My Sensitive Skin Beauty Routine - Body

I'm curious: how complicated is your beauty routine? Lately, my process is relatively streamlined. Not because I like it that way; my skin just doesn't have a lot to choose from. If it were up to me I would have 17 steps if I knew it'd make my skin better! :)

For body care, here are the products that have made the short list lately...

Fragrance-free body moisture staples

My Sensitive Skin Beauty Routine - Face

I don't know about you, but for my little family, sensitive skin is the norm. What does sensitive skin look like for me? I can't do fragrances - synthetic or "natural" - and I run in the opposite direction of most botanical ingredients. Essential oils smell lovely, but they just don't work for me. I get so sad when an otherwise mild formulation will throw fragrance or an essential oil in as a last ingredient...

My face routine line up

Review: Beautycounter Skin Twin Featherweight Foundation

As you may know, my skin can't handle fragrance, common irritants, and most botanical ingredients. So you can probably guess that finding a foundation has been, well, impossible... 

Skin Twin in Medium 340

Fragrance-Free Hall of Fame: Product Lines I love

I don't know about you, but before I learned the importance of patch testing, I used to get some pretty epic fails on my face after trying a new skincare product...

Image: Vanicream

Blog Relaunch

Today I'm restarting my blog, and I'm excited to share what's coming!

Way back when I started my blog in 2009, life looked a little different. I was a single lady in grad school discussing life, vintage style, art, and lifestyle. When life got busy, I ended up taking a 5 year hiatus from blogging, until having my son, E. Not only did I find that E had sensitive skin just like his mom and dad, but I became immersed in the world of special needs parenting when we discovered he was experiencing developmental delays, likely from his congenital mild microcephaly.

Thrust into a whole new lifestyle, I soon found myself trying myriad new products (most of which ended up being a waste of money) in my efforts to be a good mom. I found myself looking up countless reviews online, and wishing there was someone just like me out there sharing their experience. Add to that a lifetime of dealing with sensitive skin and talking about my favorite products with friends, and I realized I should just start sharing what I've learned with a wider audience.

So here we are today, and the renaming of my blog to "Sense & Sensitivity." I think the new blog title better conveys my mission to share my sensitive skin learnings with the world. Plus, the nod to Jane Austen makes me happy, as I have an Austen book club (I'm a nerd :)). I hope you enjoy the content and find it helpful - I look forward to getting to know you!

new year

My body was a bit fried from the holidays, so C and I decided to partake in what the Japanese call Shinrin-Yoku or "forest bathing."AKA nature time in my local mountains. Forest bathing is linked to increased cerebral blood flow, immune defense, and improved mental health, so I figured it was a good way to kick off the year. Here's hoping I can make nature time more of a habit in the coming months.

honeymoon - part III

On our last day in New York, we headed about 40 min north of the city to Tarrytown (AKA Sleepy Hollow) in the Hudson River Valley. Tarrytown is where Washington Irving, who wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, is from. Didn't get a chance to see his home, but hear it's a cute little spot. 

What we did see is the Rockefellers' summer home, Kykuit, which is perched on probably the highest point of the town. It has a breathtaking view of the valley that I tried my best to drink up fully.

 

Sleepy Hollow

Philipsburg Manor - a 17th century Dutch-style manor house, barn and gristmill.