Nuxe ❤!

Oh, Nuxe! I am totally in love with your products, I have to confess.

So, I had this kit on my wishlist for quite some time, but I couldn't justify buying it until I was actually going on a trip. The moment I booked my tickets to Europe, I went to purchase it only to find out that it was sold out nearly everywhere.

On a whim, I used the "Shopping" option on Google, which showed the kit in stock on a site called Skin-One. Not only was it in stock, but it was available for $15 with free shipping, and they were having a 10% off sale at the time. Never having ordered anything from that site before, I took a chance and I'm really glad I did. Skin-One is now one of my favorite sources for really great skincare brands like Nuxe, Caudalie, Avene, etc.

In fact, they were pretty much my only source for Avene until I stopped by the new giant Walgreens that they recently opened in the old Borders space in Downton Crossing and saw that they sell Avene (and Nuxe!) and oh boy, am I in trouble or what. But anyway, I digress.

So about that kit. It was pretty perfect for my trip. It came with a micellar water cleanser/makeup remover, cleansing gel, dry oil, hand and nail cream, and a face cream/moisturizer. I'll link to the full sized items on skinone.com for more info about each item and purchasing info.*

*Note: The product description on skinone.com still says that the kit comes with:

• Micellar Cleansing Water
• Reve de Miel Ultra Comfortable Face Cream - Day
• Huile Prodiguese dry oil
• Reve de Miel Hand & Nail Cream
• Reve de Miel Face and Body Ultra-Rich Cleansing Gel

but the photo on that page shows a different kit. It looks like the current kit for sale has Crème Prodigieuse day cream and Body Fondant Shower Gel in place of the Reve de Miel Ultra Comfortable Face Cream - Day and the Reve de Miel Face and Body Ultra-Rich Cleansing Gel (which is also a different kit than the one that is for sale on nuxe.com [and $3 less expensive!]).

Eau Demauillante Micellaire cleansing water

This is a pretty nice cleansing water. I use cleansing waters as makeup removers, which is what I think they are intended for? I guess you can use them as an overall general cleanser/toner type dealio, but I like to use them for "spot treatments" (aka removing dark kohl eyeliner and waterproof mascara). Anyway, this one is good. I do actually like the Bioderma cleansing water a bit better than this one (how cliché!) but I genuinely do find that Bioderma works wonders on removing heavy eye makeup, which is the #1 reason why I love it.

Reve de Miel face and body cleansing gel

THIS STUFF, YOU GUYS. This is the star of the kit for me, hands down. The moment I uncapped the tube, I completely fell in love. The scent is incredible, but it is strong. Normally I don't care for strong-scented products (really, this stuff and the Caudalie beauty elixir are maybe the only exceptions in recent memory), but for some reason the scent of this stuff is just my favorite thing on earth, so much so that I made it my mission to find a full-sized bottle of this when I was in Europe. It smells kind of floraly and kind of honey-ish and almost herbal? And normally honey scented things are gross to me (too cloying!) but this is perfect. The scent description is really hard to pin down but it is SO nice and I actually wish they made a perfume with this scent because I would so wear it.

I used this on my face every day of my Europe trip and perhaps it was coincidence, but my skin totally cleared up over those 9 days. Normally, I break out like crazy on trips (different water, different routine, different products, different food, etc.) but not so this time. I really suspect this cleanser was the reason why!

Huile Prodiguese dry oil

It's no secret that I love this stuff, so I knew I had to take some on my trip with me. I didn't want to carry a full-sized bottle (I just had visions of the bottle uncapping itself in my suitcase and noooooooooooo), so this tiny bottle was actually the reason I bought the kit in the first place.

Reve de Miel hand and nail cream

This cream has the same scent as the Reve de Miel cleansing gel, but the scent isn't quite as strong. It sinks into the skin nicely and doesn't leave your hands greasy at all. I ended up buying a full version of this as well.

Reve de Miel ultra comfortable face cream (day)

This cream feels really nice on the skin and it didn't sting my skin at all when applying it just after cleansing my face (it contains SPF, which I find can sometimes irritate newly-cleansed skin). Unfortunately, it seems to leave my face greasy all day long. I kept waiting for it to sink into my skin, but it never really did. This is a bummer particularly because I love how when I wear it, I can smell the scent very faintly every once in a while throughout the day (the next best thing to wearing it as a perfume!). Like the hand and nail cream, it has a lighter version of the cleansing gel scent, which is really pleasant. But I just can't deal with the greasiness :(

And all of these cute little containers come packaged in a nice, little, clear plastic zippered cosmetic case.

