In three days, it’ll be winter.  And…it may be time to change up the skincare routine a bit.

Unfortunately this is not the precipitation that gives us a moist and dewy finish to the skin!

For me, the routine gets turned around when the weather changes in the fall—around the end of October to be exact. It’s that time of year when the humidity and heat take a rest and make way for the drier and cooler (on the way to downright freezing) air to return home to us like an unwanted house guest.

What I would love to say to winter!

And as much as I’ve complained in the past about the humidity ruining my hair (when I had most of it), it’s great for my skin! During the warmer and summer months, everything seems to be lighter.  Makeup.  Clothing.  And skincare products. A lighter moisturizer.  Sunscreen. And when it’s really hot and humid, sweat makes your skin glisten and your face looks so moist and dewy!

The summer face is just more glowing–even with a fake tan!

My skincare routine for summer is pretty simple.  I wash my face in the evening with a cleanser.  Then I use a light serum and at night I moisturize.  During the day, though it’s daunting because my eyes are uber-sensitive and if any sunscreen gets near them, I’m done for the day.  My eyes will sting, get red and any product that gets into my eyes from rubbing clouds my sight.

But my eyes are soooooooooooo sensitive to moisturizer with sunscreen that it looks like I have been crying…..or worse!

The only summer moisturizer I can use is Peter Thomas Roth Max Shear All Day Moisture Defense Lotion SPF 30—at $42 for 1.7 oz, it’s a bit pricey.  But if you have sensitive skin and need sunscreen when out and about, this is really excellent.

But summer is gone.  And so is the dewiness and the sun-kissed color

Bye warm weather.  Hello dry skin!

And it’s time for the Winter routine!

Back to October.  It’s this time of year that I often find myself having to change up the skincare due to changes in my skin.

My skin gets blotchy.  I wouldn’t say that I have rosacea but I get patches of redness when the weather changes to the colder.  My skin also gets incredibly dry and I get dry patches on my face.  The dryness on my legs and body really doesn’t bother me that much—but it’s a deal breaker with the face.  Dry patches mean caked on foundation.  And then anything that goes on top of the foundation looks even more dry and caked on.  With dryness, those fine lines become more noticeable.

So repulsive but so true.  Nobody needs to have skin that dry–but the winter can do this!

And the trouble—even as I’m pro-aging—is finding a moisturizer that hydrates.  I’m not kidding.  This Fall my face was looking pretty blotchy. Up close it looked like I had a skin condition.  The drugstore moisturizers no longer work for me.  The snail moisturizer that worked so well during the warmer months doesn’t help my winter skin.

It’s time to step up the game.  But the thing is, I don’t want to go into debt.  There’s a limit to what I’ll spend on skincare.

And when I spend too much money on skincare products, I DO cry…actually my husband is the one who cries more–it’s his money!

And as if by magic, just around the end of October, gopure, a skincare company reached out to me to see if I would want to try some skincare products for review.  Since I was searching for some different skincare, I was in.  Either the products would be good, or “meh”, or worse.

I  made it known to the Company that it would take me about a month or so to use the products before I would review because it’s important to see how and if they work.

Let me tell you.  The three products that I’ve been using are good.  They are very good.  Are they the best in the world?  Listen. The best skincare in the world would literally erase every line and wrinkle, tighten our jowls and chin and get rid of turkey neck. That magic skincare company hasn’t surfaced and if it did, it would be way out of most of our affordability range. Am I right?

The products that gopure sent me:  Vitamin C Ferulic (an antitoxidant found in plants) Acid, Vitamin E, Green Tea Serum, Vitamin C Moisturizer, and Hyaluronic (used in fillers it’s supposed to be a great PRO-aging product) Acid Serum.

I take a more pragmatic view of products and my expectations are realistic. I want hydration. I want less blotchiness.  I want the skin on my face to look nice.  Simple enough!

So, what do I think?

gopure Vitamin C Moisturizer Deep Hydration with Shea Butter, Jojoba and Green Tea.

Cut to the chase.  This is an excellent moisturizer. There is no scent to bother your sinuses or give you a headache.  There is no sunscreen which means it is fine for those with sensitive eyes.  If sunscreen is the most important ingredient to you then this moisturizer isn’t for you unless you use it in the evening. For me, during the cooler and freezing months, I don’t wear sunscreen.  Besides, here in the Northeast, most of the winter is gray, the sun disappears, and I’m indoors anyway.

This is very sanitized packaging…you’ll see what I mean…

The moisturizer is packaged (and you know that I’m a total sucker for packaging) in a jar that you don’t even have to open.  All you need to do is to push down on the top of the jar and the proper amount of moisturizer is ejected!  I was stunned, mesmerized and incredibly happy about this.

..push down on the top of the jar and the correct amount of moisturizer oozes out. I love this!!!  It’s genius!

The product isn’t a liquid nor is it a very light moisturizer. The texture is creamy and, it is slightly dense but isn’t heavy.

A creamy texture, this is recommended for day but I use it at night.

