My Skin Care Routine 🙂

Here’s my skin care routine! 🙂 Let’s start…

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

The face wash I’m using is Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel (the fragrance free one). I’ve tried other cleansers in the past weeks, and I didn’t like them as much as this face wash. The Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Cleansing Gel feels soft, soothing, and gentle on the skin. It slightly foams up, cleanses the skin, doesn’t leave my skin feeling dry, and refreshes my skin. It doesn’t contain any acne fighting ingredients. I prefer facial cleansers without them. I’ve tried cleansers that contain salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide before in the past, and they didn’t do anything for my acne. I didn’t see the point in using them anymore. I’ll just stick to a plain, boring face wash that cleanses without stripping the skin. This one has been working for me.

Acne Treatments: The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

It took me a while to settle on products for my acne. I think this is it for now. I’m only using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution to help unclog my pores and to help prevent future breakouts (if it works that way, lol). I love how this product is a liquid. It absorbs quickly into the skin and leaves my skin feeling very clean. It doesn’t feel sticky or tacky on my skin. Let’s see if this works or not. I’ve only been using it for 2 weeks. Check out my experience/results below (first week).

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

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

It took me forever to find a moisturizer that works on my skin. In other words, moisturizes and doesn’t cause breakouts. This moisturizer isn’t the most moisturizing. It’s also not the best at absorbing excess sebum (like it claims to do). I still have excess sebum seeping through the moisturizer afterwards. But, it’s good enough for now. It somewhat moisturizes, and I haven’t noticed any breakouts. It also contains niacinamide, but I haven’t noticed a brightening effect or any other improvements with this ingredient. I’ll stick to this moisturizer until I find another moisturizer that’s better for my skin (if there’s one). My skin doesn’t seem to like moisturizers too much. I’ve gone through life not bothering with moisturizers due them clogging my pores.

Sunscreen: CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 Face Sheer Tint

I have a few more sunscreens, but the one sunscreen that I’ve been using the most is the CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30. It’s a mineral and tinted. Contains SPF 30. The tint in this sunscreen product makes it easy to reapply throughout the day. The tint is a tad dark on my skin. At first, it didn’t bother me. But now, it makes my skin appear a little dull. The shade isn’t a perfect match for my skin. It blends into the skin, but I can still see that my face is darker than the rest of my body when using this product. Oh well, haha. I’ll use it for the time being. I haven’t experienced breakouts from it after going through 3 bottles. I’m on my 4th! So with the tint, there’s no white cast, obviously. It’s moisturizing and simply just very easy to use. It’s currently winter with less sun. I’m mostly indoors, so that’s why I’ve been using this SPF more often over the other sunscreens I have. This will change when spring and summer arrives. I will need a higher SPF.

In the morning, I use a lip balm with SPF too. You can check out my lip care routine right here!

So what else should I add? I’m only using 4 products (face). 😂

Update: The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA & La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA:

I tried The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA again. I thought I could add a lactic acid serum into my routine instead of a glycolic acid serum (when I want a chemical exfoliant that is more gentle on the skin). Lactic acid has always been one of favorites. It’s gentle, exfoliates, and moisturizes the skin. I have 2 bottles of this serum left that I could use. Let’s just try it out again? So I did. The serum comes in a 30 mL glass bottle with a dropper. I’m not a fan of products that come in this type of format. I try to avoid it as much as possible. I just don’t like it. Personal preference. So this serum was very easy to use. Just a few drops and that’s it. I love how the serum absorbs into the skin quickly and leaves the skin feeling like there’s nothing on it. But, unfortunately, I woke up the next morning with some hard sebum within my pores and some more closed comedones out of nowhere! Ugh! This was the only new product I used that night. I knew it was this serum causing breakouts right away. This experience was disheartening. I was hoping that it would work. It’s an affordable lactic acid product. I don’t remember it causing breakouts either. I could be wrong. I was using a ton of products at one point, haha. Once I noticed the breakouts, I stopped using the lactic acid serum and never looked back (at least not use it on my face ever again, it doesn’t work). Here are the ingredients in this product.

Aqua (Water), Lactic Acid, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Isoceteth-20, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethylhexylglycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol.

