Jesoli, Yes I did put Mac powder over it. BB creams are nice but I'm a bit ambivalent about them. I don't know how well my skin will react to it once I'm off accutane. Will it make me breakout like before and will it become oily within a few hours?

Day 73.

Nothing new. Just hanging out. I'm not going to say I don't have any new zits because in the past whenever I did say that, I would always wake up the next morning with one. Must've forgot to knock on wood or something.

*Makeup tip of the day

Wash your brushes with baby shampoo. Cheaper than brush cleansers and shampoo/conditioner and just as effective. Keeps the bristles clean and tres soft.

Now back to my grad school applications!

Day 66.

Face and lips are less dry. I barely have any back pain anymore. Maybe it was a good idea to go back to 40mg. The side effects from 80mg were killing me. Other than that I am just waiting to see a dramatic difference in my skin. For the past month it has more or less looked the same. Still getting a zit here and there, although nothing too big. It would be really nice to have perfectly smooth skin but for now the skin I've got is adequate. =P

Here's a photo of me with some mac powder and eye makeup. You can see the 5 bumps on my right cheek from the healing zits (Neosporin has really helped diminished these suckers) with a bit of scarring. The other cheek is clear but there's still scarring going on. Oh well, I'll worry about that later

Favorite makeup item at the moment : Chanel Illusion D'ombre eyeshadows

 

Aww, You're Pretty! And your skin doesn't look bad at all. I know you have makeup on but it looks like you hardly have anything. Only a few little ones.

Pill 74.

Upon close inspection in broad daylight, I noticed all the bumps from healing zits are really flattening and the gaping holes left behind from zits of long ago are closing up a bit. Progress is slow but it's definitely there. Nice and steady upward line in the progress over time graph.

I moisturize my skin once in a while when I remember but it's enough to keep the eczema away at bay.

Felt a cyst growing the other day and I was so sure it was going to grow into a big painful one. I dabbed some benzoyl peroxide on it and by night time it was completely gone. That never happens! Cysts are my mortal enemy and I am winning in this acne war.

There's one topic that I don't see a lot of discussion on and that's waxing. I've waxed my upper lip since middle school and I prefer to wax my armpit instead of shaving it so I was a bit apprehensive about not being able to wax for 6+ months. It's a nice surprise to find that I'm not as hairy as I thought. I haven't waxed in 4 months and my bf thinks I'm nuts for even waxing my upper lip in the first place because there is nothing there. =) Always nice to find out new stuff about yourself.

I wouldn't wax while on accutane because it could rip the top layer of your skin off! A little bit of hair is way less noticeable than a missing skin stripe I use an epilator on my arms because it does the same thing as waxing without the mess (or threat of removing skin while taking accutane). I've had mine for years, so I don't remember how much it cost, but I really like it better than waxing. It does hurt more because it's basically like using a bunch of tweezers at once. I don't know how well it would work on you lip because it might be too big. It's a small area, could you just tweeze there?

Pill 81.

Almost time for my appointment again. Hopefully my trigycerides went down.

Getting more and more smooth by the day. I have 2 old zits that are still flattening --almost there!-- and two clogged pores being pushed out.

Noticed a cyst this morning on my forehead right on my hairline so no biggie. The last cyst I got was maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago. Overall I'm feeling very good. Time to start wearing makeup more often. I've been slacking off due to bad skin but now there's no more excuse.

Pill 84.

My triglycerides went up to 517. So bad. I was very afraid my derm would make me get off accutane but thank god that didn't happen. She said 800 is when it starts to be really dangerous. Nevertheless I still need to lower my triglycerides if I want to be put back on 80mg a day. Going to start running everyday for 15-20 minutes.

Makeup tip of the day

Better to order Chanel makeup directly from Chanel.com, you won't get charged tax or shipping fees and everything comes in a cute black drawstring pouch.

