For most of my life I have gone without a skincare routine. Honestly, I was doing well if I remembered to wash my face and moisturize. It just wasn't something I had to worry about-- until I hit my twenties. Then my skin decided to go a little crazy. I went through all sorts of different products trying to balance out my mostly dry skin, but none of it seemed to work. That was because I still hadn't made it a part of my nightly routine.

That changed this year. My skin was so dry, no foundation looked good on it. And I needed that foundation; after all, my rosacea wasn't doing me any favors. So I started washing my face every night.

If I was wearing a full face of makeup, I would use the Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm. It removes all of my makeup in no time-- just take a pea-sized amount, wipe it gently around you face and rinse-- and it left my skin feeling moisturized and clean. For days I go without makeup, I dampen a cotton pad with the Sephora Triple Action cleansing water. It wipes away all of the dirt and grime that collects on my face throughout the day. I also use it in the morning. It's super gentle, which I really love about it.

A recent addition to my routine has been the Pixi Glow Tonic. It's honestly only been in my routine for about a week, but it really makes my skin feel nice and I am starting to see more of a glow to my skin. After that, I spray 3-4 sprays of the Caudalie Beauty Elixir on my face. It's a toner, sort of like the Glow Tonic, but instead of exfoliating my face it somewhat tightens and smooths it. (Plus, the smell is refreshing. It is such a relaxing scent to take in before going to bed.)

The last two parts of my routine include products from Sunday Riley. You can see a post I did about them here. The Good Genes treatment, I feel, has helped my rosacea so much that I occasionally leave the house in just a tinted moisturizer, something I never would have done before. The Luna Night Oil has helped with that even more, as well as moisturizing my skin. I don't even use a moisturizer at night anymore!

I never thought I would be one of those girls with a nightly skincare routine, but hey. If you take care of yourself on the inside, you need to do the same to the outside. And these products definitely do the job.

What is your favorite skincare product? Do you use any of the same ones I do?

I don't know if you guys know this about me... But I am a cat lady. If I could have twenty of them, I probably would. They are just so cute and fluffy and lovable! When they aren't running back and forth through the house, knocking things off of high shelves, or just being general hell raisers, of course. Anyway...

I love cats so much, I want the whole world to know. Which is why cat-themed products are pretty much the absolute best. And oh my gosh, cat-themed shoes? Get me all of the pairs! But cat shoes aren't all us cat lovers have to choose from. From home decor to foot decor, I've put together six things every cat lady-- or even wannabe cat lady-- should have in her home.

If you put cats on it, I will buy it, which is why making this was a little difficult. Kate Spade has the most adorable cat purse that I kind of want right now (but my bank account just told me no...). Out of what I've put together, I think my favorites are the phone case and the coffee mug-- maybe because they hold two things I can't live without.

Fellow cat ladies, represent.

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed this past Monday while working-- as one does-- when I saw that one of my friends had shared a post that made me want to back away from society completely.


Ew. 

I am not the biggest fan of the Kardashian Machine. It's not that I dislike them so much as I just feel overwhelmed by how much I see them all over the media. It's the same reason I didn't like the Dave Matthews Band when I was younger. They were everywhere. (I do kind of like DMB now that I'm older, so no hate mail, please.)

But for this post to come out within a week of Kim opening up about why she doesn't smile anymore-- spoiler alert! it had to do with body shaming-- made me really uncomfortable. The fact that this is seemingly commenting on a pregnant woman's body made it even more disgusting.

But what really struck a nerve in me was that the people sharing this post were women. Women who have children or have made it clear that they wish to have children in the future. If you were pregnant, would you want people publicly commenting on your size, your clothing and the way you wear it? If you have a daughter, or want a daughter one day, would you want someone commenting on their appearance like this?

The truth is, people shouldn't have to consider these hypothetical situations in order to see that body shaming is wrong. There is enough stuff in this world that is stressful-- from a societal standpoint to an individual one. Why add to that? What we need is support from the women around us.

That doesn't mean we can't call out fellow women when they do something problematic. That Nicki and Taylor feud from a couple of months ago? It needed to happen. Nicki was pointing out a flaw in a system. When Taylor realized that, she apologized for taking it personally just like she should have. And the backlash against the way Nicki was portrayed in the press? Also necessary. We have to call shit out if we ever want it to change.

I like themes. And, honestly, I don't have enough of them in my life. No one around me throws theme parties-- like, ever, and what is up with that? I also really like alliteration, which is something else those around be seem to under appreciate. That's okay. It just means I have to find a place of my own to let these loves shine.

So I am going all in this autumn and completely restructuring my blog!

What does that mean? It means you can expect more posts about more topics. Makeup Mondays, TV Tuesdays, Thoughtful Thursdays and Fashion Fridays are headed your way. Will that be all, you ask? No, gentle viewer, I have too many interests for that. Just because home interior and DIY don't have an alliterative day of the week to match up with, that doesn't mean I will abandon them. We will just have to wait and see when and where they pop up!

I hope that those of you with varied interested will stay with me on this journey-- and that those of you who only like one or two of my themed thoughts will stick around, too.