Routine: My Daily Skincare
Thursday, April 16, 2015
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Firstly, let's talk about my skin. I have mostly normal skin, though there are some dry patches around the side of my nose and on the sides of my jaw. For most of my life, I'd had what some would consider as 'perfect' skin. Up until last year. For some reason, I started breaking out a lot last year and had problems with pores and blackheads. I still haven't pin-pointed the exact reason why it happened but I did proceed to make changes to my lifestyle. I started eating more healthily, exercising regularly but I'm sure the part you want to read about is the actual skincare routine.
I've been ordering things online for many years now and I got into Asian beauty right at the start, but I mostly bought make-up type items, like BB creams. This year I really started to delve into the skincare aspects, and most of these are Korean skincare products as they tend to be more accessible and affordable for me. I usually order online and I've noted the places where I bought each product at, but if you have a store near you that stocks them, then even better!
(L-R: Innisfree Apple Juicy Lip & Eye Remover, Innisfree Apple Juicy Cleansing Oil. It's Skin Have An Eggshell Cleansing Foam, ZA Cleansemax Double Cleansing Gel, The Face Shop Rice Ceramide Moisture Toner, OST Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum, The History of Whoo Gongjinhyang Qi & Jin Essence, Su:m37 Waterfull Gel Cream, Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX)
This is the majority of products that I use in my routine, and I use basically every step of this at night, though I lighten it up a bit for my morning routine. I've loosely based it on the many steps in a typical Korean skincare routine, though I have left a few things out that I felt were unnecesary for me/I haven't found an HG product for yet.
As I mentioned before, I use almost all of these products in my night-time routine. I use them in the order displayed and listed. This is mostly due to the texture and consistency of each product, so the thinner, more liquidy products are used first and the thicker, cream-like products are used later. This is so that each product can absorb quicker and more efficiently.
Another thing to note, even if you do make changes and start using new products; do not expect instant results! It took a couple of months to get my skin 'in order', and of course this varies from person to person as well. Also make sure to test every new product one at a time, and for about a week just to test if it's right for your skin. If there are problems, then you know exactly what the culprit is!
Anyway, some more detail about the actual routine. I use these products, in order:
Eye Makeup Remover: Innisfree Apple Juicy Lip & Eye Remover
Oil Cleanser: Innisfree Apple Juicy Cleansing Oil
Foam Cleanser: It's Skin Have An Eggshell Cleansing Foam
Gel Cleanser: ZA Cleansemax Double Cleansing Gel
Toner: The Face Shop Rice Ceramide Moisture Toner
Vitamin C Serum: OST Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum
Essence: The History of Whoo Gongjinhyang Qi & Jin EssenceMoisturiser: Su:m37 Waterfull Gel Cream
Sleeping Pack: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX
I use the full amount of products at night since I'll be sleeping/hanging around the house so that gives everything a good time to absorb. I cleanse first so that I have a fresh face, and then use a toner to kind of 'prep' my skin to absorb the rest of the products. I'll go in depth into the products and their purposes later!
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This is what I use in my morning routine, almost half the products of my nightly routine! The reason is because I'm super lazy in the mornings and don't have time to apply everything, especially not with the waiting times. Applying a lot of products can be quite heavy too, and I usually apply my make-up on top so there wouldn't be time for everything to absorb.
I use the products in the morning, in order from:
Foam Cleanser: It's Skin Have An Eggshell Cleansing Foam
Toner: The Face Shop Rice Ceramide Moisture Toner
Essence: The History of Whoo Gongjinhyang Qi & Jin EssenceCream: Secret Key Snow White Cream
These are the cleansers of the routine, to wipe your slate so you can prep it to absorb the rest of that skincare goodness ;u;
The first one shown is the Innisfree Apple Juicy Lip & Eye Remover. This bottle comes with 100ml of product and I bought it from Testerkorea. I use it mainly as a eye makeup remover and it works really well for removing heavy eyeliner as well as lipstick when I do wear it. It smells like lovely green apples too, so that's another plus. Usually I just dab some of it onto a cleansing tissue and then wipe off my makeup with it.
Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Opuntia Coccinellfera Fruit Extract.
The next one is the Innisfree Apple Juicy Cleansing Oil. This is the 150ml bottle and I bought it from Testerkorea as well. As you can tell, it's another product from Innisfree's Apple Juicy range so it smells like green apples too. This is a cleansing oil/oil cleanser so I use it to remove the rest of makeup (usually just BB cream), and it works really well for that. I use it to do the OCM (oil cleansing method), so I dab it around my face and then massage it for around 2 minutes. This helps to get makeup off easily. Once a week, I'll massage it longer, about 5-7 minutes and this really helps to get a lot of the stubborn grits off (unclogging pores) so my face feels super clean. I don't this too often since it can irritate the face.
Ingredients: Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Triethylhexanoin, Polyglyceryl-10 Dioleate, Hydrogenated (C6-14 Olefin) Polymers, PEG-8 Glyceryl Isosterate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Cyclohexasiloxane, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Orchid Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Camellia Japonica Leaf Extract, Opuntia Coccinellifera Fruit Extract, Butylene Glycol, Fragrance.
Next up is the It's Skin Have An Eggshell Cleansing Foam. The bottle looks quite big, but it's only 150ml and I bought this one from Testerkorea too. Since oil cleansing can leave a bit of residue behind, I always use a foam cleanser afterwards to remove it. This one is quite cheap, but not the best since the pH is a little high to be suitable. Usually I dab a little bit in my hands and run it under water to foam it up, spread it around my face and then wipe it off with a face cloth. Usually this gets all the oily residue off, and cleansing is done!
