#selfcaresunday
If you follow me on Instagram, Selfcare Sundays are something I regularly post about on my Stories. And for the past month, Dusan has been joining me! The benefits of doing this as a couple are endless.
We are both busy with demanding jobs that can be are highly stressful. It’s so tempting to just plop down on the couch after a long day and watch Netflix. (We still do that regularly!) But that really doesn’t offer much bonding time, since we’re essentially giving our full attention to the TV whilst munching on popcorn.
With our wedding day approaching (as of today, less than one week away!!! Ahh!!), I wanted to start a more intimate habit that was mutually beneficial. So I started inviting Dusan to do #selfcaresunday with me. We make use of the big soaker tub in our master bathroom, light a candle, and apply face masks together. It’s a sacred hour that we spend catching up, talking face-to-face, and just being silly. No business talk allowed. He likes to drink while relaxing, so we often split a bottle of sake or share a glass of wine.
Because Dusan is constantly working on something for his business, it’s difficult to wrangle him long enough to apply any type of skincare. But he’s happy to sit and turn his mind off with me on Sunday evenings.
Below I’m sharing the exact clean skincare items we’ve been using on our Selfcare Sundays to prep our skin for the wedding. Everything is cruelty-free, vegan, and non-toxic!
We worked on our skin’s unique needs in gradual steps across several weeks, targeting congestion, dehydration, dark circles, and keratosis pilaris (those tiny skin bumps on your upper arms and back.) Please don’t try to do all of this at once! Be kind to your skin, and it will respond in turn. My personal skincare journey took years.
This article is part of my Vegan Wedding Diaries. For tips on planning your own ethical big day, check out the rest of the series.
This post contains affiliate links to shops I regularly use and support.
Selfcare Sunday Goal #1: Clearing Congested Pores and Preventing Pimples
Our first Selfcare Sunday session focused on getting all the gunk out of our pores. Let me share some real talk with all of you: I am perpetually envious of Dusan’s small pores and perfect skin. The man literally lets a few shampoo suds run down his face and calls it a day, yet rarely gets even a tiny pimple. So, this step was mainly damage-control for my oily, acne-prone skin.
Both of us had sparkling clean skin (pores included!) after using The Problem Solver by May Lindstrom Skin. After using this mask, your skin will look refreshed and super clean. For me, active pimples were reduced and redness was subdued. At the time, I was dealing with a combination of small, surface pimples as well as deep, under the skin ones. This mask helps with both types of acne spots. (You would think karma would give me a break with my wedding fast approaching, right? Not so!)
Because it is clay-based, this mask also disintegrates blackheads and provides exfoliation as you wash it off. My finacé’s skin was literal Greek-God perfection afterward. I seethed silently, knowing my skin would require extra work to look at good as his. More on that later.
Follow this mask with a super hydrating cream or balm to keep your skin’s moisture barrier happy. We both love applying The Blue Cocoon after a long day. Honestly, you really can’t go wrong with any of the products from the May Lindstrom line! I’ve been a huge fan for years.
Maintaining Clear Pores
Sure, it’s helpful that I do semi-regular deep cleaning during Selfcare Sundays. But keeping my skin blemish-free requires daily work. If you also suffer from persistent acne, I’m sure you know what I mean. (If you are blessed with blemish-free skin, skip this section! These next products are completely unnecessary unless you are dealing with acne.)
I maintained those squeaky clean pores using Lactic acid (an AHA) at nighttime. I’ve been using the potent 10% Lactic Acid serum from Pure + Simple. However, I always wait at least 24 hours between intensive treatments. Meaning, if you used The Problem Solver on Sunday, wait until Monday or Tuesday night to use an AHA serum. Another tip: Lactic Acid is perfect to use after a day of wearing makeup. It will dissolve any trace bits of makeup that you may have missed when cleansing.
Do not forget to moisturize after using intense skin treatments like The Problem Solver or AHA serums. Drying your skin out will cause sebum overproduction, leading to more clogged pores. Not to mention, tight, dry skin and flakes.
In the mornings, I use the Black Mint cleanser by Odacite. Firstly, I do feel that this gentle-but-powerful cleanser assists in the overall pore-clearing department. But, I also love that it immediately wakes the face up. With ingredients like tea tree oil, peppermint, and activated charcoal, your skin will be left feeling fresh, alert, and tingly. You won’t feel groggy after washing with this!
Selfcare Sunday Goal #2: Adding Hydration Back for Supple, Youthful Skin
Just as important as decongestion is proper hydration. In fact, dehydrated skin can be more acne-prone! On the flipside, well-hydrated skin can prevent breakouts from forming. Healthy skin produces a balanced amount of sebum and is better able to regulate lymphatic flow.
Before diving into which products I used, let’s make it clear that the majority of skin hydration comes from within. You can slather on pounds of moisturizer, but if you aren’t drinking enough water, it won’t make much of a difference. I have a water bottle that I aim to fill twice per day since counting cups is beyond me.
