Update: My Skin Care Routine

Not shown in photo: Taz & BP

Here’s 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 a little over 2 months now. I love how it foams up and feels soft on the skin as I wash my face. It cleanses the skin nicely. But, I feel like it’s kind of drying my skin out. It cleanses my skin very well, but my skin feels a little dry afterwards. It feels chapped. I don’t feel like switching cleansers right now, but I’ll use what I have left. I might search for another cleanser when I’m done. We’ll see what happens.

Skin Treatments: Taz & BP (Acne) & L’Oreal Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum (Brightening)

I’m only using taz and bp (not together, separately) 1-2 times a week. My goal is once per week. I also spot treat with bp when I see any pimples forming. As for the vitamin c serum, I’ve been using it on my cheekbones and lightly tap it under my eyes. I noticed brighter under eyes after doing this so I continued to use it this way. I use it on my neck too. I can’t use it on my face because it clogs my pores. This vitamin c serum has a silicone feel to it, and it makes my skin feel very soft, smooth, and silky. It’s been working great for those areas of my skin. Unfortunately, just not my face.

Sunscreen: CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 Face Sheer Tint & Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40

I have two sunscreens that I’m using right now. It’s the CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 Face Sheer Tint and Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40. I use CeraVe most of the week, but if I feel like it, I use Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s sunscreen leaves my skin feeling moisturized and protected at the same time. It works great as a makeup primer too. My skin feels so silky smooth after I use it.

I’m still trying to keep my skin care routine short and minimal. I’m really not into extensive skin care routines anymore. haha. I tried it. It didn’t work for me. I prefer to keep my skin care routine as simple as possible. It seems like my skin starts to break out when I’m layering on too many products. By the way, I stopped using moisturizer on my face. It’s time to call it quits. I’ve been trying to make it work for so long that it’s just not working. I keep getting random breakouts whenever I try to moisturize my skin. I decided to just leave my skin alone. I never used moisturizers years before either. I guess some people just can’t use moisturizers (like me). 🤷🏻‍♀️

That’s my updated skin care routine! Hope this was helpful. Have an amazing day! 😄

My Week 2 Results With Tret. Changes I’ve Made.

I stopped using tret, lol. After last week’s results, I wasn’t happy with any of it. Using tret directly on my skin yielded better results, but it tore my skin up. The lower strengths of tret, from my experience, don’t have any positive affects on my acne. I tried buffering to lessen the side effects, such as dryness, redness, and any other skin irritations. My results buffering was so poor. My skin ended up so clogged. But It might’ve been the Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence clogging my pores. Or, Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin?? I get mixed results with this moisturizer. So I stopped using Cosrx Snail Mucin Essence and kept using Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer. It’s the only moisturizer that I have. I still can’t find another moisturizer that works without ruining my skin. Vanicream it is for now. Just for now, haha. That’s until I find a better moisturizer for my skin type. Just using the Vanicream moisturizer and leaving out the Snail Mucin Essence, my skin looked better and less clogged. But, my skin didn’t look that good. I could tell that I still had acne issues. It could’ve been better. I can just tell if my skin is improving or not. It just seemed stagnant. Since I stopped using tret, I started using a different retinoid instead. It’s time to switch things up again for another time. This time, it’s tazorac. This retinoid isn’t anything new to me. I’ve used tazorac with amazing results before. It actually cleared my acne up once before like tret. Let’s give it another try. I also started using benzoyl peroxide more frequently than I expected this week too. Here’s my experience and results for week #2!

My Experience with Taz & Benzoyl Peroxide this week!

I used taz 3 times this week. And I used taz 3 times in a row, back-to-back. That was a bad decision. It worked to help clear up some clogged pores, but my skin started to feel dry and started to sting. After using it 3 times in a row, I took a day off. After a day of not using anything but a moisturizer (which stung my skin), I decided to increase my application of benzoyl peroxide. My skin just looked so clogged even when using taz. After 2 days of using benzoyl peroxide, I noticed a dramatic change in my complexion pretty quick. My breakouts diminished. My skin looked cleaner and less clogged. It killed active acne blemishes on the spot. It helped to decrease sebum on the surface of my skin. I also noticed some skin peeling all over my face. Wow, this thing called benzoyl peroxide is amazing. It seems like I’m stuck using it for the rest of my life. It’s the only acne treatment that makes any changes in my skin in a short period of time. Since my skin looks pretty good right now after increasing my use of benzoyl peroxide, I decided to use benzoyl peroxide more often than taz. Taz helps, but I think benzoyl peroxide is where it’s at when it comes to clearing my skin. Every time I use benzoyl peroxide, my skin gets better. I have less closed comedones, less blackheads, less chances of pimples developing. I’ll figure something out in the upcoming weeks, but my skin looks clear at the moment because of benzoyl peroxide. So, by the end of the week, I took a break from actives and just moisturized my skin. I’ll restart when my skin is ready. It’s looking very crusty and dry. It itches too from the dryness, haha. I have no new pimples though!