An ingredient or more than one ingredient in this product caused breakouts. I wonder if it’s the isoceteth-20? I remember using a serum with this ingredient. It gave me the same reaction. I developed hard sebum within my pores and closed comedones. My skin looked bumpy.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50:

I haven’t used La Roche-Posay Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50 consistently in a while. I’ve been using CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Face Sheer Tint as my main SPF. It’s been working for me even though it’s only SPF 30. Even though I’m using it, I do have some gripes on this (CeraVe) particular sunscreen. Since it works and doesn’t cause too many issues, I’m going to keep using it until it stops working. Whenever that is. But there are days where I reach for a higher SPF. That happens to be the La Roche-Posay Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50. This sunscreen is a lotion that feels soft and spreads ever so nicely across the skin. It blends in so well. It does leave a slight white cast on my skin, but it doesn’t bother me that much. I was able to finish at least 5 or 6 bottles of this sunscreen last year. I think I’m on my 6th or 7th bottle now. I can’t remember, but it’s around there. This mineral sunscreen is different from the ones I’ve used before. It’s moisturizing but helps to absorb excess sebum on the skin. When used on flaky, dry skin, it can accentuate the dryness. Also, that white cast that I mentioned, if you have a richer, deeper skin tone, I don’t recommend this sunscreen at all. You can give it a try if you want, but there is a noticeable white cast (considering how much sunscreen a person has to apply to get the full SPF labelled on the bottle plus reapplication). Even though the white cast didn’t bother me that much, I eventually moved on to a tinted mineral sunscreen instead. It’s less of a hassle, and I’ve had less issues with blending it into my skin when I’m in a rush in the morning.

I thought this sunscreen would become my HG sunscreen. I mean, I’ve used several bottles of it already. Sadly, lately, it hasn’t been working like it used to. The sunscreen still has all of the qualities it had before like having a nice texture and consistency that’s soft to touch, blending into the skin well, has a nice matte finish, high SPF, it’s a mineral sunscreen. But, I’ve been noticing breakouts every time I use it. Every time I use it, I have new acne. I always make sure I remove my sunscreen off thoroughly at the end of the day too. Why is it making me breakout now? Was it clogging my pores before? I wonder if it’s been clogging my pores this whole time! 🤔 It could be. I was using a bunch of products, so I couldn’t pin point what product/products were causing breakouts. This could be one of the products along with a bunch of others, lol. So after experiencing acne from this sunscreen, I immediately stopped using it on my face. I didn’t keep trying to make it work. I’m already using another sunscreen that isn’t causing acne (I hope, hahaha!). It was whatever to me at this point. I only have one bottle of the La Roche-Posay Mineral Sunscreen left, so it’s not that big of a deal. I’m already more than halfway through the bottle. I guess I’m back to searching for a higher SPF mineral sunscreen once again. It’s disappointing that this one didn’t work. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure it out! I thought it worked so well!! Ahh! Who knew! ha!

Follow me on my battle against closed comedones! ~ My Experience After 1 Week Using The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution + Other Skin Care Updates

After My Break & Trying Out Exfoliants

I stopped using tret about 2 weeks ago. My skin healed within 4 days, but I wanted to play it safe and just leave my skin alone for a bit. My skin became really oily during the break. If I didn’t have oily skin that is prone to blemishes, I would just stick to a basic skin care routine. I could only wish. Knowing my skin, it just can’t. It needs more than a basic skin care routine. So after 1 week of taking a break, I decided to add a cleanser that contains salicylic acid (CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser) into my routine. I swapped my moisturizing facial cleanser for another facial cleanser that contains salicylic acid. I’m nearing 2 weeks on this facial cleanser! 🙃 It cleanses my skin and doesn’t dry my skin out! This cleanser feels moisturizing on my skin. I didn’t expect it to be this moisturizing. Maybe it’s because I have oily skin. It seems to work to cleanse and makes my skin feel good afterwards. No dryness or any irritation. But, I’m not sure if it’s doing anything for my acne. Since I didn’t notice an improvement in my acne using the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser, I started using other products to treat my acne.

