A Break from Tret & What I’m Doing Now

I just finished a month of tret. I thought I would be able to continue on with treatment. But that’s not the case. My skin is feeling worn out. It feels thinner. There’s a lot of dead skin stuck on my face. My skin is itchy even though I use moisturizers. Yes, more than one moisturizer! These are the best moisturizers I can get without causing breakouts. So, I think it’s time to take a break once again. I’m not sure when I’m going to use tret again. Maybe by the end of the week or next week. Or, I might even use it only 2-3 times a week. I don’t know yet. I’ll have to see how my skin is doing and if it’ll be able to tolerate tret. Right now, my overall skin condition looks pretty good. I have only a few pimples. They wouldn’t budge until I stopped using tret. Perhaps my skin was just over-exfoliated. That’s what it seems like.

This is what I’m doing right now while on my mini break. I’ve eliminated acids. This includes any ahas, bhas, and vitamin c. And you know what’s weird? My blackheads disappeared when I stopped using these products. I wonder if one of these products are causing the blackheads too (along with Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask, which I stopped using regularly). I love the Cosrx Rice Mask. It’s still in my skin care routine. I only use it when my skin is really dry or when I wear makeup. It helps to minimize flaky skin due to its awesome moisturizing properties. It’s the closest thing I can get to moisturized skin without breaking out in cystic acne. Using it once in a while doesn’t do any harm. So, back to the blackheads, I don’t have any anymore. Hmmmm!

Here are the products I’m using during this break. It’s mainly moisturizing skin care products to heal and hydrate my skin…

Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence:

It’s still a staple in my routine! This essence is such a life saver! Still, not the most moisturizing, but it hasn’t broken my out. Yay! I’m just very happy that I found it. With this essence, I don’t use it on damp skin. I tried it and had issues with it being too hydrating. I ended up with blackheads. Yeah, my skin doesn’t like too much moisture. It makes my skin worse even though I do enjoy the feeling of moisturized skin.

Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence:

Next up, Cosrx Snail Essence has been working for me. Shockingly! I started using it twice a day, and it has improved the quality of my skin. It’s much more moisturizing compared to the Cosex Hydra Power Essence. But since I mix the two essences, it does wonders for my skin. I love them both! But the snail essence is really amazing stuff. I highly recommend it!

iUNIK Propolis Vitamin Synergy Serum:

I didn’t think I was going to use the iUNIK Propolis Vitamin Synergy Serum twice a day, but I had to. My skin was calling out for moisture, so I tried it. WOW, it worked! It left my skin even more moisturizing compared to the Cosrx Hydra Powder Essence and Cosrx Snail Essence. My skin feels so soft and looks brighter! And it hasn’t caused breakouts (yet). I hope it stays this way because this has been a game changer in my routine. I’m seeing results in terms of moisture.

Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum:

This is one of my favorite serums so far. It’s not that moisturizing (can feel drying on the skin), but it helps with skin texture and skin smoothness. My skin feels and looks softer when using it. It sinks into the skin nicely. There’s a lot of skin goodies in this product, which I love! Calms my skin when it’s red and hasn’t caused any breakouts. It’s been a little over a month now…

Benton Aloe Propolis Soothing Gel:

I’m not sure how I feel about Benton Aloe Gel. It’s not that moisturizing, can sting if skin is over-exfoliated, and doesn’t do much for the skin. It’s OK, since it doesn’t break me out. I guess I can just continue to use it. See how it goes. Who knows. I might see some changes in the future, lol.

Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion (with Birch Sap):

I’ve fallen in love with Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion (with Birch Sap). Once I stopped using the Cosrx Rice Mask, the breakouts diminished. So, it looks like Cosrx Birch Sap is working for me. It moisturizes (as much as it can, much better than my other hydrating/moisturizing products), leaves my skin looking smooth, and doesn’t clog my pores. I’m crossing my fingers that it doesn’t break me out because I would be devastated. It’s the only moisturizer that has worked, and I’ve tried a lot of skin care products. I really don’t feel like searching for a new moisturizer, haha!

Hopefully I can get back on tret soon. My acne has improved so much after so many years of trying to clear up my skin. That’s something I’m very happy about. Finally! 🙂 But it hasn’t been a smooth journey. I’m just really happy and excited to see results. And hopefully continue to see results! 😊

⭐ If you missed out on my posts on moisturizers…

Finding the Perfect Moisturizer & What I Use!

Update on My Moisturizers 🙂

⭐ If you missed out on my previous experience with tret…

My experience with tret the first week…

After 1 Month on Tret + Skin Care Routine. Here are My Results.

