It's been a year-long journey and I think I have finally found the products that work for my skin. After a lot of trial and error and a lot of money spent, I've finally narrowed down my skincare routine into 9 products and this is for morning AND night routine already.
As you have recalled, I have blogged about my morning skincare routine last February and I realized that having all of those products in one routine was super excessive (and not to mention > high-maintenance duh) and it was really unfortunate that I realized that a little bit too late. Don't you just hate it when you realize how stupid you were? Just because everyone was doing it doesn't mean you also have to.
It was last March when I started getting terrible breakouts and it just kept getting worse. And when I say worse, I mean WORSE. I had huge pimples breaking out on my cheeks and forehead - continuously. When one acne was going away, it was replaced with an even bigger one. It was so traumatic, my confidence level just went down to zero instantly. My self-esteem was so low, I reached the point where I didn't want to go out of the house. I didn't want to face and interact with other people because I was afraid of what they were going to say. I didn't want to take photos of myself anymore because I didn't like seeing my reflection on the camera. My skin before wasn't perfect, I'd get a few pimples here and there but they would eventually go away. This time was different. The pimples just kept coming and coming that my cheeks became disgusting.
I watched a lot of skincare videos about how to clear your skin. Then I resolved to buy more products that promised to heal your acne and tame your troubled skin because I was THAT desperate. My experimenting didn't work to my advantage. My skin was in its worst state, I decided to take action and reevaluate what I was doing with it.
I was already watching Liah Yoo's videos that time but I just wasn't really paying attention to what she was advocating. When she released a video about the skincare diet challenge, I was drawn. Listening to her talk and explaining how our skin is capable of its own healing really spoke to me. She talked about how using so many products at once can do more harm than good to the skin, that using so many products may even cause damage to our skin barrier and I was just completely mesmerized at how much she has grasped the concepts of it all. I started to watch more of her videos and really listened to what she was saying. I almost always nod along as she talks and I thought that it was what I should start doing. Minimize the products I use and stop using those products that I think haven't been doing anything to my skin. My first attempt at doing the #skincaredietchallenge failed because I was just used to putting so many products on my skin that doing a routine that just consists of a cleanser, moisturizer and sun protection wasn't enough. I tried again and it was in August that I really pushed myself to just do the cleansing-moisturize-protect routine.
My effort wasn't wasted as after a month of doing the skincare diet challenge, I noticed how my skin started clearing up. I don't get that many pimples anymore, only occasionally like in my pre and post-period days, which was normal. I was so happy that I kept on with it. Today, my face has become better, my battle with acne has subsided and I am now onto my next battle - acne scars.
This experience had taught me so much. I still have a long way to go achieve the skin I want but at least, I already know how to listen to my skin and body more than listen to what other people are saying about using this or that.
Here is now an update on what my skincare routine looks like. My routine was just the basic but after my acne subsided, I started incorporating oils and serums into my routine again to address the issues I have (acne scars).
Morning Routine
In the morning, I usually skip out on using a cleanser. Instead, I would just wash my face with water when I wake up. I would only use a cleanser when my I feel like my skin needs it, like when I have pimples and clogged pores due to the spot treatment I used the night before.
When I already washed my face with water, I tone it with the Dear, Klairs Supple Preparation Facial Toner. I apply this using my hands because I find using cotton pads wastes a lot of product and this toner isn't cheap. So as much as possible, I want this one to last for a while. I have been using this for a month now, I think. Before this, I wasn't using any toner because I'd jump right on to moisturizer.
After toning, I moisturize. I use the Earth's Recipe Moisture Light Cream in the mornings as it's very lightweight and non-greasy. Before I had this Moisture Light Cream, I was using the Soon Jung 2x Barrier Intensive Cream from Etude House and let me tell you one thing. This Soon Jung Cream is my HOLY GRAIL (and I'm already on my 2nd tube). It single-handedly cured and strengthened my skin barrier and was the reason why my acne was lessened! But this product is really expensive so when I received this Earth's Recipe moisturizer, I decided to just use the Soon Jung at night.
After my face is moisturized, I put on my favorite sunscreen which is the Biore UV Perfect Bright Milk. I love the formulation of this product. It's watery, non-greasy, and very lightweight. It doesn't leave any white cast on my face and it dries down to a matte finish. Plus I can see the brightening effect it has right after I apply it. My first impression of this was in my BeautyMNL Shopping Experience blog and that impression lasted. This is already my 2nd bottle!
When I feel extra, I spray my face with this Aloe Vera Soothing Gel Mist from Nature Republic. I love this mist, it instantly hydrates my face. I also keep this bottle handy as I sometimes need a boost of moisturizer throughout the day. And FYI, this is also my second bottle already. I have now learned to stick with what has worked for me. 😉
This morning routine is a far cry from my previous one, no? And these products have been enough for my skin. I realized that I don't need that many products to take care of my skin, plus it lessened my application time and isn't as pricey as my previous routine. 😅
Night Routine
Now let's go to my night routine! I have run out of my cleansing balm so I just use a gel cleanser at night. When I'm wearing makeup, I cleanse my face twice using the same cleanser.
The cleanser I'm using is still the CosRX one. It's called the Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser and it works fine for me. I haven't tried another cleanser yet as I wanted to use this up before purchasing a new one. This surprisingly is long-lasting, I've had it since February! But I think I'm almost done with it because it has become lighter than before, hehe. After cleansing, I exfoliate with this Black Sugar Mask from Skinfood. But I only do this once or twice a week, depending on my mood.
After cleansing, I tone using the same toner I use in the morning.
After toning, I use an oil and a serum. I have been introduced to The Prestige Gold Oil in a Kbeauty Group on Facebook I was a member of and I've been using it since September. This oil has a pleasant scent and is fast-absorbing. The gold flakes in it are so extra but what's wonderful about it was it didn't break me out. I was using grapeseed oil and rosehip oil before it but I was not just seeing results. When I switched to this gold oil, I just liked how it kind of brightened my acne scars and made my skin glow.And then a new addition to my night routine is this brightening serum from Earth's Recipe. Before I had this, I was using the Dear, Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drop. That vitamin c serum was heaven sent. It got rid of some of my acne scars but unfortunately, I run out of it and I'm still contemplating if I should repurchase it. Its price is what keeps me hesitating to repurchase. 😅 So I figured that while I'm out of that VitC serum, I'd make use of this Earth's Recipe Gigawhite Radiance Serum. So far, it's doing well. I didn't break out and I love its scent. I'm still looking out for its brightening effect but so far so good. 😊
I apply a spot treatment (the CosRX Centella Blemish Cream) once in a while when I really have a bad hormonal breakout but I didn't include it in the photos because I rarely apply it nowadays.
Also, I put on a sheet mask when I feel like I want to treat my skin but that would be once a week at most. My favorites would include the snail mask from Etude House, the rose moisturizing mask from Mamonde, the princess mask from Chica Y Chico and the Jumiso soothing mask from Helloskin.
And that's it, you guys! I have finally revealed my skin story after so many months and the products I use for my routine. I hope you enjoyed reading this long ass blog post. I definitely didn't see it coming that I would have a lot of words for this blog post. I initially thought it would be short and on point. 😅 But well...
If you guys have questions, comments, reactions, feel free to write them down in the comments section below. Thank you for reading!
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