CeruleanCity's Blog

Introducing My New Skincare Routine - Acne.org System

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 21:25:00 +0000

HEADS UP! - picture heavy entry so sorry in advance if I blow up anyone's phone or something @___@;;

Hi everyone! It's been quite awhile but I come back with news to share - the new skincare items I've been using has shown results. By the title of this blog post it's a huge spoiler - I've been using the Acne.org system.

I caved in a got it early February. My last skincare items I used were dreadful....check out my last post here if you're curious on how tragic I think the Micheal's true organics skincare line is. Anyway on a brighter note I had high hopes for Dan's products. I heard about this line initially from someone on youtube. Her ID is OhBeauty88. She no longer makes vids sadly D: but! the ones she still has up online are still useful. I found her randomly when she posted up a video talking about her acne. It wasn't one of those videos were she sat around with near perfect skin and preached about this line. It was back when she had active, visible breakouts. I subbied her earlier on in her youtube life and she eventually tried Acne,org's system. Ever since then, she has reported back her results and they have been so great - it was really fun to tag along on her journey to clearing up her skin!

so as most of you guys know. this line is straight forward. Lets start the review!

Acne.org Cleanser

This is a gel cleanser - it's clear and lathers up very nicely. Most importantly, THERE IS NO REPULSIVE SCENT. It's so nice to have a facial cleanser that's not trying to court me with scents of floral notes or suffocating me with charcoal fumes -coughmichaeltoddscough-

I use 1 full pump and lather it between my hands before working it into my skin for 10 seconds. I KNOW. 10 SECONDS? It felt so WRONG to only go at my skin for a mere 10 seconds but I followed the instructions sent to me to a T. I suppose the perks of this is knowing that my face washing time is less than 15 seconds if anything so I can go to bed quicker hahaha.

Acne.org Treatment

I really think this guy is the star. No funky smell, efficient packaging and it has cut down the overall oil production on my face by so much! I actually have rather normal/dry skin now because of this. I do get oily in the day but I'm no longer an oil slick. Who knew 2.5% benzoyl peroxide would be my saving grace? You're suppose to use this as an all over facial treatment, not spot treatment. I tried working my way up into using two full pumps of this stuff at night but my skin became TOO flaky for me to deal with. For the past two months I've been using this, I've found out the perfect amount for my skin. About a super fat pea size amount during the day and 2 fat pea sizes at night. This soaks up into my skin fairly quickly as well.

WARNING! - it kinda irritates my eyes...it's not like I get it INTO my eyes but I guess maybe there's some other ingredient that makes my eyes feel a tad bothered. Nothing too extreme, it's not like it's burning my eyeballs out but it's something to note.

Acne.org Moisturizer

The first month I used this when my skin was drying up from the treatment, it kinda burned. Not in the OMFG-I-NEED-TO-WASH-THIS-OFF...more so like "oh...wah, this is kind of uncomfortable." To soothe my skin I just fanned myself until the moisturizer dried. My skin no longer feels a burning sensation to this moisturizer. The "burning" never got to the point where it became unbearable, just slightly irritating so I toughed it out and I suppose it paid off. I use a pretty generous amount. I work one pump into my skin in the morning and 2 pumps at night! It sinks it nicely and doesn't leave a greasy/oily residue!

Btw I know in the picture above the moisturizer looks kinda green and disgusting. It really isn't like that at all LOLS BLAME THE LIGHTING WAH! Here I'll prove it to you. It's actually yellow because of the jojoba in it apparently so there you go!

Acne.org AHA+

Oh gosh...I actually think this was what made me start flaking out of control around my lower cheeks. I used it once but it was quite early on. I believe I used it about a month into the regimen? I don't have enough experience with this product yet so I'll have to do a follow up blog post just for this guy.

So far I've just been using only the regimen (minus the AHA+ for now) and it just has been working out so well (knock on wood D:). So far it has been very promising and it just checks out well with everything I've wanted for a staple skincare. Efficient packaging, minimal products, non-scented and most importantly - results!

Lets see how far my skin has come along

August 2012

October 2012

April 2013

Not bad eh?

I'd also like to mention my current problem areas - I've marked them out for yah.

I've been trying to deal with the flakiness with another product. I use this product on my lower cheeks during the day to minimize my flakes. To my surprise, it doesn't clog my pores. One of my friends who also as acne praises this stuff and I've had it with me for over a year now. It's a super thick cream and a little dab is enough for both of my cheeks.

Eucerin Original Healing Cream

What about jojoba oil you ask? I tried mixing that into my moisturizer as recommended but straight up jojoba oil made my skin breakout, even during the regimen. I stopped right away so my skin could recover.

So far so good! I don't have much else to say but YAY, THIS WORK FOR ME XD! I'm glad I took the chance with this line. I actually bought the smaller 8oz line, finished that then went ahead to purchase the more cost efficient 16oz set. I'll definitely do a follow up post 6 months down the line and another post about the AHA+!

I hope you're all doing well and keep at it with your skincare! School has been taking over my life but I'll be sure to answer any question you might have XD Good luck and I'll see you later~

Michael Todd True Organics Skincare Review & Updates!

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 23:06:00 +0000

First of all, HI GUYS XD! I'm not even sure if anyone remembers me LOLS It has been awhile since school is taking over my life. Gahh, not fun but I'm hanging in there. So this is gonna be my very over due review on a new skincare line I've tried out!

From my past post seen here, I was drawn into this brand since some of the people I follow on youtube have said positive things from this line. Being the smart online shopper I am I also found a promo code which brought down the price to $56 total for 5 items (free shipping!). Each item bought separately costs $20+ each so this was a bargain!

I bought the 5 piece set of meant for acne/oily skin. They've changed the current set from when I purchased it so my items are different.

1. Charcoal Detox [$24]
It's a charcoal gray gel that doesn't irritate my skin. I used it along with my Olay Pro X but UHG. THE SMELL. Of course it smells like charcoal but it was extremely pungent but I just held my breath when I had to wash my face.

2. Organic Lemon Toner [$18]
I was super excited for this one since I had used fresh lemons as a toner and those worked well for my skin. I figured having a lemon toner is much more convent for me since it's all prepared and whatnot. Blarg, the smell wasn't lovely for this either. It didn't show amazing results like my witch hazel toner but it didn't irritate my skin.

3. Carrot Serum [$37]
Again, the smell was pretty horrid. But I can tolerate a lot of things if the results are worth it. This didn't do anything for my skin...it just..sat there on top of my acne but again I kept using it in hopes of seeing progress later on.

4. Moisturizing Lite Non-oily Hydration Lotion [$29]
Finally, a product which doesn't smell so repulsive. It's light weight and skins in quickly. it claims to have oil control which was a total lie for my skin. My t-zone is extremely oily and this didn't help one bit.

5. Kaolin Clay [$34]
It's a clay mask which didn't do much. I honestly feel that the Queen Helen's Mint Julep mask is much superior...and WTFREAK. I nearly passed out from seeing the price tag for this bottle. The mint julep mask is about $5 at drugstores and this clay mask was almost $35...sheesh

Not to mention, most of these items had a pump/vacuum mechanism which SUCKED. Either no product came out or too much came out. I eventually had to scoop out product with a cotton bud to get the serum out because the pump was terrible.

As you can probably guess from my review, I'm seriously unimpressed with this line. It did not help my skin one bit. And listen to this - I originally did not receive my moisturizer in my first delivery. There was a note inside my package saying it would be shipped later. That's fine, I'm patient but I wanted to use all these items together to see its effectiveness. I waited and waited then rang them up inquiring about it. It took a whole 2 weeks + to ship out the item. When it arrived 2 weeks later it was the WRONG ITEM ....I got a body lotion instead of my facial lotion.

& The service...

I work in retail so I understand it's no fun dealing with a customer who isn't pleased. I stayed chill and just rang them up informing them about the mix up. It wasn't until a month later I revived my moisturizer. At this time I was already using the rest of the skincare items and they weren't performing great at all. I kept at it for another few weeks with my moisturizer and it just falls so flat.

I called the company and requested if I could be exempt from the 30 day refund policy since I didn't receive the compete set not too long ago. I was told I'd be contacted and an exception would be made for me which I'd get a follow-up call . That was sometime last week and I didn't receive any follow up call since.

I just called again earlier today and they said to just send back in the items but they're going to take $10 away from the total since they don't cover the costs for shipping returns.

ASDFGHJHGFDSDFGHGFDSASSFGHGDSFG.
Yeah, not happy with the company. Everyone I spoke to was polite, nice and understanding but that doesn't exempt you from doing your job and making sure things are getting done (like follow up calls, orders etc). It's careless and a waste of my time and money.

I believe I spoke to the manager, his name's Michael Friend and mreeh. I didn't get any offers for compensation or even an apology for such delayed service.

It may seem I'm being excessively critical about their service but I work in retail too (retail pharmacy). I completely understand having to deal with an unhappy customer but to be so half-assed about helping them just makes the problem worst. It's not a good thing at all for a company to leave an already unhappy customer unsatisfied.

I'm already unsatisfied with your products but your service too?

Wow, what a rant hahaha but in all seriousness, this line of products SUCK, My old skincare routine which was made up of 75% of drugstore items worked MUCH better than these overpriced stinky serums in a bottle.

I stopped using this skincare line early February. Why? MY SKIN BROKE OUT HORRIBLY . I'm trying to fish through my photo albums to see if I had taken update photos for this line but oh my gosh. I broke out in large painful clusters of acne around my mouth and temples. My forehead still broke out in dime sized acne spots as well.

So I'll be getting my stuff in order to post them later this week. I don't recommend this line at all . There are so much better options which will work and you won't have to deal with delivery mistakes/mixups.

Updates

After having such an awful experience with the Michael Todd's skincare line I needed to find something else. I found myself in a phase which was a mixture of frustration and in a dire need of a new skincare treatment. I invested in another skincare line which I started using on February 6th.....

WOW. LOOK. LOOK.

I look sleepy but THAT'S NOT THE POINT GUYS!

