Dear friends, I had the idea of writing to you about my skin care routine, but I kept wanting to sneak other topics in here. The idea of writing only about skin care seems so simple and concrete to me, and simple and concrete is not really the way I think. But routine is one of the few doorways I have found into focusing on the present, and into experiencing more through my body rather than only through my mind. I want to keep this blog simple, to keep up a conversation with anyone who might read me, and to continue exploring how simple, concrete acts can lead to dialogue and personal insight, by showing the type of person you are in doing them. The best way to become is to simply be!
In these modern times, when diverse experiences from all different walks of life are offered up in so many fragments and artifacts on the internet, a person like me could spend a whole day adrift. And, believe me, I have! I have spent days on my couch just taking in abstract ideas of others' lives, and doing just the bare minimum to eat and clean, and basically care for myself. So I am thankful for routine. I am thankful to have the energy to gather myself, most days, into enough of a concrete person to do routines to care for myself and my surroundings. Again, believe me, I didn't always have that. I am slowly learning to love myself a little more, to make more time for myself and for the life I want to lead. This blog is one of the ways I am putting my energy into myself a little bit more.
I am thinking I will write about more of my routines here. Each routine gives you a doorway into my personality, my mind, and how I approach things - like how I budget my money, how I decide what my skin needs, how I research, my role models, and so many other undercurrents. I might write about my bathtime routine next, or my shopping routine. But without further ado, here is one of the routines I practice: my skincare routine. All that is written here are my thoughts and opinions. I am not an expert by any means!
First of all, I should note my skin type. I have an oily T-zone, but the rest of my skin is pretty normal, so I guess you can say I have combination skin. The perimeter of my forehead and my temples get dry, flaky and/or scaly faster than the rest of my face, maybe because I don't focus there enough when I exfoliate, or maybe because more makeup residue tends to deposit in those areas. Like many adults, I sometimes get breakouts on my chin, especially around my period. So let that be a kind of measuring stick for you, for how much of my skin care routine you might want to adapt.
These are the three main products I use to wash my face and neck : Clear Complexion foaming cleanser by Aveeno, Nourishing Cleansing Oil by Garnier, and a Clarisonic Mia 2 brush. I use a lot of drugstore products, as you will see, because that is what my budget can afford. The drugstore offers so many great options nowadays though, that you can do really well for yourself without breaking the bank.
- First, if it's at night, I remove my makeup with the cleansing oil. I used to use makeup remover and cotton rounds, but when cleansing oil became popular, I immediately became a convert because it takes care of so many steps in one. I don't need a separate makeup remover for my face and my eye makeup. I can just rub this oil all over my face, wash it off, and my face is already pretty clean and moisturized, so if I want to skip washing my face again with cleanser and moisturizing, I can.
- Half of the time at night I follow up the cleansing oil with Aveeno's foaming cleanser, which I simply lather into my skin and rinse off. If it's the start of the day, I use the foaming cleanser in conjunction with my Clarisonic, which I asked my parents to buy for me for Christmas last year! If I'm in the shower, I use the Clarisonic on my neck and décolleté, too. I prefer to use the Clarisonic only once a day, not to irritate my skin too much.
- Not pictured above, from time to time I use the Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash by Philosophy. I don't really like drugstore exfoliators such as the one by St. Ives, which I used in high school and college, because the exfoliating granules feel so large and rough on the skin. On me, drugstore exfoliators often leave a lot of dry, flaky skin behind, because the particles are too large to entirely lift away the dull top layer of my skin. The one by Philosophy has very fine particles, which does the job nicely. I don't use it too often, probably subconsciously because I know it's a nicer product, so it has lasted me a long time.
These are the products I apply to my face after cleansing: Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution by Kiehl's, Rapid Wrinkle Repair eye cream by Neutrogena, Clear Face Liquid-Lotion Sunscreen by Neutrogena, Boots Botanics Organic Facial Oil, and Positively Ageless Reconditioning Night Cream by Aveeno.
- I always apply Kiehl's dark spot solution to my entire face, morning and night. I have a dark spot on my undereye from sun exposure, and I always get dark spots after a breakout - though I try to prevent them with sunscreen. This serum combats hyperpigmentation with "activated vitamin C". As the very helpful man in the Kiehl's store at the mall explained to me, activated Vitamin C means it is a smaller molecule which penetrates deeper into the skin to get rid of dark spots from the root. I only need three drops to cover my entire face, as the product has a very waterlike consistency. I've been using it for a month now, and the spots on my chin, where I get the most breakouts, have disappeared or gotten a lot lighter now. The spot under my eye is still there, but I think that one will take more time since it is deeper. I gifted this to my mom as well, because she has two large sun spots on the side of her face. Thank goodness for products like this!
- I use the same eye cream for day and night. I think this one by Neutrogena, which I am almost out of, is alright. I don't have too much experience with eye creams, so I don't have anything to compare it with right now. After I'm done with this one by Neutrogena, I will start using another eye cream which contains retinol, by RoC. All I can say about this product now is that it doesn't give me those little milia bumps around my eyes, because the formula is not too rich. And, for the same reason, it is decent under makeup, though I find I have to "bake" my undereye concealer with powder whenever I use it so that my undereyes don't get too oily and smeared with mascara.
- I always put on sunscreen now. It is simply a must. I already had this tube of Neutrogena 30 SPF, so that is what I am using for now until it runs out. But I just recently bought a new tube of 110 SPF, which should be ready for unboxing just in time for the spring and summer. I really don't have any complaints about the liquid lotion by Neutrogena. It doesn't have a strong smell or feel greasy, so it doesn't interfere in any way with my makeup. I don't take enough pictures to know if I get a white cast from flashback. Sorry about that.
- I started using facial oil as moisturizer. I guess I am on the oil bandwagon! They do not exacerbate my oily t-zone, in case you are wondering. You should not be afraid of oils if you have oily skin, because they are formulated to work with your skin and might even balance out your skin's oil production. Right now because the weather is mild, I am not using any other moisturizer. I simply put three drops of this oil into my sunscreen lotion before applying and call it a day.
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| Serving up some simple poses in the little photoshoot I did specially for this blog entry! |
Thank you for reading, friend! I hope you learned something and got inspired to take care of yourself in more ways. Feel free to comment any questions, suggestions, or just share your own experience! I would love to chat with you.
Love,
Bao
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