That sucks about your triglycerides Have you modified your diet: increase fiber, fruits, veggies, whole grains and decrease animal fats, sugar and processed foods? Also, you should start taking fish oil pills (take it before bed so you won't notice any fishy burps if that happens with the type you get; I buy them from GNC & they're deodorized, but I still take it at night just in case). The exercise should definitely help lower them too, but diet play a huge role in cholesterol and triglycerides. Moderate alcohol consumption is actually very good for your cholesterol, but we can't do that on accutane, unfortunately; I really miss my after work beer

I haven't tried any of Chanel's makeup. What do you like from them?

you are doing amazing :] this picture is more than beautiful. I'm really glad!!

cloudscloudsclouds, fanks! I'm glad this treatment worked out for the both of us.

Jesoli, I tried to fix my diet but it was kind of tough because I had to eat whatever was available on set (pasta, bread, junk food mostly). Going to start packing my own lunch so I can at least have one healthy meal a day.

I have some foundation, lipstick, and lipglosses from Chanel but they're all stuff I can live without. What I truly love and recommend is the illusion d'ombre eyeshadows. They're sparkly eyeshadows( think adult sparkles instead of teenybopper) that comes in 6 shades and there's nothing else like them on the market. I have emervielle(peachy cream), illusoire(purplish grey), and fantasme( a sheer white that can be put over any color to make it sparkle) and plan on getting epatant(silver khaki) and mirifique(black). I've been feeling very bored with my makeup lately and this was exactly what the doctor ordered. I never ever splurge this much on any collection but these eyeshadows are very impressive.

Pill 87.

I'm at that stage where I'm no longer focused on my cystic acne(cuz I've stopped getting them) but rather acne scars and clogged pores. The clogged pores are small and not really noticeable but I can feel them when I wash my face. I'm just going to leave them alone and wait for them to get pushed out naturally. I gave into temptation though and squeeze one out near my temple. It's just been there forever and since it was near my hairline I made the one exception.

I think neosporin has done all it can to flatten my zits. Going to move onto mederma next to improve the scarring. I was going to try tea tree oil but there doesn't seem to be much evidence that it actually does help with redness and scarring.

Spent my $20 sephora gift card to buy Dr. Jart water-based bb cream just because the sample didn't break me out and it gave me a nice glow. Was thinking about getting Lioele Triple the solution bb cream but I'm just deadly afraid of trying a new product and having it break me out. I'm a bit of a coward now when it comes to stuff I put on my skin and would rather stick to what I know works for me.

Still using Perricone Skin Clear Cleanser and Cetaphil. Still using jojoba oil as a makeup remover and I probably will continue using it after accutane. It's cheap, effective, and is not harsh on my skin. Today for a bit of extra moisture I mixed two drops of jojoba oil into my sunscreen.

Favorite makeup item at the moment

Bobbi Brown lipstick in Sweet Nectar - this brightened my face and gave me a vintage 1950's look without having to use an orange-red lipstick

Pill 92.

Two of my clogged pores have been pushed out. Not getting anymore zits, just currently dealing with a lot of tiny nuggets/white heads just waiting to be released from my pores.

Still using Neosporin to help flatten the zits and started using mederma for the scarring. I'm exfoliating maybe once a week or every two weeks since I'm not really flaky anymore. Lips are not that dry either. I can wear lipstick and have it look okay.

Holiday party at the De Young museum. So much fun having complete access to everything sans the hordes of people.

For my make-up I am wearing Dr Jart water-based bb cream with a light coat of Mac studio fix powder to mattify everything. My lipstick is a light coat of Bobbi Brown Sweet Nectar on top of Aquaphor. You can't see it in the photo but I used Chanel Fantasme on my lids and it reflects light so well for a subtle glittery effect. Extremely nice to have my makeup last 12+ hours. Love, love, love accutane. I honestly wish I can take this forever to keep the oils at bay.

Favorite new makeup item

Mac Iridescent powder in silver dusk.

I needed something to highlight my face and this worked famously. I used it down my nose, cupid's bow, top of cheeks and chin. Once again, very subtle but very effective. I tried Benefit's high beam, which is supposed to do the same thing and it did nothing for me.