Here are some products I tried out first…

Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant:

Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid has always been my to-go-to salicylic acid product. It contains 2% salicylic acid. I love that it’s a liquid too. It absorbs quickly into the skin, and I can use it twice a day without drying my skin out. Unfortunately, this product isn’t working like it used to. It helps to decrease some sebaceous filaments and some blackheads. I said SOME. Not most or all. My skin is still struggling with acne when using this product. I’ve been trying to get rid of closed comedones that have been lingering around for far too long. This bha product isn’t doing much. So far, I’m quite disappointed in the results. It’s been months using this bha product. I still have 2 bottles left, so I’m going to keep using it to finish it up. But, I most likely won’t purchase it again unless I notice a difference with it vs without it. I’m currently using it in the morning, 7 days a week. I know that’s a lot for some people. My skin is pretty sturdy, lol. I was using it twice a day, 7 days a week before I changed it to using it only in the morning. Not because it’s drying. It’s because I wanted to make room for other products. I didn’t see results using it twice a day either. The results were the same using it once a day.

Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum:

This is the first aha product that I decided to try again. It’s the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum. It contains 14% glycolic acid. I haven’t used a glycolic acid product in a while. I was pretty excited about it, haha. I chose the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum first because it’s the strongest aha product I have. And I have acne to demolish. 💥 This serum is more like a gel rather than a serum. It smooths over the skin nicely and leaves the skin feeling moisturized. Once it absorbs into the skin, it leaves the skin looking dewy, but it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy on the skin. I noticed some stinging upon application. It didn’t bother me. I was thinking, hey, at least I know it’s effective, haha. My results with the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum has been…not too bad. So, I guess it’s effective after all. I noticed some clogged pores unclogging, and my skin looking softer and smoother. I had a closed comedone on my upper lip for months. It’s finally out! This glycolic acid serum is pretty moisturizing too. This could make it back into my routine if it keeps on improving my skin!

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA:

I have a few bottles of The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA left. I decided to try it out again. This serum is more on the watery side compared to the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum. It actually feels like a serum. It absorbs into the skin faster and more efficiently. With this serum, also, I noticed a stinging sensation upon application. That stinging sensation disappeared after a few seconds. This serum felt moisturizing on the skin. I really love the way lactic acid makes my skin feel. Why did I ever stop using it?? I noticed a brighter, smoother, and a more even complexion after using it once. Compared to the Alpha Skin Care Intensive Renewal Serum, it feels so much stronger. Between the two, I’m leaning towards glycolic acid at the moment. It was nice to try out this lactic acid serum though.

The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA:

I haven’t used The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA in ages. I was searching for an exfoliant that could work better than salicylic acid. This one popped up. I wanted something that would work better for blackheads and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. Mandelic acid is a popular choice. This serum felt thicker and more greasy in texture and consistency. It was oily. I didn’t enjoy using it, so I only used it once and never looked back. I didn’t notice any breakouts after the first try, but I can’t see myself using this serum on a daily basis to treat my acne. The texture of the product is just way too greasy and oily for day-to-day use. My experience with The Ordinary skin care products that have this type of texture is a no-go. It was nice to try out. It’s just not going work. My skin doesn’t like oily serums. I’m trying to eliminate my acne here, haha!

The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution:

The last aha product that I tried this week was The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. You know, I’ve always loved liquid skin care products (like the Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid). This one was very easy to use and apply. I dispensed the solution onto a cotton pad and swiped my face all over! Easy-peasy! There was a stinging sensation that later on disappeared. No troubles there. Once the solution absorbs and settles into the skin. Wow, my complexion looked brighter and super glowy instantly! I was so amazed. I dropped all of my other exfoliating skin care products (except for the bha liquid) and decided to stick to this one. It’s a texture thing. The product is a liquid and it just sinks into the skin easily without leaving any sticky residue behind. It doesn’t feel greasy or oily either. Here’s another product where I catch myself asking why I stopped using it, lol. I’ve only used it once, but I’ll make an update next week.

