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. 🙂

2 Weeks Experience with CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser!

Here’s my day to day thoughts on CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser PLUS other skin care products I’ve included to try to eliminate acne! It’s been 2 weeks on this face wash! 🙌🏻

Go here if you missed out on my 1 week experience. 👈🏻

Day 8:

It’s the 8th day using CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. I’m still using it twice a day (morning and night). This facial cleanser is still cleansing and moisturizing at the same time. I haven’t had any issues with my skin drying out. It hasn’t irritated my skin. Nope. Nothing. It’s still doing it’s job and that’s cleansing my skin without stripping my skin. This face wash is more moisturizing than I thought it would be. That’s a great thing, but my skin is feeling a little too moisturized at the moment. I noticed some new pimples popping up out of nowhere. Maybe my skin is too hydrated right now? Maybe it’s the 2% bha liquid that’s unclogging my pores? Maybe, but I highly doubt it’s the 2% bha liquid. Honestly, I don’t think this product is doing much for my skin in terms of acne. I’ve been using it on and off over the years. I’ve been pretty consistent with it recently. I’m not sure if I’m going to stick with it. I’ll finish what I have and take it from there. I do love using it as my toner. The reason why I use a cotton pad along with it instead of using my palms. The product with a cotton pad leaves my skin feeling clean and free from whatever is on my skin. In saying that, I might need a product that’s stronger than the 2% bha liquid to help with acne. The face wash isn’t strong enough. The 2% bha liquid isn’t either. Hmmm, what to use? I’ll think about it. I just hope the face wash doesn’t end up breaking me out. I’m still hoping that it still works this week.

Day 9:

It’s been 9 days using CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. I still don’t think it’s doing anything for my acne. I just keep hoping but nothing happens. The CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser feels like any other moisturizing facial cleanser. At least it doesn’t dry my skin out (still!!). And it contains niacinamide, ceramides, and I guess salicylic acid, lol. Even with niacinamide, my skin doesn’t look brighter or glowier anymore. Looking back from last week, it must’ve been the vitamin c serum that I was using doing all of the skin brightening and making my skin super glowy. I’m not experiencing any of those effects lately using the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. It’s so sad! Too bad that vitamin c serum clogged my pores, and I haven’t found another vitamin c serum that works. I tried Melano CC Vitamin C Essence again. It didn’t brighten my skin this time. My skin reacted poorly to it when I used it. I don’t know what happened. It just didn’t work. I THINK I’m done trying it. 😆 So, after 9 days, I haven’t seen any improvements in my acne. The 2% bha liquid product isn’t doing much either. I need some sort of miracle. Isn’t this face wash supposed to be amazing? What’s going on? So, instead of waiting on this face wash to do something for my acne, I started using aha products to help chemically exfoliate my skin. My skin seems to have a bunch of skin build-up. Removing a layer of skin might help unclog the clogged pores. FYI, my skin didn’t dry out at all using aha products along with the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. Let’ see if adding aha products would help budge my skin into the right direction.

Day 10:

It’s DAY 10! I’m still using the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser in the morning and at night, lol. I feel like I’ve said this so many times, but I’ve read that some people only use this face wash a few times a week. So I’ve been using it twice a day, every day, which seems more advanced. So, after adding aha products into my routine, my skin is now smoother and so much brighter. I also noticed some skin purging. Some on my forehead and side of my face. But my skin looks clearer. What a difference! 😃 I’ve been clinging on to the 2% bha liquid and salicylic acid products leading to zero results, while I should be using aha products instead. I’m already seeing some results with ahas. I’ll keep everyone updated on the progress. The good news today is that my skin hasn’t dried out from adding these new products into my routine. 👍🏻 My face is supposed to be melting, but it’s not. Thank you sturdy skin. You’ve done something right!

Day 11:

Everything is going well with CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. No breakouts, dryness, redness, or any other skin irritations. I’m still experiencing cleansed and moisturized skin. Besides that, since it’s working just fine, after experimenting with aha products, my skin improved. Many of the closed comedones I was complaining about are finally shrinking. I’m going through a mini purge, but it seems like it’s working to unclog my pores. So the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser did nothing to unclog my pores even though it contains salicylic acid. I love using it daily to wash my face to simply cleanse. In terms of getting rid of my acne, it didn’t work. But, the good news is that I didn’t experience any new breakouts using this cleanser. And I absolutely adore the ingredients in this product (niacinamide and ceramides). I love how it’s moisturizing too. I like it. I just wished that it helped my acne.

