August Skin Care Empties! 🧴

Here are some products I finished in the month of August! These products are no longer with me! Finally. 😆 I’ve been trying to finish them since forever. It’s about time that they’re done and gone. They were taking up a lot of space too. haha. I still have a bunch more skin care products to use up. I’ll talk about them some other time. Today, here are my thoughts on what I’ve finished! Enjoy! 🙂

Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence:

I finally finished Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Tone Balancing Essence. It’s a moisturizing essence, but I don’t need it. I didn’t see any changes using it on my facial skin. It’s simply just moisturizing. Nothing special. It didn’t brighten up my skin either. It didn’t make it more radiant or clear. I prefer other moisturizers and essences compared to this one. In my opinion, the Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence is so much better in terms of moisture. The Snail Essence also leaves the skin feel and looking more moisturized and dewy. It has definitely helped boost moisture in my skin in combination with other moisturizers I use. My skin prefers it over the Galactomyces Essence.

Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Lotion SPF 15:

This is a moisturizing sunscreen (SPF 15) that’s very gentle on the skin. It absorbs nicely into the skin. Leaves my skin feeling very moisturized. But, I couldn’t use it on my face. It’s too pore-clogging and way too moisturizing. I had issues with it on my facial skin. I ended up using it only on my neck and upper chest. Once I finished it, I knew I wasn’t going to purchase it again. SPF 15? Pore-clogging? No thanks. There are better sunscreens out there. This one isn’t worth my time and money.

Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner:

I had this facial toner for a while. It’s a gel-like, moisturizing facial toner. It’s not your typical drying facial toner. I liked the ingredients in this toner. It contains sodium hyaluronate, peptides, beta-glucan, adenosine, and so much more. But I didn’t notice much of a difference in my skin while using it. All it really did was moisturize my skin for a short period of time. It doesn’t provide long-lasting moisture in the skin. I stopped using it on my face because I thought it was an extra step for little benefits. Now I’m glad I’m done with it. Out it goes!

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Balm AP+ Intense Repair Moisturizing Cream:

I received this product as a sample. It’s a moisturizing cream that’s supposed to reduce dry, rough skin. Honestly, it felt like any other moisturizer that I’ve used. I can’t tell if it provided more hydration than my other moisturizers/creams. But it didn’t irritate my skin. It left my skin feeling moisturized just like my other moisturizers. This cream contains shea butter, niacinamide, and glycerin, which I do love besides the niacinamide. My skin doesn’t care for niacinamide so I learned after using products with niacinamide. I thought this cream was OK. I don’t think I’m going to purchase the full-size product any time soon. It was nice to use for the time being or at least try it out.

Graymelin Pineapple Mild Peeling Gel:

This is a peeling gel that I was very excited about at first. After using it and finishing the whole tube, it’s not worth it at all. This product didn’t do anything for my skin. It’s so gentle and doesn’t really exfoliate the skin. I had noticeable dead skin on my face and thought this product could help. Nope, it did not. It did absolutely nothing. I still had dead skin hanging off of my face afterwards. Ugh, I can’t recommend this product to anyone. No results. Honestly, in my opinion, peeling gels are just for fun. It doesn’t do anything for the skin. On my skin, at least I didn’t see any benefits. I won’t purchase it again.

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream:

I finally finished all of my CeraVe Moisturizing Creams. I didn’t use it on my face due to fear of closed comedones. CeraVe and my skin don’t go well together either from my past experiences with the brand. I’ve tried plenty of their products too. So I used the CeraVe Moisturizing Cream as a body lotion instead. The cream feels lightweight, but it does leave some sort of thin film behind on the skin that I didn’t like. I didn’t think it left my skin feeling super moisturized either. To me, there was nothing special about it. I love some of the ingredients in the cream, but it didn’t deliver in the end. I was just using it to finish the product. In my opinion, I think this cream is overhyped. I won’t purchase again any time soon. I’m glad I’m done with it. It’s time to move on.

If you haven’t yet, go check out my acne journey! New updates coming up soon! 👇🏻

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 Skin is CLEAR! :) What I’m Doing Now.