What I’m Doing Now…

After this experience, the only product I’m going to continue on with is Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid (have to use a lightweight acne-fighting product in the morning, maybe it’s doing something if I keep using it? lol.) and The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution (a nighttime exfoliant and also helps with acne). I really love my liquid-based skin care products. Having oily skin, they just absorb and sink into my skin better. It makes it easier to apply other skin care products afterwards too. They’re also time-savers. I find them more effective too. My skin loves them! What else this week?? I started using tret again. It’s about time I get back into it! My skin condition now is so much better this time. I wonder if it’s the aha products. My skin transformed so quick after using them in a short period of time. My skin looks cleaner, clearer, and more glowy. It helped to unclog clogged pores too. Goodbye closed comedones! My jaw literally dropped after seeing immediate results from aha products. Along with the chosen exfoliants, I’ll be using tret. I’ve already started using it, and I’m trying to use it every day. So far, it’s going pretty well. I haven’t had any issues with redness or dryness using it daily. Hopefully it works out this time. Wish me luck!

Review: L’Oreal Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum

So I wanted to try a new vitamin c product out. I haven’t found one that worked on my skin just yet. The vitamin c product that I picked up was the L’Oreal Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum. On the packaging, it says that this is a lightweight 10% vitamin c concentrate that helps to restore skin’s radiance in 1 week and reduces wrinkles. The serum was formulated without water and packaged in an air-tight metal tube. It’s sealed and ready to use. Produced in controlled conditions to minimize oxygen exposure. It’s fragrance-free, dye-free, and paraben-free. Contains no mineral oil or synthetic dyes. Suitable for sensitive skin. Did it work? Keeping reading to find out! Here’s my experience with the L’Oreal Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum!

My Experience with L’Oreal Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum:

Texture & Application

The product comes in a sealed metal tube (1 fl. oz/30 mL of product). I only used a small pea-sized amount for the whole face and neck/chest area. The texture and consistency of the serum feels like silicones. Looking at the ingredients, I’m not shocked that it felt like I was applying silicones to my face. The texture of the serum is VERY silicone-y. I’m not a fan of products that are too silicone-like due to it potentially clogging my pores (from my past experience with silicone-based products). Besides the fact that it feels like silicones, the serum blends and smooths over the skin easily. It absorbs pretty quick. After application, the serum didn’t feel sticky or tacky. It vanishes into the skin and feels like I have no product on my skin. When I was applying the serum to my face, it feels moisturizing. Once the product dries, it left my skin feeling rather dry. My skin felt dry for hours after. I started to develop flakes and crusties all over my facial skin, especially my jawline area. This serum does contain 10% vitamin c in the form of ascorbic acid. And vitamin c serums can dry out the skin in higher concentrations, from my experience. It’ll be a good idea to use a moisturizer afterwards to prevent dryness.

Results..

I only lasted a week using this product. I used it twice a day, morning and night. Here are my results!

What the product claims…

1 Week: Brightens, more youthful and radiant skin. Skin looks more refined, looks more vibrant and smoother.

2 Weeks: Fine lines and uneven skin tone are visibly reduced.

4 Weeks: Wrinkles appear reduced. Dark spots and pores look less noticeable.

What happened…

Within one week of using this vitamin c serum, my skin looked brighter and more radiant. I actually noticed brighter and more radiant skin before it reached one week. It was after a few days. Oooo brighter and glowy skin! Since the serum dried my skin out, I didn’t experience smoother skin. I tried using a moisturizer after applying the serum too. Nope, my skin was still dry, flaky, and crusty. It felt really rough on the surface. This serum really did a number on my skin. So freaking dry! I would’ve continued to use it along with a moisturizer to see if it works or not on my skin. My skin was already brighter within a few days. What other results could it bring? Also, this vitamin c serum didn’t turn my face orange. Most vitamin c products do. I was very happy to notice a brighter, glowy complexion without the orange face, lol. BUT, I had to stop using the serum because…yeah…breakouts…

Breakouts?

This vitamin c serum ended up clogging my pores. I figured it was this product. Once I removed it from my routine, the breakouts disappeared. And, it’s most likely the silicones. There’s so much of it! My oily skin and this serum just didn’t go well together. I noticed an increase in blackheads on my nose when using it and some other breakouts on my chin, forehead, and cheeks. They just popped out of nowhere. I stopped using this serum, and my skin looks clearer now. No new random breakouts.

