Travel. It’s one of my most favorite things to do, but….

It’s also one of the hardest things on my skin. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might remember that part of my new year’s resolutions were to start taking better care of my skin. For once, I actually followed through on it, and I’ve actually become a little bit obsessed.

Beauty was never something I was really interested in and frankly, makeup is still not that exciting to me — I wear basically the same makeup to everything, whether it’s a work day or a wedding — oops.

The thing that pushed me from being sort of interested in skincare to being completely hooked was simply the results I was seeing. — clearer, smoother skin with less dark spots and breakouts. Even the fine lines that had starting making themselves at home on my face have softened. Plus, at the end of the day, it’s so relaxing to just unwind and go through my whole skincare regimen.

If you haven’t started one yet, you should — you (and your skin) deserve it.

It’s easy to take care of my skin when I’m at home. I have my arsenal of go to skincare that includes face masks, serums, eye creams, moisturizers, cleansers, etc. (okay, now I sound a bit like a beauty hoarder, there’s not that much), but when I’m traveling, it isn’t quite as easy. Thankfully, goop’s new skincare line arrived in my mail just a week before I left, so I figured that my trip was as good as ever to test it out — they were travel size, so why not?!

Is it just me or do long flight seem to suck the life out of your skin?!

Whenever I get off the plane after a long flight, I feel like my skin looks so tired and dry. So, on my last international trip, I planned appropriately so that when I got off the plane my skin looked fresh, hydrated and as awake as possible after 8 hours! Even if you don’t feel it, traveling can be such a shock to your body — long flights, climate changes and jet lag.

1. Skip the Makeup

Let’s be real, by the time you land in a new country your makeup from 10 hours earlier isn’t going to look good anymore, so my advice? Skip it all together. I typically like to do this resurfacing mask or this clay mask the night or morning before I leave for a long trip so that my skin already feels fresh!

2. Bring a Refillable Water Bottle

Drinking lots of water before and during your flight is key to keeping your body and skin hydrated! I always bring a refillable bottle so I can have plenty of water. Most airports now have those water bottle filling stations that make it super easy! Just make sure you don’t have your water bottle full before security! There won’t be a refilling station on the plane, so I always ask for two waters when they serve drinks. I’ll drink one and pour the other into my water bottle for later.

3. Go Easy on the Wine

It tempting for me to want to indulge in a few adult beverages when I’m traveling — it is vacation after all! But the more alcohol you consume, the less hydrated you’ll be and for me, the worse I sleep. So, I’ll have one glass of wine with dinner and then switch back to water for the rest of the flight.

4. Cleanse & Hydrate

After dinner, I start winding down and in preparation for a nap, I like to clean up and this is where the in-flight regimen really begins. I’ll head to the bathroom, wipe my face clean with one of these wipes and spray on this rose toner, which smells amazing. While that dries, I brush my teeth and take my contacts out.

Next I applied this enriching face oil from goop’s new line! Leave it to GP to make an amazing skincare line, right?! I admit I was really nervous about putting oil on my face. If you have oily skin, you might understand my hesitation. For as long as I can remember, I purposely avoided products with oil in them because they would cause breakouts. But guess what? That didn’t happen at all. Instead it left my skin feeling incredibly soft and moisturized! After that set in a bit, I applied this luxurious night cream, also from the goop line. It’s amazing and I actually plan on buying the full size when I’m done with this sample.

5. Sleep

Easiser said than done, right? I’m pretty terrible at sleeping in a sitting position which is typically my only option when flying. For my last flight, I brought ZzzQuil and took one after dinner which actually allowed me to sleep for about 2-3 hours which is a lot more than I usually do! Sleeping of course is good for your skin and even though it wasn’t much sleep, it helped with jet lag once we arrived.

6. Prep For the New Day

About an hour or so before we land, breakfast was served and that was my cue to get my skin prepped for a new day. Again, I wiped my face clean — I swear airplanes make my skin filthy! I started with the toner again and then used this Revitalizing Day Moisturzer and Clinique’s Pep Start eye cream to make my eyes look more awake.

Do you have any skin-saving tips for long flights? Does your beauty routine change when you’re traveling?

BTW, 6 steps to better skin everyday, and it’s just hair.

DRESS: striped shift dress | SWEATER: Wyoming Cardigan

One of my new year’s resolutions was to finally take better care of my skin. Recently I’ve started noticing more wrinkles, so I was looking for something that would fight wrinkles and also be right for my oily skin. The first step was doing some research and asking my beauty expert friends for suggestions.