The Super Hydrating, Luxury Green Beauty Products We Both Love
For hydration, we’ve brought in two old favourites to our Selfcare Sundays routine: The Blue Cocoon by May Lindstrom and Odacite’s Deep Hydration Mask. These products have always been staples in my green beauty skincare because they create instantly visible and long-lasting results. I would recommend both The Blue Cocoon and the Deep Hydration Mask in a heartbeat.
Dusan has been a fan of The Blue Cocoon for as long as I have. Of course, I’ve spoken highly about this wonder-balm several times on my YouTube channel. We both adore how it makes our skin feel. But perhaps even more so, we love how it smells. The therapeutic scents of blue tansy, frankincense, myrrh, lavender, and immortelle help calm our shared, chronic anxiety. In fact, he knows it by scent. He’s sometimes rolled over in bed, sniffed my face, and sighed “blue cocoon…” on several occasions. If he’s had an especially stressful day, I’ll give him a massage and apply the blue balm across his face to help him relax. Camellia oil, shea butter, marula oil, yangu oil, baobab, and geranium-rose make this formula highly nourishing to the skin.
It’s also very healing on aggravated skin (think eczema or rashes) and promotes a more even skin tone. My face looks and feels amazing every time I use this dreamy, blue balm. If you’re looking for a multi-tasker luxury skin product, this can easily replace an eye cream, night cream, and night serum, all in one.
This is the single product that made me fall head-over-heels for luxury green beauty in general. There are others who try to imitate this product, but there will never be anything else quite like May Lindstrom’s Blue Cocoon.
As for my other favourite, the Deep Hydration Mask by Odacite, I store the jar in my fridge to keep it cool and preserve the active botanical ingredients. As I’ve shared a billion times on Instagram, I prefer to apply this thick, creamy product with a chilled applicator to amp up the lux-treatment feel. My skin is always baby-soft and supple after using the Deep Hydration Mask. It’s also perfect for those with super dry skin or eczema.
Dusan’s skin looks unreal after using this mask. Mine also looks great, although slightly dewier. We both look fresher and more youthful after we use the Deep Hydration Mask since it plumps out any fine lines and gives the appearance of younger skin.
Another hydration mask I’ve been loving, albeit solo, is the Josh Rosebrook Advanced Hydration mask. I wrote about why I wear this mask in the shower a few weeks ago. Give it a read if you find that steamy showers have been drying out your skin!
Selfcare Sunday Goal #3: Buff Away Bumps and Eradicate Dry Patches with Scrubs and Body treatments
We love, love, loooove Cup O’ Coffee by LUSH. Many a little-black-pot of this mud-mask-scrub have been shared between the two of us. And not just during Self Care Sundays! This is easily our absolute favourite skin product to use together. Cup O’ Coffee has come with us to the Shangri La in Toronto, to various beach vacations in Florida, and basically any other hotel we’ve ever visited.
Why you may ask? Because it’s invigorating to the skin, decongests pores, sands away any bumps on the upper arms and back (AKA: keratosis pilaris), promotes circulation, and smells like a fresh cup of coffee! Plus, it’s so fun to apply to each other.
Obviously, we brought our favourite scrub into our Selfcare Sunday routine. Working this mud-scrub into each other’s back relieves stress and makes us feel like we’re taking care of each other.
Keep in mind that excessive scrubbing can strip the skin’s natural moisture barrier, making it feel tight and uncomfortable. We only use this scrub twice per month.
Adding hydration to the rest of your body is often overlooked. For our wedding, I will be showing off my legs and chest. So I made sure to pamper my skin from the neck down as well. I’ve been liberally applying Curata’s body oil and Le Labo’s Lys 41 lotion all over. You may notice the healthy glow coming through in my recent photos.
This week, we also threw in a skin-conditioning LUSH bath bomb for some added moisturization. Aptly named ‘Butterball’, it contains chunks of fair trade cocoa butter. Our skin felt silky, not oily, after using this. Though the tub was a tiny bit slippery, so be careful!
Selfcare Sunday Goal #4: Targeting Dark Circles and Under-Eye Hallows
This step was for Dusan specifically, as he is genetically prone to dark circles. To be clear, there is no product that truly gets rid of dark circles permanently. But what you can focus on is plumping up the delicate skin under the eyes. You see, the reason dark circles are visible is that the skin is more transparent under the eyes, thus the colour of blood underneath the skin shows through. Plumper skin is less transparent.
I’ve been living the Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye cream life for years now, and Dusan got in on that action recently. This does subtly brighten the under-eye skin and adds much-needed hydration. You can grab your own from 100% Pure in two sizes on Petit Vour. I started with the small tube, but after purchasing it three times, I decided to upgrade to the larger size. This is one of the few products I use consistently in my green beauty routine.
Next, we kicked it up a notch by applying the bright green, caffeine-soaked Bright Eyes Masks, which also deliver a concentrated hit of intense hydration to the skin. For me, my under eyes look far more uniform in colour, plump, and alert—some have even accused me of wearing concealer when I’m not! Because Dusan’s under eyes are darker than mine, the effect wasn’t quite as dramatic, but it does make a difference. Especially the following day.
We plan to apply the 100% Pure’s Bright Eye Masks again on the night before our wedding. This should also help with how we look in photos, since under eye hollows are an issue for both of us, and this product help counteract that.