Update on Sunscreens! 🧴

Altruist Sunscreen SPF 50:

How much I love the high UVB and UVA in this sunscreen. I simply cannot use on my face. I noticed clogged pores and whiteheads/blackheads on my nose, forehead, and chin area. The formula of this product is just not working for my skin. I wished it did. I stopped using it after noticing an increase in clogged pores. I guess I could use the rest of what I have on my body. This sucks because I really wanted it to work.

CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Face Sheer Tint:

I’ve been using this sunscreen as my main sunscreen. I like it, but there are some things that I don’t like about it. First off, the tint of this sunscreen makes my face look super orange. Repplying the sunscreen makes my face look even more orange than before, lol. Other reasons I don’t like about this sunscreen includes it being only SPF 30, the fact that it feels a little heavy on my oily skin, and it stings my face when I’m using acne products that peel the skin. My skin literally burns with this sunscreen. But, yes, I’m still using it anyways, lmao. I’ll be on the look out for another sunscreen. That’s if I can find another one that works just as well as this one while being afforable.

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

I picked up two new bottles of Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40. I missed it, so I purchased more. It’s also effective, has SPF 40, has a nice texture to it (silky, smooth, moisturizing, doesn’t burn my skin), is broad spectrum, and is very affordable. It costs less than the CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Face Sheer Tint. Trader Joe’s SPF 40 is a chemical sunscreen though. I do prefer mineral sunscreens over chemical sunscreens. But, this chemical sunscreen makes my skin feel super elegant and nice. I’m loving it using so far after using it again.

That’s my 2 week update! Stay tuned for next week!

Check out my first week experience here!

Restarting Tret & My First Week Experience

January Skin Care Empties!

Here are my January 2023 skin care empties! 🎉

Mizon Peptide Ampoule Cream:

I finished Mizon Peptide Ampoule Cream! This cream did nothing for my skin. I’m glad I’m done with it. This cream contains ingredients, such as (to name a few) cocoa extract, sodium hyaluronate, copper tripeptide-1 (20 ppm), centella asiatica extract, beta-glucan, cranberry fruit extract. The ingredients are nice, but I didn’t see any changes in my skin. It’s just another moisturizer. I didn’t think it kept my skin that moisturized either. It’s a very lightweight cream. I used almost all of it on my neck and chest area. As mentioned in my previous review, the product irritated my eyes. I couldn’t continue to use it on my face. It contains lavender oil, which I thought was very irritating. I really don’t like products that contain lavender oil. It gives me mad migraines. This is possibly one of the worse products I have encountered and tried. I won’t ever purchase it again. Once again, it’s a waste of money. No results.

Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream:

I finished my last tube of Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream. I’m so happy that I’m done with it. I have no intentions in purchasing it again. I didn’t see any results while using it. I’ve gone through so many tubes of this eye cream too. The ingredients looked soooo good! It contains centella asiatica extract, shea butter, peptides, madecassic acid, and so much more! But, it didn’t do anything for fine lines and wrinkles. It didn’t feel moisturizing either. I prefer eye creams that are thick, rich, and moisturizing. The skin around my eyes become dehydrated quick. This eye cream didn’t do it for me.

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

I’m finally on my last bottle of Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion (with Birch Sap). I finished a bottle this month. Yay! I’m not a fan of this moisturizer. It feels lightweight and lightly moisturizes the skin. It doesn’t do much for my skin. I didn’t see improvements in the texture or moisture in my skin. It smells very nice though. It smells citrus-y and contains tea tree oil in it. I’m just not impressed with this moisturizer to use it daily on my face. The bottle/packaging of this product is very annoying. Product gets stuck inside the bottle and there’s no way to get it out. Seems like a waste of product. I can’t wait to finish my last bottle. Another product that I won’t be purchasing again. I’ve been using it as a body moisturizer. It’s not doing a great job moisturizing the skin on my body either. At least it’s not breaking me out or causing any other skin issues.

