2 Months Experience!

Here’s my update for the week. I have a little bit of ‘free time’ to talk about my experience before it gets busy again. Here we go! Here’s my 2 MONTHS EXPERIENCE! 🙂

It’s been 2 months trying to figure out what works for my skin. I stopped using taz. It didn’t do much for my acne. Maybe I’ll return to using it sometime in the future. For now, I’m just using benzoyl peroxide. This week, I tried using it in the morning and night. My skin wasn’t that dry from using it twice a day. Just a little bit. It wasn’t too bad. I’ve only been applying a thin layer of product over my skin and letting it dry. It dries very quick since it’s a thin layer of product. It seems to work well under my morning SPF too. It works pretty well because using sunscreen alone makes my skin appear and feel so oily and greasy. I’m still using La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Face & Body Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100 for outdoors and Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 indoors (until I finish it). The benzoyl peroxide helps to keep my oily skin under control during the day. But, I plan to use benzoyl peroxide twice a day on and off. Only when I feel like it, haha.

My results from using benzoyl peroxide this week has been really good. My acne has definitely lessened. My skin is finally clearing up. FINALLY. Benzoyl peroxide seems to be the answer. I’m thinking about switching my face wash to something that contains benzoyl peroxide too. Just try it out again and see if it works better this time. So I stopped using benzoyl peroxide once at night this week. My skin started to freak out and developed pimples. I guess I can’t go a day without using benzoyl peroxide just yet. I skipped an application because I was dead tired, lol. But, now I’m back. I’m trying my best to keep applying it regularly. It seems to help cut down the oil, and my skin looks better when I use it. If this is what keeps my skin clear, this is what I’m going to use.

Don’t forget to check out my previous posts!

Restarting Tret & My First Week Experience

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

My Week 3 BP Results!

1 MONTH Results with BP!

1 Month + 1 Week Using BP & Some Changes I Made This Week!

1 Month + 2 Weeks Experience!

1 Month + 3 Weeks Experience!

February Skin Care Empties

Here’s my list of February empties! The list is pretty short this month. I slowed down on using my skin care products. I’ll try my best to pick it back up next month!

Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask:

I finished my last bottle of Cosrx Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask. I tried using this moisturizer on my face so many times, but it never worked completely. I noticed that it would brighten my skin up at times (contains niacinamide and rice extract). The brightening effect did not last. My skin would revert back to what it was before. It never helped with acne marks either. My skin ended up breaking out due to the oils (sunflower seed oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil) in the product. It didn’t work for me in the end. I used several bottles too. I used the rest of what I have left on my body and hands. I’m glad I’m done with it.

Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer SPF 30:

I finished one of the two bottles of Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 this month. Yay! This used to be my HG sunscreen (or moisturizer with SPF). It was the only moisturizer/sunscreen product that didn’t break me out. It’s not the best. I noticed some burning and freckles while using it. Whatever. I couldn’t use anything else due to breakouts. This was my only choice. My experience with it this time was not like it used to be. It used to be decent. Now, I’m just not impressed anymore. I find it to be too moisturizing (makes my skin oily) and burns my eyes. I tried applying the product a little bit away from my eyes, but it seems to get in my eyes regardless. Since this sunscreen isn’t reliable or that effective, I don’t care much for it anymore. I experimented with it indoors (not outdoors). It is what is it. I have one bottle left and won’t repurchase again. I can’t anyways, haha. It’s been discontinued. I wonder why…lol.

RoC Multi Correxion Hydrate + Plump Eye Cream:

No more RoC Multi Correxion Hydrate + Plump Eye Cream! I’m done with it. I’m happy to be done with it. I used the rest of the product on my body, especially my feet. This eye cream was OK at first until my eyes started burning from it (new formula?). It irritated the crap out of my eyes and gave me an allergic reaction. My eyes were so swollen and puffy.

Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum:

I was able to finish a bottle of Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum this month. I didn’t even realize I was running low until I finished it. So with this serum, I haven’t been using it on my face. It’s not a good facial serum for me. I remember getting blackheads and other breakouts from it, which is surprising because it absorbs quickly and feels very lightweight on the skin. I guess my skin just doesn’t like facial serums or maybe it’s just this one. I’ve been using this serum after my showers on my body. Honestly, I can’t tell if it’s making a difference, but I love how weightless and how fast it absorbs into the skin. Well, I have to use it for something. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m about to open a new bottle, haha.

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!

January Skin Care Empties!

1 Month + 1 Week Using BP & Some Changes I Made This Week!

I started using taz again this week. I tried sticking to benzoyl peroxide only, but I drifted towards taz to help with oily skin and acne. Benzoyl peroxide worked, but it dried out my skin when used back-to-back. I thought I would give taz another chance before officially quitting. Here are my results this week using this combo!

Benzoyl peroxide has been helpful, but it’s not quite cutting it. It helps with oily skin and some breakouts, but my skin needed something more. And that would be taz? I guess? So I tried it out again. This week, I only used taz twice. The first two applications (not back-to-back) dried out my skin, and I noticed some purging/peeling. I hope it was just purging and not breakouts from something else! Well, my skin exploded in acne in my blemish-prone areas. They weren’t just tiny little pimples. They were hard, nodules underneath the skin. As the days went on, those pimples burst and left a mark behind. 🥺 I wish this wasn’t so, but that’s what happened. By the end of the week, my skin started to look better. A lot of the pimples that popped up decreased in size. By the looks of it, it seems like taz is helping with my acne. Maybe as much as benzoyl peroxide. We’ll have to see. It’s only been 1 week (2 applications). As for benzoyl peroxide, I’m still using it. I’m only using it as a spot treatment. If I have to use it as an all-over treatment, I will. It doesn’t seem like I need to use benzoyl peroxide as much anymore after adding taz. But, that’s the combination of acne products I’m using to treat my acne. Hopefully all goes well in the next upcoming weeks!

