Cindi's Third Week With The Summer Box

General Impressions

My skin type: I have combination skin, oily most everywhere except my cheeks and above my eyebrows, where I tend to get dry. I have dark spots just about everywhere, signs of early aging on nasolabial lines, the edges of my eyes, between my eyebrows, and on my forehead. I also have milia on my chin and on the edges of my mouth as well. The climate for me here in West Virginia right now is getting to be a pretty steady 85 degrees throughout the day, with about half of those days being rainy, and the other half humid and sunny.

My third week into thesummer box started off pretty encouraging. It has been a joy to cut down my routine, and to learn to love these new products as much as the ones I had been using before. My general impression so far is that this box is perfectly fitting for the season, and this becomes more apparent the warmer it gets outside each day.

Changes I’ve seen

The changes this week that I’ve seen have been pretty exciting. Thesummer box has almost entirely rid my cheeks of their dryness, and the breakouts that I used to get around my lips and on my temples are completely gone. My skin has become more balanced overall, and seems to be transitioning to a more normal skin type with the products, which is pretty exciting. I have also noticed the dark circles under my eyes becoming less noticeable, and brighter. Also, after using the detox mask a few times, I have noticed less redness and a general glow to my skin that I didn’t have before.

AM Routine & PM routine

This is the first week that I was able to cut my routine down in the morning, because we’ve finally had steady 85 degree days for almost a week.

My AM routine is a double cleanse withBamboo foaming cleanser (coming soon!), followed by thecleansing grains (coming soon!), and on some off mornings, when I’m in a hurry I’ll use thePeppermint water instead of the cleansing grains. I follow the cleansing with theStrawberry Cocktail Exfoliating Toner (coming soon!). My serums areLotus Serum Mist,Piper’s Peat (spot treat on milia and breakout areas), Prickly Pear (testing),Coconut Serum, andMagic Dragon (just under eyes and blended to breakout areas). I follow the serums withRed Wine Pressed Serum, a few drops ofBlush Beauty Oil, and on the dryer days, I add a little bit ofAfter Sun Face Balm Rescue.

My PM routine is more based on hydration, so that my face can recover and balance while I sleep. I do a double cleanse withVacuum Cleaner Cleansing OilandBamboo Foaming Cleanser (coming soon!), then I useMaple Essence Toner. I following the cleanse and the toner withCoconut Serum,Dorian Gray’s Anti-Aging Serum,Marine Serum,Hydra Serum,Pearl, andMagic Dragon. I follow the serums with a little bit ofRed Wine Pressed Serum, spot treat the dark spots withGlow Pressed Serum, then apply a few drops ofBlush Beauty Oil. For moisturizer I useRose and Honey on the drier days, andAfter Sun on the days that I feel like my skin is a little red or irritated from the sun on my drive home. I finish everything off with either theDonkey Milk Gel Sleeping Pack or the Jade Gel Cream (testing).

I’ve been using theDetox mask about 3 times a week, and I enjoy it more each time I use it, and I also notice more benefits each time I use it as well. On the nights that I do the detox mask after my oil cleanse, I usually don’t follow with the foaming cleanser, because I feel likeDetox did a good job on it’s own. I’ve also discovered that it is very exfoliating, so I like to massage it in for a couple minutes before I let it soak in.

Any changes I’ve made

My biggest changes this week have been a reduction in overproducing oil. So, instead of having to worry about being an oil slick half way through the day, I am noticing that my skin still looks toned and balanced even in the afternoon! Which has been really nice, because I used to do a midday cleanse, and haven’t had to for almost two weeks now. I’ve also noticed the dark circles under my eyes becoming less prominent. My cheeks don’t seem to be dry at all anymore, and the breakouts have almost completely diminished.

Overall thoughts

Overall, I am excited to see what’s next from theSummer box. So far, the changes that I’ve seen have been compounding on themselves each week and it just seems to be getting better and better with time. It has been nice to see how minimizing the routine a little bit at a time as it warms up outside has been the perfect way to balance and hydrate my skin at the same time. The biggest surprise so far has been how well thecoconut serum seems to hydrate and control oil on my face at the same time, and the cucumber and aloe mist (coming soon!) is the perfect little bit of hydration in the afternoon. The more I see how well the box was curated, the happier I am that I’ve gotten the opportunity to be a part of helping everyone discover how useful it will be for the summer, and how much it is helping my skin to heal and improve in leaps and bounds.