All I have been experiencing is a bit of dryness on my nostrils [which has been normal for me] and ONE breakout on my chin. HOLY$#%^&. I have NEVER thought I would've been able to say that EVER. I have scarring yes but my breakouts have been stomped down into the ground. I hope I'm not jinxing myself x:! I want to use these new products for at least another month or so before I write a proper review but I just NEEDED to share this insane progress. I'm no longer taking birth control so the only thing treating my acne are topical items.

Anyway I think this post has been long enough XD I hope everyone is doing well and I'll see you guys later<3!

To Pop Pills Or Not To Pop Pills

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:01:00 +0000

HI guys :> I’m freezing here, what about you? I can’t complain too much since it never snows here but still ; - ;! Enough tears! I’d like to tell you guys a change I’ve done for my skincare. Just a quick post, nothing fancy. Anyway not only did I change the products I use [about 90% of it], I also took a major product out.

I stopped taking my birth control.

I CAN EXPLAIN! To start, I’m not going around trying to court anyone so I’m not concerned about getting preggo. Information about the birth control I used can be found in this blog post.

I stopped taking it for 2 very glaring reasons

1 – I was breaking out horribly from November to mid-December even when I was on the medication. I was super stressed at the time - going through a really brutal session at school but that’s school nothing new. However, my skin was NOT having it. I was breaking out all over in painful large spots. Many have left marks even though I never tried to go at them with a needle etc. On my good nights, I’d get at least 5-6 hours of sleep. I know sleeping enough is so important for my skin because I can tell the next morning. If I get enough sleep my skin feels bouncy and fresh. If I don’t it feels weighed down and dull. It’s true I kid you not sir!

2 – My anxiety was on a rampage. I just found myself full of worry and doubts all the time. How terrible is that D:? From school to family matters to my relationship with the hubby, it [the anxiety] was screwing with my thought process on a lot of things. The moment I stopped taking birth control… I FELT BETTER. I didn’t feel so glum and blah anymore. Gah, hormones are intense stuff, seriously.

So how’s my skin now without the medication? It’s actually doing well. The severe breakout I had a few weeks ago are just flat scars and I haven’t had a whole new wave of blemishes swing by. Like I mentioned above, I have new facial care products. I’ll be sure to review them when enough time has passed for me to make a well-reviewed post on ‘em. So for now the products are a secret

My periods are going to suck. It was nice knowing when they were gonna happen instead of playing Russian roulette with it. Also, the cramps are sure to come back so @#$%^&%$#. I may go back on birth control depending how things play out but for now I’m really better off without it.

Olay Pro X Review

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:29:00 +0000

TOTALLY OVER DUE! Better late than never right? XD This is a semi-picture heavy post so sorry if it blows up anyone's computers/laptops. So I bought this sucker on October 19th (you can read that post here). I've been checking out the clarisonic for ages but...gah, I cannot fork over the money. I mean I have a job but if you're making peasant pay like I do then parting with $200+ isn't easy LOLS

For starters, I was surprised to see how small it was, especially the brush head. This turned out to be the perfect size since it really can fit in the curves around my nose very well. As you can see, it's barely bigger than my phone (Yeah, threw in my phone for scale, it works XD!). I use this every morning and night. I know for some of you guys, you're recoiling in your chairs because you shouldn't be exfoliating your skin daily let alone twice a day. The cleanser I use along with this is a cream cleanser. The Olay Pro X is just a better tool to work in the product than my fingers.

Brush head - I know one of the initial fears is that the brush head is scratchy and rough. It's not at all! It's soft, even when I use it on the highest setting I never felt that it was scratching away at my skin. On the Olay website it says to replace your brush head once every 3 months. It isn't loosely attached to the handle at all either. Very sturdy even though it's initial appearance seems a bit flimsy.

Buttons - The top one is the on and off button. The second one is the speed setting which just has high and low as your options. I always use it on the high setting. I just feel it gives me such a good clean scrub and it has not irritated my skin at all. How nice is that?

Batteries - 2 AA batteries are placed right inside. This is the part I kinda struggled with because you have to remove the bottom portion of the handle of expose the battery compartment. There's not much to grip so the chances of accidentally punching yourself in the face is pretty high @___@;; I don't blame the cap being super tight since it prevents water from leaking into the batteries. I use this in the mornings during my shower and I haven't had the product break due to water damage or electrocuted myself so it pasts the waterproof test for me.

So how do I know this is worth it? It was $30 at target which is easier to part with than $100-$200. My hopes for this product was to clean my face SUPER well...and I mean it better scrub at my face better than if I were to use my fingers/hands.

Check this out!

This is how my Neutrogena makeup removing wipes usually look like after use. I remember on this particular day I had this makeup on for about 14-15 hours. On one hand it lets me know that the makeup I'm putting on my face has super duper staying power. On the other hand it makes me feel that I'm suffocating my pores lols...Point being though, I always try to thoroughly take off my makeup so my cleanser can really do its job right after.

Here is the brush head. I always rinse it for a moment before each use. It's all clean, white, and ready to go!

The brush head is white, my cleanser cream is white so WHERE THE HECK DID THAT FLESH TINGED COLOR COME FROM? Gahhhh, it's makeup that was STILL on my skin even though I had used a makeup removing wipe prior to this. This just shows how well this brush is really picking up the makeup/dirt/oil off my face and helping my cleanser be as efficient as possible. When I use the Olay Pro X, I start at my left cheek, work my way down to the chin, then comes the right cheek, all around the nose then up between the eyes and finally ending at the forehead. I don't really time myself, I just keep scrubbing at my face until I feel clean. Every person has their own self timer in a sense so you'll know what works best for you whenever you try it.

Here are some pictures after using it for a few days

For those who read my blogs/ramblings, you already know the right side of my face is the one which wrecked havoc ALL the time. After just a few days of using my new facial tool, breakouts have really started to reduce in numbers. Scarring is something I'll have to deal with but if I can bring down the frequency of breakouts then I'll eventually be able to work on scar treatments more than blemish treatments.

(Please click the links to view the pictures! I'm limited to a certain number of pictures I can post here D:)

Around the time this picture was taken I was having pretty big breakouts around my nose. They were really painful and didn't heal as quickly because they were settled where my glasses rests against my nose. The constant pressure on them didn't make them happy so they scarred my skin in revenge x: Besides that drama, the left side of my face has reacted well to the new product.

MY RIGHT SIDE IS BEHAVING AHHHH!!

No negative changes to report, everything seems to be going smoothly.

HOOKKAY, totally jinxed myself. Painful breakouts around my temple >: Not fun at all...I don't think the Olay Pro X caused them, they just decided to come up on their own if anything :l

Lots of scarring, few breakouts...key word FEW. I can handle that. The thing that I really like about the Olay Pro X is that I can run it over active breakouts and it doesn't hurt. And you know how when a blemish is healing, it will get flaky and scab over? It doesn't look that great and trying to put makeup over it makes it look worse. But using the Olay Pro X, it removes the dead skin/flakes off and it helps the application of foundation/concealer much more smoother.

See? It helps my skin smooth itself out so I can cover up what I want during the day with no problems. Would I recommend this item. Yep! It doesn't break the bank and it does what it's suppose to do. Again, if your skin is much more sensitive then only use it every other day or even just once a day. It's trial and error but we all know that's how it is with skincare. I'm glad I saved myself a ton of money from not having it invest in a clarisonic as well as cleaning my skin extremely well. I wear a face full of makeup almost every day and I had to make sure all of it comes off before I roll into bed.

The only cons I have about this product is that I wish it came with a stand or something to prop itself up when you store it. I have it laying on my box of makeup removing wipes inside my medicine cabinet. Out of paranoia I always rinse and run my fingers through the brush head before each use to make sure nothing's clinging onto it. Besides that I don't have any other negative comments!

I hope this was helpful! I'll be sure to blog a bit more since winter break has finally arrived. Seriously, I've never been more mentally abused academically than going through this fall semester. SHEESH D:! I'll see you guys later!

Quick Update!

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 06:11:00 +0000

AHHH! I KNOW. I owe you guys a review on the Olay Pro X but I'm currently drowning in school work and...normal work @__@;;!

I just wanted to let you guys in on a discount deal. There's this brand of organic skincare called "micheal todd" and seriously I've been hearing it from the youtube beauty people I'm subbed to. Seriously, I think it's a sign for me to just try it out .___.;;

I was browsing the site and found a super good deal.

Take a look here.I just bought that. It did take me a bit to stomach since it's not cheap but you're getting 5 full sized items for a freaking steal. I'm a super smart online shopper and googled for promo codes XD use "HOLIDAY12" and get 20% off. So my total for the order was like $55 with free shipping. I'm kinda excited to try it out but I'm nervous since it's always scary to stray away from your usual skincare [even if your usual skincare doesn't clear you up 100%]

ALSO, I looked over the return policy. FREE return shipping within 30 days of shipment date. THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME! Usually I'll see results by then so I can take it or get my money back no problem. The only possible thing I can lose on this deal is my acne so I'M ON BOARD! Trying not to get my hopes up too high but I love trying new things so we'll see what happens.

I hope you guys are all having a smooth holiday! I've been so swamped with school and work it's ridiculous. I'm currently trying to type up a research paper which is due tomorrow...just started it like 2 hours ago so wish me luck !

See you guys in the next post! <3

Olay Pro X

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:09:00 +0000

GUESS WHAT I JUST BOUGHT?

This guy here !

I've been eyeballing the Clarisonic for ages but I just can't stomach the cost. I mean the newest one is $200 and the replaceable brush heads are sold in packs of two for $40. I'm sure the brush heads are sold a tad cheaper on amazon/ebay but still. As a current uni student I'd rather spend all my hard earned money on food hahaha :V

The Olay Pro X is the well known cheaper alternative running at $30. The brush heads are $10 each. Much more reasonable if you ask me. I did read up reviews and AHHHH LOOK HERE! Such good reviews on makeupalley! I got a bit too excited while driving home today and made a pit stop at my local target and snagged one for myself.