Final Thoughts

The L’Oreal Revitalift 10% Pure Vitamin C Serum didn’t work on my skin. It’s too drying, contains too many silicones, and ended up clogging my pores. The product claims that it won’t clog pores, but it clogged my pores. I noticed breakouts pretty early on but dismissed that it could be this vitamin c product. I used it twice a day, morning and night, too. Hoping that it would fade some acne marks, brighten up my complexion (which it did), and vitamin c is simply just a nice antioxidant to have in a skin care routine. I’m glad I figured out early on that this product isn’t compatible with my skin type. It would suck even more if I kept using it and ruined my skin. I might just go back to my previous vitamin c product or search for a new one.

This is what the vitamin c serum looks like. The product comes sealed and comes in metal tube. The applicator of the product is very nice. It makes it easy to dispense a specific amount of product. 👌🏻 I’m seriously in love with this type of packaging. 🥰

December Skin Care Empties 🎄

Here are my December skin care empties! 👇🏻

Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask:

I thought I finished my last bottle of Cosrx Ultimate Rice Overnight Spa Mask, but I still have one more left. *sigh* I’ve been using this moisturizer on my body (not my face). My face can’t tolerate this product. I tried it so many times, and it failed each and every time. It’s just not compatible with my skin type no matter how much I want it to be. I love the niacinamide for the brightening effect, but it clogs my pores. This product contains sunflower seed oil, palm oil, and palm kernal oil. My skin hates oils in general. If they made an oil-free one, maybe I’ll give it a try. This moisturizer just didn’t work on my skin as I had hoped.

Coppertone Defend & Care Clear Zinc 50:

I have 2 bottles of Coppertone Defend & Care Clear Zinc 50. I finally finished my first bottle after a year. Don’t worry, it hasn’t expired. I’m using it indoors anyways on my hands (to finish it). For the face, this sunscreen is way too thick, way too white (ghost-like, leaves the skin powdery white), and it’s too heavy on the face for daily use. I tried it on my face before. It clogged my pores. It contains beeswax, which my skin doesn’t like. On the body, it works just fine. But, it does have a sunscreen smell to it that I don’t like. So, either way, I won’t purchase again after I finish my last bottle.

Cosrx Advanced Snail Peptide Eye Cream:

I finally finished my fourth bottle (last one!!) of Cosrx Advanced Snail Peptide Eye Cream! Andddd I won’t purchase it again. It’s a nice moisturizing eye cream, but it didn’t do much for my the skin around my eyes. I can’t tell if it helped to boost radiance, reduce under eye circles, or reduce puffy under eyes. I definitely can say that it didn’t help with fine lines and wrinkles. It just provided good moisture. From my experience and results, that’s all I’ve seen from this product after going through four bottles. It’s time to move on to something else if there is something else out there that works for under eye circles, eye puffiness, fine lines, and wrinkles.

Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin:

I finished a bottle of Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin this month. It’s a good moisturizer that moisturizes, hydrates, heals, protects, and soothes the skin. But, it didn’t work for me in the end (face). I was using it because I have no other moisturizer, and my skin was feeling flaky and dry. But then I realize how terrible this moisturizer is for my skin. I love that it moisturizes. It really does. I’ve never experienced moisturized skin like this before. It’s just that, this moisturizer clogs my pores. I think it’s the squalane. I can’t even use pure squalane oil without it clogging my pores. Since I have a few left, I’m currently using it as an eye cream and on my neck to use it up.

Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream:

One tube of Purito Centella Green Level Eye Cream down! One left to go! I’ve gone through plenty of this eye cream to say that it’s a pretty below average eye cream. Even though it contains ingredients like centella asiatica extract (49%), shea butter, peptides, sodium hyaluronate, madecassic acid, panthenol, hydrolyzed collagen, cholesterol, macadamia seed oil, and so much more, it didn’t do anything for my eye area/under eyes. It wasn’t moisturizing enough either. It did absolutely nothing to improve my eyes. In my opinion, this product is overhyped. A good moisturizer does the same thing and comes in a bigger bottle than this 30 mL (1 fl. oz.) eye cream. It’s best to save your money.

