With so much more time than normal at home, I’ve been indulging in some extra time pampering myself to get my skin glowing. Truth is, while my workouts and sleep have been great – my eating habits have been my downfall. So, I’ve been using seven great products that became my April beauty favs to keep my skin balanced. My number one is the Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid treatment, followed by the Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask. This mask leaves your face SO soft. Sharing full reviews of each product in this post.
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Sunday Riley Good Genes // JR Watkins Creamy Body Wash // Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask // Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm // Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream // Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Cream // Curology Cleanser
April Beauty Favs: My Favorite Beauty Products in April
I love testing new products to see how they’ll work with my skin and in my regular routine. This past month I added a few new items that I’ve since run out of and also went empty on a few items I’ve used in the past. That’s always my goal – to use up every drop in the bottle. I don’t like to waste any products unless they really just don’t work for me.
Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment
A few years ago, I remember one of the sales people at Sephora asking me about trying Sunday Riley. But, I was overwhelmingly loyal to another brand at the time. So… this is actually the very first Sunday Riley product that I’ve tried (pause for reaction).
As you can see from the pics, this was a trial tube. But, I got a few of them in some package I received and have been using it for the last 6-7 weeks or so. Let me start by saying that I will be purchasing the LARGE version of this product. This is a miracle worker while you sleep. It’s an AHA treatment (which I only just learned what that means) that exfoliates your skin while you sleep, helping to retexturize your skin. But, the best part of this for me has been the improvement in my skin color. Since I have acne prone skin, I still scar after a bad breakout. It’s not horrible, but this has made a HUGE difference. For that reason alone, this product is a BIG win for me.
Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm
You might recall that I’ve already shared a few Elemis favorites in this post back in 2018. This cleansing balm was definitely on that list and still holds the top spot as my favorite. I say this with confidence because I’m currently almost at the bottom of one of their competitor’s products. And, I’ll tell you now that I don’t like it nearly as much. Again, I use wayyy too much of this at one time. But, it became a cult classic for a reason.
This removes every last bit of your makeup and leaves your skin feeling like you left the spa. This gets used every single night in my double cleanse. I put it on first, massaging it into my skin, and then I just rinse it off with water. Or, you can also use a damp cleansing cloth to remove it. It’s $64 for the jar and is worth every penny.
Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream
I also wrote about this face cream back in 2018 and I still like it a lot. Elemis products in general are pretty fabulous. But, the Pro-Collagen line is on the pricey side (just like the product below) because of it’s anti-aging formula. That said, it has SPF 30 in it. So, it does double as your daily sun protection. In terms of weight it’s sort of in the middle – not to thin, but definitely not a heavy moisturizer. It’s clinically proven and has won more than 30 awards. I’m convinced it was this and the Good Genes product above that have left my skin glowing. So, long story short – with moisturizer you get what you pay for and it’s why I’m featuring it again. If the $128 sticker price bothers you, I’d recommend only using it a few times a week so it lasts longer.
Dr Barbara Sturm Face Cream
Well, let’s face it. This product completely spoiled me. I hit the jackpot at an event I went to last September and got a huge goody bag of Barbara Sturm products. So far, I’ve only tried this face cream and the eye cream (OBSESSED – but we’ll save that for another post). There are a few things I love about the face cream. First, it’s clean in terms of ingredients and is packed with natural extracts which support your skins renewal. Secondly, it’s anti-inflammatory which is something that I feel like I need since I struggle with that based on my diet (lotsa carbs!).
So, it’s safe to say that I’ll sing their praises for years to come. My challenge? The $215 price tag that comes with it. It’s tough because I feel like my skin looks the best it has in months. So, if you can afford it, I saw go for it! But, I realize that like myself this might be out of reach for some.
Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask
I’m a longtime fan of all things Charlotte Tilbury and have used this mask for a while. But, since I use it only once every week or two it’s taken me quite a while to finally run out. This is definitely a top 5 mask in my books. It’s a mix of Spanish clay and Sweet Almond Oil that visibly softens your skin. It does other things like hydrate and tighten, but the baby soft feel it leaves is what I love the most. There are two sizes available. So, if you’re skeptical, try the smaller one first. But, it’s used on the runways of some top models. So, you know it’s good.
Curology The Cleanser
In April I used the entire Curology line and simply put – it’s done great things to my skin. I don’t normally try a complete product line all at one time because I like to swap out one item at a time and see how I react to it. But, a few friends use their products. So, I took the quiz online and sent in some photos of my face makeup free. Their experts assessed my problem areas and a week later I had a customized regimen to follow.
The cleanser was less foaming than I’m used to. So, that would be my only complaint. I like a lot of suds on my face! But, since I double cleanse it really wasn’t a problem. And, it was nice and gentle on my skin. I followed that with the custom treatment based on my skin’s needs and their moisturizer, which I’ll review in another post. Those are the best parts, in my opinion!
JR Watkins Sleep Creamy Body Wash
You probably heard me rave about this brand on Instagram recently if you follow me there. I’ve been trying their SLEEP collection and it’s heavenly. At-home spa nights have been that much better because this scent relaxes you like no other. It honestly reminds me of being at a spa.
I hit the bottom on the Creamy Body Wash over the course of 5-6 weeks with daily use. For reference, I’m one of those people who always uses more than the recommended amount. So, it might last longer for you. But, at $14.99 a bottle it’s fairly inexpensive and I’ll definitely repurchase it.
If you have any questions on any of my April beauty favs, don’t hesitate to ask me in the comments below!