After asking around, I decided on a line of products from Mario Badescu. Each product is labeled by which skin type it’s best for which made it easy to pick the right products! It’s now been almost two full months that I’ve been using my new skincare line and it’s made such a big difference. No, my skin isn’t perfect, but my complexion is definitely clearer, more even and so much smoother than it was at the beginning of the year.

My nightly routine has become one of my favorite things about going to bed at night. It’s my me-time where I wind down and relax before crawling into bed. Plus, I feel good knowing that I’m doing something good for my skin long term!

These are the steps of my nightly routine that I’ve been using for the past two months!

1. WASH FACE

I’ve been using this gentle face wash for oily skin. It smells amazing, cleans well and doesn’t dry my skin out which is a huge plus!

2. TONER

I love this soothing cucumber cleansing toner. Again, it’s gentle and doesn’t dry my skin out like some of the other toners I’d tried from the drug store. It doesn’t smell like those strong astringents either. In fact, it smells really nice!

3. SERUM

I’ve been using Estee Lauder’s Rejuvenating Serum and I actually really love it! To be honest, I think I got it as a sample at an event. I’d forgotten I had it, but it’s really great! I’ve noticed that the wrinkles on my forehead have soften (YEAH!). Once I’m done with this one, I really want to try this serum from Tata Harper.

4. NIGHT CREAM

I’m obsessed with this night cream! It’s oil-free, but is rich and luxurious and leaves my skin feeling so full and hydrated. I also love the way it smells.

5. EYE CREAM

This step is one thing that I wished I started doing years ago! I really love this eye cream and can definitely tell that the wrinkles around my eyes have drastically softened! It’s super affordable for an eye cream too. I still want to try this one someday because I’ve heard that it’s amazing!

6. SPOT TREATMENT

Like I mentioned, I have oily skin, so when blemishes pop up, I apply this spot treatment that dries up any blemishes really quickly.

BONUS: MASK

I do a face mask 2-3 times per week and I rotate between Mario Badescu’s Cucumber Tonic Mask and the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask. I’m also dying to try this collagen mask and this mask that helps with dark spots.

My morning routine is a shortened version of this one. I wash the same face wash and toner from above and then apply this moisturizer (I love that it has SPF) and apply eye cream. I wait until everything has soaked in before putting on makeup and then head out for the day!

Do you have a skincare routine? Do you wish you started earlier too?!

photography by Julie Kennedy

Since my office and home share the same area, sometimes it can be hard for me to unwind and relax at home. I’m sure any of your who work from home know what I’m talking about. I struggle with turning work off, especially on days when my to-do list is extra long.

It’s something I’m working on though. I’m trying to set a more structured schedule for my day so that I can enjoy my nights at home with Rob without stressing about unfinished business.

Here are a few of my go-to things to do to help me instantly relax at the end of the day.

10. Work Out

I have to admit, I don’t always like doing this, especially in winter! It gets dark so early that it always feels later and for whatever reason, I don’t make it to the gym. But when I do, I feel amazing! It’s so easy to come back from there and not think about work again until the next day. Thankfully we have a gym in our building, so I don’t have an excuse!

9. Light a Candle

A calming scent floating around the house and flickering light always make my place feel more like home than a work space. This mokara candle and this scent are two of my favorites. Both candles burn for at least 85 hours, so it’s totally worth!

8. Dim the Lights

Something about soft light makes me feel so much more relaxed and calm, anyone else? This one can easily be paired with a few other relaxing items!

7. Make Mint Tea

I drink a lot of tea, but at the end of the night, I don’t want any more caffeine. Mint tea is soothing and calming and is easy on the stomach which makes it good for an after dinner drink too!

6. Breathe Deep

Sometimes when I find myself getting worked up and frustrated, I take a step back, close my eyes and take 10 really deep breathes. It sounds too simple to make a difference, but it helps slow your heart rate down and put things into perspective quickly. I always feel better after doing that!

5. Turn Your Phone on Silent

I struggle with this one! Part of my job requires me to be on my phone, checking and posting to Instagram, and it’s easy to get sucked in. It’s also easy to get caught up in what’s happening (and not happening) on social media, but if I turn my phone on silent and put it on my bedside table, it’s so much easier for me to forget about it for a few hours. Not being able to easily grab it and check, allows me to easily relax and man, does it feel good!

4. Play Calming Instrumental Music

Something about playing music with no words is really relaxing for me? I feel like it engages a different part of my brain. I’m just enjoying the way it makes me feel instead of singing along.

