Skin Care Regimen

I have not always been good about taking care of my skin. In fact, sometimes I've been downright lousy about it. But about 6 months ago my husband emailed me this picture:


and asked if I noticed anything different about it. Then he said he photoshopped out my wrinkles. Here's the original:


Now, I am not even 30 years old yet, so I don't particularly appreciate having my wrinkles pointed out, or photoshopped. So I told Leif if he was going to photoshop my wrinkles I was going to pay to do something about them. Thus began my renewed relationship with Mary Kay.

Now, I grew up in Texas, so I have been using Mary Kay off and on for the last 15 years or so. I used it in high school, then stopped in college because it was too time consuming, with the 5 steps and all. Then, when they went to the 2 step system, I started using it again. When we moved here I was able to get my MK from a friend who was a personal use consultant, since I didn't have a consultant of my own. After she quit working at the school I taught at I didn't see her very much, so I just sort of stopped using MK after I ran out. Around this time I also became ultra conscious about my environmental impact, and started using "natural" products, including Burt's Bees skin care and cosmetics. That's what I was using at the time of the photoshop fiasco.

So in February I had a Mary Kay party with Cheryl Sheedy and I purchased some basic skin care products, along with some anti-aging products, which were new to me. Since then I've added a couple other products to my regimen as well. Here is what I'm currently doing...

Morning:
Timewise 3-in-1 Cleansing Gel
Microdermabrasion Refine (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
Microdermabrasion Renew (Wednesdays and Saturdays)
Even Complexion Essence
Timewise Age-Fighting Moisturizer or Oil Free Hydrating Gel
Firming Eye Cream

Evening:
Facial Cleansing Cloths (1/8th of a sheet)
Even Complexion Essence (on one spot only)
Timewise Age-Fighting Moisturizer
Firming Eye Cream

And while it seems like a lot of steps, it's really not that much. It goes quickly, and the first two steps in the morning (on days that I do microdermabrasion) I do in the shower, so they are especially easy. I'm not completely sold on the Even Complexion Essence yet, so we'll see if I want to continue that once I'm done with this. And the firming eye cream was a gift, so I'm hoping it lasts a long time, but we'll see how big a difference it makes when it runs out, I guess! My eye wrinkles were especially worrysome, so I will probably continue to use that. The microdermabrasion is completely AWESOME, so that step will definitely stay on the list twice a week! In general, though I forget to do my regimen at night sometimes, I'm very happy with this set up and the results I'm seeing. I think my skin looks younger, and it definitely feels younger. We'll see where I am in another 6 months, but this is my skin care regimen right now, just about every day.