I'm approaching the last dregs of my skincare routine series. I've split the last portion into Everyday Routine and the Occasional Routine. After this epic post frenzy, I won't be doing another one of these until I'm requested for it again :)
Everyday routine:
Cleansing
When it comes to cleansers, I think the gentler your cleanser is, the kinder you will be on your skin. I haven't switched my cleanser since I was 13. It's the one thing I've stuck to for almost 10 years and my mother buys jugs of it from Costco (good ol' costco) for me.
Because I do a lot of exfoliation (every 2 days) and I sometimes like play around with masks, serums and creams, my base has to be as gentle as possible. Cetaphil's gentle skin cleanser is basically like water. It doesn't have any abrasive content, it just cleans your skin very gently without stripping it or making it overly oily. Cetaphil will not remove your make-up properly so you will need to do a cleanse before this (if you do wear make-up, that is).
It's about $13 at Walmart for a small bottle but at Costco, you can buy an astronomical amount for $20! (exclamation mark for extra excitement!)
Make-up Removal
This obviously comes before the cleansing but if you don't wear make-up, you can skip right to the cleanser. When I was younger (around my mid teens), I was far more adventurous with make-up. I used to mix different colored foundations with stuff like costume glitter (-_-) and then I would accidentally fall asleep in it like a fat glittery panda bear after dinner.
I always had trouble removing make-up and thought I needed a heavy duty cleanser to do so. It took me a very long time to realize that all I needed for a gentle make-up remover and THEN, cleanse my skin with Cetaphil after.
The one I use now (and absolutely love) is Bioderma's Crealine H20 cleanser
This stuff is magical. I saw it on Lisa Eldridge and recognized the bottle from products frequently used during runway shows (Oh, all those magazines I read). This feels and looks exactly like water. It doesn't smell like anything (thank god. I had a Lancome kick and everything smelt like roses), it's not oily and it's extremely effective but very gentle.
I don't wear foundation every day nor do I ever wear eye make-up. However, I do use a bit of concealer and cream blush so I only need one cotton pad to take everything off. After the first one gets all gunky and multi-colored, I throw it away, pour a bit more Bioderma onto a second cotton pad and swipe it over my face to make sure everything is off.
Usually, the second one comes away clean. However, if I do feel like wearing foundation that day, I need two cotton pads to take everything off and a third one just to make sure there's nothing left on my face.
After all my make-up is off, I would finish my cleansing with Cetaphil. The bioderma is unfortunately expensive and doesn't last for very long. A 250ml costs me almost $25 at Shoppers and lasts about a month and a half. In France, they sell the 500 ml for 12 euros. In Canada, the 500 ml is an urban legend.
I will always be bitter that Europe has far nicer things than us.
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On most days, this is my entire skincare routine. If I do have a pink patch, I will use a spot treatment (I will list the ones I like below) and it'll usually disappear the next day but generally, I don't moisturize/tone/use serums on a daily basis (it's too much).
However, I do have things I like in that category so if you're interested, read on :)
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Spot Treatments
Like I stated in my 1st entry, I do not use acne prevention creams but I do invest in good spot treatments. Spot treatments are good for people who don't have acne but do get blemishes occasionally. If you "spot" (a-ha-ha-ha) them fast enough and you nip them in the bud, your skin should be clear most of the time. My skin is exactly like this, except sometimes my hormones go all weird every few months and I get one over night (usually in combination with over exfoliation) that I can't control.
They're always on my chin, which is very annoying. When I do get a pimple, I almost never conceal it. I tend to leave it alone.
These are the three that I rotate through. The first two I have always repurchased, the last one is a new product I've been favoring lately:
The two that I have used for years are Mario Badescu's Buffering Lotion and Drying lotion. The buffering lotion I use sometimes as toner if I want my skin to be really poreless and fresh the next day. It's usually a one-time deal because if you do it every night, it really dries your skin out. I do this once every 2 weeks or when I think "Oh hey, I haven't done that in a while. Let's do that tonight"
The drying lotion is something I use like vaseline. Any areas I suspect might be the slightest bit pink, I use the drying lotion. It dries a very pale pink on your skin so I go to bed looking rather diseased every night. When I wash it off the next day, the suspected area is completely clear and I'm a happy rabbit again.
However, it can really dry your skin out so be careful and don't put a lot on.
If I do get a giant zit (which hasn't happened in a long time. knockonwoodknockonwood), I rub the buffering lotion in that area and then the drying lotion on it after. This combination gets rid of it very very fast.
Now the last one (the bright blue tube) has a terrible name. It's Clean and Clear's popped pimple paste (*shudders*), which was made by dermatologists for pimples that have been popped (NEVER DO THIS) and need immediate assistance. I bought it on a whim because I read good things about it on Makeupalley and I'm always in the market for a good spot treatment.
I actually like this better than the Drying lotion. For friends who have known me for ages, this is a huge shocker since I've used the Drying Lotion since I was 17. The Drying Lotion is still amazing for any pink areas but the PPP (far better than the actual name) never makes your skin flakey like the drying lotion does.
Altogether, an ace product that I really like. It's going on my repurchase list (a rare and small list for a product junkie like me).
I usually purchase the Badescu products from a store called Jacob & Sabastian, it's located in downtown Toronto on Queen Street. During the summer, I worked about 15 minutes away from it so I would pick stuff up during lunch. Now that I going back to school, I'll have to rely on online shipping. They both retail for about $20/each and the PPP is about $16.
So that's pretty much it for my everyday routine. It appears long but it's really just:
1) Removing makeup with Bioderma (if I'm not wearing make-up, this is not used)
2) Cleanse with cetaphil
3) Use spot treatments if necessary
However, I also exfoliate every couple of days and use serums/masks occasionally so I'll finish the last entry off soon.
Night!
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