Benton Fermentation Essence:

I’ve been waiting to finish Benton Fermentation Essence for ages. This essence contains beneficial skin care ingredients like galactomyces ferment filtrate, bifida ferment lysate, ceramide np, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, panthenol, sodium hyaluronate, and so many more. The product is lightweight and sinks into the skin quickly. It leaves the skin feeling soft and silky after application. I didn’t see results using it though. I’ve gone through bottles of this essence with little results. It feels like I’m applying water to my skin. When I was using it, I noticed that it had shimmering sparkles in it. Just an observation. I won’t purchase this essence again. It was nice to try it out for a while. It’s officially done. Moving on..

The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG:

I still have a bunch of The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG left. Another bottle of this caffeine eye solution down (more like a gel eye care product). So I didn’t use this product for the eye area. I used the rest of it on my body. I find that this eye product dries out my eye area and didn’t do anything for the skin around my eyes. I didn’t see any changes in dark circles or fine lines/wrinkles. It just didn’t do anything that I stopped using it. Also, it was very drying even with moisturizer and pilled with other skin care products. I didn’t think it was worth it. I’m still using what I have left on my body. What else to use it for? I can’t wait to finish this product. Let’s see how long it takes, lol.

iUNIK Beta-Glucan Power Moisture Serum:

I finished my last bottle of iUNIK Beta-Glucan Power Mositure Serum! Yessssssss!!! This serum never worked on my skin. It dried my skin out rather than moisturize it. I’m glad I’m done with it. Being a product that contains very few ingredients, it contains only 6 ingredients in it (Water, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Beta-Glucan, Sodium PCA), I thought it wouldn’t do my skin any harm. Nope, it made my skin feel soooo dry! I would wake up the next morning with red, dry, irritated skin. Ugh! I thought it was doing my skin some good at first. No, not at all. I’m not going to purchase it again. There’s nothing really special about this product. It didn’t work for me.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream:

I finished one of my bottles of First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Creams. It took me about almost 2 months to finish it. I didn’t hold back using this cream. I made sure I used it every night and whenever my skin was dry. After finishing my first bottle, my thoughts on this product is the same as before. It’s a creamy, thick, moisturizing cream, but I can’t use it on my facial skin. I used all of it on my body after realizing that it clogs my pores and gives me blackheads. It worked great on my legs. Left my skin feeling moisturized and protected. It absorbs fast too and doesn’t leave a sticky residue behind. It worked great on my body. It’s just not meant for my face. Would I purchase it again? It’s still a no, but I have one more tube of this cream left to try. Let’s see if it changes my mind!

Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++:

I’m so close to finishing the rest of my Canmake Mermaid Skin Gel UV SPF 50+ PA++++ sunscreens! I have 3 left (including the new one I recently just opened!). I’m not currently using this sunscreen on my face right now. I was trying it out again on my face, but that didn’t work out. My skin dried out once again. Even when I used a mositurizer underneath, my skin didn’t like it at all. I love how it’s lightweight, absorbs quick, and doesn’t leave the skin feeling sticky and tacky. It feels like I don’t even have sunscreen on compared to the other sunscreens I use. But, from my experience using it so far, it doesn’t agree with my skin. It’s so drying and makes my skin feel terrible. It doesn’t provide good protection either. My skin tanned while using it. I reapplied consistently throughout the day too. That didn’t help with the dryness either, LOL. My skin looked so flaky and chapped. I’ll finish what I have. Most likely as a body sunscreen.

For more skin care empties…

August Skin Care Empties! 

September Skin Care Empties 

November Skin Care Empties 

December Skin Care Empties 

More December Skin Care Empties!

Restarting Tret & My First Week Experience

I was going to switch over to Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum after The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution didn’t work for me. If you missed out on my experience with The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution, follow these links!