Ingredients: Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Lauric Acid, Myristic Acid, Glycol Distearate, Propylene Glycol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Cocamide DEA, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Beeswax, Butylene Glycol, Egg Yolk Extract, Hydrolyzed Egg Shell Membrane, Triclosan, Fragrance, Xanthan Gum, Methylparaben, Tetrasodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin.
The last product in the cleansing line-up is the ZA Cleansemax Double Cleansing Gel. I bought it from a Life Pharmacy store (I can't find a site that sells this online), and the bottle is about 100g. This is more of a 'or' product instead of a 'as well as' product, so I only use it as a quick on-the-go makeup remover or if I'm just too lazy to go through the whole cleansing routine sometimes. I just spread it around my face and then use a cleansing tissue or face cloth or wipe it off after massaging for a while. It's great for cleansing but I feel like it doesn't clean as deeply as the double cleansing method, so I try not to use it too often.
And welcome to the other products in the routine! I don't have a specific name for these, it's just everything that I typically use after cleansing.
The absolute first thing that I use after cleansing is a toner, the one I currently use is The Face Shop Rice Ceramide Moisture Toner. I got this from Testerkorea (again) and it's a 150ml bottle. This bottle will probably last me forever, I've used this twice a day for 3 months and I've just barely used 1/8 of it. Toners essentially remove any extra residue and help to balance the pH of the skin so it's ready to use acidic products on. Most Asian beauty toners are completely different to Western toners, which tend to be drying. This particular toner is also quite lightweight and moisturising, as you can probably tell by the 'Moisture Toner' title.
Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, SD Alcohol 40-B, Glycerteth-26, Dipropylene Glycol, Peg-75, Dimethicone, Peg-60 Hydrogenated Caster Oil, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Acrylates, Hydroxyethyl Ethylcellulose, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract (0.5%), Capric Tyiglyceride, Ceramide 3 (0.001%), Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil (0.001%), Polyglyceryl -10 Oleate, Lecithin, Glycosphingolipids, Fragrance, Potassium Hydroxide, Disodium Edta, Methylparaben, Butylphneyl Methylpropional, Linalool.
After waiting about 10 to 15 minutes to allow the toner to sink in properly, I then use the OST Original Pure Vitamin C20 Serum, which is a vitamin C serum. The bottle is 30ml and I bought it from Wishtrend, which has it in the free shipping zone. Even though the bottle is 'only' 30ml, it's probably going to last me a long time. Vitamin C serum is supposed to help brighten the skin, lighten eye bags and remove blackheads, amongst other things. The serum is quite thick, so I just use the dropper to dispense about 5 drops to cover my face. It's a bit sticky so I just leave it for about 30 minutes, but if I'm in a rush I mix the serum with a couple drops of my toner to lighten it and make it less gooey. If you're going to use a vitamin C serum, I would definitely recommend using it towards the start of your routine, otherwise it won't be as effective. Sometimes I don't use it in my morning routine if I'm low on time, since it does take a while for the stickiness to go away.
Ingredients: Water, Ascorbic Acid, Ethanol, Sodium Lactate, Butylene Glycol, Glucose, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Rosa Davurica Bud Extract, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Extract, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, BIS-PEG-18 Methyl Esther Dimethyl Silane, Diethoxyethyl Succinate, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Xanthan, PEG-180, Gluconolactone, Beta-Glucan, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Zinc PCA, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Glycerin, Tocopherylacetate, Lecithin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ubiquinone, Diisopropyladipate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben
Ingredients: Unforuntately I haven't been able to find an ingredient list for this. I'll update this post if I do find one!
The next step is the Su:m37 Waterfull Gel Cream. Like the Qi & Jin Essence, I purchased samples of this gel cream from Testerkorea. The gel cream is definitely thicker than the other products, and you can definitely feel it on your skin. It is very hydrating and refreshing, hence the 'waterfull' name. Like with the essence, I use a spatula to dollop some of the cream onto my face and then spread it around with my fingers. Since it's so moisturising, I usually put a bit more on my face during the night if I need a pick-me-up.
Ingredients: Unforuntately I haven't been able to find an ingredient list for this. I'll update this post if I do find one!
And the last step is the Secret Key Snow White Cream. The tub comes with 50g of product and I got it from Roseroseshop. I typically only use this during the day, since it does brighten the skin a lot and I don't really need that at night. It's quite thick and is a pretty good base for my BB cream. I apply it just the same way as the other creams - I would say the consistency is the same as the Su:m37 Waterfull Gel Cream. This cream contains niacinamide, which helps to brighten the skin but this means that you can't use it too close to vitamin C products. This is why I try to use the vitamin C serum at night and this cream during the day so the vitamin C and niacinamide don't mix. I wouldn't call this a holy grail cream but it works for what I need it for at the moment.
Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Titanium Dioxide, Paraffinum liquidum, Dimethiconol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Dimethicone, Beeswax, Niacinamide, Carbomer, Stearic Acid, Methylparaben, Triethanolamine, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance.
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Anyway, that's all the products that I currently use in my skincare routine. I hope that this post has been informative, since I've gotten so many questions on this! Feel free to ask me anything else that you may want to know, and thank you so much for reading ♡
2 comments
this post is perfect, i'm starting to become a fanboy bc of your knowledge XD
ReplyDeleteThis post is perfect, One question though, since you said that you shouldnt use the whitening cream with the Vitamin C serum, do you just not put it on at all in the morning??
ReplyDelete