I love this kit so, so much and I wish that other skincare brands would put together little affordable kits like this for trying their products out as well as for travel sizes. I may never have purchased the full sizes of the cleanser and the hand lotion had I not been able to try out the trial sizes first, so I think it's such a smart idea!

apple cider vinegar and skincare

i've never been particularly happy with my complexion.

either it's too oily (usually in the summer) or too dry (usually in the winter), prone to breakouts, dark spots, weird marks, blackheads, large pores, etc etc. sometimes it's really sensitive and a seemingly innocent cream will set my skin on fire, or sometimes i can slather my face in full-strength retinol cream and not feel a thing. sometimes i'll let a cat nuzzle up to my face and end up suffering with itchy welts along my jawline, and sometimes i'll snorfle a cat and be fine. it's completely unpredictable and annoying.

the thing that has always bothered me the most about my skin are breakouts. i've never had super bad acne, but i'm pretty sure i've always had at least a few bothersome zits on my face at any given time since i first began experiencing breakouts as a teen. i hate it - i want perfect, smooth, glowing, flawless, airbrushed magazine skin (who doesn't?). i figured that once i got through my 20s, i'd surely finally stop breaking out, right? not so much.

i've tried everything (besides a prescription) in the hopes of getting good skin: masques, proactiv, toothpaste spot-treamtents, aspirin poultices, lots of moisturizer, no moisturizer, jojoba oil, every drugstore brand treatment, fancy department store treatments, toner, etc. etc., you name it. i wasn't sure if i either was confusing my skin and not giving it enough time to adjust to a regimen in order to work properly, or if it was getting too used to the creams, washes, etc, and acquiring a resistance to them. (clearly i'm no dermatologist.)

nothing i've tried has really worked all that well. proactiv worked the best, but the smell is vile, it was kind of drying for my face, it's not cheap, and i hated the thought of rubbing all those chemicals into my skin every day and night.

about a month or so ago, i saw some people i follow on twitter mention using apple cider vinegar to treat breakouts and it piqued my interest, so i did a little research. apparently there are two ways to use it - either topically (full strength or watered down), which seemed like a bad idea for me, or as a drink diluted in water. also, you have to use the "good stuff", and apparently bragg's brand is at the top of that list.

i decided to go for the drink option. i've been drinking 1 tablespoon of bragg's ACV diluted in about 8 ounces of water every day for about a month now and i have to say - my skin is definitely better.

i'm SUCH a huge skeptic about stuff like this, trust me. i call bullshit on this sort of thing all the time, but i really think it's working for me. i have way fewer breakouts, even when i, ahem, should be breaking out. my skin isn't flawless, but it's definitely not as bad as it normally is. it's also smoother and maybe a little brighter?

i'm going to keep using it and see what happens. it doesn't taste good, but i don't find it gag-inducing (as long as i don't think about "the mother". ughughuguhguhhh it just sounds so gross) and it doesn't upset my stomach. i drink it through a straw to minimize the amount of acid that touches my teeth (hello, precious enamel!) and i also drink another glass of water afterward. (note: i've always been a good water drinker, so i don't think that was ever the source of my skin problems.)

i'm really just happy to have found something natural that works. it's also nice that it's inexpensive, not full of chemicals, and might even have other added health benefits.

here are the other skincare products i use on a daily basis. i have been using these same products long enough that i can safely say that the ACV has made an additional difference.

morning:

• cleanser: l'oreal youth code foaming gel cleanser
• toner: lush tea tree water
• moisturizer: olay complete all day uv moisturizer for sensitive skin (i always rub the excess into my hands since it contains spf and i'm paranoid about my hands aging)

evening:

• cleanser: sephora collection supreme cleansing foam
• toner: sephora collection instant refreshing toner
• moisturizer: garnier nutritioniste skin renew clinical dark spot corrector, or in the winter when my skin is really dry, i slather my face with the old standby, nivea creme
• etc: roc retinol correxion sensitive eye cream (i rub the excess into my frown lines because i figure it can't hurt.)

as needed:

• sephora collection smart dual action exfoliator
• queen helene mint julep masque