The moisturizer’s ingredients

Due to the nature of the density, I use this moisturizer at night.  The website advertises this as a day moisturizer but with my use of primer and oil mixed in with my foundation, I use a much lighter moisturizer for the day.  Truth be told though, this moisturizer packs a wallop of hydration.  I can’t pinpoint the exact moment, but within a month of nightly use, the dry patches on my face were gone and I woke up in the morning noticing that my skin wasn’t dry and just felt hydrated.

After a few weeks of using the products I could begin to see a difference and my skin felt hydrated!

Overall, this gopure Vitamin C moisturizer gets a solid “A”!

Next, we have two serums.

“Hello.  My name is Cathe and I’m a Serum Addict.”

Yes. Not only am I addicted to wigs, but I’m addicted to Serums as well–and the gopure serums are very, very good!

It’s true. I have many serums.  Some aren’t that good and were expensive.  Others are very good and were also expensive.  Let’s talk about the gopure Hyaluronic Acid Serum and the gopure Vitamin C Ferulic Acid.

I’m no scientist nor am I a beauty expert.  But I know what I like and know what works.  I’ve had “Acid” serums that were too strong and have irritated my skin.  Perhaps it’s the work “acid” that scares us.  Do you remember some of those horror movies when we were kids and seeing the effects that acid poured on the face can do?  Yikes!

Luckily the acid serums help our skin–they don’t ruin it!

These serums don’t irritate the skin.  Let’s take a look:

The Hyaluronic Acid Serum has Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Green Tea.

This serum is a keeper!

Sounds almost like a vitamin-fortified breakfast—and it kind of is………………………only it’s for your face!

The only Vitamin-fortified breakfast I had in Paris last month was this–because I put fruit on the plate.  Trust me, the serum is more vitamin-fortified than anything I’ve been eating lately!

I love this serum.  Again, this is a light serum but it’s got some substance. It’s a bit like a liquid gel and glides on the face. I’ve had serums that sat on the face but this soaks into the skin after a couple of minutes.  It’s got the most pleasant scent ever.  Not offensive and not strong—the scent is clean—I don’t know whether it’s the geranium or the glycerin or the Witch Hazel, but it would be great if gopure captured the scent of this serum in a light perfume for the summer.

I put a couple of drops on my hand for you to see–it’s almost gelatinous but not really.  Whatever it is, it’s very, very good!

There is a caveat on the box that states if redness or irritation occurs to stop using.  In all honesty, I have sensitive skin and didn’t have any irritation whatsoever in using this or the other serum.

Directions and ingredients.

I use this serum in the evening before I moisturize. Quite frankly, I find the scent soothing and since it is just a tiny bit thicker than the Vitamin C serum, it works better for me in the evening.  That’s the thing about skincare—you have to play around with the various products to see what works better in the day or evening.

The Vitamin C Ferulic Acid Serum is what I use in the daytime.  I place my head back and use the dropper to add a drop on each cheek and two on my forehead.  Then I pat it in, let it dry and put a lighter moisturizer on followed by my primer.

The Ferulic Acid.  More watery in texture and so I use this in the daytime!

More ingredients of which I am only familiar with a few–but this is good stuff!

What were the effects of the serums?  Using them for almost eight weeks, I’ve noticed an overall difference in my skin.

But wait—when I say that I don’t mean my wrinkles are miraculously gone. They aren’t.  My lines and wrinkles are here to stay.  However, there’s this difference in my skin in the fact that the dry spots have disappeared.  Is it because of the serums?  The moisturizers?  I’m guessing it’s all three used faithfully.

I still have my lines and wrinkles, but overall my SKIN looks and feels much, much, much better! And that’s the reality.  We want skincare to make our SKIN get to a better place.  AT 60 + the only things that’ll get rid of wrinkles are fillers and a plastic surgeon..but a good moisturizer and serum can plump of the skin and make the lines appear a little less……..wrinkly!

In addition, the effects of these products have made my makeup go on a lot better—there’s a dewiness that’s coming through and the makeup isn’t looking dull.  I think that has a lot to do with the products.

How do I rate these serums?  I’m giving them each an “A” because in the length of time that I’ve used them I’ve experienced no irritation, no burning (and some stronger serums have made me feel as though my skin is on fire) and no laying on the skin so that your makeup gets weird.

Another great thing is the price. Let’s face it (pun intended), skincare can be incredibly expensive and the price of these products is good.  It isn’t drug store pricing and it isn’t luxury-brand pricing.  It’s affordable without being over-the-top.

This trio can be purchased for $39.90 which is a decent deal for the serum and the moisturizer–and free shipping!

You can purchase the moisturizer for $19.96 but another ten bucks will get you the free shipping!

The brand is cruelty-free and there is no autoship—and that means no fear of being bombarded every three months with product!  You buy when you want!

That’s right NO autoship and Cruelty-free!  It’s all good!

In all honesty, I thank the folks at gopure for giving me the opportunity to try the products.  I will be purchasing the moisturizer and the Hyaluronic Serum.

What new skincare products have you been trying?  Do you change up your skincare routine with the seasons?  Do you stick to the same routine throughout the year?  Do tell!!