Mamavation Monday: The Skin Issue + New 2 Week Challenge

I’ve decided to get back on the Mamavation bandwagon.  When I started it last August I was much more aware of whether I was taking good care of myself.  The support is great, the challenges keep you motivated and since it is my goal to lose weight this year (more on that later) I figured it would be a good idea to get back in touch with my Mamavation Sistas.

Like I do everything else, I am going to jump in with both feet and start with the 2 week Challenge to get me back into the habit of working out on a regular basis.  Last year I got a horrible shoulder injury that prevented me from doing a lot of what I love, including yoga, and it became really easy to just use the shoulder or the I’m too tired excuse to workout.  No more.  The workout starts today so tonight before heading to bed I’ll be sure to do my workout.

This weeks question for Mamavation Blogging Carnival is What do you find most challenging in skin care?  For me this is something that I am constantly struggling with.  One, I want a product that doesn’t have a lot of steps to it.  I’m a mom, a student, an entrepreneur, a wife, a friend… I don’t have time to sit in front of the mirror doing 10 different skin care steps while trying to manage the kids in the morning and still make it to dance practice on time.  As a former Mary Kay consultant, I know the steps required for good skin care (and a good and healthy diet is part of it).  But I just haven’t found that one product that I’ve fallen in love with.  Ideally, I would find a product that will do ALL of the following (and yes, I know I am dreaming):

• Be 100% natural or damn close to it
• Be anti-aging
• Work with my oily skin
• Require 5 steps or less
• Cheap/affordable

So far I have tried:

Mary Kay- I tried it because I was getting ready to sell it.  I missed the tingly clean feeling that my old cleanser gave me, but I love the results.  My skin was glowing, the routine was anti-aging and it worked with my oily skin.  It didn’t dry me out and it didn’t leave me feeling greasy.  What I didn’t like was that it wasn’t even close to being made from natural products, and even though there were only 5 steps they needed to be repeated twice a day for best results, the price of the product was truly more than I could afford.  I could barely afford it when I was selling it and got a consultant discount!

Burt’s Bees- This is the brand I switched to after I stopped selling Mary Kay.  I liked that the products were all almost 100% natural, it was cheap/ affordable, required 3 steps.  What I didn’t like was that the anti-aging products didn’t seem to work as well as the Mary Kay stuff and none of the products worked with my oily skin.  None of them dried me out, but they made me feel more oily.  Mid-day I would feel like I needed to take a shower or re-wash my face because the oil would feel like it was dripping from my brows- GROSS!  After trying countless products and product combinations I have given up on this brand.

I am now debating between switching to Bare Escentuals (which I loved their makeup at one time and used it quite often) or Avon’s Anew line.  Both are more costly than I would like to pay (I prefer drugstore cheap personally), but if it will give me what I want I am almost willing to make that sacrifice.  At the moment I am leaning more towards the Avon line because I know they have a money back guarantee; as did the Mary Kay- I love risk-free shopping!  And part of me says I should go back to the tried and true- I know the Mary Kay stuff works even if doesn’t meet all of my criteria.  Dunno.

Anyone else out there have oily skin, in their late twenties/ early thirties and have a brand they would recommend?

“This post is sponsored by Budhi Skin Care and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women”

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