Minimalist Beauty Routine – Guest Post with Sarah at Pretty Simple Ideas

Being purposeful comes in many different ways of living a minimalist lifestyle. One of these ways is with your skincare routine. Having a minimalist beauty routine is something I wish I would have started years ago, but better late than never, right?

Sarah at Pretty Simple Ideas is one of my favorite bloggers who creates the most unique skincare recipes and inspires me to go more toward basic skincare products/recipes that work!

I asked her to share with us her tips for curating a successful minimalist skincare routine.

I hope you all enjoy it, and please be sure to send Sarah some love by visiting her blog!

Minimalist Beauty Routine by Sarah at Pretty Simple Ideas

If you took a look under my bathroom sink, you would see an odd mixture of store-bought beauty products sitting next to bottles of apple cider vinegar and witch hazel.

When it comes to skincare, I don’t necessarily believe “more is less” because I like to give my skin the nourishment it needs.

But I do believe we can over-complicate the process by buying too many products that we’ll never get around to using and using other products that are doing more harm than good.

Do you remember the commercial with Kristen Bell asking, “Do you know what’s in your skincare?” She has a point.

We try to eat healthy, exercise, and get enough sleep, but when it comes to beauty products, we will rub anything into our skin and hair without thinking twice.

But did you know our skin is the largest organ in our body, and anything we put on it gets immediately absorbed into our system? No digestive system here to help funnel out the bad stuff.

If it promised shinier hair or clear skin, I didn’t care what was in it. But I’ve come to realize most beauty product ingredients are full of chemicals.

I’m not the only one to notice, as we’re seeing a lot more mainstream companies advertise their products as being “sulfate, paraben, and silicone-free.”

So I’ve been on a quest to not only simplify my skincare routine. I want to buy fewer products to start, and with the ones I do buy, I want to make sure are free of ingredients and chemicals I don’t need.

Lucky for you, I’ve created a minimalist beauty routine that’s also pretty simple, too.

Because whether you want to go all-natural or still buy quality, clean brands, all of the above are consumable, meaning they won’t take up your shelf space forever.

And for minimalists, that’s great news.

Let’s get started. The first step in your minimalist beauty routine is to find a makeup remover.

1 // Makeup Remover

For my eyes, I use coconut oil. However, I don’t use it on the rest of my face because, in spite of all the Pinterest posts out there, coconut oil actually causes breakouts for people with sensitive skin, like me.

Instead, I use my face wash and either a microfiber washcloth or Konjac sponge to really get my face clean.

Konjac sponges are sold in so many places these days and are a Japanese little face scrubby that exfoliates and cleanses. They are my new favorite thing.

Get one, and your face will be happy. Make sure you throw it out every 1-3 months, though, depending on use.

And all the minimalists rejoice!

2 // Face Wash

So I alternate between making my own face wash and trying out different “clean” brands. By clean, I mean free of chemicals that are bad for our skin, health, and environment.

I’m not a huge environmentalist, but I do believe in being a good steward of the earth where we can be.

For the DIY face wash, I like to make my famous Rose & Almond oil, one that literally takes three minutes to make. When I’m not making my own, I’m a big fan of the Nourish Organics line of face cleansers.

3 // Toner

Although it may seem like an unnecessary step, a toner helps remove any remaining makeup or any other gunk from your face. Depending on the kind you use, it can also clear acne and shrink pores.

While I’m sure there are great brands out there, I use straight witch hazel and call it a day. Not all witch hazels are made the same, though, so only purchase T.N. Dickinson or Thayers. Other kinds are not pure witch hazel.

If I am suffering from acne, I will add a few drops of tea tree oil. For wrinkles, I add rose essential oil.

I’ve also been known to use apple cider vinegar (mix with water if you have sensitive skin!) to banish acne overnight.

4 // Face Mask

Once a week, I use a face mask, my favorite being the turmeric mask. It’s a bit messy, and you’ll swear your face will be orange forever, but I promise it won’t. And the results are fantastic!

When I do buy a mask, I usually purchase Ahava’s Dead Sea Mud clearing mask because it does exactly what it says without using any bad chemicals. Plus, it’s got Dead Sea Salt in it. Good stuff.

5 // Serum

A serum is basically a product used to deliver some good nutrients to your skin.  Ninety percent of the time, I use straight grapeseed or almond oil, which are full of alphabet vitamins (you know, A, C, E…).

If you have some extra cash ($54), you could splurge on something like KORRES Wild Rose Vitamin C Active Brightening oil which delivers amazing results, too.

6 // Moisturizer

Ah, finally, we’ve arrived at the moisturizer. No surprise, I usually make my own face lotion from shea butter and a small handful of awesome ingredients.

Otherwise, I use either Ahava daily moisturizer or OLE HENRIKSEN’s sheer transformation. Both have proven great on even my very sensitive skin.

Final thoughts about a minimalist beauty routine

Whew, and that’s it. I know for some of you that may not seem like a very minimalist beauty routine but when it comes to my skin, I don’t mess around.

What is minimalist about it is the number of ingredients compared to most drugstore brands and how much I buy. I don’t purchase anything new until an old bottle is used up.

What are some of your favorite products? Are you moving toward a minimalist beauty routine too?

Sarah Althouse lives and works in Washington, D.C., with her husband Josh. By day she works in Communications, and by night dreams about being Martha Stewart. Follow along with her latest DIYs, home & garden ideas, beauty tips, and faith inspiration at Pretty Simple Ideas.

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