Beautiful! I'll have to check out that highlighting powder. I currently use Smashbox Halo for that, whenever I actually take the time to highlight. I love that shade of lipstick on you! I'm so glad that your skin is continuing to behave. I've also been less peely lately and haven't had to exfoliate as often.

Pill 95.

I'm worried about the bump leftover from the cortisone injection. The cysts deflated but never fully went away so now I have this nodule on my cheek. I hope it surfaces and goes away. Still a few more clogged pores that needs to be pushed out. Other than that my skin is looking pretty good. Haven't had a new zit in maybe 3-4 weeks. I remember my derm said her mission was to keep my skin from breaking out for at least a whole month and I thought that sounded insane and impossible. Well it's very much possible. =)

Was just thinking about how my skin was back in September, filled with painful cysts that would pulsate and be completely unbearable even when I was just sleeping, eating, or doing nothing. Never ever want to go back there again. If my acne should come back after this, I am definitely going back on Accutane.

makeup tip of the day

If you use a lot of mac products, you can exchange your old mac containers(6) for a lipstick.

http://www.maccosmetics.com/giving_back/btm_return_packaging.tmpl

Glad you're progressing well , youre gorgeous!

Just a question, what kind of makeup / foundation do you use to cover up your marks/scars??

I have never really used much makeup other than liquid foundation and some eye shadow/eye liner.

Would Jart BB cream be good for a base?

Is mineral foundation better for hyperpigmentation??

slowandsteady, I only use the bb cream to get a nice glow and then mac studio fix powder for some extra coverage as well as to get rid of any shine. I find that alone is enough to cover up my marks and only takes about 1-2 minutes to do.

Yes, bb cream is excellent as a base and a lot of people use it for that purpose.

I've never tried mineral foundation because I just feel like they're kind of expensive and not worth it. My mac serves me well and for $25 bucks I get a good 6 months worth of use. Plus, it's a foundation powder so you get pretty good coverage.

Hey Brownbag,

You're looking good!! I am so jealous Particularly that you can actually cover your marks. I can't really do that yet as they're too deep red, peeling and tend to become inflamed.

But congratulations on the progress!

I just wanted to ask which one of the BB creams you use? I checked the website and I don't know which one to pick...if they even ship to Europe.

Riosha,

I use Dr Jart+ water fuse bb cream spf 25+. It's the blueish green bottle and I bought it from Sephora but you can find it on amazon too. They come in four different types: green(normal/dry skin), gold(mature skin), silver(oily skin), and black(dry skin). I heard that silver and black is super thick and I've tried gold which gave me an ashy look. I only use Dr Jart because I've found that it works very well with my skin. The first time I wore my bf honestly asked what I was using to make my skin glow and he's a real dud with makeup who can't tell one item from the next. Whenever I go lipstick shopping he would just say I look good in all the colors. -___-

Ashley, ahasegawa, uses Lieole Triple the solution bb cream and she loves it. There are so many different types out there that works for different types of skin. I'm not a bb cream expert by any means but I know what I like.

I usually go to Sephora because it has mostly everything and you can even ask for samples. If you buy something and it doesn't work out you can still return it even if it's been used. I don't know if there's a store like that in Europe but if there is you should ask to try some stuff out before you commit to buying it.

You're about a month behind me so your skin will be where mine is in no time. Try using Neosporin to help the healing process. For me it got rid of my peely scabs and made my zits smaller by a significant amount.

Oh yea I should add that I am only using this bb cream while I still have dry skin from accutane. Once I'm off I will probably have to look for one that will be more suitable for my oily skin.

Smashbox also has a BB cream now and it comes in different shades and they sell it at Sephora. I tried the fair shade over the summer, but I broke out. I don't think it was from the BB cream overall, but just from the all chemical sunscreens in it because my skin is super sensitive & it was part of what led up to me starting accutane. Just another one to look at...