I just opened the box now to take a look at it. It runs on AA batteries and the brush head feels pretty soft. A review for this sucker will be up in probably a month or earlier depending how instant the results are.

My skin isn't doing so great right now :l It's mid term season and my skin isn't liking it one bit. I'm breaking out a lot in small pea sized blemishes around the bridge of my nose. It sucks because they're where my glasses rest so they become pretty irritated. I know there's going to be some scarring I'll have to deal with but what else is new.

Major fat blemishes are camping on the top right side of my forehead, like around the temple area. Really painful but luckily my bangs cover it somewhat.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. A bit crunched on time to take them and edit! It's nighttime here as well so lack of natural lighting for pictures isn't my cuppa tea. I just wanted to share my new toy XD Also, I wanted to put a time stamp on the day I start using the Olay Pro X. I plan to use it twice a day!

ALRIGHT. MID TERMS. See you guys later ;>!

My Everyday Makeup

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 21:05:00 +0000

Not really a skincare oriented post. I guess it could be since the blushers I use don't break me out so take it for what you will! I've had a few PM's about what makeup I use [not just my foundation]. I know, such a delayed post but it's better late than never yar? This is a pretty long post, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED :V!

Face

1. MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microperfecting Primer in 01
Is it worth investing in a primer? For my skin, yep! I'm out and about all day. What's the point of wearing makeup if it only lasts 4-5 hours? I need more than that and this primer gets the job done.  I only stock up on this when I have a discount from sephora so I can stomach the price. The green cancels out the minor redness on my cheeks and around my nose. It doesn't cover up my acne but that's what my concealer is for.

2. MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Invisible Cover Foundation
I love using this when I know I'll be taking pictures. It makes me look FLAWLESS. I don't know how or why but it does! Been through at least 4 bottle of this amazing foundation. It is pricey but I never skimp out on foundation. It never made my acne worse and it covers up my acne pretty darn well. Light to medium coverage. Full coverage would look really obvious and heavy.

3. MAKE UP FOR EVER Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation
I tried this guy out because it's a much cheaper alternative than the MUFE HD. It really does keep my oily t-zone in check a lot longer than MUFE HD. I like using this as my everyday foundation and saving my other one for special occasions! Obvious warning with this though - it will amp any dry areas you may have. I had a few blemishes which were in the process of healing...which meant they were drying up and didn't look too great under this foundation.

4. Iglot AMC Cream Concealer
My first concealer ever! I think it's a bit preemptive to say but it's my favorite concealer ever. Covers up my dark circles amazingly and my blemishes with ease. Doesn't cake under my eyes and I'm satisfied with the longevity. It's a very aforadable at only $10. Oil-free too!

5. Cover FX Blotting Powder
This is what I use as my setting powder! Doesn't look cakey and it really does keep me matte for a good while. I do need to blot later on in the day with a blotting sheet but that's fine by me. Again, doesn't break me out!

Cheeks

6. NARS in Orgasm
OVERRATED. So why do I even have this blush you ask? I was able to grab it for 15% off and my curiosity got the better of me D: but even for that price it's not worth it. Overhyped and overpriced. I was about to return it but lost my invoice receipt so now I'm stuck with it. Don't get me wrong, it gives me a pretty pink peachy flush of color but for the price it's not worth it.

7. MAC Powder Blush in SpringSheen
My favorite blush of all time! It gives me the best peachy color on my cheeks! For the price and pigmentation it's so worth it. I've finally made a dent in it and I've had for awhile now, at least a bit over 6 months? Anyway, it's a bit surprising though. MAC foundations are horrible for my skin but the blushes have been nothing but amazing! No breakouts and such amazing color payoff.

8. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Blonde
The first time I ran into this I was like, "eh, do I need it?" considering it is a highlighter. I actually passed this guy up the first time around and walked out of the MAC store empty-handed.  My will power crashed causing me to run back and purchase this highlighter. IT WAS SOLD OUT. It was a big deal only because this item is limited edition so once it's sold out that's it x:! Luckily for me, I found it in-stock online. It gives me a super healthy glow. I should've bought a back up of this but lets hope MAC relaunches it at a future date!

Eyes

9. Urbandecay NAKED Eyeshadow Pallete
Not overhyped at all! Worth the money. Yeah initially the price made me think twice before forking over my money. But lets do some quick math. 50 dollars divided by 12 amazingly pigmented eye shadows barely equals to about $4 per shadow. The pigmentation on all of them are so buttery and amazing. There's no need to dig into your product so a little goes a long way. To top it off, I've used all the colors. Some more than others but they're all well loved<3

10. Urbandecay Primer Potion
I have oily lids. If I'm going to get the most out of my eyeshadows then I need a primer. I got this in an awesome bundle with other primers so it was worth every penny. If you don't have oily lids then don't feel compelled to splash out money on a primer. Keep in mind companys crank out things like this all the time - if you don't need it then don't waste your money. Unfortunately for me I have no choice D: whomp whomp. I know people have commented the ELF primer is just as good. It's good but for myself, the Primer Potion works better.

11. Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner
The BEST black eyeliner I've used. I blew so much money on Urbandecay's black eyeliner in Zero which smudged but I didn't know better. I only wear eyeliner on my waterline/lower lash line. I need something that can stay put and this does. Wears out throughout the day but it held up 10000x's better than Urbandecay's.

12. Maybelline Full n' Soft Waterproof mascara
Awesome mascara. I'm a firm believer you should never ever have to pay more than $6 for a mascara. High end ones just aren't worth it. I have short, stubby  lashes. The formula needs to be waterproof to hold a curl on my lashes. Nothing fancy with the packaging or wand so the formula gets all the credit.

13. Maybelline Volume Express The Falsies Waterproof mascara
This one is a keeper too. This one gives me a tad longer lashes than full n' soft, not as much volume though [ironically]. Still one of my favorites.

Lips

14. Carmex
Best lip balm/treatment ever. I even have like 4-5 tube versions all over the place - on my vanity, in my purse, on my desk...it's good stuff bro.

15. Lip Smackers Dr. Pepper
THIS GIVES ME THE BEST HINT OF RED ON MY LIPS EVER AND IT WAS LESS THAN $1.50. So much better than my Clinique chubby stick in Chunky Cherry. I rarely ever drink soda but if I do it's Dr.Pepper. LOVE THAT STUFF. The lip balm is so moisturizing. Such a win-win item, affordable and effective.

16. Lancome Color Design in Pale lip
This is my go to lipstick for baby pink lips. I always top it off with a lipgloss to make it last longer

17. MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Ultra Darling
Much more moisturizing than their usual lipstick formulas. Just like how the name implies, it gives a nice sheen with an opaque color payoff. It's a mix between a lipstick and a lipgloss. Love this stuff and I gravitate towards MAC's Sheen Supreme line rather than their normal lipsticks

18. NYX Round Lipsticks in Tea Rose
One of my newest favorites! If you're wondering what it looks like on click here. It's a my-lips-but-better color with a kick of pink. Moisturizing and it was only like $4, what a steal. The only downside is that it tastes like soap @___@;; How I bear with it is I do the whole stick-your-finger-in-your-mouth-then-remove to get rid of excess lipstick so it doesn't get on my teeth which prevents me from tasting it [too much]

19. Bite Beauty Lip Shine in Prosecco
A really pretty sheer nude lipgloss which pair up with my Lanome lipstick all the time. It gives a lovely sheen and my lips don't get chapped with this guy on.

-------------------------------------------------

WHEW, I think that was all of my usual everyday makeup. Seems a bit extensive but it's not like I use all of 'em at the same time .__.! I use to be a high end snob with my makeup but I've gotten older therefore wiser and realized there are amazing products everywhere. Just because it's high end doesn't equate to it being a stellar product. Same goes for the opposite, just because it's a drugstore brand doesn't mean it's going to be a flop. The makeup listed in here are pretty much the ones I'd repurchase right away [EXCEPT FOR FREAKING NARS' ORGASM] if ALL of my cosmetics disappeared or blew  up.

I use to wear makeup to cover my acne. I just wanted to cover everything. Now that I've become a more confident person overall I'm able to just enjoy the process of putting on makeup - pampering myself a bit every morning. As silly as it sounds for some of you guys, it's pretty therapeutic. Of course I'm always working to make my skin better. I'd rather have amazing skin than amazing makeup. Because I don't have amazing skin [work in progress] I gotta make sure my makeup quality is nothing but up to par with my expectations.

I hope this satisfied that itch some of you guys were having about what makeup I use. If I find new staple products I'll be sure to give an update :> Take care guys!

Skin Updates, Product Updates

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 18:55:00 +0000

Okay so a few posts ago I shared some new skincare products I picked up from Trader Joe's! Read that post here. If you guys just want to see my pictures with skin updates just scroll past the product reviews.

Aloe Vera Gel - Not as moisturizing as I had hoped for! I store this guy in the fridge so when I apply it onto my skin it gave me a very refreshing cooling sensation! Super soothing and sank into my skin really quickly! BUT. That's all the good things I can say about it. I noticed after a week of using it...it would sometimes irritate my eyes for some reason. It also wasn't packing enough moisture for me. This was just an unnecessary item in my skincare routine. I'll keep it around as more of a first-aid item than a skincare staple.

Face & Body Sunscreen - didn't break me out so hooray! I'm sure it did it's job as a sunscreen without a doubt. I think I'm too accustomed to using my Neutrogena dry touch sunscreen. This sunscreen had no promises about leaving a matte finish or anything so I can't ding it for that. It made buffing my foundation a bit more difficult than normal. It has no scent and didn't take too long to sink into my skin. I think if you're looking for a very straight forward sunscreen with no fuss this one is worth investing. Whenever I run out of my Neutrogena one &/or need one for an all-over-body sunscreen for the beach I'll be grabbing this.