My Experience After 1 Week Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution + Other Skin Care Updates

2 Weeks Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. My Results!

3 Weeks With The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution + BP!

But, I moved in another direction. I was using benzoyl peroxide (which cleared up a ton of my acne!) when I decided to use tret again. It was so random. It was out of the blue. I thought, hey, let’s give this another try again. I’ve tried so many acne skin care products to get rid of my closed comedones and acne in general. I have acne-prone skin, so I need to keep my zits in check. I only have a select few closed comedones left on my forehead, upper lip, and chin area. They seem to be concentrated in these areas while my cheeks are extremely clear. I have no acne there. Benzoyl peroxide did a great job, but I needed to push it even further. Yes, I’m back to using tret. I’ve been on the lower strengths of tret for so long that I think it’s time to use the highest strength once again. I’ve had no results with the lower strengths. My acne did not budge. When I run my fingers over my facial skin, it feels bumpy. The bumps are not too visible to the naked eye, but I can feel them. I cringe every time I wash my face. I wish something as simple as 2% salicylic acid would work on my skin. Even a gentle salicylic acid face wash would be awesome. I’ve tried both of these and those darn closed comedones are still sticking around! So! Here I am using tret + benzoyl peroxide. I’m not using benzoyl peroxide at the same time as tret. I use it on my off days when necessary. If a pimple pops up or if I feel that need to use benzoyl peroxide all over, that’s what I’m going to do. I really do think benzoyl peroxide will always be a staple to treat my acne. It helps. But it seems like a combination of treatments would work better.

My Experience – 1st Application

I started using tret at the end of last week. I applied it directly to my skin and moisturized with Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin. I woke up the next morning with flaky skin. Skin looked a bit red. My face didn’t burn. Yay! No crazy signs of irritation. Then bam! The next day, my skin started to burn, itch, it looked darker compared to the rest of my neck/body. Ugh! It’s a tret burn! I knew I should’ve sandwiched! My skin burned when I applied Vanicream Facial Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin or any other skin care products to my face. None soothed my red, irritated, burned skin besides CeraVe Healing Ointment. I used this product to heal my skin. I didn’t use it to slug. I used it more like a face mask. This worked to help diminish some redness, itchiness, irritated skin. My skin softened, looked silky smooth after I removed the CeraVe Healing Ointment from my skin (when using it as a face mask). It took about 3-4 days for my skin to heal. I gave my skin a rest for 4 days before starting tret again. My skin started to peel and shed during the rest days. I noticed new pimples popping up in my acne-prone areas. Tret gave me a big nodule on my chin. It’s the biggest pimple I have had in a long time. It’s red, swollen, and hurts upon touch. 😭 When will it go away? Who knows, lol. At night, I stuck to using La Roche Posay Toleriane Double Repair Matte Face Moisturizer for Oily Skin. It’s not the most moisturizing moisturizer. I eventually had to add Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence to add moisture to my skin. La Roche Posay Matte Face Moisturizer works better as an occlusive rather than a moisturizer. It dried my face out at times when used alone. With all that has happened after the first application, there’s good news. Tret removed all of the closed comedones on my forehead and most of the closed comedones on my upper lip and chin area. My skin looks so clear with some blemishes that will purge soon enough.

My Experience – 2nd Application

After 4 days of giving my skin a rest, I started using tret again. This time, I sandwiched. I used Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence and Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin before applying tret. After applying tret, I applied Cosrx Snail Mucin and Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin once more. This application seemed like a good idea at first, but with this method, I didn’t notice any changes in my skin like I did with the first application besides some redness and tenderness in my skin. No peeling. I took 3 days off for my skin to settle down even though my skin felt fine the next day. I’m pretty disappointed in the sandwich method because I just didn’t see an improvement in my acne at all. I actually noticed more acne (not from purging). I noticed random blackheads (on other parts of my face and nose) and more sebaceous filaments on my nose. Could it be the Snail Mucin Essence or Vanicream that’s breaking me out? Possibly. My skin didn’t look better or feel better after using these moisturizers with tret. I might try the Vanicream moisturizer alone or try out another moisturizer. I need to move on from this Vanicream crap, lol. These products (Snail Mucin Essence and Vanicream) may be messing up my skin. I also stopped using La Roche Posay Toleriane Double Repair Matte Face Moisturizer for Oily Skin. It’s not moisturizing. I didn’t see the point in using this product anymore. Terrible product if you’re looking for a moisturizer that actually moisturizes. I’m done with it for now once again, lol. I tried to make it work, but I’m left disappointed each time. It just doesn’t do anything for my skin. I rather just not using anything on my skin if it doesn’t improve my skin and doesn’t provide any moisture. It even dried out my skin. I really think it’s time for a new moisturizer after this experience. My skin’s just really picky when it comes to moisturizers, which makes it very difficult to find one. Hmmm, what to do… 🤔

