Swimsuit (on super sale right now) | Hat | Sunglasses | Sandals | Necklace

Recently, I took a long weekend over to the Gulf Coast and traveled around highway 30a. It was so beautiful! I had pictured the water looking similar to the keys, however it was easy to see why it is called the Emerald Coast! It was pretty different, a beautiful deep, clear green color. I had so much fun riding around the coast and trying a ton of the restaurants there. My favorite (sort of pictured above) was a food truck in an old Airstream camper that had brisket nachos. Have any of you ever traveled here??

How I Finally Cleared my Skin

Clarisonic c/o | Kate Somerville Face Wash | Drunk Elephant Lotion

Sunday Riley Lotion | Glossier Solution | Wipes 

Lush Face Mask | Glam Glow Mask

Acne is something I have struggled with for as long as I can remember. I started having breakouts before a lot of my friends and nothing ever seemed to make a dent in it. It's worth noting when I say acne, I mean cysts covering my cheeks, chin, forehead and blackheads all over my chin and nose. All of the products I would use trying to clear it up, would make my skin look dry, dull, and washed out. When I would put on makeup, because my skin wasn't balanced, after an hour it was oily and gross. Some well known products made it unbelievable worse, while others just didn't do anything. I have visited my dermatologist for years and tried multiple prescription products. Unfortunately, most of these did not help either.

The first step to my clear skin: I had wanted to try a Clarisonic for several years, but they are expensive and it never seemed like a good time to invest. Just over a year ago, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with them, so I received a Clarisonic Mia in the mail. I tried their acne wash and acne brush, but what seemed to work the best was the standard brush that they come with. The first thing I noticed was that the bumps I usually had all over my forehead seemed to be dissapearing. Now, it didn't completely get rid of them, or clear all of my acne, however my complexion really started improving.

Next, exactly one year ago, my boyfriend was watching the Instagram story of a photographer he liked raving about how the Kate Somerville face wash had completely cleared his skin. Me, still struggling with acne, decided to order it and give it a try along with my Clarisonic. WOW! Within just a couple days, my skin color and texture improved dramatically. After a couple weeks, most of my acne was gone - minus some of the remaining bumps on my forehead. The acne along my cheeks, which I was the most embarrassed about, completely dissapeared. I continued to use it and love it!

About this time I also decided to try a new lotion to see if that would help clear up the rest (I had done this many times unsuccessfully). A popular blogger that I like said that she loved Sunday Riley Tidal lotion and it had helped with her skin tone without breaking her out or being oily, so I ordered it. I immediately loved it. I started using it at night only and that 'washed-out' look that my skin had for so long started to go away. My skin looked so healthy and finally mostly clear. I started having days where I could leave the house without makeup and still feel just as confident. My breakouts at this point were very minimal - more days than not, I actually had a clear face. I also have tried the Drunk Elephant Protini cream and even though I love the Sunday Riley one more, the Drunk Elephant cream is amazing as well.

The Glossier solution is a recent addition. I bought it because reviews said that it had helped them with bumps and blackheads, which I still had sometimes. I started using it morning and night in between my wash and lotion, and it has completely cleared up my forehead bumps and has kept them away. I know the face pads are for removing makeup, however my sister purchased me some and I love using them to apply my Glossier Solution.

It's worth noting that I use a prescription retinol cream to help with some of the dark spots remaining on my face. There are a lot of non-prescription versions though, I have heard the Drunk Elephant one is amazing. I have been fortunate enough not to suffer from scaring. I also love face masks. The two that I have found that help my acne and don't cause breakouts are one: Glam Glow Supermud and two: Lush Cosmetics Just to Clarify. I slightly like the Lush face mask better. It's a better price and brightens my skin more. The Glam Glow mask lasts a lot longer though, especially with the larger size.

To wrap up, my routine is:

1. Wash my face with my Clarisonic and Kate Somerville EradiKate
2. Use pads to apply the Glossier Solution
3. Apply Retinol
4. Once it's dry, apply small amount of lotion
5. 1-2 times per week, use a face mask

Everyone's skin is different so I can't say that this combo will fix anyone else's acne, but these have certainly worked for me. If you are interested in trying any of these, I would try them one-by-one and wait a little in between products so that you can see how you react to them. I linked all of the products underneath the photo and at the bottom of the post if you are interested!