Cassie DeNisco

As I get older, I get more passionate about skin care. In high school I struggled with simple, hormonal breakouts but of course to me it was the end of the world. There wasn’t a day that I didn’t wear makeup, even to workout or teach a dance class because I was so insecure about my skin. Today, I rarely wear makeup, even on special occasions. People always ask me how I cleared my skin and got it to where it is now, so today I am sharing my top skin secrets with you!

Don’t Over Exfoliate

I feel like for most of us when our skin is breaking out, all we want to do is take it and scrub away all the bacteria. Now, a little exfoliation has been proven to help break away dead skin cells, too much exfoliation can strip your skin of the important oils it needs and lead to more breakouts! I noticed that once I switched from a face scrub to a more gel like cleanser, my skin immediately felt more hydrated and looked better. Exfoliation is definitely important but I recommend only about once or twice a week because you only need to strip the skin of dead skin cells and not oils that are going to help rejuvenate you. Here’s the scrub I use once a week!

Cetaphil Gentle Exfoliating Cleaner $7.99

Face Brushes are a Must Have

I was so late to hop on this train. I ended up ordering the cheapest one I could find on Amazon and immediately noticed my pores and blackheads disappearing. I like to use the most fluffy brush head that it came with and put some of my face wash on it every other morning just to really deep clean my skin. Not only do skin brushes provide deep cleansing but they also help to stimulate circulation.

Don’t Sleep In Makeup!

This tip might be common sense but its probably the hardest one to follow. Believe me, I know how hard it is to come home and take off your makeup and do your entire skin care routine but it is so important. There are so many products on the market now that basically melt your makeup right off. I love this Clinique one. While you sleep, your skin is resetting itself after a long day. You should not let your skin go to bed dirty because you’re just going to clog your pores. Even if you don’t do your full routine, keep some micellar water right next to your bed to at least take off your makeup.

What You Put in, Is What you Get Out

I think this is so crucial and honestly underrated. You can’t expect your skin to change overnight if your not nourishing your body with the nutrients it needs. Great skin comes from within and the types of foods that you’re eating. Now, this is not to say that you can’t eat that pizza or those french fries but you need to make sure that you’re eating more things that have known skin benefits than the unhealthier foods. This book called Eat Pretty is my holy grail with eating for beauty.

Water is Everything

Drink your water! If there is only one thing you do from this blog post, it has to be to drink more water. Water is so essential to your entire body’s health but for me, water is the key to my clear and beautiful skin. I like to drink at least 100 oz of water a day and I promise you, drinking water and upping your water in take will do wonders for your skin. Water really helps you to stay hydrated but also to flush out toxins. I swear that when I don’t drink enough water the day before, the next day I can immediately tell in the look of my skin.

Know Your Products

Once I decided to dive right in to skin care and actually caring for my skin, my face transformed. For a lot of us, walking into Sephora or Ulta’s skin care section is so massive that you never know where to start and then you look at the prices and are so turned off. Buying products that are natural, clean, and a little pricier are definitely worth it in my book in reassuring that I am using the best for my skin. I also think that using products within the same brand is so important as well. A lot of times, skin products are designed to be used together so its important to follow the directions. I know that Drunk Elephant is definitely a bran that works best when put together and I also think that Clinque is too!

I hope these tricks help you in your journey to flawless skin. I know that without them, I would still be struggling with my skin. Let me know in the comments down below if you do any of these already or if you have any secrets of your own you want to share!

It’s no surprise that I take my skin care very seriously. I have struggle with acne and oily skin for years until I really started to properly take care of my skin and cut out products with really harsh chemicals. When Sephora announced that they would be launching their own skin care products, I knew that I had to try them out. I decided to purchase their “The Essentials Kit” which costs $20 and comes with a clear skin gel, a hydrator and a mud mask. I also was really intrigued by their “Glow Peel Pads” which are $15 so I decided to pick them up as well.

I usually tend to stick to my usual skin care products but I did appreciate that this line of skin care is clean, affordable, and really easy to use. I applied the clear skin gel as directed and then washed it off. It left my skin feeling pretty clean but not dehydrated. Often with face washes, they are too abrasive and actually strip too much from your skin, leaving it dry and without the hydration in needs. For me, I felt my skin felt and looked great and wasn’t overly dry. I think that this product is definitely very gentle and for my combination skin, it did the job it needed to. I would rate it a 7/10.

For the hydrator, I was excited to try a product with hyaluronic acid that was so affordable. Basically, hyaluronic acid is used to help keep your skin hydrated and keep with water in it. I really liked the milky consistency of this product and I feel like it really helped me to stay hydrated. I liked applying this to my face and then going out for the day because it gave me the prettiest glow. After using this product, I definitely feel like my skin is smoother and the product does what the label suggests. This product is probably a 9/10 for me!

Moving on to the last product in the essentials kit, the mud mask is probably my favorite. I hate when products take forever to try and this was so quick and easy to use. When I initially put it on it seemed like a regular mask but once I washed it off I was so pleasantly surprised. This mask left my skin soft, glowing, and I could actually see some of the bumps on my face minimized. I have not stopped thinking about this product and have used it once a week since I got it. I wish I could use it every day because I just loved the results! 10/10

I was really intrigued by the glow peel pads because I know the good results that come with chemical peels for skin. Because my skin is so sensitive, I have always been apprehensive about the harsh chemicals but when I read that this peel pads have aloe vera, peptides from marine algae, and glycolic acid from sugar cane, I was sold. After reading the directions, it does state to try and stay out of the sun because it is such a deep exfoliant so I would not suggest using this every day in the summer. I have used it a few times and have felt that my skin does seem less dull and more glowy. As we head into the summer months though, I probably won’t use this as often just because I don’t want to have to worry too much about getting really bad burns on my face. These would be a 7/10 for me.

Some products that I didn’t purchase but would like to would definitely be the eye cream, the moisturizer, and the glow serum. I didn’t purchase the entire line because I really only wanted to try out the essentials kit. Overall, this skincare line is great if you aren’t looking to spend a lot of money but want to take great care of your skin with clean products. Like seriously, just look at the prices! Everything is under $20. The packaging and the look of these products also just makes me want to keep them displayed on my bathroom shelf. I definitely will continue trying out these products because if they work as well as my super expensive ones, I might make the full switch when I run out!

My Skin Secrets

Sephora Collection Skin Care Review