Day 12:

I’m deep into using aha products, and my skin isn’t stinging or burning using the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. I am amazed!! My skin even peeled, and this facial cleanser hasn’t burned my skin. It still cleanses and leaves my skin feeling moisturized. I was expecting it to burn my skin after it peeled. Nope, it didn’t. So impressive. 👏🏻 The only place it burns would be my eyes if I open them while cleansing. This facial cleanser is truly gentle on the skin and non-irritating. It works to cleanse. It just didn’t work on my acne. I’ve seen no improvements in acne using it today, lol. Just another day with cleansed and moisturized skin. Not bad. I guess I could keep using it just for that. Let’s see what happens tomorrow first, haha.

Day 13:

I’ve been taking care of my moisture barrier within the last couple of days. My moisturizers burn my face, but this cleanser keeps on cleansing and moisturizing my skin, lol. My face does not burn at all using this face wash even when my moisturizers turn my face red. I thought about switching to another facial cleanser like a facial cleanser without any actives to prevent further irritation. But, this face wash has not irritated my skin one bit. Not at all. I used it twice a day (morning and night, still) this whole week without any issues. It feels gentle on the skin, lathers and foams up. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling or looking irritated. No redness or itchy skin. I’ll just stick to it right now.

Day 14:

It’s the last day of the week. It’s been 2 weeks using CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser! I didn’t think I would make it this far. I was going to switch over to a different facial cleanser out of boredom. Yeah, this facial cleanser does what it’s supposed to do. It cleanses, doesn’t strip my skin and leave it feeling dry. It moisturizes. I feel like I’ve said this so many times already, lol. I think I did, haha! I didn’t experience any breakouts while using it. But it didn’t help clear what acne I have left. When I first purchased this cleanser, I was hoping that it would help with some closed comedones and help maintain my acne in general. It’s not a bad face wash. It just didn’t do much for my acne like I was hoping for. Well, at least it didn’t clog my pores or cause a rash. I’m glad I gave it a chance. I’ve been curious about this face wash for so long. And now, I finally tried it out.

Go here to read about the new products (bha & aha products) I included in my routine 👈🏻

My Acne Journey: 7 MONTHS!!!

I took a whole week off of tret. I just wanted to take a break from it for a little bit and restart maybe next week?? I’m not sure yet. So this week, I focused on using an antioxidant. I chose vitamin c. Yes, it’s back, hah!

Vitamin C 🍊

I started using vitamin c again. Not the powder version. The essence or serum version. I started off with whatever vitamin c product that I had (Melano CC Vitamin C Essence). I used Melano for two days. Melano has a lightweight, oily, greasy texture to it. It absorbs into the skin fast and leaves a matte finish. It slightly moisturizes the skin but not by much. I’m not a fan of the texture of the product. The essence stung my skin upon application. It irritated my skin just a little bit. After a few seconds, the stinging sensation disappeared. So, what are the results from this product? The essence brightened my skin instantly after a day of use. I noticed a brighter, more glowy complexion. But, I stopped using it after 2 days because I wanted to try another vitamin c product. I’ve been using Melano on and off over the years. I think it’s time to let it go if it hasn’t worked for me for this long. The vitamin c product I’m using now is L’Oreal Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum. I picked this product up this week. This vitamin c product contains 10% ascorbic acid. It also comes in a metal tube. One of the reasons why I chose to purchase this one. I’ve only used this serum for…I’m nearing a week soon. I started off using it at night at first then moved up to twice a day, morning and night. So far, the texture of the serum is soft and moisturizing. It has a silicone feel to it, but I’m not bothered by it. It smooths over my skin nicely and effortlessly. It feels nice, and it’s very easy to apply to the skin. I only use a pea-size amount for the whole face. I’m liking this serum a lot more compared to the Melano (texture-wise). As for results, I can’t say it. I haven’t been using it for too long. I’ll make an update on my new vitamin c serum soon.

What happened when I took a break from tret??

As mentioned earlier, I took a week off of tret. I’m glad I did. My skin needed it. I still don’t know when I’m going to restart it or if I am. My skin looks pretty decent right now. When using tret, my skin looked so thin. I lost so much fullness from my face. It’s been a week off of tret, and my skin looks normal again. My skin thickness is back! It looks more youthful and more natural-looking now. It’s not shiny and plastic-like. Tret gave me this weird, odd look to my skin. It makes my skin look smoother, but how it makes my skin look overall is a bit too much for my liking. It just doesn’t look natural or even normal. It made my skin appear more aged. Hmmmm, that’s something to think about. 🤔

At the beginning of the break, my skin was so dry. I stopped using a moisturizer because the moisturizer I was using was breaking me out (Vanicream Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin). I didn’t have any other moisturizer to use. All I had was CeraVe Healing Ointment. I used it. Applied a whole bunch of it to my face. I know slugging isn’t for me, but my skin was too dry to do nothing. I love the CeraVe Healing Ointment too. It’s a versatile product and contains ingredients that I love like ceramides and hyaluronic acid. It helped to prevent my skin from drying out, but I won’t be doing this (slugging) again. It was a once in a while type of thing. It feels too sticky. It gets in my hair and makes it difficult for me to get a good night’s rest. It’s difficult to wash off in the morning too. It is oily after all.

