Meet HolyKnitter!

Hi. For now, my name is HolyKnitter, but in another month or so I can tell you my real name. See? I already have you on the edge of your seat!

My skin is insanely dry. You have no idea. Insert future post here.

My hair is fine, but it grows in thick. It's naturally big-curly, but also easy to straighten (I'm the luckiest woman in the world in this one area). Not color-treated at the moment. Fairly frizzy, but I'm learning how to "encourage" the frizz to join the rest of the curl, and it seems to be obeying me pretty well now that I'm finding the right product routine. I shampoo every 2-3 days in the summer, and every 4-5 in the winter.

My daily routine looks like this:

Face: in the morning, Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15; at night, Ponds Dry Skin Cream.
Eyes: Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado

Lotion: oh, darlin', I buy whatever's on sale. I probably have 20 bottles and tubes of lotion in my house. Like I said, it's its own post. I'm partial to Aveeno, Curel, and Vaseline Intensive Care, but also have some Suave and Lubriderm and Jergens in the mix. The two common elements are (a) Dimethicone is a major ingredient (future posting); and (b) they're all fragrance-free. Smelly lotion makes me feel nauseous (nauseated? I can't remember which one is correct) and irritates my skin.

In the shower: I don't use soap. I do use a washcloth. I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub on my face, sometimes my feet and elbows, too. In the winter I finish up with Aveeno Shower and Bath Oil. I shower as little as possible, and I take a bath about once every six months, if it occurs to me.

Hair: I begin with a dandruff shampoo (me! dry!), either Neutrogena's scary-looking orange T/Gel Shampoo, or Head and Shoulders. (Neutrogena also makes a H&S equivalent, T/Gel Daily Control, and that's what I'm actually using right now. I had a coupon. I would definitely buy it again for full price.) Then my "rinse and repeat" 'poo is Pantene Colour Expressions Red Shampoo. I've got really strangely-colored hair, but there is some natural red in there and I like to bring it out. Also, the scary Neutrogena stuff smells bad, and the Pantene smells good! For conditioner, I use Pantene HydraCurl, which apparently isn't on their website, so I'm wondering if they still make it (eek! not the Search for the Perfect Conditioner again!), and glad I bought an extra bottle last time it was on sale. Occasionally, I use Bumble and Bumble Deeeeep Conditioner, but I usually forget it's there. Ideally, I'd remember it about once every 3 shampoos. After I'm out of the shower, I use Kiehl's Panthenol Protein Hair Conditioner Softener while it's still wet, and comb through once with a big pick or a wide-toothed comb. If I've showered before bed (this is ideal), I just go to bed at this point, and in the morning I use a combination of John Frieda FrizzEase Secret Weapon Flawless Finishing Creme and Bumble and Bumble Brilliantine (maybe with a drop of Bumble and Bumble Anti-Frizz serum, too). If it's morning, I either leave it alone after that (the I'm-in-a-rush option), or I use Bumble and Bumble Curl Creme and use roller clips to make pin curls and let my hair dry curled up. I do not blow dry. Blow-drying is Of The Devil for curly hair like mine.

Makeup: I subscribe to the "if you don't put it on, you don't have to take it off" school of makeup. IF I wear anything at all, it's usually:

Eyes: Neutrogena Weightless Volume Wax-Free Mascara in Brown Black; one of several brown eyeliners; one of several highlighting eyeshadows; Eliza's Eyes Eyebrow Shaper/Gel.
Face: BareEscentuals Mineral Powder; when I'm feeling especially fancy, BeneFit Dandelion blush
Lips: Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Lip Therapy. There's more here, but this is also a post in itself. Maybe several.

I take it all off with Kiehl's Supremely Gentle Eye Makeup Remover. And water. And a washcloth.

A washcloth, you ask?
What can I say? I'm an old-fashioned gal like that.