Balanced Beauty.

Since becoming a mom, my time is divided amongst a variety of priorities, as is my budget. Accordingly, I have streamlined my toiletry and cosmetic purchases. Gone are the days of making a special trip here to get a certain hair product or there to get my favorite moisturizer. To be perfectly honest, I never have been one to spend much money on toiletries or cosmetics anyway. But these days, I prefer to source the items for my beauty routine from places I go in the normal course of my week. And by “places” I mean Target, of course. For me, a trip to Target is never more than forty-eight hours away. Unfortunately.

Since switching over many of my beauty products to brands I can purchase at Target, I have to admit I really like many of my finds.

Skin Care

My skin care regime is actually mostly from Target. I have normal to oily skin, if that helps you determine if these products would work for you. And, even if these particular products wouldn’t work for you, Target carries the full line of these brands, as do many drugstores, I believe.

This is my everyday foaming face wash, which I use twice daily. It is gentle, scent-free, and doesn’t dry out my skin. For days when I need extra moisture and need to sluff away dead skin, I rotate this scrub in. I also use the toner of the same brand to help even out my skin tone. It’s possible I’m borderline obsessed with this brand. I swear by these face wipes. I have written about them before in the context of on-the-go beauty, but they are firm fixture in my everyday routine.  I don’t actually need them, but I love the convenience of using them to remove eye makeup before I wash my face at night. I have tried other brands, and this is the brand that both leaves my skin feeling clean and also doesn’t sting or irritate my face. I love them so much that I purchase them two at-a-time! Things get tense when I am out of face wipes.

Body

Except for my face, I am so lazy about taking care of my skin. During the winter, I wait until my skin is itchy before applying lotion. Because of the aforementioned, extreme laziness, I always keep a bottle of this skin oil around. It is perfect for emergency “my skin is dying of dryness” application. If you’re hesitant about using a oil, it is very absorbent. I also occasionally put a few drops into a bath. It may seem expensive for a tiny bottle, but one bottle typically lasts for months. During the fall, winter and spring, I am a tub soaker, so I always keep either a sack of these bath salts or a bottle of this bubble bath on hand. The bubble bath is not the bubbliest, but it smells great, and I swear by the bath salts to soak away any post-exercise soreness.

Hair

I have never been willing to spend money on shampoo and conditioner. I have always purchased more affordable brands like Aveeno, but I really like this brand at Target. I have experimented with different scents, but have settled on this coconut shampoo and conditioner. It is nothing flashy – but it does the trick and doesn’t dry out my fine hair. I used to use a somewhat expensive (for me) leave-in conditioner that I purchased at my hair salon. The last time I ran out, I grabbed a bottle of this spray at Target, and I love it. It is much lighter than the leave in conditioner and has a mild scent.

So there are my quick and easy beauty finds.  I would love to know the drugstore brands and products you swear by!  Please share in the comments.