Beauty

Hello! SKIN, SKIN, SKIN. It’s SO in and you know I’m all about taking the best possible care of my skin especially if you follow along on IG Stories.

One product in particular seems to have a really mystifying identity: toners. I didn’t really ‘get it’ until recently myself. However they really are a crucial part of taking care of your skin.

Before, I thought of toner as being super astringent and harsh because that’s how I recall it being back in the day, like when I was 14. Do you guys remember those toners?

The game has changed in a BIG way since then, and now toners are made for every skin type without drying alcohol and stinging ingredients. So, what is it?

To put it simply, toner looks like water and acts like water. But it’s not water. Depending on the toner, it also can contain acids, glycerin, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories.

“If you want to talk science, a toner is a fast-penetrating liquid that delivers skin a quick hit of hydration and helps remove some dead cells off the surface of the skin. The result: plump, glowy skin. On a makeup-related note, toner is like a primer for the rest of your skincare routine like serums and moisturizer.” {source}

Here’s what toners can do for your skin:

Sops up every last speck of makeup

Toners were initially created to help as an extra step cleaning your face, AKA getting all the shit that might be left on your skin after cleansing. And it’s true: when I use toner, I can see grime on the cotton ball I use just about every time.

It removes excess oil, which leads to less acne

Toners are notorious for removing excess oil, which is what clogs pores and causes blackheads in the first place. If you have oily or acne prone skin, try a toner with glycolic acid or “If you have acne or oil-prone skin, look for a toner that contains glycolic acid or salicylic acid, as it will cut down on oil and shine. {source}

Adds hydration to your skin

Toner serves as the perfect base for oils and moisturizers in addition to cleaning your face. It also restores the pH balance to your skin which equals glowy-ness.

Ok, so here’s when and how I use toner: I use it every single morning before I use anything else on my face. I do not use a cleanser on my face in the morning because I find that they’re too drying to use twice a day…so I only use cleansers at night (I double cleanse). I pack on all of my oils and moisturizers at night after I’ve cleansed, and then in the morning I do a swipe all over my face and neck with Pacifica’s Toner, which is provides a gentle clean to my face and serves as a hydrating base for my AM skincare and then makeup.

xo, Lynn

Beauty, Real Sh*t, Wellness

Science says that your willpower is highest in the morning. Running with that theme, I have created a morning routine that takes full advantage of that fact…and I’ve experienced so much more ease with how my entire day goes. No frantic shit in the morning, no “what am I going to eat?”, “what time do I have to be up?”, “OMG. I’m so late”. None of it. My mornings are almost always calm and productive because I’ve built a strong routine.

I was inspired to create a morning routine a little over a year ago by studying up on what some of the most successful people in history do each morning. If you’re curious, you can check out Fast Company’s article on The Morning Routines of the Most Successful people.

In this video, I break down my entire morning, including:

♡ My tongue scraper

♡ Hydroflask

♡ Coffee

♡ Skincare routine

♡ Gym routine

Do you have a morning routine that you love? Share the deets, please!

Beauty, Real Sh*t, Wellness

Confession: I never understood the obsession with Princess Kate. So shoot me. I’ll leave it at that, but I have been reading about Princess Meghan. About what, you ask? Her beauty and wellness routine.

If her routine is good enough for a princess, it must be amazing, right? She has this glow and she just SPARKLES – very fitting for a princess! So I had to know what she’s doing and what she’s using on her skin and what her wellness routine is.

SO, here are specifics on what Meghan Markle’s uses and does to keep herself looking sparkly:

♡ INFRARED SAUNA: Meghan uses an infrared sauna once a week to sweat out toxins. The benefits include glowing skin, stress relief, and weight loss. I have personally been wanting to try one for the longest time – have you guys tried?

♡ LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE FACIALS. Meghan has attributes her sculpted cheekbones and jawline to the hands of London-based facialist, Nichola Joss, known for her transformative pressure-point lymphatic drainage facial massages. These treatments offer an instant de-puff from manually draining the lymphatic system and reducing excess fluids around the eyes. They also improve blood circulation, giving the skin an instant radiance.

Meghan says: “I do facial exercises from one of my favorite aestheticians who basically has you sculpt your face from the inside out. I swear it works, as silly as you may feel. On the days I do it, my cheekbones and jaw line are waaaay more sculpted. There’s a reason this kind of massage is in high demand around awards season when every actress wants to look A-plus.”

