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Saturday, January 21, 2012

Skin Care Routine and Top picks!

My Skin Care Routine!


To achieve a great make-up look, you need to have a flawless if not, a smooth canvass to work with.
With this being said, you need to take great care of you skin first before you get a the best make-up look you are aiming for.

I don't have a perfect flawless skin, please note on that! But I manage to keep my face (as much as possible), clear and less dry and not oily on the t-zone (if that makes sense).

First, wash my face with a facial wash, I was a bar soap user before, but through research, I learned that bar soaps tend to clog your pores, thus making your skin dry.  When your pores are clogged, sebum or the oil on your face will not come out and bacteria are likely be trapped as well causing your skin to swell and pimples/acne are likely to form.

To avoid these pimple, whiteheads, blackheads and cyst, you must regularly wash and exfoliate your skin. It is more advisable to use liquid soap that claims to be "non-comedogenic" as this will not clog your pores. And the top 3 favorite facial wash I have are these :

Top 1. Clinique Liquid Facial Soap, Mild, for Dry Combination skin
Top 2. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser
Top 3. Celeteque Dermo Science + Facial Wash with NMF (Natural Moisturizing Factor)

These products helped my skin control the dryness and oiliness at the same time, I do not say it will work for everybody, but this sure worked for me.
If I have the ugliest dry skin ever in my entire life, I use the Clinique Liquid Facial Soap, but we all know how expensive this could get so I looked for a much cheaper brand that really works and I found Celeteque, though I get occasional pimples with using this products, I found that  The Body Shop Tea Tree Foaming Cleanser works well with maintaining my skin free from acne and pimples.

And then of course we need to exfoliate!
We need to rub off those dead skin once in a while, I do exfoliate every thrice a week, as I have dry skin, it is a must that I exfoliate regularly to avoid the flakes on my skin, if not I get the weirdest dry patches ever!
I have not found any other exfoliating scrub that I would want to use except for this :

St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub

I love this Apricot Scrub from St.Ives as this is a Blemish & Blackhead Control, it is oil-free and has salicylic acid that we know is a great ingredient to prevent acne plus it is paraben free!
This scrub though I may say is a bit harsh if you have sensitive skin as the scrubs do not melt, so it is not advisable to use everyday.

After I wash my face and/or exfoliate, I tone my face to prevent excessive oil secretion and tone my pores.
I use a pore tightening and clarifying toner with salicylic acid from L'Oreal Paris Pure Zone. But sometimes if my skin is being stubborn, I feel that this toner dries my skin too fast, I use my Clinique Clarifiying Lotion 2. But at night time and I feel that I need to hydrate my face and I want a supple and soft skin in the morning, I will use my The Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner, which is Alcohol-free, that is good for my dry skin and great for all skin types as well.
Top 1. Clinque Clarifying Lotion 2
Top 2. L'oreal Paris Pure Zone Pore Tightening and Clarifying Toner
Top 3. The Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner

And too finish my skin care routine, I always use a moisturizer. I believe that even you have the oiliest skin, you still have to moisturize your skin. When you clean your face and tone it, some of the moisture on the skin is lost and as we get older our skin tends to loose its elasticity and dries out. So it is still best to help our skin to get moisture, you just have to find what suits your skin best.
For me, it has been these products :
Top 1. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
Top 2. Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
These moisturizers I use if my skin is super dry as it helps a lot. It maybe very expensive for some, but it is all worth the money. So if you can and you can afford Clinique, it is for sure a must try~! Plus if you go to their counters you can have your skin consultation 101, to know more about your skin.

But I use a different moisturizer or day cream especially if I am going out, and know that I will be exposed to the sun. I need to use something that has SPF on it.
And these are my favorites out of all the day cream that I have use :
Top 1. Clean and Clear, Clear Fairness Moisturizer with SPF 15 and Whitening Vitamin C
Top 2. Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Ageing Cream Normal SPF 15

You may be wondering why I choose Clean and Clear top 1 than the Olay, it is because I find a lot of hassle when it comes to Olay. One is it makes my skin shiny too fast in a day, if I sweat I notice red patches on my skin only when I use this and it has a scent to it that Clean and Clear don't have, plus because it is oil free it does not make my face shiny. :)

And lastly, are eye cream.
I found that using eye cream, whatever brand it is you prefer to use, it is very helpful. Prevent premature wrinkles and fine lines, puffiness and circles.
Top 1. Clinique Repairwear
Top 2. Clinique All About Eyes

Having a great skin is having a beautiful face. These products that I use may help and work for you but take note that it may also NOT. But do not get tired of looking for a great product that will suit your skin best.

I have not discovered these products in just a week, but it took me 6months to 1 year and tested out so many many products (some made my skin horrible than it was) but its OK all in the name of beauty, haha~!

I hope you find this blog helpful and let me know what works best for you too! I would love to hear from you guys!

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

*Note : The products posted some of were purchased by my own money and some were sent as gift/loot.
I was not paid to post a blog for the products, all opinions are mine and not manipulated by any of the company mentioned.