Riosha,

I use Dr Jart+ water fuse bb cream spf 25+. It's the blueish green bottle and I bought it from Sephora but you can find it on amazon too. They come in four different types: green(normal/dry skin), gold(mature skin), silver(oily skin), and black(dry skin). I heard that silver and black is super thick and I've tried gold which gave me an ashy look. I only use Dr Jart because I've found that it works very well with my skin. The first time I wore my bf honestly asked what I was using to make my skin glow and he's a real dud with makeup who can't tell one item from the next. Whenever I go lipstick shopping he would just say I look good in all the colors. -___-

Ashley, ahasegawa, uses Lieole Triple the solution bb cream and she loves it. There are so many different types out there that works for different types of skin. I'm not a bb cream expert by any means but I know what I like.

I usually go to Sephora because it has mostly everything and you can even ask for samples. If you buy something and it doesn't work out you can still return it even if it's been used. I don't know if there's a store like that in Europe but if there is you should ask to try some stuff out before you commit to buying it.

You're about a month behind me so your skin will be where mine is in no time. Try using Neosporin to help the healing process. For me it got rid of my peely scabs and made my zits smaller by a significant amount.

Oh yea I should add that I am only using this bb cream while I still have dry skin from accutane. Once I'm off I will probably have to look for one that will be more suitable for my oily skin.

 

Smashbox also has a BB cream now and it comes in different shades and they sell it at Sephora. I tried the fair shade over the summer, but I broke out. I don't think it was from the BB cream overall, but just from the all chemical sunscreens in it because my skin is super sensitive & it was part of what led up to me starting accutane. Just another one to look at...

 

Hey guys,

Thank you for your good advises - you are so sweet!!

Unfortunately, we do not have Sephora, where I live...

I'm probably gonna have to buy it off this site http://www.bbcosmetics.co.uk/index.php/shop-bb-cream.html?p=1 - and I don't seem to recognise any of the creams you've mentioned in there...??

Neosporin, I don't know what that is, but it sounds like something which would be useful for me

Is that some kind of medical cream...? It might be on prescription where I live... I'll try and find out what it is 😉

Thank you again! I'm actually starting to see improvements regarding my actives right now, so I may be going in the right direction from now on... Woohoo...

Riosha,

I use Dr Jart+ water fuse bb cream spf 25+. It's the blueish green bottle and I bought it from Sephora but you can find it on amazon too. They come in four different types: green(normal/dry skin), gold(mature skin), silver(oily skin), and black(dry skin). I heard that silver and black is super thick and I've tried gold which gave me an ashy look. I only use Dr Jart because I've found that it works very well with my skin. The first time I wore my bf honestly asked what I was using to make my skin glow and he's a real dud with makeup who can't tell one item from the next. Whenever I go lipstick shopping he would just say I look good in all the colors. -___-

Ashley, ahasegawa, uses Lieole Triple the solution bb cream and she loves it. There are so many different types out there that works for different types of skin. I'm not a bb cream expert by any means but I know what I like.

I usually go to Sephora because it has mostly everything and you can even ask for samples. If you buy something and it doesn't work out you can still return it even if it's been used. I don't know if there's a store like that in Europe but if there is you should ask to try some stuff out before you commit to buying it.

You're about a month behind me so your skin will be where mine is in no time. Try using Neosporin to help the healing process. For me it got rid of my peely scabs and made my zits smaller by a significant amount.

Oh yea I should add that I am only using this bb cream while I still have dry skin from accutane. Once I'm off I will probably have to look for one that will be more suitable for my oily skin.

 

Smashbox also has a BB cream now and it comes in different shades and they sell it at Sephora. I tried the fair shade over the summer, but I broke out. I don't think it was from the BB cream overall, but just from the all chemical sunscreens in it because my skin is super sensitive & it was part of what led up to me starting accutane. Just another one to look at...

 

Hey guys,

Thank you for your good advises - you are so sweet!!

Unfortunately, we do not have Sephora, where I live...

I'm probably gonna have to buy it off this site http://www.bbcosmeti...-cream.html?p=1 - and I don't seem to recognise any of the creams you've mentioned in there...??