Benton Fermentation Eye Cream:

Here’s another eye cream I finished this month! It’s the Benton Fermentation Eye Cream. You know, I’m starting to like this eye cream. It’s thick, creamy, and very moisturizing. Maybe it’s because it’s been colder and I’m losing a lot of moisture from the skin around my eyes. My under eyes are getting really dry, but this eye cream has helped replenish the moisture loss along with my other moisturizing skin care products. This eye cream is very rich. Since the texture and consistency of the product is rich and heavy, it’s a bit difficult to spread. I love how moisturizing it is, but I would like it if it was easier to blend into the skin. I’ll keep using it for the rest of winter and see if I’ll repurchase or not. I currently have 2 tubes left. I think that’s more than enough until next year. One tube lasts for months anyways.

Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum:

Unfortunately for me, I purchased a bunch of the Purito Centella Green Level Buffer Serum, lol. I stopped using this serum months ago. I’m glad I did. I haven’t noticed a difference after dropping it from my routine since. My skin doesn’t miss it at all. It has centella asiatica extract (49%), niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate, asiatic acid, madecassic acid, peptides, panthenol, and lots of other beneficial skin care ingredients, but it didn’t do anything for my skin. It provides temporary moisture and soothing effects, but that’s it. I didn’t notice a huge difference in my skin using it. It didn’t make my skin brighter, healthier, or even supple as it claims to do. I guess this serum could work if you’re searching for a basic serum and have sensitive skin. For me, it’s not for me. Seems like a waste of money for something that doesn’t improve my skin over time. It doesn’t really moisturize my skin either.

The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA:

One more The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA down! I did an update on this product not so long ago. I tried using it as an eye serum instead of a facial serum. It didn’t work out. The serum didn’t help with fine lines or wrinkles. It dried my under eyes out and pilled under my other skin care products. It didn’t work underneath sunscreen either. I never saw results with this serum. I just stopped using it anywhere near my face.

The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane:

I haven’t been using The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane on my face. I’ve been using it on my body. This retinol serum clogs my pores (on my face). The other ingredients in this product are not compatible with my skin. It’s just way too oily. I have a few more bottles left of this serum. I’m glad I knocked one out by the end of the year. It’s a very moisturizing retinol serum. It’s gentle on the skin. I can’t tell if it’s doing anything for the skin on my body. I just can’t tell. I don’t have any skin issues on my body besides some dryness once in a blue moon (during the winter). This is another product I’m trying to finish up from The Ordinary, lol.

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2%:

One more The Ordinary serum I finished up this month! I’m officially on my last bottle of The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid 8% Alpha Arbutin 2%. I’m ready to just be done with it. So this serum is still oily and greasy. I love the ingredients in it still. If it doesn’t work on my facial skin, I can’t do anything about it. It clogs my pores and irritates it to no end. I’ve tried it so many times with the same terrible results. It also turns my face orange. I walked around with a bright orange glow to my skin all year round because of this product. 😆

The Ordinary 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder:

It took me nearly a year to finish a jar of this vitamin c powder. It’s finally done, and I’m not purchasing another one. In my opinion, it’s not worth it. Ascorbic acid powder can be easily purchased at a much more affordable, lower price than what The Ordinary is selling it for. I love the tiny jar that it comes in, and I’m still using it for my antioxidant powders. But, I’m pretty much done with this particular product. Results were mediocre. I didn’t notice that much of a difference in my skin. I’m still trying to fade acne marks. It’s time to try another vitamin c product out!

The Ordinary Pycnogenol 5%:

I finished The Ordinary Pycnogenol 5%! It’s the last bottle too! Yay! No more! The Ordinary Pycnogenol 5% did nothing for my skin but left my skin feeling oily like a whole bunch of other The Ordinary products I’ve used. It’s so oily and greasy. It didn’t do anything for my skin either. It’s supposed to enhance hydration (nope!) and improve elasticity (nope!). Scavenge free radicals and recycle oxidized vitamin c (who knows if it did any of that). I just can’t tell. Is it doing anything?!! I’m over it. I’m glad I’m done with it. I won’t purchase it again. It took me soooo long to finish the last bottle.

It’s been quite a year. December seems to have the most empties. I’m just cleaning out for the new year! 🥳🎉 Merry Christmas everyone!!

August Skin Care Empties! 🧴

September Skin Care Empties 😎

November Skin Care Empties 🦃