During this break, I started a new acne product. I needed a product to treat my acne. I picked up the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser. I’ve been meaning to try this product out. What put me off from trying it out were the negative reviews on it. But, everyone’s skin is different. It could work. I’m currently using it. Stay tuned for my 1 week experience on this product soon! It’s coming up real soon! The other cleanser I was using was from Neutrogena. I stopped using it for now just to try out CeraVe. Neutrogena cleaned my skin and didn’t dry out my skin, but I needed a product that would help with acne. In particular, those close f*cking comedones. They’ve been hanging out on my skin for far too long! Also, it’s time to try a new acne product when I’m not using any harsh acne products.

Product Updates

Remember that eye cream I stopped using? The RoC Multi Correxion Hydrate + Plump Eye Cream. I stopped using it on my eye area weeks ago, but I started using it on my neck for a week. After a week of using it on my neck and chest area (to finish it up, need to use it somewhere), I developed a rash on my neck! It was red, swollen, and itchy. WTF. I don’t know what they did to the formula of this eye cream, but it sucks. It used to be soft, smooth, and moisturizing. Now it just burns and makes the skin itch. It’s not cheap either. 😡

Happy 7 months! 🥳 This is my last update on my acne journey. It’s time to move on to new things. I feel like this journey has run its course. I need something new. A new adventure. A fresh start. Look forward to a new update on my experience with the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser!

Here’s the rest of my Acne Journey if you missed out!! 👇🏻

My Acne Journey: 1 Week In…

My Acne Journey: 2 WEEKS!! 

My Acne Journey: 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 4 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 5 WEEKS IN!

My Acne Journey: 6 Weeks Results…

My Acne Journey: 7 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 2 MONTHS!! 

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 1 Week Results!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 2 Weeks!

My Acne Journey: 2 Months + 3 Weeks Results!

My Acne Journey: 3 MONTHS!! 😃

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 1 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 2 Weeks Results

My Acne Journey: 3 Months + 3 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 4 MONTHS!!

My Acne Journey: 4 Months + 1 Week Results.

My Acne Journey: 4.5 Months + Clear Skin!!

My Acne Journey: 4 Months + 3 Weeks! What I’m Doing to Maintain My Clear Skin. 🙂

My Acne Journey: 5 MONTHS!!

My Acne Journey: 5 Months + 1 Week Results

My Acne Journey: 5.5 Months Results!

My Acne Journey: 5 Months + 3 Weeks

My Acne Journey: 6 MONTHS!!! 🎉

My Acne Journey: 6 Months + 1 Week!

My Acne Journey: 6.5 Months

My Acne Journey: 6 Months + 3 Weeks!

Review: The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser

I’ve had this product for a while. I forgot that I purchased it, lol. So just last week, I started using it. I’ve been using water-resistant sunscreen every day, and I needed a product that’ll help to remove every single drop of product that’s on my face. I’m also using a homemade cleansing oil to remove my makeup (if I’m using any) and sunscreen. Double the cleansing duty! Using a cleansing oil and The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser seems like a good idea. Why not? I have a bottle of it. Let’s try it out!

Squalane on my face! Yes, no??

I’m not too big on squalane. I can’t use this ingredient on my face. I’ve tried squalane oil on my face, and it seems like it just sits on my face and doesn’t moisturize my skin. It also gets in my hair and makes it oily. I tried using it in the morning and at night. I tried using it in the morning only and at night only. It didn’t work out either way. It makes a huge mess. But the main reason why I stopped using it is because it makes me breakout every single time I use it. My skin just doesn’t like oils in general. I’ve also tried other oils like jojoba oil, rosehip oil, and argan oil. Plenty of others too. They all failed on me. I even had to give up on my heavy, rich moisturizing cream because it started to clog my pores. I didn’t know it was my moisturizer that was causing breakouts until I stopped using it. My skin definitely looks so much better without oils and rich creams.

My Thoughts on The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser!