So much yes. If you haven’t tried facial massage yet, you must try it — it’s FREE if you do it yourself. LMK if you’d like a tutorial? It’s something I do every single morning.

♡ ACUPUNCTURE + CUPPING. Meghan is a long-time fan of the ancient Chinese practices of both acupuncture and cupping. These traditional holistic treatments are known for deep healing and stress reduction.

♡ DR. BRONNER’S BODY WASH IN LAVENDER. “I love the smell and it lasts for such a long time. ” And it’s true. I picked up this body wash after researching the best vegan and cruelty-free body washes and this was at the top of the list. It smells so good, and it’s affordable.

♡ ADD SHIMMER TO INNER CORNERS OF THE EYES: “I learned to add the smallest touch of shimmer to the inner corner of the eye after they’re lined. A touch of shimmer powder adds a brightness and sparkle. Even if I have no makeup on, I am likely to apply concealer and a bit of shimmer to the corners of my eye.” If you watched my video on how to make your eyes look bigger and whiter, you saw my absolute FAVORITE shimmer for this purpose: NYX Platinum.

Lastly, on her favorite “grooming look” on a man: “Oh I love a scruffy face. Gets me every time.”

Me too, Meghan, me too. LOVE a beard.

So many good beauty tips and tricks, right? Meghan is ON IT when it comes to beauty and wellness, and I’ll continue to follow along to see what she’s doing.

See ya tomorrow, xx Lynn

Beauty

When I think of bright, white eyes, I always think of that Ben Stein Clear Eyes commercial where he goes, “for dry eyes, use Clear Eyes”. LOL.

Anyway, I have THE solution for you if you want to get sparkly, BIG, shimmering eyes with minimal makeup. It involves Lumify eyedrops – these are seriously the best, they last for 8 hours and make your eyes WHITE. Very white. Jeff and I both used these drops on our wedding day and our eyes were white all day and night.

Next up is shimmer powder. Specifically NYX Shimmer Powder in Platinum. It really makes the whites of your eyes POP. It also helps to contour around your nose and eye area – I’m all for a good contour especially when it requires minimal makeup.

Get the deets on my full eye routine in my new YouTube video:

Beauty

Calling all who have dry hair! BECAUSE I have the best DIY treatment for your hair!

In junior high and high school, I was on the swim team and that meant that my hair was always dry due to the chlorine. I would buy those little plastic packs of hot oil treatments at the drugstore…I’m honestly not sure what they’re called but I doubt they’re ‘clean’, as in no shitty chemicals.

It had been YEARS since I’d done a hot oil treatment on my hair, and one day I had the bright idea to give it a go myself. I did a bunch of research on the best kind of oil to use for an at-home hot oil treatment, and coconut oil was the winner because it can penetrate the hair shaft.

Let’s get into the sciency part a bit:

All fats and oils are composed of molecules called fatty acids. There are two methods of classifying fatty acids. The first is based on saturation which many of you have probably heard of. You have saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats.

Another system of classification is based on molecular size or length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. Fatty acids consist of long chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached. In this system you have short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), and long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Coconut oil is composed predominately of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT).

The main fatty acid in coconut oil is lauric acid. In fact it’s about 44-52% lauric acid. What’s so special about this fatty acid? It has an affinity for hair proteins. This means that lauric acid LOVES, LOVES, LOVES hair protein. It has a low molecular weight and straight chained structure. This means that it can penetrate INTO the hair shaft. {source}

Let’s get into the benefits of using a coconut oil treatment:

1- It penetrates your hair’s shaft, in addition to sealing the surface: most oils seal the surface, but fail to moisturize your hair’s shaft. Coconut oil has low molecular weight that nourishes your hair from within (as seen above).

2- It softens dry hair: a little coconut oil is used as “silicone” to soften and remove the frizz without weighing it down.

3- It seals scales: coconut oil covers your hair with a protective layer that fights static.

4- It increases shine due to the large amount of fatty acids, it rebuilds and strengthens your hair to help fight damage caused by external agents.

5- It improves hair growth and the secret is to use it every week. Apply coconut oil by massaging it into you scalp and leave it on for about half an hour.

6- It is good for all hair types. It hydrates and nourishes dry and chemically treated hair, and also regulates your hair’s oil and pH.

8- It is antibacterial and antifungal, which means that it helps treat dandruff and seborrhea.

9- It is rich in essential nutrients for healthy growth such as vitamins E, K and iron.

10- It is easy to find in stores and is affordable.

{source}

Here’s my step-by-step process: