My skincare routine (updated for post-acne skin)

I'm glad to announce that the crazy acne that attacked my face last year has officially stopped sprouting. What I'm left with are unsightly scars, but I'll rather handle the scars than more acne. Luckily, my concealer is quite heavy-duty so most of the time, the scars are unseen (except for those rough terrains, yes I have mo-peng areas. haiyah). 

These days I try not to use face primer/liquid foundation/BB Cream on my face. Just concealer on needed areas and then brush the areas over with my trusted ZA two-way foundation. I'm scared of clogging the pores and hence inviting acne again. This makeup routine is both good and bad. Good because it cuts down my application time and my skin actually doesn't feel so heavy. Bad because this hinders me from reviewing such products! :( Such a dilemma. I'll still apply the amazing Holika Holika BB Cream if the occasion calls for it though. 

I wear makeup almost every single day (I try to let it breathe during the weekends) and so removing them at the end of a long day is an extremely important step. For girls with oily skin, please please remove your makeup before you go to sleep. I was lazy to remove once (after a long mahjong session) and in the morning, I immediately noticed bumps. IT'S THAT FAST!! The mantra to remember is when you sleep and rest at night, you gotta let your pores breathe and rest as well! All that junk on your face suffocates your pores!! 

Therefore, I always make sure that my skincare routine is adapted to my skin condition. When I had crazy acne breakouts a few months ago, my skincare routine was very minimal. Cleanse with gentle cleanser, apply acne medication, then apply oil-free moisturizer and I was done. No masks whatsoever. Maybe the occasional exfoliating, but at most once a week. 

Now, my skin has cleared up and hence my skincare routine has been modified to keep acne away. I have been applying more moisturizing products too because the acne medication (both applied and taken orally) dried the heck out of my skin. 

Step 1: Removing the junk

• Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Cleansing Wipes 
• ZA Eye & Lip Makeup Remover

The Nivea wipes smell amazing and it does its job beautifully. I use the ZA one to remove stubborn waterproof mascara and eyeliner! 

Step 2: Cleansing

• Morning: VMV Hypoallergenics Spring Cleaning Oil Control Antibacterial Facial Scrub
• Night: Garnier Pure Active Multi-Action Scrub

Nowadays, I like to use cleansers that have some sort of scrubbing properties. They are not as harsh as exfoliators, but they ensure that any makeup that was not removed earlier is removed while cleansing! The VMV one is more gentle and contains less harsh chemicals (no salicylic acid) and so I use it in the morning because I don't have makeup on my face when I wake up. 

The Garnier one is a crazy effective cleanser. My skin cleared up faster after I started using Garnier. AMAZING. Cheap cheap also!! 

Step 3: Toning

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Blackhead Eliminating Cooling Toner
• VMV Hypoallergenics Superskin 1 Monolaurin + Mandelic Acid Toner
• Mentholatum Acnes Medicated Powder Lotion

Currently I alternate among these 3 products. The VMV one has a specific 8-week Application Frequency programme because it contains Active Treatment products. Basically that means that if I started using the VMV one twice a day from day one, there's a likelihood that my skin won't like the sudden surge of strong chemicals and hence allergies etc. may occur. The 8-week plan ensures that my skin slowly gets used to the product. I'm at week 7 now and so far so good! 

I use the Neutrogena one because I have ugly blackheads on my nose. =_= The Mentholatum one was included in the WKWSCI Exam Welfare Pack, so I'm trying it out haha. 

Step 4: Acne medication

• Galderma Benzac AC 2.5
• Mentholatum Acnes Medicated Sealing Jell
• VMV Hypoallergenics id Sweat Acne and Overall Anti-Bacterial Monolaurin Gel

The Galderma Benzac AC 25 has been a staple since my first visit to the dermatologist. It used to be really drying but I guess my skin got used to it. I use this twice a day on affected areas. 

Both the Mentholatum one and VMV one are becoming my "makeup primers" because they really keep my skin matte longer! I usually apply them before applying my makeup in the morning! 

Step 5: Eye creams

• Philosophy Hope in a Tube Eye and Lip Firming Cream
• Origins Plantscription Anti-ageing eye cream

Eye creams are a must for me now. Getting old means combating wrinkles early!! 

Step 6: Moisturizing

• VMV Hypoallergenics Spring Fresh Oil-Free Nourisher
• Clean & Clear Essentials Oil-Free Moisturiser

I use the Clean & Clear one in the morning because it's less heavy. The VMV one almost feels like a mask because of it's creamy consistency, so I apply it at night before resting! 

Three times a week: Exfoliating

• St. Ives Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub

I swear by this product. It leaves my skin feeling SOOOOOOOOOOO clean. Regular (not excessive!) exfoliating is important because we need to get rid of dead skin cells that may clog your pores if not removed! I always look forward to my exfoliating session because my skin feels so smooth after that. Also, moisturizing is so much easier after exfoliating. The product gets sucked into the skin cells immediately. LOVE IT. 

However, please don't exfoliate too much. If you just started, maybe twice a week, then gradually work your way to thrice a week. You don't want to be scraping off your skin and making it ultra sensitive! 

Three times a week: Night Mask

• My Scheming Tea-tree Night Jelly

As said above, my moisturizer works doubly well after an exfoliating session. So I take the chance to nourish my skin more using a night mask! I love this one because it's moisturizing while protecting my skin from acne! 

And so, that's my skin routine. It may seem excessive to some of you, but it's important to take care of your skin from young. Some people are suited to the simple 3-step skincare or even just soap and water, but some people have skins that need extra attention!

Unless your dermatologist advises you to, don't stick to a certain skincare routine forever because as you age, your skin condition changes, hence your skincare routine has to change as well!

Hope this post is helpful! Have an amazing weekend guys! :)

Travel essentials - Skincare edition

I have been getting lots of queries on the products that I bring with me during traveling, so I decided to separate the products for double "travel essentials" posts! :) This one will be for the skincare products that I bring with me! 

Traveling is quite troublesome because if you take a plane, you have to keep track of what you put in your hand-carry luggage. Any containers above 100ml will be forfeited and thrown away at the airport! Hence, it will be better to keep all the huge containers at home! Travel bottles are available everywhere for almost any brands and also you can get travel containers at Daiso! 

I bought my travel skincare bag from Qoo10 and it's really quite useful! S$5.90 only!! Here's the link for the travel mate bag: http://list.qoo10.sg/gmkt.inc/Goods/Goods.aspx?goodscode=407421277 

The Travel Mate bag is amazing and I can pack everything into one bag, and then bring the entire thing to the washroom/shower! The only negative thing is that the bag is not waterproof, so you have to hang it away from the shower head. 

There seems to be too little space for products, but don't be fooled! The second tier also has a zipped pocket!

First up are my must-have health-related products. Medicated oil, eye drops and plasters! Medicated oil is my addiction. I love the smell and sometimes I apply it for no reason. Haha. Eye drops is also a must because I tend to get irritated eyes, especially in countries with bad air quality. Plasters are...well, essentials!

My travel body care products:

• Rexona deodorant - I don't have a preference for this. Anything that can make my armpits nice-smelling and not sweaty will be great!
• Hand cream - MUST HAVE because I have really dry hands now. D: 
• Body spray - I don't have a habit of applying perfume so I rely on body sprays instead. It's lighter and haha not so expensive #woesofanundergradwithnojob
• Sun Screen - I usually apply this on my neck and my arms. 
• Roll-on perfume - This Silky Girl one is REALLY cheap (like S$5 cheap), but it works and it smells like baby powder. LOVE. 

Make-up removing essentials:

• Make up remover - To remove makeup, I use cotton pads soaked with whatever makeup remover I brought with me. I focus more on removing eye makeup at this stage. 
• Two cleansing creams, one gentle and one for acne-clearing purposes - I always use two cleansers at night after removing makeup. This is to make sure I have removed EVERYTHING. Do remember that you need to remove your sun screen/sun block too! 