2 Months on Tret. My results. 🙂

Taking a break from tret…

Back to tret! 1 Week Results & My Skin Care Routine. Did it work? 🤔

1 Month on Tret. My Results!

After Using Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum for 1 Week…

I stopped using Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum a while ago. But my face has been getting really red from dryness. I’m still trying to find a moisturizer that works on my skin. Vanicream wrecked my skin. Since this isn’t a heavy moisturizer, I thought I would give it a chance again. My face was feeling itchy and taut. Ugh! I couldn’t put up with it anymore. I was looking through my skin care products and noticed I still have Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum…so why not. So this serum is supposed to enhance skin barrier repair and reduce inflammation. It contains Centella Asiatica Extract (49%) and Panthenol to soothe irritated skin caused by external environmental stressors and prevent skin inflammation. I’ve been using it for a week. Yes, I lasted a week on it. haha. I guess that’s a good sign. Here’s my experience with Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum!

My experience

This serum is a gel. It feels hydrating when applied to the skin. Leaves the skin feeling like it’s doing something good for the skin. Skin feels soft and supple afterwards. Sinks into the skin well too. Even though it leaves a slight film behind, after it absorbs into the skin fully, feels like there’s nothing on the skin. This serum does feel hydrating on the skin when first applied, but it’s not a good hydrating serum. It feels drying at times. At the same time, it leaves my skin looking really healthy. I started using Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum because my skin was feeling really dry and itchy. I needed something to keep my skin moisturized. I didn’t want to risk using a heavier moisturizer again and breaking out. This seemed to be it.

Does it help with dryness? Kinda. Does it help with redness? Yes! I love the fact that I noticed a reduction in redness in my skin after a day of use. This serum has a calming effect on the skin. I needed something that was able to heal my broken barrier too. This worked! So it helped soothe and strengthen the skin barrier as it claims to do. Awesome! Because not all serums and moisturizers do (just because it’s moisturizing). This serum contains Ceramide NP to help with that. And I’ve used ceramide-based creams that only left my skin congested and irritated. This serum just soaks into my skin and improves it!

This serum also contains centella asiatica extract (49%), niacinamide, panthenol, hydrolyzed collagen, green tea extract, sodium hyaluronate, pepetides, adenosine, and so much more! The ingredients look pretty good! The serum does have a lavender oil smell to it (contains lavender oil), so if you’re sensitive to essential oils, they do have a unscented version of this seurm. I didn’t have a problem with the scented version, so I kept on using it. It hasn’t irritated my skin at all. Also, this product also contains Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate and Polyglyceryl-10 Myristate. If you have fungal acne, this is not for you.

Breakouts??

Not yet so far. At one point I thought I had issues with this serum, but it might’ve been caused by another product or products in my routine. I’m looking at you The Ordinary. But yeah, no clogged pores from this serum yet. I hope it stays that way because I’m hoping to officially add this serum into my routine. I needed a nice serum with a bunch of skin care goodies like this one. I really like how it calms my skin and heals my moisture barrier.

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

• Lightweight
• Feels hydrating on the skin at first
• Doesn’t feel heavy
• Soothes the skin
• Absorbs into the skin well
• Reduces redness, inflamed skin
• Keeps the moisture barrier healthy

❌ Cons

• Smells like lavender oil (may be irritating for some)
• Leaves a slight film behind. Just a little bit.
• Not enough moisture

Conclusion

After a week of using this serum, everything seems to be going well. I haven’t noticed clogged pores from this serum. Thankfully! It’s not the most hydrating serum, but my skin seems to benefit from it. It reduces redness in my skin. Makes my skin look more soft and smooth. Keeps my moisture barrier healthy and happy without feeling heavy on the skin. I know brands like Vanicream and CeraVe have ceramides in their products, but they’re not acne-friendly as people make it out to be. None of their face products work on my acne-prone skin. SO! I like this serum. The ingredients are pretty amazing. For the price and what you get, it’s a good deal! Especially when compared to high end skincare products that costs hundreds of dollars. This 60 mL bottle of serum delivers. Now just as long as it doesn’t break me out! I’m hoping for another good week on this serum! Look out for my new update soon to find out!

For more reviews on Purito skin care products go here

I tried Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence again. Here are my results!

I tried Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence once again. I’m really trying to find a facial moisturizer or something that hydrates my skin without leaving any residue behind or clog my pores. I thought I would give Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence another chance, since it’s lightweight and lightly hydrates my skin. From what I remember, anyways. Read on to find out if it lived up to my expectations or not! If you missed out on my previous thoughts on this essence, go here 👉🏻 Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence Now on to my updated review on this skin care product! 😄

So I started using Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence as my main moisturizer in my skin care routine. I couldn’t find anything else that works on my skin. I’ve tried a ton of facial moisturizers, and they all either gave me dry skin, breakouts, were too moisturizing, or irritated my skin. They just didn’t work for me. I did say that there was a possible chance that Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence could make it back into my routine. That’s to see if it was something else in my routine during that time was causing my skin to breakout instead of this essence. Well, here I am giving this essence another shot.

I used the essence in the morning and night. The essence felt sticky at first, but that stickiness went away when it absorbed into the skin. I really liked how it left my skin lightly hydrated without feeling heavy. It was really easy to use too. It didn’t leave residue on my skin and just sunk into my skin like what I wanted in a moisturizer (or essence). But after 4 days of using this essence, unfortunately, I noticed blackheads and more breakouts in my skin. And I knew it was the essence that caused the clogged pores, since I didn’t change anything else in my routine. I stopped using it immediately, and those clogged pores eventually went away.

Even though this essence felt hydrating at first, it eventually dried out my skin too. Perhaps it’s not the snail ingredient, but the other ingredients in the product that isn’t clicking with my skin. It does contain butylene glycol, 1,2-hexanediol, sodium hyaluronate, phenoxyethanol, and a bunch of other ingredients that can cause the skin to dry out. All I know is this essence didn’t work out for me after another try. I’m not going to repurchase it after I finish the bottle. It’s pretty much off my radar now. haha.

For more reviews on Cosrx skin care products 👈🏻

An Update on Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream!

It’s time for an update on Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream! I’m almost done with my first bottle of this lotion. I have about a third of product left. So I’ve been using this lotion only at night. I tried using it in the morning, but I didn’t like it. The lotion would just sit on top of my skin and make my skin feel itchy. This body gel cream feels very cooling, moisturizing, and lightweight on the skin. It absorbs into the skin very well without any issues. I remember having pilling issues with this product, but I think it had to do with other skin care products I was using around that time. The product stopped rolling off of my skin when I decreased the use of other products in my routine. There you have it. It works!

There is an option between fragrance and fragrance-free. I have them both, and they both work the same. It’s just that the fragrance-free is, of course, contains no fragrance. I prefer the one without fragrance. The one with fragrance gets more annoying the more I use it. Also, the one with fragrance contains blue dye. I guess to make it look pretty. In fact, it does look pretty, haha. But, I still prefer the one without the dye, which is the one without fragrance. If you’re interested in this lotion, either one could work. If you’re sensitive to fragrance, dye, or just want something that has ingredients that don’t contain fragrance or dye, go for the fragrance-free one.

I started off using this lotion all-over my body. It worked at first, but I noticed that my skin couldn’t tolerate it on specific parts of my body (like my arms). I developed some breakouts on my arms. I’ve never had arm breakouts before! I stopped using it on my arms due to this. The skin on my body is the ‘normal type’. I don’t have any acne issues or any other skin issues, so that was a little odd. Perhaps Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream is just too occlusive for certain parts of the body. It contains petrolatum. It also contains isopropyl palmitate, which is highly comedogenic. A combination of those two ingredients just made it even more pore-clogging. But, yeah, I’m dealing with some scarring from this lotion. Hopefully they’ll fade soon. I stopped using this lotion as an eye cream too. It just doesn’t sink into the skin quick enough and leaves my eye area looking and feeling irritated.

I love how moisturizing this lotion is, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s as great as I thought it was. Yes, it’s moisturizing, but I can’t seem to use it as a full body lotion. So I’m just using the rest of the lotion on my legs, which works pretty well. It leaves my legs feeling ultra soft the next morning and prevents itchiness from dry skin. And this lotion is pretty cheap for the price. It comes in a 16 fl. oz. bottle. I purchased mine for under 10 bucks. But, I’m not sure if I’m going to purchase another bottle after I finish it. I’d much prefer a bottle of lotion that doesn’t cause breakouts anywhere on my body. I don’t have any breakouts to begin with, so it shouldn’t break me out, right? lol. I don’t think this is a bad product. It’s a once in a while kind of thing for me.

Hope this review helped!

Go here for more reviews on Neutrogena Hydro Boost products

Review: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream Fragrance-Free

I finally have Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream Fragrance-Free! Here’s my review on the original: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream 👈🏻 Check it out! So this is the fragrance free version of the body moisturizer or body gel cream. The purpose of this product is basically the same as the original version. It boosts skin’s hydration and locks moisture into the skin. Leaving the skin feeling supple and hydrated. It’s non-greasy, oil-free, dye-free (it’s not blue!), alcohol-free, paraben-free, and of course, fragrance-free. It’s also hypoallergenic and suitable for sensitive skin. There’s only two differences between the original and fragrance-free. And that is…the fragrance-free doesn’t contain the blue dye and is free of fragrance (that’s why it’s called fragrance-free, duh, lol). Yay! I think it’s about time because I was really getting tired of that annoying fragrance. I couldn’t take it anymore, especially having to smell it on a daily basis. It’s not going to work long term for me. That is why I picked up the fragrance-free version. So I’ve been using it for over a week now. Here’s my experience with the fragrance-free version! 🙂