So I purchased this product in 1.7 oz. It also comes in a larger size (5 oz.). I bought this product on a whim. I didn’t think much about it at that time. The packaging of this product feels pretty cheap. I’ve used other products from The Ordinary in this type of packaging, and they all have the same feel to them — tacky and cheap. When dispensed from the tube, the product is a white cream. It’s not runny. I mixed it with a little bit of water to lather it up. This cleanser doesn’t lather up. It just feels creamy on the skin. It didn’t feel like a legit cleanser. It’s not foamy. Not even one bit. I ended up using it as a makeup and sunscreen remover instead of a stand alone cleanser right after I used my cleansing oil. So what I did was cleanse my face with my cleansing oil and remove the oil with a cotton pad with micellar water. I didn’t know I had a new bottle of micellar water so I’m using that too, lol. More on this micellar water product in another post! Once my skin is dry and clean, I take a small dollop of the squalane cleanser, mix it with a little water, and massage it into the skin. The squalane cleanser actually rinses clean and helps to remove whatever is left on my skin. That can be any leftover residue, dirt, debris. I liked how it rinsed off clean. It didn’t leave any residue behind or make my skin feel sticky. It was really easy to use and rinse off. Some facial cleansers can get a little messy. This one was really simple to move across my face. It reminds me of a cleansing balm without being or feeling oily.

This is what the squalane cleanser looks like. Ooooooooo, kinda interesting. lol.

Overall, I think this product works. I’m not going to replace my main cleanser with it by any means. I’m still feeling sketchy about squalane since I’ve had bad experiences with it. But, I didn’t have to leave this product on my face for long. It gets rinsed off. I haven’t had any breakouts from using this squalane cleanser (yet). It doesn’t seem like it’ll be a problem. I hope! ha! Will I purchase it again? Honestly, I don’t really need it. I’ll use it in the meantime since I have it. I still prefer my cleansing oil as my makeup remover. I’m currently using a mixture of almond oil and olive oil. I kind of spontaneously created this mixture out of the blue. Olive oil is definitely one of my favorite makeup remover oils. So it’s a no for me on The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser. It could work for others though.

You can read more on my thoughts on The Ordinary skin care products right here!

Moving on to Olay Regenerist Vitamin C Peptide 24 Brightening Facial Cleanser…

I finished Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser! Now I’m using a new product from Olay. It’s very similar to the Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser. This time, it’s Vitamin C Peptide 24 Brightening Facial Cleanser. This facial cleanser contains vitamin b3, vitamin c, peptides to exfoliate and brighten dull skin. Looking at the ingredients, the major differences between the two products is that the Brightening Facial Cleanser contains 3-o-ethyl ascorbic acid and fragrance. Both of these products contain niacinamide and salicylic acid. It’s not advertised as an acne treatment product, but for some reason it works as one on my skin. Also, the Brightening Facial Cleanser doesn’t mention it being a cream cleanser. It’s a cream cleanser. The texture and consistency feels just the same as the Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser. The only difference is what I mentioned before. It contains ascorbic and fragrance. The fragrance in this product isn’t too bad. It’s not too overwhelming.

So, I’ve been using Olay Regenerist Vitamin C Peptide 24 Brightening Facial Cleanser for about 1-2 weeks. I only use it 2-3 times a week. I don’t think it’s necessary to use it any more than that. I don’t use it as a facial cleanser. I use it as an acne treatment. It seems to have a positive effect on my acne when I use it as an acne treatment. This facial cleanser does leave residue behind on the skin. Just like the Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser. Just knowing that, it’s not a good idea to use it as a stand alone facial cleanser. With that in mind, I always follow up with another face wash after using the Brightening Facial Cleanser to prevent breakouts from occurring.

This facial cleanser tingles a little bit. But after a while, my skin got used to it. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t use it every day. I’ve noticed some breakouts diminishing after using this product (like the Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser). It’s not something I would rely on to get rid of my acne or at least maintain clear skin. It’s just something extra I have in my skin care routine to help my acne. So far, it has helped clear up my skin along with other products that I use for my acne. I’m not sure if it has helped brighten my skin. It’s awesome that it contains vitamin c. So this facial cleanser is very similar to the Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser. I think I like it a lot more so far. I’m not having any issues with the fragrance. And the ingredients are almost, nearly identical.

After using the Brightening Facial Cleanser, even though I liked the Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser, the one with the vitamin c is so much better. I like vitamin c in my products, and this is working just like the Collagen one. I guess I’ll stick to the vitamin c one for now…

If you missed out on my posts on Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser…

Review: Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser

1 Week Using Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser. Goodbye Acne?

1 Month Using Olay Regenerist Collagen Peptide 24 Cream Cleanser & What I’m Doing Now for My Acne…