100% Jojoba Oil - ARGGG...I think I'm going to get mad hate for what I'm about to say but this wasn't such a great product at all D:! I actually believe I broke out MORE because of this. At first I tried this as my nighttime moisturizer and that didn't show anything promising. I then mixed it into my usual nighttime moisturizer. No improvement. Then I tried it as an oil cleanser before my usual cream cleanser. It just didn't work for me guys :l I'll give it another shot but my skin is finally calming down so I'm feeling hesitant to do so.

Tea Tree Oil - disappointment in a bottle! The smell of this guy is very strong...it makes my witch hazel toner smell nice in comparison haha...It worked well for the TINY blemishes but not enough where I can say it's a product worth repurchasing. When I dabbed this on a much bigger blemishes it didn't really do anything but sting a bit. Because the results for it was so minimal to nonexistent, I have to say I'm not a fan.

A bit of a flop of the Trader Joe's products. Oh well, at least I got to try some new things out and satisfy my curiosity. Tea tree oil =/= staple item for me!

Now it's time for my skin!

Picture 1

Jeez, I look sleepy without my makeup on. Regardless, MY SKIN HAS BEEN CALMING DOWN<3! A bit of a breakout along the right side of my nose..but then again it's on my right side so no surprise. It has been taking a bit longer to heal in that area because it happens to be where my glasses rest against my nose. The constant pressure probably irritates my acne.

Picture 2

This looks a lot better than before. Lots of usual scarring but way less active spots. See my older picture here. Crossing my fingers that my acne doesn't flare up in revenge so I can work on scar treatments!

Picture 3

Oh left side, so well behaved. Not super flawless but for me, flawless means no angry active breakouts! Large pores don't bother me at all.

Overall I think my skin isn't getting out of hand. I've started using my winter seasonal facial cream which I'll talk about in a later post. I'm starting to believe my skin is just crying for moisture and as long as I can give it the proper amount then it'll behave. I do still use lemon juice but not as frequently D: School has taken a toll on how much time I can commit to my skin. When night comes around, I just plow through my nighttime skincare routine. I'm just too exhausted sometimes to sit around an extra 20-30 minutes for my lemon juice step. Still lovin' lemon juice though!

Gonna cut this post here! Watching a tournament with the hubby via stream and it's getting a bit intense XD I hope you guys are doing well and keeping up with your skincare.
See you guys soon<3

Mufe Matte Velvet Foundation Review & Update

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:31:00 +0000

I’ve been using a new foundation! YAY FOR MAKEUP<3

I love love love my MUFE HD foundation and have been through at least 3-4 bottles of that stuff. However it’s expensive and they have raised the price on it at sephora. I think my first 2 bottles were $40 and after that I’ve been forking over $42. For 1oz of product that’s pricey but the coverage on it was amazing and it didn't break me out.

Like usual, I found myself browsing reviews of other foundations on blogs and sites such as makeupalley. It takes a bit of a push for me to stray away from a product which has worked so well. I decided it would be easier to try another foundation in the same line. I read up on the Matte Velvet foundation because it was oil-free, water resistant and assured a matte finish.

MUFE Mat Velvet +

I’ve been using it for about a month and I can say I love it ! Not only is it less expensive [$36/1oz], it really controls my oily t-zone a lot better than MUFE HD. My nose gets really oily and I found that my MUFE HD foundation would pool up after a few hours of wear. With this foundation my nose just gets a bit dewy. I will just blot or powder my nose just a bit to get rid of that extra shine.

This foundation doesn't have SPF in it which is fine since I prefer my foundations not to have them. That’s because I can use it when I’m out in the evening/night and not worry about flash photography washing me out [YES I’M VAIN].

MUFE Matte velvet doesn't break me out and blends really well. I’m in the shade 30. I can now save my MUFE HD foundation for special occasions and use the Matte velvet for everyday use.

The only con is pretty obvious - if you have any dry patches this guy is a no-go! I had a pretty big zit near my nose [that area where my glasses rest on my cheek] and as the blemish was drying up and healing, this product made it look flaky. Moisturize moisturize moisturize!

Winter is coming up and that's when my cheeks actually start getting dry but I've whipped out my secret weapon for dry cheeks...which will be revealed in a future post XD hahaha!

- LIFE UPDATE! -

Errrmmgaaah it's been a month since I've posted in here. Classes have been taking over my life D:! I go to a Cal state but because of some technicalities I had to pick up one of my chem classes [needed for grad school] at a local JC...so I'm going to classes on two campuses monday - thursday. IT SUCKS BALLS but I deal @__@;;!

On top of that my chem professor expects every one in the class to be at her level with chem knowledge...I DON'T HAVE A PHD IN CHEM LIFE IS OVER ; - ;! My textbooks sapped up my bank account with no mercy too.

Oh a quick add on about my skin - I did have a pretty bad breakout on the right side of my face . My skin has recovered nicely. I'll post a more in depth update later on when I can get some pictures together. See you guys later XD!

Diy Greek Yogurt Mask

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 05:48:00 +0000

I always loved using packs/masks. Makes me feel super pampered and extra girly :> When I’m bored I like to browse skinfood and lush’s site and look at their masks…but my college student budget refuses to let me splurge unnecessarily so I just stare at a distance @__@;;

After watching a bunch of youtube vids and browsing online for DIY masks I just came to the conclusion you can make it however you want. You’re the boss of your masks :>

Yogurt masks always appealed to me since it allegedly will make your skin soft and supple. It’s a good treatment for skin with acne and it’s cheap. Ohmygaahhh you had me at the word cheap LOLS I never made them before since my acne was a bit too severe to stray from my medicated treatments.

How I started making my own masks is a pretty simple story. I discovered the yumminess of greek yogurt with honey and granola! I was addicted to that delicious trio. Unfortunately I totally overdosed on it in the time span of 3 days and now I no longer crave it anymore. I had bought a huge tub of yogurt since it was cost efficient. I only managed to chow down on about 80% of it before I got sick of it.

I felt bad about being wasteful and I’ve always heard of yogurt masks do wonders for acne-prone skin so why not?
I’m gonna share my recipe for the mask that I make but remember you can add whatever you want to it – smashed fruit, essential oils, get as fancy as you want. Throw in crushed pearls if you want and tell me how that works out for you :V

I use 0% fat greek yogurt as my base. One big spoonful of yogurt then throw in about two cereal spoonful of rice flour and a drizzle of honey then mix well. Did you like my method of measurements LOLS don’t even worry about exact measurements. I guess you have to have this chef thing like me and just be able to eyeball how much product you want.

From personal preference, I like my packs thick, almost paste like so adding the rice flour does the trick. I add honey for a kick of moisture power and antibacterial goodness. Rice flour is supposed to be good for your skin and it was less than 60 cents for the bag I bought.

I try to make this mask every night. The only times I’m unable to make it is if I’m not home D: I keep this mask on for about 20-30minutes. It dries nicely because of the rice flour and comes off without too much of a fight with warm water.

The only downside with this mask is that…it smells like ass LOLS it’s the damn greek yogurt. When the mask becomes room temperature on my face the smell of the dairy product becomes pretty pungent. Oh god just thinking about it right now is making my nostrils dilate in horror.

I just breathe through my mouth and it becomes bearable enough for me to make it past the 20-30 minute mark. When I wash it off my skin feels very smooth and soft to the touch. It even looks more radiant. Because this is so inexpensive to make and the results are pleasant I’m going to keep up using this every chance I get.

I’m not sure if there’s a difference between using 2% fat yogurt vs. 0% but so far the 0% has shown good results.
Making your own mask/pack is super fun. It gives you an excuse to just throw a bunch of stuff together and hope for the best LOLS if you have made any homemade masks you’d like to share, comment or PM me! I’d love to try it out myself :>

Disclaimer – I am completely aware that this isn’t a cure for acne! It is part of what I consider a supplemental skincare item. I use to be the type of person who would shoot down homemade remedies because I only had faith in prescription medication for my acne. I’m on birth control for my acne [see my blogpost on it!] and my skincare routine [cleanser/toner/moisturizer] is to alleviate any breakouts I do get. My acne tends to be mild and persistent but will occasionally flare up to moderate levels. By doing masks/packs, I relieve redness and smooth texture of my skin. Again, it doesn’t cure my acne but it helps out my skin in other ways :>!

Skin Moisture Meter

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 01:18:00 +0000

I was out picking up a skincare product my mom had asked me to. It was from a Korean brand called Laneige. I'm pretty fortunate enough to live in an area that's more diverse than a pizza with every topping possible.

Usually to get your hands on these things, you have to go online. I just have to go down a few blocks, walk into the Korean market and there's a Laneige counter right up at the front! I picked up what I needed and paid for my purchase. The sales associate was a Korean woman with limited English. I'm only mentioning this part because after she rang me up she takes out a device. It looked like a small high-tech gameboy that is a bit smaller than an ipod.

After a few moments I got a gist of the gadget - it was to detect the levels of moisture in your skin. The three areas she tried it on my skin were near the outer corner of my eye, cheekbones and lower cheek. The top of this device twists out ward at the top allowing you to press the sensor against your skin!

The RESULTS!

Outer corner of eye - 40% moisture
Cheekbone area - 30% moisture
Lower cheek - 30% moisture

The way she looked at me when she saw how little moisture I had in my skin was something like this:

LOLS...she said, "oh how little moisture you have in your skin!" and ran over to a drawer and started pulling out samples of Laneige products to give me. They weren't a jumble of random ones - it was like a whole range! She even numbered them so I'd know which proper order to use them in, so nice!

Step 1 & 2

Step 1 is the Power Essential Skin Refiner for combination to oily skin. On the back it claims, "eliminates impurities in the pores and removes keratin for clear and transparent skin." THAT'S SO AWESOME HOW SHE KNEW WHAT SKIN TYPE I HAVE o__o! That moisture skin meter is very informative. I mean I'm pretty skeptical but can't help but feel a bit impressed x:!

Step 2 is the Balancing Emulsion for combination to oily skin. On the back of the bottle it says, "controls excess sebum and balances hydration for clear and transparent skin." IS THIS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE D:?!

Step 3

Step 3 - I got 3 packets of the Water Bank Essence_EX. This claims, "nano lipsome supplying essence that offers consistent water deeply into dry skin."

