Millennial Skincare with Lancome

I was delighted when Influenster and Lancome sent me a package of complimentary products to try and review. I spent most of my life struggling with acne so skincare has always been on my mind. My shower is always filled with acne fighting cleansers and my face lotions were acne fighting products. Early on in college, I discovered my first wrinkle on my forehead. This was obviously caused by too much sun exposure being a beach kid. I realized that taking care of your skin doesn’t need to begin in your thirties, but we should actually start in our early twenties. A lot of skincare is marketed for older women like our moms, but what should us millennials use to proactively take care of our skin?

I went to a dermatologist who told me that they started to give young women botox as a preventative measure to fight wrinkles later in life. Crazy, huh?? I chose a facial instead of the botox during my visit! But I also started to invest in products that are packed with ingredients like retinol and say anti-wrinkle on the label. I also look at products that make my skin smoother and get rid of its dullness.

Since early on in college, I have been taking steps to take better care of my skin beyond fighting acne. I use a SPF lotion on my face daily under my makeup and wash my face at night before applying more face cream. Whenever I go to a store to purchase skincare products, I am stumped at what to buy. I have tried almost every product out there, but I am still unsure if they do anything.

As I am now in my mid-twenties (eek!), I know now more than ever that I need to take care of my skin. There are a lot of changes I have made when it comes to my skincare and my skin has changed dramatically. All I was missing from my skincare routine was what skincare products to use…

See A Dermatologist

I have two more years before I am booted off of my dads amazing health care coverage. I sat down and made a long list of doctors I want to see, procedures I want that will be covered by our insurance and started to make appointments. If you are still fighting acne in your twenties, this is a step to take. However, there are many other additional services they offer. Every year I get checked for moles and signs of skin cancer. I have exposed my skin to the sun for 24 years now and skin cancer is a threat that needs to be taken seriously. I found out after some tests that my acne is caused by salt and hormones are to blame. I stopped eating salt and immediately saw a change in my skin. I also started to take medication that balanced my hormones so now my acne is not as bad as it was in the past. Start building a relationship with a dermatologist, they are the professionals who know what they are talking about after all!

Create A Skincare Routine

My last two years in college, I was finally able to establish a skincare routine. I finally found what products worked for me and got in the habit of washing my face every morning and every night. I swear by the NEUTROGENA product to fight my acne after trying everything on the market. I purchase a new set of washcloths from Target every year and use a new one every day to dry my face after I wash it. I get them in darker colors so my makeup doesn’t stain them when I dry my face and toss it into the hamper every night. Drying my face everyday with a clean washcloth has definitely made significant improvements to my face! I’ll wash my face with an acne fighting cleanser, use toner and two times a week I will use a face mask like THIS ONE.

Moisturize

If you struggle with acne and use acne products, you dry your face out to stop the acne. Which is great if you want clear skin, but it can also dry your face and make it peel. I have been obsessed with using a moisturizer at night and in the morning and my skin just glows now. You can do horrible tings to your skin, but if you don’t wash your face at night and use a moisturizer, you are going to have horrible skin later in life. I use THIS ONE in the morning because it has SPF15 and it blends well with my face makeup. At night, I am starting the 28 day challenge to better skin with Lancome.

Lancome Visionnnaire Crescendo

I am always taking steps to take better care of my skin and was delighted when Influenster sent me some Lancome products! The Lancome Visionnaire Crescendo progressive night peel is a 28 day two phase product that is super easy to use. For a few years I used multi step products like Proactive and struggled keeping up with all of the different steps. That is why I immediately fell in love with this Lancome product because it is applied daily at night and you just squirt one or two pumps of it in your hand and apply to your skin like you would a moisturizer. The first night I kept looking for directions because I was certain it couldn’t be that easy!

The peel has two phases, the first phase on one side of the bottle, is a serum that you use for the first 14 days. Then the other side is the second phase serum you use for the next 14 days. Phase 1 helps prepare the skin by getting rid of those dead cell layers on your skin, while also boosting cell renewal! Phase 2 uses salicylic and glycolic acid that help smooth the texture of the skin, decrease pore size, even out complexion, while helping to soften lines and wrinkles.

After 1 night of using Phase 1:
I am not lying when I say that I immediately saw a difference after my first night. When I woke up in the morning and looked in the mirror, my skin had this certain glow. My skin was smooth and radiant just after one use. One of the best parts about this product is that I don’t feel like I have anything on my face, and in the morning my skin was not greasy- it just felt moisturized. I have so many moisturizers in a drawer that I cannot use because after a few hours my skin looks shiny and feels greasy. I have serums as well that make my face look shiny. This Lancome product is my new favorite because I didn’t have to wash my face right away when I woke up the next morning.

After 3 nights of using Phase 1:
My skin tone appears more even and fine lines are visibly reduced after three nights of using it. The best news of all is that I was remembering to use this product at night! Seems silly, but I think we can all agree that having to remember to apply a face peel at night after a long day of work is a bit of a challenge. Most nights when I get out of work at 10pm, I drag my feet up to bed and use a Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipe and collapse into bed. But adding this extra simple step before bed encourages me to wash my face with a cleanser, makeup remover and toner before applying the face peel. I have a tiny wrinkle on my forehead that other people claim not to see- but I see it. After three nights of using it, I noticed that it wasn’t as noticeable as it was before.

At the end of Phase 1:
My pores appear to be reduced. My skin now looks like it constantly has that filter on snapchat that everyone uses because it makes their skin look perfect. My skin has this glow and I have even gone makeup free a few times because my skin doesn’t need it. I was eager to start phase two to keep this process going. One of the changes I noticed right away was that I didn’t have to exfoliate all week. My skin texture gets bumby from using makeup, oily skin and from the air pollution. My skin is so soft!! This alone is enough of a reason for me to love this project.

At the end of Phase 2:
My uneven skin tone appears to be more even and my skin has this glow when I wake up in the morning. My small wrinkle on my forehead is now unnoticeable even to me and my acne is less red. My skin complexion is the best it has ever been and I have been working on improving my skin for years. I can definitely recommend Lancome Visionnaire Crescendo to anyone! If you are a fellow millennial confused about what skincare product to use, this is your product.

Let me know if any of you girls purchase this product and let me know what you think in the comments below! I did some browsing on the internet and found it for the lowest price here.
Before: My skin looks tired and my uneven skin tone prevented me from leaving the house without makeup. My skin doesn’t have a glow and my face just looked drained. When I wake up in the morning, my skin is oily and is rough because of oil buildup. Also, that huge zit on my forehead is a bummer. But this is what my natural skin looks like and I want you to notice the difference with Lancôme.