My experience

I haven’t given up on the original version. I’m still using it every single day (to use it up, haha!). I’ve been alternating between the original and fragrance-free and sometimes combining the two products. Since it comes in a gigantic bottle for a very affordable price, it seems to last forever. And I’m not complaining. I love it! So this lotion comes out white. It’s not blue, since it’s dye free. Thank goodness they got rid of that! I didn’t see the purpose of it. Just leave it out! Also, it doesn’t have a smell to it. I’m very happy about that too. It makes the product more enjoyable to use. Honestly, I prefer the dye-free and fragrance-free one a lot more. I’m currently only using the original version on my legs and feet to avoid the fragrance getting near my sinuses and eyes. Well, it’s not like I’m unable to smell the product. It minimizes the fragrance by just a little bit, since it’s not applied anywhere near my upper body and face. Why can’t Neutrogena just remove the dye and fragrance from all of the hydro boost products? It’ll be so much better!

After using this body moisturizer for over a week (including the original, which I’ve been using a little longer), the pilling I had trouble with stopped. I’m able to slather a bunch of lotion on my skin without any issues now. Just like the original, it leaves my skin feeling and looking soft, smooth, and hydrated throughout the day. I started using it as an eye cream too due to how well it smoothed my skin out and moisturized my skin. The Neutrogena Hydro Boost skin care line does offer an eye cream. I was going to purchase it, but I decided not to. It costs more for the amount of product (0.5 fl. oz). The body moisturizer is 16 fl. oz. I can use it on my body and anywhere else I choose to use it on. It’s not limited to just the under eyes. When I use it as an eye cream, I simply dab some of this lotion around my eyes like an eye cream. And it leaves my skin feeling less dehydrated and more supple and smooth. It has done such an amazing job keeping the skin around my eyes moisturized and locking in moisture! If you’re lucky, this can be used as a facial moisturizer too. Since it’s too heavy and pore-clogging for my skin type, I can’t.

The only problem I have now is that it feels sticky. It felt sticky before, but I’m noticing the stickiness of this product a lot more as weeks past by. The more I use it, the more I’m bothered by it. My skin gets itchy on specific parts of my body because of it. So, with this lotion, I avoid it on certain areas of my skin where my skin is a little bit more sensitive to moisture. Yes, keeping the skin moisturized is good, but it’s possible to over-moisturize too. That’s when the skin starts to reject excess moisture, and skin problems start to arise, since it doesn’t need it. This applies to my arms and certain areas on my neck. It looks like my CeraVe and Cetaphil lotions win here. They absorb into the skin much better without leaving any sticky residue behind. On my skin, Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream works better on dry patches, flaky areas to seal in moisture. It’s really good at healing the skin. I mainly use it for that. Otherwise, I’ll end up with a rash if I use it, let’s say, on my arms. I’ve attempted to use the hydro boost moisturizer on my arms so many times. It just ends up very red and itchy. I’m not allergic to the ingredients. I think it’s too occlusive. It provides too much moisture it doesn’t need. Skin is weird.

This is what the fragrance-free version looks like. It’s the same as the one with fragrance but just without the blue dye. 🙂

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

• Moisturizing, locks in moisture
• No dye
• No fragrance
• Helps with dry patches, flaky skin
• Can be used on the face if you don’t have clog-prone skin

❌ Cons

• Feels sticky (can make the skin itchy)

Conclusion

I prefer the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body Gel Cream Fragrance-Free over the one with the original scent. I’m trying my best to finish up the one with fragrance. I won’t purchase that one again after I finish it. There’s no point in buying it again when there’s a fragrance-free version that doesn’t have that annoying scent. Also, I love how I can use this lotion as an eye cream. My under eyes looks so smooth and hydrated every morning because of it. Too bad I can’t use it as a facial moisturizer due to it containing comedogenic ingredients, such as isopropyl palmitate and petrolatum. I’ve also noticed that this lotion is so much better at holding in moisture compared to a jar of petrolatum jelly. It must be the combination of ingredients plus hyaluronic acid in this product. Hyaluronic acid is just simply amazing!! It seems to work very well on my skin. So my overall experience with this lotion has been great. I just don’t like the stickiness, so I can’t use it all over my body as I intended to do, but it’s not a huge deal breaker. I still like the product, since it has helped my skin so much! It’s great for flaky, dry patches and certain spots on the skin. It heals it right up after a day or two. Would I buy it again? YES! It’s so affordable for the bottle size. Just avoid the one with fragrance. Get the fragrance-free one! Unless you love fragrance, lol. I’ll stick to the one without the fragrance. Works for me!

Reviews on Neutrogena skin care products

Reviews on Netrogena Hydro Boost skin care products