Step 4

Step 4 - I received 3 packets of this too. This guy says, "fresh gel-type nano liposome supplying cream for combination skin type that gently hydrates skin."

Extra Steps

I've actually purchased these 2 products before! The water sleeping pack is meant to be used as an overnight moisturizer. The peeling gel is meant to be used 1-2 times a week after cleansing the skin to get rid of dead skin cells. I actually really enjoyed the peeling gel. The water pack wasn't memorable but then again I used it when I had severe acne so my skin probably wasn't ready for it.

Not sure if these products may be a gimmick but I'll have to try them later since I just bought a ton of stuff from Trader Joe's to try. Part of me wants Laneige to work for my skin because they have such pretty packaging but the other half dreads it because it's pretty damn expensive.

I wasn't gonna post today but I thought this was worth sharing! See you guys later XD!

Skincare Haul � Trader Joe�S

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:16:00 +0000

Back to back blog posts, yar!

I usually stock up on snacks when I’m in Trader Joe’s. Things like super unhealthy stuff : crunchy jalapeno flavored crisps, a hunk of hazel nut chocolate bar, brownies and to balance it all out, and some spiced mangos. I’m a super fan of their cookies that come in tubs too :>

What I didn’t know was they have skincare items for sale. I was out shopping with a friend not too long ago and she wanted to restock on tea tree oil. I assumed you could only find it online. She told me Trader Joe’s carried bottles of that stuff so we went to the nearest store.

I always feel like a kid in a candy store when I’m in the skincare aisle of any place. I WAS SO EXCITED XD! They didn’t have shelves and shelves of skincare oriented products but there was a very decent selection from soaps, scrubs, cleansers and oils. Everything was priced at low costs for what they were! You could purchase two oat meal soap bars for less than $2 from what I can remember. I didn’t pick those up since my hands were already full from snatching up facial skin treatments.

Product 1 – Aloe Vera Gel

For only $2.99 you get this really decent sized bottle of aloe vera. Okay it’s not a 100% but I don’t mind. In the past, I use to use fresh aloe vera as my leave-on moisturizer at night but that stopped showing results so I didn’t bother with it anymore. It’s a bit messy as well and I was fortunate enough to have aloe vera plants at my house back then. This stuff takes the hassle away from cutting the leaves and squish out product when needed. My acne is inflamed and really painful now [see my last blog post!] so I felt investing in aloe vera gel was worth a shot. I store mine in the fridge since I enjoy the cooling sensation when applied to the skin.

Product 2 – Sunscreen SPF 30

This is a pretty big tube of sun defense! What really pulled me into buying this sucker was the label mentioning it wasn’t pore-clogging and it’s oil free. I just double checked the label and it’s fragrance free as well which is pretty nice. My SPF protection during the day came from my anti-wrinkle cream but I felt like that didn’t provide enough. For $5.99 this product was a bargain.

Product 3 – Jojoba Oil

Okay I’ve been a long time lurker on acne.org and discovered jojoba oil by reading the forums and looking at The Regimen. I can’t help but feel a bit nervous to use this. I’ve always wanted to try it though but I didn’t want to invest in such a huge bottle offered through acne.org. This was one of more the more expensive products I picked up – $6.99. The bottle is pretty big considering you only need to use a couple of drops daily. I’m thinking of using this as an eye makeup remover and facial moisturizer. Even though I’m scared to try it I bought it because I’ve heard so many good things about it. And fall/winter is on the way – that’s when my cheeks tend to become a bit dry so having this should be handy.

Product 4 – Tea Tree Oil

THIS IS THE GUY I WAS MOST EXCITED ABOUT! I’m in dire need of a spot treatment. I never tried tea tree oil and like jojoa oil, I’ve heard good stuff about it so I grabbed a bottle. The bottle is pretty small and was $6.49. I’m sure it’ll last me for awhile since I plan to use it only as a spot treatment.

That’s all my new skincare stuff. I’ll list out the order I use these guys in a later post when I can report back some results :>!

Skin Update!

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:25:00 +0000

In my last post I was unable to put pictures so this post is gonna make up for that!

My skin is being a bit rowdy, you'll see what I mean.

I have bought a bunch of new skincare items to use and I'll share them to you guys soon. I'm not sure if I should wait until I see results so I can report back in one post about the item+review but two separate posts aren't a big deal.

OKAY ENOUGH RAMBLING, LETS GET STARTED :>!

Picture 1

My problem areas are flaring up and I'm not sure why x:! This picture was taken earlier this morning as I was getting ready for class. The only thing I have on my face is moisturizer/toner, no makeup! You can probably tell I just popped some zits because they came to head x:

Picture 2

WHAT IS GOING ON DX! The right side of my face is super sensitive right now - the acne which you can see there are pretty painful...like that throbbing pain. They're even in my eyebrow -__- Even though I'm breaking out, the areas of clear skin is really smooth. Anyway, I try to change my pillow case at least 2-3 times a week which is annoying .__. but I can't figure out any other explanation for why my right side is breaking out so furiously!

Picture 3

I don't...even...how to explain... Okay I'm not gonna complain because my skin is actually clear on the left side but ARG! How can the left side of my face be so clear while my right side is like a war zone? The left side of my face is pretty clear and the complexion is smooth and supple - LEMON JUICE GUYS XD! But because of this weird half & half deal I'm having with acne, I have to assume it's my pillow case making me break out. I always smash my face into my pillow with the right side against it. I try not to but I do it inadvertently while sleeping -____-;;

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I invested in some new skincare stuff to try out. Hopefully it can calm down my current flare ups.

And now I shall include a picture displaying the magic of makeup :V!

BAM! Makeup is a wonderful thing :>! See you guys in my next post!

Busy As A Bee

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:39:00 +0000

NO REALLY! I've been running around nonstop for the past week. I start classes on monday so I've been getting things rounded up and sorted. Super depressed that my summer pretty much disappeared D:

I can't sit here much longer, there are things to do and places to go but I wanted to keep you guys updated.

First thing - I GOT A NEW DESKTOP <:!
I've been using my sony vaio for everything ever since I've got it [a little over a year and a half] and it's started to die on me. The hubby generously treated me to a destop with new monitor, keyboard & mouse. It all matches! Sleek black and each thing glows blue. The best deals for electronic hardware is on newegg so check that site out if you're hunting for a new computer!

Second thing - THERE WON'T BE ANY PICTURES IN THIS POST >:!
I'm usually pretty hyped with putting up pictures showing this and that but on my tower I can't find an SD slot. On top of that I don't have photoshop on this desktop yet so I can't add my usual boaders or watermarks @__@ I'm too booked to sit around and edit my things on my laptop so some of my blog posts are on hold until I can get my pictures sorted.

Third thing - SKIN IS BREAKING OUT x__x;;
No I'm not gonna be a drama queen and say it's the end of the world but I have been breaking out a bit more than usual. A bit alarming but nothing to spazz out over.

I've been mainly breakout out on my right temple again. Super fat angry red spots which don't come to head for at least a week, y'know those suckers. I also have a HUGE right in between my eyebrows but strangely enough it was only really red and inflamed for 3 days. It hasn't come to head yet but it I jab at it with a finger a visible bump is still felt. The inflammation has gone down a lot and it's not red anymore so I can't complain. It was painful as hell though I'll tell you that :l

I have 2 much tamer blemishes that came up but they're in very annoying spots. You know that area on your upper lip? Like the hilter-mustache area? Yeah, there's on RIGHT THERE. JEEZ. I've been super patient with it waiting for it to come to head so I can go at it with a needle. DON'T SCOLD ME I KNOW YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSE TO POP ZITS! but do not fret kind sirs - I've dealt with acne long enough to know when it's okay to go for it and when to leave it alone.

The other one is under my bottom lip about 1cm and a bit towards the right. Same deal with this guy, just waiting for it to come to head and dry out a bit before skewering him.

I was on my period last week and did breakout during it which was odd since I haven't had breakouts during that time when I started popping birth control pills.

Anyway, again sorry for the lack of pictures D:!

On a final note, even though I've been breaking out, my overall skin texture/complexion is rather lovely! Not trying to toot my own horn here but I really think it's because of lemon juice. My left cheek is perfectly clear [MIRACLE!] so I've been able to see how the skin in that area reacts to my lemon juice treatment. There is a bit of scarring still left but it's to the point where it can pass off as freckles. I'm checking right now and I actually think most of the "spots" are moles or freckles actually LOLS

Yes, there is a bit of redness on my cheek and the pores closer to my nose are still pretty big but not a zit in sight on the left side! I hope I didn't jinx myself x:

I hope everyone is okay and making progress with their skin! Good luck & I'll see you guys in my next blog post XD

Inglot Cream Concealer

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:40:00 +0000

I finally purchased my first concealer! :>

I've never had one before. I would just double up my foundation as a concealer but that would sometimes feel too heavy on my skin. I've been browsing a lot of different brands from drugstore to high-end. I had plans to pick up the MAC studio fix concealer which goes for $18 a pop. A Physician's Forumla one from target called Conceal RX which was around $10 a tube. While I was out and about at the mall yesterday evening I ended up at my local Inglot cosmetic counter. I love their eyeshadow and their products are so decently priced! I asked to take a look at their concealers since I was looking for one anyway.

When the sales associate tried it on me I was so impressed. It made my spots disappear. I made sure to ask for an oil-free product so I wasn't scared of breakouts. On top of that, it was only $10! $10 FOR A HIGH END CONCEALER? INGLOT TAKE MY MONEY NOW D:!

It comes in a jar. I know some people are not a fan of tub/jar products because of it being unsanitary. I always make sure my hands are clean before I apply anything to my face so it's not an issue for me.

Let me show you how awesome this stuff is XD!

Picture 1

Fresh out of the shower! Skin's a tad red usually after being squeak clean but nothing to worry about.

Picture 2

I've just buffed my usual layer of foundation on here. My bags from staying up late at night are still visible @__@! Same goes for my darker marks and whatnot.