That’s my first week experience! Stay tuned for next week to see what happens! 🙂

3 Weeks With The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution + BP!

It’s the 3rd week using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. I’ve only used it once this week. This product really makes my skin glow. I love it for that, but I think it’s time for me to move on to other skin care products for my acne. This toner isn’t cutting it. As I said, it helps to brighten my skin. I just haven’t noticed a drastic difference in my acne. It helped to unclog some pores, but I think it has created more pimples. Every time I use it, I feel like I get new pimples (not from purging). My skin isn’t liking an ingredient or ingredients in this toner. I love liquid-based skin care products. I love that it’s affordable and feels very nice when applied to the skin. It helps to remove excess sebum and debris too when used with a cotton pad. This glycolic acid toner just isn’t working for me. I’m not going to drag it on using it when I don’t feel like it’s right for me. Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum seems to work better on my skin. It’s soft, gentle, and doesn’t clog my pores or irritate my skin. I’ll try this serum out by itself instead. It’s a higher percentage of glycolic acid, but it hasn’t caused my skin issues like The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. Maybe my skin just doesn’t like The Ordinary skin care products. They seem to work better on my body though! Just not my facial skin. It’s time to switch things up!

I added benzoyl peroxide in the 2nd week. I needed an acne product that’s anti-bacterial. Yes, I’m back to using benzoyl peroxide. I used it once during the first week. During the second week, I used it as often as possible. I’m still trying to transition my skin into using benzoyl peroxide. Currently using moisturizer first then applying benzoyl peroxide. The results have been pretty good. After this week, using it more often compared to the first week, my skin has improved drastically. My acne (mainly closed comedones) are not completely gone, but my skin has changed for the better. I’m getting results very quick. I wish I could use it in the morning to get faster results. It’s just too difficult to apply benzoyl peroxide, let it dry on the skin, and apply other skin care products afterwards in my morning routine. I don’t have the time to let it dry on the skin. I just can’t. Since I need an anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial in the morning to help with acne, I started using Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid again. I know! It’s back! I don’t use it every morning. I’ve only used it twice this week. This has been working for me so much better. I might’ve been using too many salicylic acid products before (face wash and a leave-on product). This is working for me right now. Just a few times a week to help unclog pores and for its anti-bacterial properties. Let’s see what happens in the upcoming weeks!

I tried some moisturizing skin care products this week too!

My Thoughts on Moisturizers…

La Roche Posay Toleriane Double Repair Matte Face Moisturizer for Oily Skin:

This is a lightweight, mattifying moisturizer. It’s not the most moisturizing moisturizer. It moisturizes a little bit. It doesn’t keep the skin moisturized throughout the day. I’ve been using it for nearly a month now, and I’m not too impressed. It should work on my skin because I have oily skin. But, it’s not doing much for my skin. I need something that actually moisturizes my skin a little bit more. After I stopped using this moisturizer, I noticed some breakouts vanished. I wonder if it’s breaking me out? 🤔 I’ll try it again when I’m ready.

Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence:

I tried using Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Essence for extra moisture this week. I didn’t think it was moisturizing enough for my skin. It lightly hydrates the skin, but the hydration doesn’t last. My skin started to feel drier throughout the day. Honestly, I think it caused my skin to dry out more. I noticed more gunk in my pores too while using it. I stopped using it on my facial skin because of this.

Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence:

I wasn’t going to use the Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence on my skin again, but I have a few bottles of this left. I’ve been using it on my body to use it up. I thought I would try it again on my facial skin just to see if it’ll work or not. This essence (like the Snail Mucin Essence) ended up drying my skin out. I used the Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence on damp skin too. It just didn’t work. It made my skin look worse. I noticed my pores filling up too. Clogging my pores? I guess it doesn’t work on my skin. Back to using it on my body.

Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin:

I was in need of a moisturizer that moisturizes my skin that I started to use Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin again. This moisturizer left my skin feeling moisturized and soothed my skin. It helps with dryness and skin irritations. I stopped using my other moisturizers and just stuck with this one after trying the other moisturizers. I prefer to keep my routine as minimal as possible instead of using a bunch of moisturizers all at once, lol. And this moisturizer did a better job at moisturizing. I’m currently just using Vanicream (once again) as my moisturizer. I don’t use it every day though. Only when my skin needs to be moisturized. Hopefully it works this time around since I’m using benzoyl peroxide, which is helping a ton with my acne.

Catch up on what happened right here:

My Experience After 1 Week Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution + Other Skin Care Updates

2 Weeks Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. My Results!