I also experimented with a few sunscreens this week. I didn’t purchase any new ones. I really don’t want to purchase a new sunscreen. I used whatever I had. Here’s my experience with sunscreen this week!

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

This sunscreen feels amazingly soft, silky, and smooth on the skin. It works great as a makeup primer, but it didn’t work for my skin as I wanted. 😞 It clogged my pores. I could pick out hard sebum that sat in my pores. I loved the weightless feeling of this sunscreen, but it sucks that it breaks me out.

Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30:

I tried using Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30. I loved how it moisturized my skin, but it made my skin so oily. It’s not like what it used to be. I eventually stopped using it after experiencing oily skin that led to clogged pores. I only tried using this moisturizer with SPF indoors. My experience wearing this sunscreen outdoors in the past years was not good. My skin burned and freckled. But, keep in mind that this sunscreen has been discontinued. I’ll use the rest (one last bottle) as a body lotion or something.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios Melt-in Milk Face & Body Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100:

I started using this sunscreen at the end of the week. I’ll make an update next week! I hope it works!

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

I started using the Canmake sunscreen too. Not outdoors. Only indoors. I still have it so why not use it? It’ll work for indoors for now.

Catch up on my experience right here!! 🙂

Restarting Tret & My First Week Experience

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

My Week 3 BP Results!

1 MONTH Results with BP!

1 MONTH Results with BP!

Last week, I didn’t use any acne treatments all-over. I paid the price for it. My skin went from dry and crusty to extremely oily. I developed breakouts from it. Once I stopped using taz or tret, my skin started to get better/heal. I’m thinking about quitting those products and just sticking to benzoyl peroxide (pm) and sunscreen (am) for now. I went back to using benzoyl peroxide all-over at the beginning of this week. I spot treated most of the week. On the last day, I started using benzoyl peroxide all-over. I thought I could spot treat most of the week only. I was wrong. I really need to apply benzoyl peroxide all-over for the full effect. When using benzoyl peroxide, I have less breakouts, skin is less oily, and my skin just looks overall better. I noticed improvements in my skin after the first all-over application! My skin didn’t dry out either. It just soaked up the excess oils and killed the bacteria. Yayyyyyyy! I’m still not using a moisturizer. My skin seems to not need it. Also, I’m not using salicylic acid anymore. It’s not working for me. It made my skin worse at the end. It could just be the product I was using too (Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant). It leaves an oily residue behind while absorbing excess sebum all at once. It’s weird. I’m going to try my best to move on from it, haha. Let’s see how this goes, lol. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m done with it. 🤔 Pretty sure…

I stopped using CeraVe Hydrating Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 Face Sheer Tint and Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 40 this week too. I tried using La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50. I thought it was breaking me out at one point or many points, lol. Go here to check out my previous thoughts on it. I tried using this sunscreen most of the week. It didn’t cause breakouts like I thought it did. It must’ve been the CeraVe sunscreen. Darn it, I’ve been using it for so long and not realizing it was clogging my pores. I’ve officially stopped using it. There goes another sunscreen that doesn’t work. As for La Roche-Posay Anthelios Body & Face Mineral Sunscreen Gentle Lotion SPF 50, it worked OK for the first few applications then my skin became extremely dry. I could see dry patches on my skin. It accentuated so much dry skin that I had to stop using it every day. It’s not going to work if it makes my skin look like shit. I need a more moisturizing sunscreen that doesn’t break me out. I tried using Altruist Sunscreen SPF 50 again, haha! I feel like I’m never going to let this sunscreen go. It worked well the first day. After using it again for the second time, my skin started to feel clogged. It made my skin look super shiny and more oily during the day. Felt sticky on the skin. Whatever, maybe this is the last time. My experience with it lasted for 2 days this time. Good to know that it doesn’t work (again, lol).

After 1 month, my skin is almost clear. I only have a few stubborn areas of my face with pimples. It’s mostly my chin and mouth area. Probably hormonal too. I ended up with at least 3 nodules right for my period. Ugh, they took forever to go away and left dark acne marks behind. I’m not using anything to treat the pigmentation. I just don’t want to use any new product right now and ruin my skin. So, it’s just sunscreen (not sure what works yet 😭😭😭), face wash, and benzoyl peroxide. Oh, and that vitamin c serum which has helped brighten my under eyes. It’s so silky smooth! By the looks of my skin condition, I’m pretty sure the less products I use, the better my skin gets. I just need to find a new sunscreen. Something that’s lightweight, non-greasy, doesn’t clog my pores, and dries quickly into the skin. Looking back at all of the sunscreens I’ve used, the only one that worked for me was Neutrogena Visibly Even Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30. It’s not even a sunscreen product. It’s a moisturizer with SPF. By the way, it’s been discontinued for some time now. I only have one bottle left that hasn’t expired yet. I better get going and use it up real soon before it does.

What’s happening? Check out the links below!

Restarting Tret & My First Week Experience

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

My Week 3 BP Results!

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