Picture 3

I've just dabbed my new inglot conealer! As you can see it's rather amazing. No caking whatsoever. A little goes such a long way...I barely had to dab my finger into the pot. I apply it on with gentle taps. I look so awake in this picture compared to the previous ones o__o;; The warmth of your finger will make it easy to work with too. I also put some setting powder after.

Picture 4

Full on makeup! Smacked on my usual eyeshadow, liner and mascara. Tapped on a bit of blush and a nude color onto my lips. TA-DA! PERFECT SKIN FOR A FEW HOURS XD

&STOP STARING AT THE STRAY HAIRS ON MY FACE D: It's bugging me to death but I think I'll manage DX I did not style my hair so please excuse the weave @__@!...but look at how awesome Inglot's concealer is! Such amazing coverage...I cannot believe I didn't invest in some of this stuff earlier. At $10 a pot it really won't break the bank especially since a little bit of product goes a long way.

I was actually going to hold off on this blog post but I was just too freaking excited about this new cosmetic purchase XD I just had to share <:! I think on days where I just need to run errands and feel the need for some coverage, I can just put on a bit of this concealer and call it a day. My foundation is pricey so it's nice to know I won't be going through it as quickly.

I do have fine lines around my eyes because of the constant tugging from contacts and the concealer didn't settle into them. It didn't oxidize on my skin either. It's only been a few hours of wearing this product but I really think this guy is a keeper. If any bad qualities show up I'll be sure to mention it later on. For now I'm super satisfied with my purchase :>!

When Life Gives You Lemons

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 00:29:00 +0000

USE IT ON YOUR SKIN!

Skin brightening & reduction of hyperpigmentation.

In the blog post “my facial acne” it’s very obvious I have scarring/hyperpigmentation. That’s on par being annoying as having active breakouts. My skin has finally stopped breaking out so much where it’s plausible for me to concentrate on lightening my marks. I’ve always checked out brightening serums/creams just for the heck of it. My god they’re damn expensive. I’m not usually stingy with price tags regarding skincare but $90 for an ounce of product? I’M BEING POLITELY MUGGED.

Most skincare prices aren’t friendly to college students…blah, enough of my woes D: I frequently flock around makeupalley.com and saw something interesting:  fresh lemon juice had such high ratings. The amount of rave reviews for the yellow sour pucker pulled me in. It’s cheap and apparently effective so why not?

I started using lemon juice in place of my witch hazel toner at night. Just soak a cotton ball with some of it and gently work it into the skin. I keep it on my face for 20 minutes, rinse then slap on my usual moisturizer. If you have any freshly popped zits or open wounds it will BURN AND STING … you’ll want to cry X: but I keep telling myself beauty is pain and just deal with it. I believe I started this new regimen on the 5^th of August.

As a quick side note, you can dilute the lemon juice if it's too acidic for your skin. Add all the water you want! I didn't dilute mine at all since I've pretty much have done everything to my skin besides going at it with a blowtorch.

I bought a travel sized 6OZ bottle to store my lemon juice. Of course I put it in the fridge to maintain freshness. I’m not too sure on how long lemon juice stays viable but I’ve been refilling my little bottle with fresh juice every Sunday and Thursday.

It's foggy due to the condensation O:! I think that's about 2-3 lemons I squeezed? A bit excessive, I'm pretty sure one fat lemon would've been enough .__.!

I know buying the prepackaged lemon concentrate in the plastic lemon shaped bottles would save me a bit of trouble from having to prepare my own lemony goodness. They have a much longer shelf life too! For once I’m trying to be as natural as possible so NO I DON’T WANT FAKE JUICE ON MY FACE D:  There’s a ton of preservatives in them and I’m not THAT lazy. Lemons are cheap cheap cheap and squeezing the life out of them takes 2 seconds.

Its been a week-ish so I thought I’d report some results! Now here's a freakishly closeup shot of my face, BAM!

Actually let me point out my main problems areas.

My overall skin texture has improved to my surprise. I was always the kind of person who was very skeptical about homemade/natural remedies for skincare. The first one I ever tried were egg whites and I just ended up wasting a lot of delicious potential omelets :l

My nose lightened significantly. It was the darkest part of my face because I failed to use sunblock in my skin routine until I started college. Lemon juice didn’t seem to have an effect on my acne, just my overall skin texture. My skin doesn't seem to be so drab and dull anymore. Hopefully these are actual results and not just my imagination.

My scars do look a bit darker/lighter/redder etc in certain lightnings so I'll try my best to stay consistent with the light source in my pictures.

Updates regarding this treatment will happen monthly now,  wish me luck guys :>!

Birth Control

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 04:32:00 +0000

I suppose this is a follow up from my last blog post. I left out info regarding my experience with birth control because I think it deserves its own post.

My skincare routine has become pretty stable at bringing my acne to tolerable levels…but I want clear skin! No matter how clean and on point I was with my skincare, I’d breakout considerably during my period and sporadically when I wasn't. The blemishes I get tend to last 5 days. The really bad ones last for up to 2 weeks and scar badly. It’s like a vicious cycle if anything.

I wanted to get on birth control for my acne for the longest time. I mean most of my blemishes occurred during my period and it took the whole month to recover from that breakout before the next cycle starts. It was one of the few acne remedies I hadn’t tried yet.

Asking for birth control wasn’t too much of a hassle. I had to go get my blood tested and pee in a cup before my doctor forked over my prescription. I got prescribed tri-nessa.

Tri - nessa

It’s actually one of the uglier packaged birth controls. I remember in the birth control section at the pharmacy there were really cool ones that like flipped open sideways and stuff LOLS some even had really nice colored casings and I ended up with the butt ugly one :<

ANYWAY – I started taking tri-nessa in April of this year. I was on point with taking it at the same time every day. When I got my first period while being on the pill it was…PAINLESS? I usually get the worst cramps which make me keel over and want to end my life. Some of my friends who don’t get pain during their time of the month think I’m a drama queen and I could finally see why. Painless periods are amazing oh my god.

What about my skin you ask? NOT EVEN ONE NEW BREAKOUT. So unheard of! This was my miracle pill. On my 3^rd month was when I started feeling strange. My friend had warned me that being on the pill would turn me into a little sensitive cry baby but I didn’t believe her. Small concerns that use to never bother me caused me to feel uneasy. I began feeling under the weather often with really bad munchies as well. Yeah I got a bit tubby but my skin was clearing!

I couldn’t pin point it for a while and just assumed my very very very stressful spring semester was the source of my unhappiness. I didn’t feel satisfied or fulfilled and would have sudden surges of insecurities. My anxiety level was going sky high to the point where it even affected my relationship with my boyfriend. It was really horrible for a good while too – my attitude towards certain issues and how I reacted towards them were VERY unlike me.

My hubby and I got to talk about what was rocking the boat and I realized things were getting topsy turvey in April, right when I started taking birth control. I mean I had two choices: be an acne-free, fat paranoid girl or go back to my old acne-ridden self.

I was a lot happier when I had my acne which should say A LOT about how hormones affected me. It was difficult to feel fulfilled and I’d jump to conclusions often and overly worry about seemingly everything. Without finishing the current pack I was on, I tossed it in the trash can.

Of course I was wailing my ass off about not having clear skin but the hormones were making me jeopardize my life. I went back to my doctor and asked for a different birth control, something with a lower dose of hormones.
I got a prescription for lutera.

Lutera

It was definitely a weaker dose because my skin didn’t show improvements like when I was on tri-nessa. I was no longer having crazy anxiety attacks or going bezerk but my skin wasn’t improving! I even broke out during my periods while on lutera. I was on lutera for two months. Just recently I switched back to tri-nessa.

You’re probably wondering why since that stuff has the potential to make me a hot mess. But this time I’m completely aware and can detect when I’m not feeling “well” because of the pill. When that does happen I just skip a dose. Did you notice in the picture of my tri-nessa pack there seems to be a random days I don’t take it? My skin has shown improvements even though I’ve skipped maybe 2 doses throughout last month.

Skipping dosages doesn’t seem bad for me. I’m on birth control to help my skin… not to cockblock potential babies LOLS Jokes aside; so far I’ve been feeling stable on tri-nessa. I’m glad I can tell when my levels of anxiety start creeping up so I can back off on the medication.
For those of you girls thinking of taking birth control for your acne, you’ve been warned D:! Hormones are really intense so take care while on the pill. If you don’t have any of those side effects then FUUU WHAT A LUCKY PERSON YOU ARE.

So yes, this is my current treatment for my acne and it's going rather well. I'm still sane and I haven't started sobbing randomly or flipping tables :>

My Prescription Medications For Acne

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 06:42:00 +0000

I’ve been prescribed my fair share of behind-the-counter medication for my acne over the years. I only used my acne gels/cream treatments at night. Oh and of course I didn't use all of these guys at the same time. I used them one at a time when I was first prescribed them. I just happen to have some of the containers/product left to show you.

Product 1 – Benzoyl Peroxide

This is the one I have on hand [it’s empty]. I’ve used both gel and cream versions that comes in a tub. It’s like the default medication for acne if you ask me. All this did was dry up my active spots...kinda. It was in no way a preventative measure. This never made a zit disappear overnight for me. I use to get active spots daily and this couldn’t keep up. Of course I used it as a spot treatment when I had some around. I used this for a good chunk of my history with troubled skin.

Product 2 – Erythromycin – Benzoyl Peroxide Topical Gel

My doctor then prescribed me this guy. She insisted it was better than your ol’ regular benzoyl stuff. From what I can recall, this has antibacterial ingredients in it as well as your drying agents. It doesn’t have a long shelf life – about a month because of the antibacterial factors. On my skin it didn’t play out any differently than normal benzoyl peroxide so it's not something I'd rave about.

