Our skin is something many of us don’t appreciate in the present, only looking back and realizing “those were the good old days” a few years out. I’ve been guilty of that, for sure — I had angst about the condition of my face in my teens and earlier twenties — but I’m happy to say that I really, really appreciate my skin these days. It’s not perfect, but I’ve worked hard to take care of it and I now realize how good I have it! Though beauty and style ranked near the bottom in the list of your favorite topics in my most recent survey, many of you requested posts about my beauty and skincare routines in the open-ended section… so here we go! Happy to oblige :) To give you a little background, in high school I used prescription topical treatments like Differin and Tazerac to help with some acne, mostly on my forehead. I never really felt like they did much, and I wouldn’t say my skin cleared up until I stopped sucking it dry and started giving it more moisture. Though I rarely breakout, my face can be both dry and oily, and moisture, I’ve found, is the key to balancing it all out. Most of the products I use I’ve found either from blog recommendations or makeup artists with whom I’ve worked. There aren’t many products I’ve tried over the years that have impressed me enough to place a reorder (the ultimate stamp of approval!), but the majority of the ones I’m sharing here have stood the test of time. Rise and shine! Here’s my morning routine: 1. Wash with charcoal soap. This soap was a game changer for me! It and the moisturizer in my evening routine are my two MVPs. This soap went