3. Meditate

Meditation isn’t for everyone, but it is seriously one of the best ways to relax. I actually haven’t practiced meditation in a while, but this has me thinking I should get back into it. If you don’t know where to start (I sure didn’t!), this app is my favorite. I love the guy’s calming voice and he makes meditating seem less scary. It really changes the way you think too which should help you to be more relaxed in general over time.

2. Apply a Face Mask

This falls somewhere between relaxing and pampering. Okay, it’s both! I’ve recently started doing a face mask 2-3 times per week and not only does it leave your skin feeling soft and smoother over time, but it’s also really relaxing. Just like a mini spa day! Right now this resurfacing mask and this one are my favorites.

1. Pour a Glass of Red Wine

If all else fails, a glass of red wine always takes the edge off for me. Sip it slowly and combine a few more of these relaxing elements to the mix! Just keep it to one glass though, having too much wine ends up making it harder to sleep and leaves you feeling tired and groggy!

How do you like to relax at the end of the day? Tell me in the comments!

Every week day morning starts roughly the same. I get up, get ready, tidy up the house a bit, make my bed, kiss Rob goodbye, take Oliver for a walk, eat breakfast and settle down into work. No, it’s by no means nothing fancy, but secretly, I love it. It’s those few things that get done every morning that set my day off on a good note.

Part of what keeps my morning routine super simple is that getting ready is so quickly. Since I work from home, office clothes typically consist of jeans, a sweater and slippers (sometimes I put on fancy shoes for fun!) and really simple makeup.

Some days I don’t even see anyone other than people walking past us on the streets and Rob at home so it seems silly to get all dolled up, but not putting makeup on at all kinda makes me feel like a lazy slob. My balance is doing super light makeup. I start with this skin smoothing primer and this silky smooth foundation. I more recently started using these two products and my skin looks so much smoother and brighter! I like to let the product settle a bit and then I brush on a matte powder and use this bronzer around the area where my hair meets my forehead and then do a little contouring so my cheekbones are highlighted.

The final step is always lips. I have crazy sensitive lips and Vaseline is one of the only products that hydrates them without irritating them. It’s clinically proven to heal dry lips and it does a spectacular job! They just brought their cute and colorful lip tins, a beauty must-have in the UK, to America and you can pick one up at Target or Target.com or other big drug stores! While I love the traditional version, the new varieties are pretty amazing. The rosy lips tin (probably my favorite) even has a nice pink tint to replace lip stick on a casual day!

What does your daily beauty routine look like? Is it quick and unfussy, or do you like spending some primping in the morning?

*This post was sponsored by Vaseline, as always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that keep The Fox & She up and running!

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You might remember that one of my biggest new year’s resolutions was to really start taking care of my skin. I turn 29 this year and I can already see wrinkles and dark spots making themselves at home on my face. While there’s nothing wrong with aging, I’d like to do it gracefully and if I can help keep my complexion soft, smooth and make those wrinkles soften just a bit, you better believe I’ll be doing it.

I’m started a daily skincare regimen earlier in January and so far I’ve been loving it. It’s become my ‘me-time’ at the end of every day. I’m planning on sharing my full routine later this month, but wanted to give my skin a full six weeks of being on this regimen before I shared the results with you guys.

Over the past few weeks I’ve become increasingly interested in skincare and beauty products and so today I rounded up a few great products that I’m dying to get my hands on and try. While I want to try all of these, the ones that are on the top of my list are:

La Mer Eye Concentrate: Duh. I’ve continuously heard that this cream is magic in a bottle. The only tough part is the price tag. I’d love to try it one day, but for now it’s just sitting on my wish list.

Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum: I just got a mask from Tata Harper and I’m in love. All of her products are 100% natural too, so you can feel good about slathering this on your face.

Kate Somerville Exfolikate: Laurie said she’s in love with this product and she’s a seasoned beauty blogger. Once my current exfoliant is empty, I plan on trying this one!

Mario Badescu Silver Powder: It’s suppose to help clear stubborn blackheads. I have oily skin and this is always something I struggle with so I think this one is totally worth a try! Plus, it’s only $12! Anyone used it before?

Have you tried any of these? Which are your favorites? Any that you hated? And on the topic of resolutions, how are your new year’s resolutions coming along? Maybe this is the reminder you needed?

P.S. If you have a quick second, I swear it won’t take more than 5 minutes, I’d be so thankful if you could fill out this survey. I’m always trying to make The Fox & She a better place that you find interesting and exciting! The insight I get from surveys like this are invaluable to me! So, thank you in advance for helping me out!