Product 3 – Doxycycline

I took this some time ago, about 2 years I think? So I don't have a picture to show you Anyway I forgot the dosage but being on this stuff was god awful. Even though it was the most hassle free medication [a bright teal/blue pill taken twice a day], it made me so nauseous. I had to be careful to take this medication well before I ate breakfast or dinner. I remember I forgot to take it after dinner one time so I just popped one right after without caring. I never had any queasiness from anything else before and I figured it would go away. Then suddenly the only thought which crossed my mind was “ I IMMEDIATELY REGRET THIS DECISION.”

I’ve never thrown up from a rollercoaster or from seeing something gross or even from any sort of sickness. Even when I was suffering from dehydration due to high consumption of salt, I kept my composure like a boss. But this pill made me spew my guts like a drunken whore on a Friday night :< ...so yeah I stopped taking this medication after that episode. I didn't see any results from this medication regarding my acne either but then again maybe I quit too soon.

Product 4 – Tretinoin Cream

Arg...I had such high hopes for this one. Because benzyol peroxide fell flat and antibiotics wanted me to keel over this seemed like my last saving grace for a topical treatment. This didn't prevent my acne from popping up or dry them up and it didn't lighten my scars either. I used this religiously for a good 4-5 months. I ended up putting this aside because it actually seemed to worsen my acne instead of clearing it up. Someone had told me this is meant more as a scar removal treatment as well. Regardless it hasn't done anything for me.

Product 5 – Birth Control

This is my current prescription medication I'm on targeted at my acne. There's a lot I have to say about it so I'm working on a separate blog post for it. It'll be up in a few days so sit tight :>

That's pretty much all the medications I've been prescribed for my acne. Going to see the derm is so expensive for me so I'm always hesitant to go. I didn't have a very good experience my first visit so I guess it scarred me at going back anyway. I'm sure many of you out there have a much more extensive list than mine. I'd love to know any other topical medications which aren't listed here which have been shown to work! Feel free to share in a comment below or PM me :>

My Skincare Routine

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:19:00 +0000

Surprisingly inexpensive ! HOORAH!

I’ve spent so much money on skincare products it’s almost alarming. When my skin really was going haywire, price wasn’t a problem. I swept up almost every kind of acne cleansers from the drugstore shelves. That was a bust. I then turned to very expensive skincare. I was even fortunate enough to have access to Asian skincare such as a Korean brand called LANIEGE. It was pretty pricey but the packaging was so pretty…gah don’t blame me for getting suckered into it.

It felt like I tried everything. I’d browse reviews endlessly. Yahoo answers/makeupalley were a frequent read as well as looking up product ratings here on acne.org. Through a lot of trial and error I’ve settled down with my skincare products.

I have all my current skincare products laid out in front of me and it’s really surprising to see that it’s 99.99% drugstore items. I’ll have another blog post about high-end products that have failed me but that’s for another time. I use to have this snobbish mentality that high-end skincare was always superior to drugstore ones [same thing applied to makeup]. That’s just damn awful logic right there guys.

I can call the following products staples in my skincare because no matter how many times I stray from them I always end up going back to them. Oh man that just sounded like I have problems -__-;; I swear I’m talking about skincare here.

My skincare routine is the same for day & night time.

Cleanser – Target brand Deep Cleanser Cream

This falls a few cents short of $4 at target.  It’s the generic version of the Clean&Clear deep action cream cleanser. So out of all the cleansers of tried, super expensive ones to drugstore ones, this KNOCK-OFF version of a drugstore cleanser is the one which pulled through for me. Who would’ve thought that? My wallet is furious for all the abuse I've put it through D:!

For 6.5OZ at that price is amazing. It’s an oil free cleanser as well which is a must. It comes in a squeeze tube which is awesome so there’s no need to dip your fingers and mess up the product like those stupid Noxema jars. In the morning I wash my face in the shower so yeah it really can get messy with a tub/jar product. It has no exfoliation beads so it’s perfect for everyday use [2X’s a day for me!]. The texture is thick but not heavy and works into a very satisfying lather. You know how some facial cleansers feel like they’re doing almost nothing to your skin? I hate that. I don’t need my cleansers to pack an epic punch but I need some sort of tingling sensation to give me the sense that it’s doing its job – clearing away oil and unwanted residue.

It leaves my skin feeling fresh, not dry and taunt. It does leave a refreshing tingling sensation after washing it off. I know this cleanser is a keeper because it would be the cleanser I’d always gravitate towards in between trying out new ones.  It doesn’t cure my acne but it treats it mildly and gets rid of oil.

Toner – Dickson’s Witch Hazel

For this 8OZ bottle it’s about $6. The only place that I know which sells the Oil Controlling Astringent and NOT the one meant as first aid is at Walgreens. I’ve often found this on sale for 50% off and that’s when I hog all the bottles. I remember when I use to work as a pharmacy tech at Walgreens I’d hide a few bottles when they were on sale and pay for them at the end of my shift LOLS They run out so quickly every time they’re on sale :

If you read my first ever blog post you should know that I slightly raved about this guy. If I could credit ONE product that contributed the most for my skin it’s this toner. When I’d swipe the cotton pad across my face you could see all the dirt and left over makeup my cleaners didn’t get off. There really isn’t any cleaner that completely takes off makeup [from what I’ve seen]. I’m not saying I’m a cake face but I always go for medium coverage with my foundation.

It doesn’t dry my skin and seriously gets rid of the unwanted junk that refuses to leave. The smell isn’t amazing. Most of the complaints about this toner is the smell. It’s not like it's perfume guys, the smell doesn’t linger While applying this toner, I fan my face with a free hand to waft the smell away. Efficient, no? For the results this toner has shown me, the smell is completely tolerable.

Moisturizer – Target brand Dual-Treatment Moisturizer

Another knock-off drugstore product! It’s the cheapo version of the Clean&Clear Dual Action Moisturizer.  This falls short of $4 as well.  It’s 4OZ of product in a pump dispenser - GAHHH SO PERFECT. This isn’t a miracle in a bottle, it doesn’t cure my acne but it provides moisture for my skin and wombo combos my acne with salicylic acid. The scent might come off a bit strong, smells soapy but it doesn’t linger and it doesn’t take long to sink into my skin.

Moisturizer - Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Moisturizer SPF 20

A little under $20 for 1.4 OZ of product. This obviously isn’t meant as an acne treatment. I use it as a preventative measure for wrinkles especially my frown lines. I have chronic btch face LOLS In less crude terms I naturally frown :< I’ve noticed my frown lines becoming more prominent. This product doesn’t break me out…or break my bank account. I know wrinkles are a natural part of aging but I’ll be okay with them when I’m 60, not my early 20’s. I use this as night as well even though it has spf.

Eye cream – Origins Plantscription Anti-aging Eye Treatment

I constantly tug at my eyes because I wear contacts. Like I said before, I’m not a happy camper with wrinkles right now. Trying to hold onto my youth here LOLS This is the most expensive skincare product I use. A little under $45 for 0.5OZ. I guess forking over my money wasn’t too hard to stomach since everything else in my skincare routine is relatively inexpensive but still.  I’ve had this product for quite some time and I’m not even half way through it. I’m using this as a preventative treatment so I’m hoping it’ll pay off.

Makeup remover – Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleansing Towelettes

If you buy these packs individually it’s around $6 for 25 sheets I believe at Target but sweet ‘ol costco sells these bad boys in a nice bulk pack – 4 packs of the 25 sheets plus 3 travel sized ones all for the comfy affordable price of ~$14! What a steal :> If you’re hesitant to buy the 25 sheets pack then pick up the travel sized ones [7 sheets per pack] at your local drugstore for ~$3.
The feel of the wipes are soft but have enough texture to really pick up makeup off your face. It doesn’t break me out. I feel my cleanser working a tab better at night after using this first.

Just as a reminder – the products I use to treat my acne is to help keep it at a manageable level! I’ve never been able to find a product to clear up my skin 100% but as you’ve read, I’ve discovered products to slow down the rate of breakouts and quickly treat active breakouts. These products have shown positive results for me so of course I’d recommend them to anyone who is on the hunt for an affordable cleaner/toner/moisturizer. They are very inexpensive and are worth a shot.

I'm still a bit bitter about splashing so much money on expensive skincare that showed no results or made my skin even worse. I remember wanting to invest into SK II products at one point in time too @___@;;. They're so overly expensive and I have no clue why. $100+ for facial serums... yeah, lemme just go to my money tree and pick off a few bills. Jeez .__.;;

How I Look Picture Perfect - My Foundation Routine

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:38:00 +0000

I don’t have perfect skin but with makeup I can make it seem like I do. MY FACE IS FULL OF LIES LOLS I’m pretty much a human optical illusion :V!

FLAWLESS SKIN!
Okay I know I look plastic but THAT’S NOT THE POINT GUYS. Do you see my spots? I don't!

Here’s a more natural looking picture of me with some friends taken relatively recently.
Stuffing my face with gummies and it was mega yums :>

Makeup really has helped me cope with my skin, especially when it was very out of hand.
Choosing what makeup to use on acne-prone skin is daunting :l The chances of your skin breaking out even more varies and you’ll never know unless you try! Sephora is very generous with their samples so don’t be afraid to ask. Target has a very good return policy as well so don’t hesitate about wasting your money.

My skin use to just be oily and acne-prone so powder foundations were my focus.

I started wearing powder foundation when I was 17. I was using MAC studio fix powder foundation. It was one of the popular ones out there – really good coverage and it matched my skin tone perfectly. Too bad it made me breakout. I didn’t want to blame the foundation so I kept packing on layers to cover up new breakouts. I finally threw the foundation out the window and my skin calmed down just a bit.

When college started I was using Benefit’s Hello flawless powder foundation. The sales associate recommended it to me saying it had rice powder in it for awesome oil absorption. Lie or not, that foundation actually worked rather well for me until my massive breakout phase began.

Liquid foundations always made me feel uneasy and just seemed so full of pore clogging awfulness. My breakouts got so bad though that I needed more coverage than a powder foundation could offer so I gave liquid foundation a try. My face was just horrible and made me so miserable.

As I started aging my skin began to change into combination/acne-prone skin: semi-dry cheeks and oily t-zone.