My skin is officially free from acne! And all thanks to BP! Wow, it worked so fast! 😍 But I haven’t given up on BP after being clear. I’m still using it to treat my acne, but I don’t have to use it too often anymore. I’m aiming for once a week at night or twice a week if my skin gets really oily. I think once a week is more than enough. 🤔 BP really dries the living hell out of my skin. After a day of using BP, my skin looks more dull, uneven, and crusty. The next day, it looks AMAZING!! The dead skin just comes off and my skin looks so fresh, bright, and new! The dryness from BP can be a good thing for my skin sometimes, since my skin gets more oily during the more humid, hot, summer months. ☀️ The weather has been hotter than usual. Along with using BP, I’ve made a few changes to my skin care routine. I know, AGAIN! I just can’t stop making changes. LOL. Since I’m focusing more on skin texture and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. I mean, I’ve already gotten my acne under control. Now let’s keep the positive changes rolling! I still have some acne marks that needs to be treated, but I’m not going to purchase any new products to fade them. None of them have worked on my skin anyways. That’ll just be a waste of money. So I decided to re-add some products I removed not so long ago, haha. I know, odd! I didn’t expect this to happen, but I started to miss using these products on my facial skin. They are…

Guess first! lol. Never mind, let’s goooooooooooooo! 🙌🏻

Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel:

All of a sudden I had the urge to use the Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel again. I needed some more moisture in my skin. And I just out of nowhere started using this product again. I think I’m just hooked on it, lol. It feels cooling and soothing on my skin. Gives my skin lightweight, jelly moisture on my oily skin. It’s not the most moisturizing moisturizer, but it provides nice hydration to my skin right now. I’ll use it, but I’m still not sure if I’ll buy another tube of the product. I still have another unopened tube of this product by the way, lol. I’m so addicted to skin care products, hahaha! 😂 My skin is currently loving this aloe soothing gel.

Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner:

I really like how this facial toner feels on my skin. It’s another gel-based product. Works perfectly on my oily skin. Just like the Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel, it doesn’t provide much moisture, but I like it for what it is. I like the anti-aging ingredients in this product too. I’m almost out of the product, so I thought I would use it on my facial skin instead. I’m tempted to purchase another bottle since it’s so affordable for the amount of product. But we’ll see. I hope it does wonderous things to my skin for the time being. I’ll just have to wait and see what happens after finishing the bottle.

The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3%:

I kind of missed that glow that I get from using The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2% and The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3%. I decided to start using The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3% again. I decided NOT to use the Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2%. I wanted to see how my skin is going to react to just using the Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3% serum. I really like these ingredients and can’t seem to find another product with these ingredients that are affordable. So! Let’s see how it’ll go just using The Ordinary Resveratrol 3% Ferulic Acid 3% alone without the Ascorbic Acid serum! My face hasn’t turned orange yet. Maybe it’s the Ascorbic Acid that’s turning me into an oompa loompa. 🍊

Those are the 3 products I decided to reintroduce back into my skin care routine. I thought I would call it quits for good on these products, but it just felt like it was the right time to use them again. One night I just grabbed these products and used them on my face. The next morning, my skin was super glowy and pretty that I had to continue using them to see what happens. My skin has been looking good since. No problems so far. I haven’t experienced any breakouts from any of them (as of yet). I hope it stays this way. Besides skin care, I’m trying to eat healthy. Trying to get more vegetables into my diet. Drinking more water to keep my body hydrated. Everything has changed so much since the beginning of this year until now. Hope all goes well this summer and the rest of the year!

But there’s something else…

I started using tret again! Well, I still am once a week, but my dose has been increased! I’m using a higher concentration. I was bumped up to 0.1 for acne. 0.05 did absolutely nothing for my acne. I tried 0.1 before, and it was way too strong on my skin during that point in time. But, that was the past, this is now. Let’s give the 0.1 a try and see how my skin reacts. I’ve been using the 0.1 for about 2 days now. And you know what? My skin has been tolerating it pretty well. Much better than it did before. Here’s my 2 day experience using tret! What happened to my skin??

Day 1:

One night, I decided to use my tube of 0.1 tret. I had it. It was just sitting around unused because it was too strong for my skin at one point. Not anymore. I applied it to my skin. The product felt warm and smooth on my skin. It moved across my skin very nicely. I liked the way it felt on my skin. At the same time, I was petrified not knowing what would happen the next morning. When using tret, I used my moisturizing skin care products to prevent my skin from any dryness. There’s another product I started using again when I started using tret too. It’s the Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream. I needed a richer, heavier product to prevent my skin from drying out when on tret. This seemed to be the perfect choice. I took some of the cream and applied it to my face after applying tret and my lightweight moisturizers. Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream was the 4th product that I reintroduced to my skin care routine. 🙂

Day 2:

The next morning (after day 1), my skin felt warm. I can see red splotches on my face. They weren’t that bad. They were just a light pink/red color that eventually faded away. I decided to use tret again on the second night. My skin didn’t feel dry or irritated besides some redness that went away. I’m glad I went forth with the second night. Because the next day, I noticed a lot of peeling on my face. Also, I noticed some random breakouts that healed very fast! Am I purging? Hmmm! My skin looked really good besides my skin peeling off all over my face. I’m pretty excited to remove these dry, dead skin cells from my face! Wow, is tret really working for me this time? Because it seems like it! My skin is responding well. No major irritations besides some redness and skin peeling on the second day. Maybe I just needed to give my skin a break and move on to something stronger. Also, I’ve continued to use Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream in the morning too and at night to prevent my skin from drying out or if there’s any itchiness. My skin hasn’t been itchy while on tret. Some dryness hasn’t been bad either. All is going well. 👍🏻

SO! It looks like I’m back on my tret journey. AGAINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!! hahaha. I’m really excited this time because my skin is actually peeling like when I was using BP. The more dead skin my face sloughs off, the clearer my skin gets. It helps to prevent breakouts from living underneath the surface of the skin. Plus, it’s a bonus that it also helps to improve the quality of my skin. My skin looks really good right now. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to achieve a near flawless (nothing is perfect!) complexion, but I’m really happy how things are going. I’ll make another update on my tret journey soon! See everyone there! I hope this post was helpful! Have a nice day! 😊

Update: My Moisturizing Skin Care Products

Since I’ve removed a ton of skin care products from my skin care routine (thank goodness!!!), I’ve rounded up what moisturizing skin care products I have left. Well, look at that, about 7-8 products. I mean, it’s not the most minimal, but it’s much better compared to what I was doing before. To think of it, I’m just laughing my butt off because there is such a thing as too much. What I was doing was too much. It wrecked havoc in my skin, and it was also taking up a lot of space in my bathroom. ha! So! These are the moisturizing skin care products I’m using. There’s a chance that I might even remove more products if I don’t see results from them or don’t need them. Time will only tell. 🙂

Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence

Before I get into Cosrx Snail Essence, I did remove Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence from my routine. Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence is just a basic hyaluronic acid product. There’s not much to call home about it. Nothing about it stood out to me when I was using it. Even though it’s an essence, it feels more like a gel. It would come out in blobs and feel a bit sticky. So I didn’t think I needed it anymore, since I have other products that contain hyaluronic acid. This ingredient is like everywhere. It would just be too redundant keeping it in my routine. It’s also not that moisturizing. I wasn’t impressed by it. I think it’s time for me to stop spending money on this stuff.

Now on to Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence…

Between the hyaluronic and snail essence, I prefer the snail essence. It’s lightweight and absorbs into my skin very well. It’s perfect for my oily, problematic skin. And I only use a single drop for the whole face in the morning and at night. It’s a little bit more moisturizing compared to the hyaluronic acid, in my opinion, but not by much. I need some moisture in my routine, so I decided to stick with the snail essence rather than the hyaluronic acid essence. This is the only snail essence I’m using too. If I could find a better snail essence product, I would switch because the packaging of this product irks me.

Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner

I didn’t think I would like this facial toner. It’s called a toner, but it’s really a gel. It also comes in a 200 mL bottle compared to my Cosrx essences that are only 100 mL. It’s a pretty good deal for a gel moisturizing product. I haven’t had any issues with it. I’ve been using it twice a day without developing any breakouts like blackheads and cysts. It’s not the most moisturizing, since it’s a gel, but I need some type of moisture and this seems to do the trick for the moment. The ingredients are pretty good too. It contains aloe, betaine, sodium hyaluronate, matrixyl 3000, peptides, beta-glucan, and so on. Just looking at the ingredients makes me think how redundant these ingredients are in a lot of my skin care products. So far, with this product, I like it, I’ll keep using it.

Benton Fermentation Essence

This is one of my favorite skin care products. I love, love, LOVE this essence!!! 💗 It contains galactomyces ferment filtrate, bifida ferment lysate, sh-oligopeptide-1, and ceramide np. Love the ingredients! The product does come out as a liquid. Once again, I know I mentioned this several times in the past, the product shoots out straight from the pump. Make sure to shoot it in the palm of your hand! As for the product itself, it feels liquid-like and silky, and it goes on the skin feeling soft, smooth, and silky too. It’s another essence that isn’t that moisturizing, but since I have oily skin, it’s decent. I haven’t had any breakouts from it either.

Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Lotion

This is my main hyaluronic acid product. I like it much more compared to Cosrx’s hyaluronic acid essence. It contains different types of hyaluronic acid. When dispensed, it comes out as a gel. I don’t need a lot of product to cover my whole face either. Just 1-2 drops of product. It’s more moisturizing too and makes my skin look super glowy and dewy. Feels a little bit sticky though. That’s not a huge issue as of yet, lol. Just like other gel moisturizing products, it’s not as moisturizing compared to a cream. I think I’ve accepted that by now. I rather have some moisture than breakouts caused by using a heavier, richer product. This one works pretty well. I like it.

Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum

I started using Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum again last year to heal my skin. My skin was such a mess from a bunch of stuff going on. I wasn’t happy with my skin, and it needed to be repaired and needed time to heal. Since this serum contains centella, ceramide np, sodium hyaluronate, asiaticoside, asiatic acid, madecassic acid, peptides, and a bunch of other skin care goodies, this serum looked like it could repair and heal skin. I don’t remember it burning my skin in the past when I used it, so I decided to use it again. With this serum, it helped to provide some moisture (not the most moisturizing, again), but it was a product that helped to heal and repair my moisture barrier for the time being. After my skin healed, I decided to keep using it because it hasn’t done any harm to my skin. It lightly hydrates, provides my skin with healthy skin repairing ingredients and leaves my skin feeling, I guess, rather nice. It’s a nice serum to keep around for now. I think I’m going to keep it in my routine since I haven’t experienced breakouts or clogged pores.

SOME BY MI Yuja Niacin Brightening Moisture Gel Cream

I purchased this product on a whim without thinking much about it. I’m glad I did. I’ve been using it for nearly half a year already. Around there. Once again, like all of the moisturizing gels, it doesn’t moisturize the skin too well. I have oily skin, so that doesn’t bother me too much. I just don’t want to get breakouts or bad acne from a moisturizing product, which happens way too often. Fortunately, this gel moisturizer hasn’t broken me out at all. Yay! I remember using it for the first couple of weeks and it brightened my skin. I’m on my second jar of the product, and I don’t think my skin is any brighter. I was hoping that it’ll help get rid of some acne marks, but I haven’t noticed that either. I feel like the best thing for me to do to get rid of acne marks is to simply eat a healthy diet and let the acne marks fade on their own. I haven’t encountered a product that helped with acne marks yet, and I’ve used plenty. Let’s see what this product can do. I’m almost done with my second jar. I don’t mind using it or having it in my routine right now.

The Ordinary Amino Acids + B5

Look what I have! Yep, The Ordinary Amino Acids + B5! I remember this serum breaking me out last summer. This time, it seems to be going well! I haven’t had any breakouts from it! But it doesn’t leave my skin drenched in moisture like I wanted. It’s just another lightweight moisturizing serum with amino acids. But that’s OK! I decided to keep it in my routine because it’s very lightweight and hasn’t caused any issues. Also, it’s a super affordable serum too. With this serum, I only use 1-2 drops for my whole face and neck. It’s another product that’s going to last forever. I hope, haha! I can’t say much about the results besides the very lightweight moisture it provides. I’ll make another update when I’m done with the bottle.

***

I mentioned in another post that I am using Eucerin Q10 Anti-Wrinkle Face Cream when I use my acne treatment to prevent my skin from drying out. Don’t forget to check out that post!

Another moisturizing product I removed (almost forgot this one!!) is Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion (with Birch Sap). I debated if I should keep this product in my routine or not. Well, I decided to stop using it on my face. I think I have more than enough moisturizing products. Maybe a little too much still. I just feel like this moisturizing lotion, even though it doesn’t break me out and does moisturize my skin, is just another excess product that I don’t need. Also, I disliked the packaging of the product by a ton. I can’t seem to get to the very last drop no matter what. I’m not smashing bottles. lol. 😂

That’s all of my moisturizing skin care products. I might eliminate some of them if necessary. I’m not trying to complicate my life and skin care routine. But so far, this looks pretty good. Life has been so much easier just cutting out products. Plus, I haven’t spent a dime on a new skin care product as of late. It’s pretty shocking because I would throw my cash to try something new, lol. This is a nice change in life. ✨

A Few Days Into Using Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner! It’s Back! My Thoughts!

I ran into Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner once again. I thought I would give it another try again after a bad experience with it, lol. As I’ve mentioned so many times, my skin has changed so much after leaving veganism. My health and my skin improved after I started eating meat again. You can read more about the health issues I had on a vegan diet. Just go to the link provided! Now on to Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner!!

