part of the collection are the Exfoliating Peel Pads; they are a quick, easy swipe part of a routine and I’ve noticed the biggest difference in my skin just from them. (When trying new products, I usually add just one at a time.) They really are the stand out product from the collection, as they contain more than “peptides”. Here’s what they promise: “Packed with peptide-building Amino Acids, these exfoliating peel pads help reduce the look of pores, uneven skin tone, texture, fine lines and wrinkles while prepping skin for peptide treatment products.” It goes without saying, they don’t only contain peptides, but also Phytic Acid, Salicylic Acid and Sodium Lactate, as well as vitamins A and E.

I noticed a huge difference in my skin’s texture just from these pads alone. Usually, I try not to use anything that makes garbage pile up, however, and using a peel pad every single day (or twice a day) creates a lot of garbage at the end of the day. If this was a toner in a bottle, I’d absolutely be head-over-heels in love with it.

I did like the serum and the moisturizer as well. The moisturizer was probably my second favorite item, as I use moisturizer more than anything else (if I’m too tired to do my entire routine, a makeup wipe and moisturizer is as good as it gets). I am not big on serums generally; sometimes, I feel like they just add steps to a routine when that same thing could be added to a moisturizer. (I know there are many great serums out there. I’m just lazy, let’s be honest.)

What I Don’t Like

It took so much self control not to say this in the above section, but: the serum feels gross. It makes my skin feel so sticky and slimy, no matter how long I let it sink it. I’m still using it, but I cannot wait to get to the moisturizer step of my routine purely to rid myself of the feeling. However, even after moisturizer, my skin still always feels a little gross, so I find myself skipping the serum more-and-more. And to be honest, I don’t notice a huge difference without the serum.

Here’s another thing about the serum: it’s $110!!!!!! I would say it’s the worst product of the collection, and the most useless, and it costs nearly DOUBLE the price of the peel pads! That’s outrageous and I absolutely do not love that. The peel pads cost $52, which isn’t a great price, but also isn’t bad as I really do like them. The moisturizer is $78, which is another yikes; I like it, but it’s not any better than a Pacifica moisturizer, which you can get for less than $15 at Target.

As always, for most skincare products, what it comes down to is price for me. You can find lots of things that give you the same or similar results to these products. Is this a nice collection? Sure. Is it way out of my price range? Yes. Will I be repurchasing anything from it? I may repurchase the peel pads if I can’t find a good dupe, but it’s definitely a long shot.

Final Thoughts

I’m glad I got to try this new collection; the peel pads, honestly, are the best part of it. But as I said, the price point is just a little high for products that I don’t feel deliver (at least on my skin). A lot of that price is clearly the name, which is all well and good—but who wants to spend $200+ for products that don’t make a $200 difference to your skin?

Disclaimer: As noted by the asterisk (*) in the title of this post, I received these products free in exchange for review. However, all opinions remain my own! Click here to read more about my disclosure policy.