I did my research and invested in MakepForever’s HD foundation. It’s oil free so that was a good start. It doesn’t feel heavy on my skin and makes me look damn flawless in pictures. I think I’m on my fourth bottle. It’s a tad pricey but I stock up on this product when I get a 15%-20% off promo code from Sephora. I then just stick it into my fridge to extend its shelf life :>

Primer – MakeupForever HD Primer in 01

It does an okay job at extending the longevity of my foundation. It doesn’t completely cancel out the redness from my blemishes, probably because those are concentrated spots of red and this gives sheer green tint.  Doesn’t break me out but I wouldn’t repurchase this because it’s damn pricey and it doesn’t have much oil control. I’m pretty sure I can live without it &/or find a cheaper alternative.

Foundation – MakeupForever HD foundation

The only foundation I continue to buy without questioning the price tag. In person it gives me medium/buildable coverage. In pictures I look flawless XD The only time my acne ever shows through is when it’s a very LARGE protruding blemish. My scars don’t even show up on pictures with this stuff on. I go for medium coverage on my day to day makeup so darker spots will peak through but nothing drastic enough for me to care. I’m still on the hunt for a concealer so when I find one I’ll be sure to share about it in a future blog post.

Setting powder – MATTE FX Oil Absorbing Powder

It’s meant to be used as an oil blotting powder but I use it as a finishing powder. I’m on my 3^rd compact and it doesn’t leave me looking cakey. Doesn’t cause breakouts or irritation. For the price it’s relatively affordable for a high-end product (~$25).  I’m thinking of investing into the ELF finishing powder as a cheaper alternative but I’m in no hurry since I still have plenty of this product left.

That pretty much sums up my foundation routine. I don’t invest in drugstore foundations due to paranoia of the quality. If you have similar skin to me & know a cheaper alternative to MUFE please share :>!  I’ll mention my favorite blushers/eyeliner and whatnot some other time since that’s not completely skincare oriented.

My Facial Acne

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 08:51:00 +0000

My face. GAHHH. I’ll be including pictures. They’re not very attractive [YOU’VE BEEN WARNED D:] but hey, it’s more for me to be able to see my skin’s progress as I try new products etc.These pictures were taken when I was fresh out of the shower. Super squeaky clean with not an ounce of makeup to be seen. Understand that I’ve had my share of severe acne and through time, trial and error I’ve been able to clear up most of it. However, I still get painful breakouts. My focus on skincare is mainly the prevention and treatment of acne with a shift towards scar reduction.

I’ve been waiting a long time until I could finally put some focus to lightening up my scars because that’s what makes my skin look very clustered. If all my scars disappeared this moment my skin would look relatively clear with a few breakouts sporadically active across my face.

Picture 1

My breakouts nowadays usually happen between my eyebrows .___.;; I don’t know why and it might be even linked to diet. I’ve recently been getting a few breakouts in my eyebrows as well. It’s really weird to be honest :l

Picture 2

The left side of my face currently has an angry zit at my temple that needs to calm down. For the most part it’s a lot of scarring left over on my cheek. Near my upper jaw line there’s actually a pretty big and deep blemish forming. It looks like a scar in the picture but it’s a relatively new zit. I’m gently poking at it right now and it’s definitely gonna be a big one -___- it hurts too.

Picture 3

I breakout a lot more on the right side of my face. I’m almost certain it’s due to how I sleep .__.;; I sleep on my side or on my tummy but my head is always laid down on the right side of my face. I should be changing my pillow case everyday but I don’t Waahh shame on me I know but I’ve been trying to sleep on my back, facing up. I always end up with my face smashed into the pillow anyway so I’ve been trying to keep up with changing my pillow case often.

Picture 4

Another close up of my left side, just a lot of scarring that needs to go.

Picture 5

This close up actually shows the scars on my temples fairly clearly. I wasn’t kidding at all when I said I breakout a lot on the right side vs left @___@;; I blame my pillow damn it.

Picture 6

A super close up of my forehead/eyebrow area [DON’T JUDGE MY EYEBROWS, I’LL GROOM THEM LATER D:] You can see hyper pigmentation and deep scarring from when I had very very very severe acne. I think those are called ice pick scars? Anyway they’re there and hopefully I’ll be able to smooth out the texture of my skin in time.

That’s where I’m at with my skin right now. I’ll post up my skincare routine soon & I’ve been trying some new things recently too. I'll post frequent updates Wish me luck :>!

Intro

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:57:00 +0000

This is going to be a pretty extensive post since I feel like there’s a lot to cover.

I’ll go into my history with my acne and where I am with it now. My first memory with skincare started when I was about 11-12 years old. I recall my mom nagging me to use a facial wash because my “nose was getting dark.” She was referring to blackheads. Ignorant and lazy, I dismissed my mom’s consistent comments about how there were dark spots appearing on my nose. I never even knew what blackheads were at the time and felt too lazy to bother with a facial cleanser.

Very very very light blemishes began to appear from ages 13-16. Although it was minor it was enough for me to feel self-conscious since I never had acne before.  I began using very generic drugstore acne cleansers. The ones I used was a Neutrogena one which came in a pump and was an orange gel. The other cleanser was a blue gel from Clean and Clear. Both were very drying and cause flaking along my lower cheeks. Flaking and red, I still used it since it did seem to combat my minor acne.

17 year old me was when my acne really kicked in. Instead of the occasional giant angry red zit, there were now visible clusters all over my forehead. I would breakout on my chin but it would usually just be one fat painful zit that would deflate within a week or two. My forehead wasn’t clear at all – I couldn’t even lightly drag my finger across my forehead without coming into contact with more than a handful of blemishes.  I tried proactive to no avail. However, Acne Free [another 3 step system] worked rather well. It didn’t clear me up 100% but it diminished the amount of spots I have on my problem areas and slowed the process of new ones forming. But all good things must come to an end – Acne Free stopped working on my skin so I had to find new products.

18-19 year old me had become accustomed to acne. I used many products. Fresh aloe vera from the plant as a moisturizer, peeling gels, moisturizers and cleaners from various brands…None which have completely cleared me. This was a phase in my life when I didn’t understand the concept of committing to a routine. I was always on the hunt to find that miracle product which would cure my spots over night. I even would invest in skin brightening/scar removal products as well. That was a failure since you should be treating your acne first. Scar removal/skin brightening comes after.

In the winter of 2010 to early spring of 2011 was when my skin became unmanageable. I use to only breakout along my forehead and chin. Now my cheeks were full of blemishes. Not the small little ones, I’m talking about the huge painful red ones. The painful ones which never seem to come to head and scar even if you don’t touch them. There wasn’t a clear spot on my face, either it was covered in active breakouts or stained with dark scars.

It was during this time when I went to go see a dermatologist. I remember wanting to go on accuatane so badly. I didn’t care about the side effects; I just wanted my acne to be gone. The dermatologist didn’t prescribe me accutane to my displeasure. Instead he gave me multiple cortizone shots to several large zits and I left home with a few new products from his own skincare line. I think I was jipped since his skincare line was pretty rubbish but the cortisone shots worked alright. It obviously didn’t help prevent new angry blemishes from showing up so I was back at base 1.

That was really the worse condition I’ve eve r seen my skin. I wish I had pictures to show but I don’t so I can only try to relay and describe the magnitude of it. I honestly felt no relief in sight. With such a crappy experience at the dermatologist I didn’t want to shell out more money to someone who really didn’t help. Even to this day I’m still bitter about picking that dermatologist – the way he acted and treated me didn’t make me feel comfortable. He made me feel embarrassed about my skin and I felt as if he was thinking to himself, “jeez, just another kid with bad acne.”

I took the initiative myself to see what I could do about my acne. It was a lot of trial and error. I had my cleanser and moisturizer [I tried to stay consistent with them since I use to change/try new ones all the time]. I browsed endlessly for packs/masks and other supplements I could add to my skincare routine. One day I was at a friend’s house and lounging around in her room. We were preparing to head out and she points out a bottle of toner, recommending me to try it.

I’ve always been very hesitant to trying new products. She nudged the bottle over at me and told me to pick one up at a local drugstore. I endured a few more weeks with my inflamed, painful and consistent breakouts. I caved in and picked up the bottle of toner one evening. It was Dickson’s Witch hazel. It was on sale for half off as well….that must’ve been a sign because my skin cleared up rather drastically after 2 weeks of use.  I used my toner after my cleanser. The gunk that was on the cotton ball after swiping my face – a bit of “dirt” and even left over makeup my cleanser didn’t manage to get off.

The witch hazel toner now made my acne more tolerable. I still broke out don’t get me wrong but it was no longer at the insane rate it was before. I’ve been using the witch hazel toner for quite some time but my acne was still very apparent. I was so stumped. I’ve never had clear skin ever since I’ve started breaking out with acne but I’ve been making my way closer to that goal. After assessing my situation I mulled over the thought that my acne is hormonal as well.

I started taking birth control for my acne earlier this year. I will have a separate post on that later on.

Until then here’s a list of bullet points I’ve learned dealing with acne:

-   Moisturizing is important regardless if you have oily skin. Your skin responds to its surroundings. By using a moisturizer, your skin will detect the product and cut back on oil production to a certain degree. This varies of course but I remember my skin accepting moisturizers willingly even though it’s oily and severely acne prone.

-   Cleansers are not efficient at removing makeup. I understand that it may work for some people but that’s most likely due to just a sheer usage of foundation. As someone with acne and scaring, I sure as hell don’t just pat foundation once along my face and call it a day. I will usually go over certain areas to obtain my desired level of coverage which is medium-almost full.

-   Treat your acne first before worrying about lightening scars. There’s no point in trying to lighten your scars while acne continues to appear and leave a scar. It’s a vicious cycle that can be lessened by treating your acne first.

-   Toners aren’t for everyone but it worked amazingly for my skin. Even though I bought my bottle on sale, the full retail price is only $6.  I suggest giving it a try since it’s very inexpensive. Usually I don’t try new products due to fear of negative effects on top of most skincare products being insanely expensive.