Skincare products:

• Eye cream - I'm paranoid about wrinkles so I'm starting young. 
• Tea tree lotion - I apply this on areas that are more prone to breakouts. I don't bring an acne cream with me during short getaways because my skin is under control now and this tea-tree lotion is quite powerful in protecting my skin against future breakouts. 
• A good moisturiser - no matter what skin type you have, you NEED to moisturise. 
• Trusted concealer - this is more for the mornings when I need to cover up red areas but still do not want to look like I have full makeup! 

I tend to not bring a toner along with me when traveling, hence I make sure that the cleansers that I bring are pH balanced (QV or Cetaphil cleansers fit perfectly into this category!).

The products that I bring with me always change for every trip simply because I always buy new products. However, I make sure I bring all the products listed above because you really need to take care of your skin since young! Some people ignore their skincare routine when traveling and that's really a taboo in my book. You have to be responsible for your own skin!

Traveling is almost always done to wind down and get away from stressful environment, so don't let your lack of skincare protection ruin your experience! :)

Skincare Haul: VMV HYPOALLERGENICS

It was an amazing week last week. I won a S$200 VMV HYPOALLERGENICS voucher from Urban! HOORAH! 

Prior to the win, I have known nothing about the brand, so I decided to do some google magic, and I liked what I read, so I couldn't wait to redeem the products!!

VMV HYPOALLERGENICS Website: http://www.vmvhypoallergenics.com/

VMV HYPOALLERGENICS SG Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/VMVHYPOALLERGENICS.SG 

 

I especially like the slogan - Skinfatuated, Skintellectual, Skingenius. Reading it already makes me feel like buying the entire line. :P 

There's only one boutique in Singapore currently, and if you are interested to get some skincare goodies from VMV HYPOALLERGENICS after reading this post (hopefully I helped in one way or another haha), then head down to ION Orchard, #B3-48! 

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the VMV lady who was so nice and helpful to me during my visit. I forgot her name, but if any VMV bosses are reading this, it's the lady who served me on 5th February at around 730pm! She was beyond amazing! So patient with all her explanations and the best thing was she didn't pressure me to buy anything. She's an amazing asset, so please give her a pay rise!!! 

OKAY, time for haul photos!! :D 

Id Facial Clean & Shave Cream (S$35 for 120ml) - obviously this is not for me. Heh. :D 

Creammmy Rich Intense Moisture Milk (S$41 for 120ml) - this is for my mom.
Spring Fresh Oil-free Nourisher (S$41 for 120ml) - this is for me! 

Spring Cleaning Oil-Control Anti-Bacterial Facial Scrub (S$32 for 120ml) 

VMV Starter Kit - Safe Skin Haven (S$50 for 6 travel-sized products)

The VMV Starter Kit was awesome. It contains 6 miniature products and I think I'm gonna pack them for my Japan trip in May! :D

Here are the 6 products!

The lady was very very very nice, and she included some samples for my mom and I. She remembered me saying that I have oily skin, while my mom has dry skin, so she gave free sunblock samples according to our skin types. She is just very nice lah, I never praise anyone praise until like this before.

And the sun block samples are so cute!! Look at the packaging!! :D They even included a spatula for you to dig out the product. Heehee. The amount of effort VMV HYPOALLERGENICS put into a SAMPLE. The moment I saw this, I knew I'm going to spend my money on these products when I'm working next time.

Also, VMV HYPOALLERGENICS toners all contain alcohol. Not the bad types of alcohol though. I remember her saying something about plant-based or plant-derived alcohol. Whenever you purchase a toner (or a slightly strong serum), they will give you an Application Frequency Chart to help you slowly incorporate the product into your routine. Apparently, the alcohol can gave differing effects on different people and hence it's better to use the product sparingly initially to expose the skin to the new chemicals, and then increase the frequency of usage slowly.

I think it's a very smart move! This way users can follow the chart without being too confused on what is "sparingly" and how exactly to "increase the frequency". User-friendliness, FULL MARKS.

So far, I have only used the oil-free nourisher and the Id sweat acne and overall anti-bacterial gel, and they have been amazing on my skin. No new breakouts and my face has been less shiny. My mom has yet to try her products. I will provide an update on that in the future!

Sometimes, more costly products do work! :)

Happy Chinese New Year!! Have a great holiday and enjoy yourselves!! :)