Update: Skin Care Routine

I did an update not too long ago, but here’s my current routine. I change it up every time when necessary, haha.

My eye care routine <<<

Update: Eye Care Products <<<

*My New Skin Care Routine*

Face Wash: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance-Free

I’ve been using this face wash for quite some time. It’s still working. It feels a little bit drying sometimes. It hasn’t clogged my pores or caused any skin irritation. Maybe I should stick with it. It is what it is for now. I haven’t ventured to any other face wash since. I just don’t feel like looking anymore. If it works, it works until it gets discontinued, LOL. RIP my past facial cleanser. It was good while it lasted.

Eye Care: Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream

I started using Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream again. I only use it for the skin around my eyes. It dried out pretty badly without it. So it seems like the cream is keeping my skin moisturized. It’s also extremely affordable. That’s why I decided to stick with it. It’s an inexpensive, pretty effective cream that works for me. It’s good for now.

Skin Treatments: Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment

I stopped using Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid. It was great at first, but I noticed that it was making my skin very oily. I also noticed new breakouts out of nowhere. This used to be a HG for me. I don’t know what happened. Well! That means fewer products in my routine. Yay! I’m happy about that. I’m trying to keep things to a minimum anyway. I am still using Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment. I use it whenever my skin gets oily and when I notice new breakouts. It’s still good at preventing acne and fighting acne.

Sunscreen: Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Face Liquid Sunscreen SPF 50

It took me a while to pick out a sunscreen to use. I finally settled on Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Liquid Sunscreen SPF 50. Remember Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30?? That sunscreen felt thick and was supposed to moisturize the skin. It didn’t. It dried my skin out like crazy. My skin looked so wrinkled when using it. I stopped using it anywhere near my face. Even though Cetaphil Sheer Mineral Liquid Sunscreen SPF 50 is not a true mineral sunscreen, it’s working for me. I haven’t had any irritation, or breakouts using it. Maybe that one time when I was using it was a fluke. It’s working now, haha. Some quick thoughts on this sunscreen: Wish it was 100% mineral, leaves a white cast but brightens my skin, can accentuate dry skin if the skin is flaking off or dry, smooths out the skin (silicones!), makes my makeup and skin look better due to the silkiness of the product, runny but easy to apply, doesn’t look cakey on the skin, SPF 50. It’s a good sunscreen for now. Winter is coming soon and I’m hardly ever outdoors anyways. It’s better than nothing.

A new update when it changes. 🙂

My Eye Care Products :)

The skin around my eyes has been very dry lately. I needed to find a moisturizing skin care product for the eye area quickly. I picked up a jar of Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream since it’s very affordable. I also started using The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% EGCG again. I know it may lead to another disappointment. I have it, so why not try it again?

Here are my thoughts on each product so far. I’ve been using both for less than a week. Let’s begin with Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream.

I didn’t think Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream did that much until I finished my last jar. It’s a creamy, rich formula that prevents the skin from feeling too tight and dry. Once I started using it again, my skin felt so much better. What I really love about this cream is that it doesn’t cost a lot, lol. It’s meant to be used on the whole face and neck, but I’m just using it as an eye cream. It seems to be working just fine. I needed a rich, heavy product to use on the skin around my eyes anyway. After less than a week, it’s doing something just a few days in. And that is, keeping the skin around my eyes from drying up and feeling too tight. The feeling of skin tightness is really awful.

I picked up using Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% EGCG again. I’ve tried this product so many times before. The first application felt great. It helped tighten the skin around the eyes. But it eventually left the skin feeling a bit dry. I don’t use Ordinary Caffeine Solution with 5% EGCG alone. I use it with Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream to prevent my skin from drying out. It’s working for the time being. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with ongoing use. I hope it helps with dark under-eye circles. I noticed that I developed darkening of the under eyes over time when I stopped using skin care products on this area of my face. We’ll see how both products will go. So far, so good. 🙂

That’s my first update on Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream and Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% EGCG. Stay tuned for my next update!

Updated Skin Care Routine! Only 4 Products!!

