Weddingbee Blog

So about one year from my big day, I decided that I needed to start making some changes to my personal habits in order to look and feel my best for the big day. One thing I knew I needed to get working on immediately was my skin—particularly my face. Now my skin overall is in pretty decent shape—sure I get the occasional breakouts and my skin sometimes gets a little too oily in the summer and dry in the winter, but otherwise it’s OK. However, I have a terrible habit of picking at my face (I know, I know—so gross!!), which has subsequently lead to some dark spots on my skin. It’s something that I just do mindlessly (particularly when I’m stressed or bored), so I decided it was time to STOP with the bad habits and start the yearlong process of beautifying my skin. So here’s what I’m doing to get my skin looking fabulous for my wedding day.

Image via BlackButteRanch.com

Getting monthly facials.

I figured this was my best shot at evening out my skin tone, so I’ve been getting monthly facials for the past eight months and have gone to the same esthetician each time. This has worked WONDERS on my face so far, so make sure you 1) go to someone professional who takes the time to analyze exactly what your skin needs and 2) steers clear of products that contain too many chemicals. The spa I go to for facials uses Eminence Organic Skincare products (100% organic).

I even started getting peels as part of my facials (it took me a while to get comfortable with this—who doesn’t remember that episode of Sex and the City when Samantha gets a chemical peel and her face ends up looking like raw ground beef??), but like all of Eminence’s products, the peels are completely organic. Now because I had a few things I needed to improve on my skin, I felt I needed to start the process a year in advance. But if you don’t have too many skin issues or if paying for monthly facials is simply out of the question (I actually get a really good deal for mine so they aren’t as expensive), scaling this back to every other month should work as well, as long as you continue to maintain good skincare habits at home between each session.

Image via EminenceOrganics.com

Replacing all my regular skincare products with organic products.

I feel like I’ve tried nearly every skincare product under the sun. I’ve tried drugstore brands and fancy brands, and I can say with 100% certainty that nothing has worked as well on my face as Eminence’s products. I didn’t buy them right away because they were expensive at the spa and I figured it was probably a gimmick to get you to spend more money. But after my first three months of getting facials, my skin reacted so well to the products that I decided to get a few products of my own for daily upkeep at home. So I initially bought two products (on Amazon, as they were much cheaper than at the spa) and used them regularly for a few weeks…and started noticing that I wasn’t breaking out as much and my skin was starting to even out. Then a month ago, I bought two more products and saw that my skin was starting to glow. I am absolutely obsessed with this brand now!

Image via Amazon.com

Exfoliating with Olay ProX.

The drugstore version of the insanely expensive Clarisonic, this is a wonderful product to use a few nights a week to slough off dead skin, pollution, and all the other yucky things that mess with your face on a daily basis. Use for at least 60 seconds (max two minutes), and your face actually feels deeply cleansed down to the pore. This will run you about $20–$40 at the drugstore and it comes with Olay’s own exfoliation cleanser wash (afterward, you will just need to replace the brush head a few times a year). Just make sure to clean the brush with antibacterial soap every few days so you’re not putting the stuff you clean off right back on your face.

Part II to follow!