Skincare: Winter 2011

Morning:

I keep my morning routine quite simple. I wash my face with a little bit of Philosophy Purity Made Simple, a very gentle cleanser that leaves my skin feeling clean and soft. Then I tone my skin with Kiehl's Rare Earth Pore Refining Tonic. I don't think it has reduced the size of my pores, but it contains Amazonian White Clay, which does help control oil. Then, I use Kiehl's Abyssine eye cream+ and depending on how my skin is feeling, I will either use Kiehl's Abyssine cream+ SPF 23 or Aveeno's Ultra-Calming daily moisturizer SPF 15. The one from Kiehls' is great for the colder months, but I'll be using the Aveeno moisturizer more as the weather starts getting warmer. Either way, I add a few drops of my sunscreen since I like to have some more sun protection during the day- Lancome Bienfait UV SPF 50+ Super Fluid.

Night:

At night I spend some more time getting my face clean and I use fancier creams. I am a firm believer of cleansing oils to take makeup off, and I have been using them religiously for 5 years. I currently use the DHC Mild Touch Cleansing Oil, but unfortunately this turned out to be quite disappointing. I decided to try it since it was on sale, but my all-time favorite is Shu uemura high performance balancing cleansing oil (I use the pink one called "fresh," which is recommended for oily/combination skin). DHC's oil has a very strong scent, is slightly irritating around the eyes (even though it's supposed to be "mild") and has more of a gel-like texture instead of being an oil.

After I take my makeup off, I usually exfoliate using my Clarisonic Mia with some Philosophy Purity Made Simple cleanser. About once a week, I use the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser for a deeper exfoliation. I have found that my skin gets irritated if I use it more often than that, and I might try something gentler once I run out of this. About twice a week, I also exfoliate my lips with the Lush Lip Scrub in Bubblegum, which is super yummy and leaves my lips feeling super smooth and soft. I apply a thick layer of Aquaphor afterwards and I feel like I have Angelina Jolie's lips when I wake up in the morning...well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but still, they feel nice.

After cleansing, I tone my skin with SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. Then I apply 2 drops of Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate all over my face. Even though this is an oil, it doesn't make me breakout and I find it very hydrating. Then I dot my face with a pea-sized amount of Kiehl's Abyssyne cream+ (without the SPF) and apply Shiseido Benefiance Concentrated Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream. I love all of these products and will probably re-purchase or purchase the full size (the eye cream is a deluxe sample) once I ran out.

e & h

About my skin

I wish I had my mother's genes, who happens to have freakishly nice skin. She never had problems with her skin and doesn't have one wrinkle at 52 years old. Me, on the other hand, have suffered from acne since I was 11 years old. It was never severe, but I still have scars and due to my oily skin I have large pores around my nose and in my forehead. I am now 26 years old and I want to start introducing some anti-aging products because, you know, I plan on aging "gracefully." However, I still get breakouts quite often, which is so unfair because really, you should either have pimples or wrinkles, not both!

In the past year I have been noticing that my skin is not as oily as it used to be, and that it gets dehydrated more easily and is even dry on some areas. To my surprise I have found that using a more gentle and thicker cream not only solves this problem, but it also helped with my acne to a certain extent. I have since started looking into age-prevention skincare and have found some really good products that you might interest you if you have the same concerns and skin type as mine.

I am really passionate about skincare, and I am planning to do many, many posts on the products I'm using in different seasons. I hope you enjoy them and that you find them useful.

e & h