My new routine…

Face Wash: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance-Free

I’ve thought about switching face washes since forever. But I’m still using the same face wash. I haven’t had any issues with it yet. I guess I’m going to stick with it. It’s a gel-type, foamy, non-drying face wash that gently removes excess sebum from my skin. It doesn’t strip my skin. It’s also affordable. I love that it has a fragrance-free version.

Skin Treatments: Neutrogena Stubborn Acne AM Treatment & Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid

Benzoyl peroxide is still a part of my skin care routine. It’s an awesome acne treatment. If it weren’t for benzoyl peroxide, my skin would be a mess right now. I think it’s a huge part of my skin care routine. Helped tremendously with my acnegenic skin. I use it as much as I need to, especially to keep my oily skin at bay to prevent new breakouts or diminishing existing breakouts at a faster pace. The best over the counter benzoyl peroxide I have used so far! It absorbs into the skin quick for mornings!

Another acne product I started using is Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid. When I started using this product again, my skin broke out a bit in my blemish-prone areas. After breaking out, my skin cleared up. It didn’t take too long for my skin to adjust since my acne issues were very few. I like using this salicylic acid product to decrease sebum and clear up difficult to treat areas of my skin. Just like benzoyl peroxide, I use it as often as I need it. Sometimes, I even use it at the same time as benzoyl peroxide. I haven’t had any issues with dry skin. My skin is tolerating both pretty well.

Sunscreen: Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30

I have purged chemical-based sunscreens from my routine. I stopped using Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 for a while. I started using it again and actually finished a bottle of this stuff recently. It seems to work when I use benzoyl peroxide underneath it. I haven’t experienced major breakouts compared to my experience before. Maybe it might work. I know it’s only SPF 30, but I’m using whatever SPF that works on my skin for the time being. With this sunscreen, I also noticed that it feels moisturizing on the skin, but it doesn’t truly moisturize the skin compared to what I was using before (La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Face & Body Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100). La Roche Posay SPF 100 moisturized my skin upon application and afterwards. My skin was left feeling soft. With Vanicream Mineral SPF 30, my skin doesn’t feel moisturized whatsoever. The product is shiny on my skin, but it’s terrible at keeping my skin feeling nice, soft, and moisturized. But I’ll keep using it since I can’t find another mineral sunscreen that is suitable for my skin at the moment. This is it for now, haha. We’ll see how it goes.

That’s all I’m using to maintain healthy acne-free skin. 🙂 I’m keeping my skin care routine to a minimum. My skin prefers a minimalistic approach.

Update: Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30

It hasn’t been too long since I reviewed Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30. But I’m ready to do another update on this product. 

I was hoping that Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 would be my main moisturizer and sunscreen for mornings, but it didn’t work out like I thought it would. It’s moisturizing and provides SPF 30 with 19.5% zinc oxide. I love that it’s a true mineral sunscreen. That’s exactly what I was looking for! When applied to the skin, the sunscreen feels sticky and heavy. It’s moisturizing, but it left my skin looking very shiny. The more product I applied, my skin looked even more shiny. It wasn’t a pleasant look. I don’t want to walk around with an extremely shiny face.

That’s not the reason why I stopped using it. I would’ve kept using it even though it was shiny on my skin. The reason why I stopped using it was because it irritated my skin and caused breakouts. The sunscreen clogged my pores. It’s labeled as non-comedogenic, but it wasn’t on my skin. It’s way too thick on the skin and messed up my skin. I ended up with some breakouts and redness out of the blue. I didn’t think it was the sunscreen because I wanted it to work. I kept using it until I finally convinced myself that the new breakouts, redness, and skin irritation was from the sunscreen. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

Vanicream Mineral Facial Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 didn’t work on my skin. I have a ton of product left that I can use…I guess…in my dry areas such as my eye area and neck. But I’m never using it on my facial skin ever again. The ingredients are nice in this product. Check out the ingredients right here:

purified water, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, isopentyldiol, squalane, glycerin, coco-caprylate/caprate, bis-octyldodecyl dimer dilinoleate/propanediol copolymer, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, polyhydroxystearic acid, cetearyl alcohol, sucrose stearate, ceramide EOP, ceramide NG, ceramide NP, ceramide AS, ceramide AP, carnosine, phytosterols, hydrogenated lecithin, dimethicone, triethoxycaprylylsilane, polyacrylate crosspolymer-11, caprylyl glycol, 1,2-hexanediol

The formulation wasn’t compatible with my skin type. I love the moisture that it provided my skin. With my skin type (oily skin that’s acne-prone), it wasn’t happening. This sunscreen would probably work better on someone that doesn’t experience breakouts and have dry skin. I won’t purchase this sunscreen again. Very disappointed this time around. 

