Let me start by asking you guys- do you like blog series? If you don’t know what I’m talking about don’t worry, I’ll explain! Blog series are kind of like television series, they pop up at the same time, same day, every week. They’re reliable and you know what to expect with them. These blog posts are the same basic structure, but the content obviously changes slightly to keep things interesting! I used to do a Work Outfit Wednesday series when I first started my blog, but that one faded away after a while. However, I’ve been itching to start a new series on the blog and I finally figured out what I want it to be!

LOVE, LUST, LATER is going to pop up on the blog every other Friday, so mark your calendars! Kidding…kind of… LOVE, LUST, LATER is where I’ll share three things, they could be beauty products, they could be athletic wear, they could be a mix of things, and each thing will land in one of three categories:

LOVE- This one is pretty self explanatory, but just in case…if a product makes it into this category then you know it’s a good one! It means I’ve been using the products for quite some time now, which is really the only way I can say I LOVE something. So don’t worry, I won’t be saying I love a new kind of toothpaste, just to wake up the next morning (after using it for the first time) and realizing it stained my teeth blue…or something… That was just a made up example! But seriously though, if I LOVE something it means I know you’ll love it to, and that’s what this is all about, right? Me sharing with you guys some of my favorite things?

LUST- A little less obvious, products/items can fall into this LUST category for a few reasons: either I A) just can’t afford something, but really want it, B) can afford something, but still don’t want to buy it for myself/don’t feel like I need it at the moment (but that doesn’t mean it isn’t something great), C) have my eye on something, but haven’t bought it yet, D) it isn’t available, so either it’s out of stock or hasn’t been released yet, OR E) something that I just received and am still trying out. I’ll always try to have fun with this category and mix it up from week to week to keep you on your toes!

LATER- You can always count on me to give you my HONEST opinion, and if you don’t feel like I ever completely cover something then please let me know, ask me a question, shoot me an email, and I’d be glad to talk about it more! Promise! This LATER category is for all those things I’d thought would be great, but weren’t. Basically, I want to help you all steer clear of duds, disappointments, and even occasionally the disasters that I stumble upon while creating Style Inherited content.

Alright, enough already! Keep scrolling to see what my made the cut to kick off this new series, LOVE, LUST, LATER! For this first post I decided to focus solely on beauty/skincare products. Which FYI (I’m talking to all the guys who read my blog), skincare isn’t just something that women have to worry about! Skincare is universal and for some reason it’s kind of treated like an only female market, but that’d be wrong. So regardless of your gender, you’re going to want to listen up!

LOVE

I’m kind of product obsessed. There, I said it. I love trying new products, and honestly most of the time they let me down. Every product preaches it’s the best, or it will clear up your acne, or it will heal the driest of dry skin, and then I find out after a few tries that said products might have bended the truth. With that being said… the Belief True Cream Moisturizing Bomb and my Belief Problem Solution Toner are awesome! I’m grouping these two products together because I use them together. I apply the toner in the morning (when I remember) and at night, followed by the True Cream moisturizer. These two products are a power couple (too bad I can’t compare them to Brangelina anymore…too soon?) If you want to shop Beauty Counter products please use this link HERE so my friend Nina can get credit!

What I love about this toner is that it steers clear from so many harmful ingredients and it tells you this on the front of the bottle! I really appreciate their transparency! One of the key ingredients in this Problem Solution Toner by Belief is Tea Tree Oil. Tea Tree Oil is antibacterial so it will help anyone with problem skin like me. I apply it all over my face with a cotton ball and dab on extra to my active pimples/anywhere I think I’m getting one. This toner isn’t great for removing eye makeup, but my soap that I use does the trick!

This Aqua Bomb stuff is also great for anyone who hates the feeling of a heavy lotion, or for anyone with acne. This moisturizer is water based, NOT oil based, which makes a huge difference for anyone with oily/acne prone skin. But even if you have great skin, consider trying this stuff out. It’s so lightweight and leaves your skin feeling silky smooth! I apply this moisturizer by dipping a Q-Tip into the container, then using my fingers to get the cream off the Q-Tip, and apply in light, circular motions to my face. It’s super important you don’t dip your fingers into the cream! Your fingers have tons of germs on them and oils and other stuff and that will contaminate this jar of liquid gold!

