trying to find a skin care routine & a little diy: sugar & lemon facial scrub.

when i turned 30 it literally felt like nothing. while my friends were ringing in their 30th birthdays at bars and bawling when the clock hit 12, i went on like nothing really changed because, really, nothing did change.

having been in my thirties for a while now i have loved every moment. seriously, i think this is like the best decade. and while i loved my twenties {oh those days of just running on adrenaline and passion} i wouldn't want to repeat it if given the chance. the stability, confidence and happiness i feel now does not compare to what i had then. 

but. but. but. if there is one thing i could qualm about when i turned thirty was how my body changed, including my skin. 

ugh. i've been cursed with adult acne. it's been something i've been able to just brush away, but lately it's been nagging me. i mean after consecutive months of waiting for one pimple to go away only to be greeted by a new one is a little frustrating and annoying. this is something that i didn't have to go through in my teens and twenties and i am paying in full now. with interest. 

i never had a skin routine {really, at one point i was just washing my face with a bar of soap}. i was always told that i should have one even if i didn't have any skin issues but i never listened. on a rare occasion, i've used exfoliators and oils from suki {they're great by the way} and when a sudden onset of extreme redness and dryness came on, moisturizers and toner from iope, a korean brand {also very great}, would always do the trick in bringing my skin back to normal.

i thought about maybe going back using those products, and while suki is organic, iope isn't. and because i try to be a little bit more conscious about the products i use, i thought to try out a little homemade scrub using some regular products that we have in our homes. i did a little digging on the internet and came across this post and decided to give the lemon and sugar facial scrub a try. 

what you'll need: 

  +  half of a fresh lemon 

  +  half cup of granulated sugar 

  +  one tablespoon of olive oil 

  +  one tablespoon of organic honey {i picked up raw organic honey from trader joe's}

you can read all the amazing benefits of the ingredients mentioned above and also instructions on how to mix them here. it's simple enough to make a weekly or bi-weekly batch. 

i've been reading a lot about thoughts on exfoliating daily and the dangers of doing so. for now i plan on exfoliating about 2-3 times a week.

i'm learning to come to terms with the fact that the things that i used to get away with in the past, i no longer can. and skincare is one of them. 

do you have a skincare routine that has worked for you? please share. i would really love to know.