March & April Skin Care Empties!

I know I’m a little late, but here are my skincare empties for the month of March & April! 🌈

Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser:

I finally finished the Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser. I used it for a week on my face then I stopped. This facial cleanser is exactly what it is. It’s gentle. I mean, very gentle. I didn’t think it cleaned my skin well. It’s not the type of product for me. The face wash also has some speckles of glitter in it too. Just an observation. I most likely won’t purchase this product again. It’s too gentle on my skin. I love gentle skin care products, but this was just way too gentle. I need a product that removes the excessive amount of grease that I have on my face, lol.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel with Hyaluronic Acid Fragrance-Free:

I finished my first bottle of the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel. This is a gentle facial cleanser that’s somewhat moisturizing. It definitely cleans my skin well. It’s a gel. It does what it’s supposed to do. It doesn’t leave any residue behind. It cleanses and doesn’t irritate my skin. I’m on my last bottle. Who knows if I’m going to stick to this face wash or move on to another face wash.

CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser:

I thought this face wash was working for me in the beginning, but it started to do weird things to my skin such as skin tightness and breakouts. That’s all I remember about it after I stopped using it. My skin went back to normal, and I started using another face wash. I really don’t think my skin likes CeraVe products. None has worked for me so far. This is one of them.

Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum:

I still have several bottles of the Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum left. I just finished another bottle. I’ve been using it on my body to get rid of it. I can’t use it on my facial skin because it clogs my pores and causes my skin to flare up. Something in this serum just doesn’t work well with my skin. I just wished I had known sooner.

The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA:

I finished my last bottle of The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA. I’m over this serum. I can’t use it on my facial skin, so I used the rest on my body. I haven’t noticed any changes in my skin. The texture of the serum is thick and tacky. I’m not sure how I even put up with the texture of this serum for such a long time. It’s finally done. I threw the bottle out!

Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40:

I was able to finish one of the two Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 that I have. At first, I was hesitant on using it daily because I noticed clogged pores while using it. But, everything has been going well since I increased my use of my acne treatment. I’m using the sunscreen almost daily now. Just almost. I’m loving the soft, silky texture of this sunscreen. I hope it keeps on working and doesn’t cause any breakouts! The sunscreen is very easy to use. One of the easiest and fastest sunscreens to use in the morning before I start my day. It works great as well if I miss any spots.

Dr Jart+ Rejuvenating BB Beauty Balm Silver Label SPF 35 PA++:

I’m done with Dr Jart+ Rejuvenating BB Beauty Balm Silver Label SPF 35 PA++. I’m glad I’m done with this bb cream. It’s been a good run, but I won’t repurchase any time soon. I think it’s time to move on to something else after using it for goodness how many years. It’s not as good as it used to be anymore. Also, I wish the SPF was a little higher. I just think I’m over this product. I wasn’t satisfied with the results this time.

Melano CC Vitamin C Essence:

I still have several tubes of the Melano CC Vitamin C Essence left. I haven’t been using this product on my facial skin either. It breaks me out, and I’m not going to take another risk using it on my face. The texture of the product is oily and sits on my skin greasy. Just another product I’m also trying to finish up and throw out. I’m not sure why it’s so raved about. It hasn’t done much for my skin over the years. Too bad I still have plenty of tubes left.

Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin:

One more product that I’m done with is the Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin. I’m so happy to be done with this moisturizer. I stopped using it on my face also. It’s supposed to be a lightweight and moisturizing product. But, it just didn’t work out for me. It moisturized my skin, but I noticed breakouts after using it. My skin dislikes moisturizers. I stopped using moisturizers on my face, to be honest. It seems like my skin doesn’t need it. Here’s to another product that I won’t purchase again. It’s been a long run. 👋

Those are some of the products that I was able to get rid of. In the next few months…more to come! Stay tuned!