Guys. I’m getting age spots on my hands. I’m getting old.

I have always looked younger than my age, whether or not I was into skincare and now I’m simply slowing the aging process with some beauty products. If in fact it works in the long run. Only time will tell. Since I’m in my thirties, I feel as if I know a lot about skincare than I ever did before. I’m forever researching the products I plan to buy to keep my skin looking youthful.

My biggest thing is, to always hydrate and drink as much water as you can in the run of a day. Water is my primary source of drink, and to keep me drinking it throughout the day, I keep 5+ water bottles in the fridge at all times. When one gets emptied, fill’er back up, place in the fridge and grab another cool one. It’s been working since we’ve moved to California. So that’s good, right?

 Philosophy is a trusted skin care brand that I keep going back to.

Clearly.

I’ve been using Philosophy Retinoid pads and I have just started my second jar of it — the first one was complimentary thanks to Philosophy, but I’ve loved the product so much I bought it.

Philosophy Miracle Worker Anti-aging Retinoid Pads and solution:  $74USD / $98CDN

One side of the pad is more exfoliating than the other. I tend to use the rougher side on my face, and the other side the excess goes to the backs of my hands.  I was hesitant that the retinod pads would still be soaked by the end of the jar in 60 days, but they were.

I use it at night after washing my face with Purity Made Simple cleanser. I apply a pad of the retinoid on right after using the cleanser before I put anything else on my skin so it’s the first thing to soak in.

This is a time in my blog-life that I wish I took before and after pictures. I didn’t know I’d enjoy the product so much. My skin feels rejuvenated, my cheeks are much less red, and I feel more comfortable wearing not a stitch of makeup, outside the house. As one should!

Benefits of using retinol/retinoid treatments:

• To achieve radiant skin, use a product with retinoid in it as it will help get rid of any dry, dead skin cells on the surface
• Retinoids also stimulates the skin to produce more collagen and hyaluronic acid, which prevents wrinkles or fine lines that haven’t appeared
• Retinoid helps speed up the skin’s natural cell turnover. As it did with me, it helps fade pigmentation on the skin (my rosy cheeks)

Look at the packaging of your skin care products to make sure it has a retinoid in the product towards the beginning of the ingredient list. Over the counter, you will not receive more than 1% retinoid, as it’s pretty powerful. So look for something with 0.5% or higher of retinoid for best results.