Let’s talk price point– I love how Belief products aren’t crazy expensive! Okay…they’re not drugstore prices, but when you can spend anywhere from $20-$70 for a quality moisturizer or toner, these both come in on the lower end of that spectrum. Aqua Bomb $38 // Problem Solution Toner $28 If you’re not sold, you can try a smaller size of the Aqua Bomb for only $22. Much more affordable and easy to travel with!

LUST

I’ve heard a lot of things about Beauty Counter of the past year and I’ve finally took the plunge to try a few products! Thank you to my friend Nina who gave me some samples, which I loved! I ended up ordering the Charcoal Cleansing Bar and Daily Moisturizing Cream from Beauty Counter and am excited to see if they live up to the hype. So why did I order another moisturizer if I just went on and on and on about the Belief True Cream Moisturizing Bomb? Glad you asked! Honestly, me ordering this new lotion means in no way shape or form that I was phony about my rave review above. Really! Blogging lends itself to trying new things. You guys want to read about new products, and I want to share with you my thoughts on new products! I’m starting to run low on my Belief cream and so I needed to buy a new face lotion anyway so I just decided to mix it up, but if I don’t end up liking this Beauty Counter one then I’ll definitely go back to my Belief Bomb!

The reason I pulled the trigger on ordering this Charcoal Cleansing Bar is because I noticed a difference right away with how clean my skin felt after using it. I would like to think that I’m kind of a soap/face cleanser expert. I haven’t tried every kind out there, but with one use I can pretty much figure out whether a cleanser is good or bad at removing all my makeup, strong enough for my skin, gentle enough not to dry me out, and so on…after using this bar the first time the heavens kind of opened up and I was like WOW the cleanser I use now is great if I’m not wearing any makeup, but only after using this charcoal cleanser did I realize how much more clean my face could get!!

These products aren’t cheap either, but they’re extremely safe and the creators of Beauty Counter started this company to provide people with skincare/beauty products that didn’t contain all those nasty chemicals in them. So rest easy knowing that you’re doing a good thing for the world and for your skin by using these products! Charcoal Cleansing Bar $25 // Nourishing Day Cream $45 

LATER

I’ve been debating for a week or so now what I wanted to share as my first “LATER.” This post seems to be kind of skin/acne related, I didn’t even mean for that to happen, sorry! But anyway, sticking with that theme I felt it was only natural to discuss EradiKate Acne Treatment. And going forward, please keep in mind that didn’t love these products/they didn’t work for me, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work for you. On the other hand, that could also mean these products won’t work for you, so just pass them up now! What I’m trying to say though is, if you hear rave reviews about either of these things from your friends then great! Maybe give it a try, I’m just sharing my honest experience here, but everyone is different. Proceed with caution though!

EradiKate Acne Treatment ($26) by Kate Somerville was a purchase made in part because I’m a sucker for great packaging, and also in part because I’ve heard so many amazing things about this brand in general, and this product specifically. “It gets rid of your acne overnight,” someone had said to me. Of course looking back that person probably should have used the word “pimple” instead of “acne” because boy is there a difference! Honestly, this is probably a great product for someone who deals with that oh-so-annoying pimple every once in a while. Problems I WISH I had! I’ve used this EradiKate treatment for over three months and it hasn’t done much. I think any differences in my skin that I’ve seen over these past three months are mostly mental, or because of other factors.

EradiKate dried my skin out like crazy, which I should have expected with how powerful this formula is advertised as being! With that being said, I was using way more than I probably should have been using because I wasn’t seeing results. SO any micro changes/improvements I saw from this acne treatment were from me using a TON of this stuff! Again, I firmly believe that if you don’t suffer from acne, but instead, experience an occasional pimple or two then this is probably something that will work for you. However, if you’re looking to get rid of your acne, save your $26 because this isn’t going to cut it.

Let me know what you think about this new series, LOVE, LUST, LATER. I’d love to get any feedback if you think this will be something you’re interested in reading in the future…reminder, this series will pop up on the blog every other Friday!

We’ll talk more Monday, happy weekend!