I didn’t use this toner on a cotton pad. I just dispense some product into the palm of hand. It’s a runny gel. It doesn’t work well on a cotton pad anyways. Seems like a waste of product, to be honest. Better off using your hands to apply the product. So the toner feels like gel on the skin. What it is. It feels soothing and cooling when applied to the skin. Absorbs into the skin nicely without leaving any residue behind. It didn’t irritate my skin at all. Just sunk into my skin like it should. I don’t use this product like a toner but more like a serum. It contains skin care ingredients, such as organic aloe barbadensis leaf extract, glycerin, betaine, sodium hyaluronate, peptides (love!!), adenosine, and allantoin. Other ingredients include a bunch of extracts. The ingredient list is simple and short. It doesn’t look like there could be anything in this product that would cause breakouts. Apparently, it did break me out before. So far, after a few days of using it, I haven’t noticed any breakouts. Hmmm! That’s interesting! I wonder if it’s the product or the vegan diet that did this to me…

So the facial toner feels lightweight on the skin. It makes my skin feel hydrated at first, but I wouldn’t rely on it to keep the skin moisturized. It kind of reminds me of Benton Aloe Soothing Gel but without the peptides. I’m really curious about the peptides in this toner. I remember using it and seeing a difference in my skin. From what I remember, it made my skin appear softer, glowy, and a lot smoother. I think it did help to smooth out some fine lines, wrinkles, and help with anti-aging. Since I’m using heavier moisturizers now, it hasn’t dried my skin out. It’s been working perfectly fine. No issues at all here. As I mentioned before, no breakouts from it either (yet). So it looks like I’m going to finish the whole bottle of this toner. I should anyways. I’ve had it for some time now, haha. So far, it’s not a bad product. I’m just glad that it didn’t clog my pores, especially after my experience with it last time. Everything is going well. Also, it won’t be a bad thing to add another peptide product into my routine to help with fine lines and wrinkles. I would love it if it had any effect on those concerns with continued use. We’ll see what happens!

For more reviews on Cos De BAHA skin care product go here!!

Review: Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner

I’m trying to sneak in a new skin care product into my boring skin care routine. I thought I would give Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner another chance. I remember it being a more hydrating toner than a drying one, so let’s see if it still is. So the purpose of this facial toner is to improve skin elasticity, provide intensive hydration, and diminish fine lines and wrinkles. It contains pure hyaluronic acid, matrixyl 3000 genuine peptide, and argireline genuine peptide. It’s an oil-free and alcohol-free hydrating toner that boosts moisture in the skin. That sounds pretty good. Now I remember why I picked up a bottle of this stuff in the first place. It’s exactly what I wanted in a skin care product. But did it work this time around? Let’s find out! Here’s my experience with Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner!

My experience

This facial toner is a gel that’s not too runny. I tried using it with a cotton pad, but I prefer to dispense a little bit of product into my palm and gently pat it into my skin. The product feels really weird on the skin when used with a cotton pad. It feels like a waste of product too. At first, my skin felt really hydrated, since I don’t have an intense moisturizing product in my routine. This was definitely different and moisturizing on the skin. It left my skin looking more plump, glowy, soft, and very smooth in appearance. After a day of using it, my once hydrated skin felt very dry even though it made my skin look good. My skin started to get itchy due to the dryness. Skin was flaking off of my face too. I had to stop using it, which I did. I debated if I should continue to use it or not, lol. But I came to the decision that it’s not right for my skin. I’m glad I stopped using it. I don’t want to keep hoping that it would work one day.

I love the ingredients in this product. It contains aloe extract, sodium hyaluronate, peptides, beta glucan, allantoin. But, it also contains other ingredients that irritated my skin, such as propanediol. It’s the second ingredient listed in this product. I knew it had this ingredient, but I thought I would give it a try anyways. At the bottom of the ingredient list, five extracts. Maybe my skin can’t handle propanediol in this product either. I just know that my skin felt really dry and itchy after having it on my skin for a day (morning and night). I also noticed some hard sebum in random places on my face too. Once I stopped using it, my skin went back to normal. I really wanted it to work this time around. I guess this is why I stopped using it in the first place. haha!

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

• Provides lightweight moisture when applied to the skin at first
• Soothes the skin
• Contains hyaluronic acid and peptides
• Leaves the skin looking softer, glowy, and smoother

❌ Cons

• Dries the skin out by the end of the day
• Not moisturizing enough. Leaves the skin feeling itchy because of this.
• Clogs pores. It did for me. 😟

Conclusion

I can see why I stopped using Cos De BAHA MA Peptide Facial Toner months ago. It’s just not compatible with my skin. I think I really need to be careful when a product contains propanediol. It doesn’t seem to sit well with my skin. Too bad it didn’t work out. I wished it did. But I’m not going to push it because my skin is looking pretty darn good right now. I don’t want to mess it up. On to something else…maybe…

For more reviews on anti-aging products go here