Neosporin, I don't know what that is, but it sounds like something which would be useful for me

Is that some kind of medical cream...? It might be on prescription where I live... I'll try and find out what it is 😉

Thank you again! I'm actually starting to see improvements regarding my actives right now, so I may be going in the right direction from now on... Woohoo...

 

I would get Dr Jart Silver label because it's great for covering up blemishes (even though it's a bit thick) but I see on the website that it's out of stock. =( Maybe contact them to see when they will restock the item? I heard Skin79 is good too and Missha is very popular but that one made me break out. Where in Europe are you from?

Neosporin is a first aid antibiotic ointment used to put over minor cuts, scraps, and burns that will kill infection and help with scarring on those wounds. Makes sense that it can help with healing acne too.=)

Pill 105.

Yay I'm in the 100's! No new zits for almost a month now. Wore a lot of makeup over the holiday but that didn't have any negative affect on my skin.

Still have some clogged pores and that nodule left over from my cortisone injection. Slowww progress at this point. Waiting for the red marks and scarring to go away but who knows how long that will take. I don't know if it's always been the case but my pores are huge around my t-zone and cheeks. I hope I get to stay on accutane for at least another 3 months. Not ready to let it go yet. I would just die if I started breaking out like I did before. Not emotionally ready for that to happen so soon.

Pill 105.

Yay I'm in the 100's! No new zits for almost a month now. Wore a lot of makeup over the holiday but that didn't have any negative affect on my skin.

Still have some clogged pores and that nodule left over from my cortisone injection. Slowww progress at this point. Waiting for the red marks and scarring to go away but who knows how long that will take. I don't know if it's always been the case but my pores are huge around my t-zone and cheeks. I hope I get to stay on accutane for at least another 3 months. Not ready to let it go yet. I would just die if I started breaking out like I did before. Not emotionally ready for that to happen so soon.

 

Remember I had told you I had a cortisone shot done on two cysts and it left a bump too? Well last week I was looking at them close up and noticed a very tiny blackhead on each of them, I decided I was tired of walking around with these flesh colored bumps on my skin, and I pushed so much nasty stuff out of them it was insane! It was like the shot had just calmed the area, but never did anything to the actual cysts. But today I do not have those two bumps anymore, just two red spots

Pill 105.

Yay I'm in the 100's! No new zits for almost a month now. Wore a lot of makeup over the holiday but that didn't have any negative affect on my skin.

Still have some clogged pores and that nodule left over from my cortisone injection. Slowww progress at this point. Waiting for the red marks and scarring to go away but who knows how long that will take. I don't know if it's always been the case but my pores are huge around my t-zone and cheeks. I hope I get to stay on accutane for at least another 3 months. Not ready to let it go yet. I would just die if I started breaking out like I did before. Not emotionally ready for that to happen so soon.

 

Remember I had told you I had a cortisone shot done on two cysts and it left a bump too? Well last week I was looking at them close up and noticed a very tiny blackhead on each of them, I decided I was tired of walking around with these flesh colored bumps on my skin, and I pushed so much nasty stuff out of them it was insane! It was like the shot had just calmed the area, but never did anything to the actual cysts. But today I do not have those two bumps anymore, just two red spots

 

Niceeeeeeee. It's gross but I love squeezing shit out of my face. Glad you are finally bump free. =) Thanks for the fantastic news.

Pill 107.

Happy new years! Hoping 2012 will be a good one.

I've been running everyday for 20 minutes to hopefully lower my triglycerides as well as get toner legs. Drastic change for someone like me who is a total lazyass. Appointment again this Friday. Really hoping the running did something.

Face is looking good. If I squint real hard it looks like my skin is perfectly clear! I'm very happy but my wallet isn't. Been spending sooo much money on makeup that it's bordering on becoming an obsession. Favorite new makeup item is Chanel lipstick no. 35 in Chintz. In the right lighting I swear it looks like the pinky nude Audrey Hepburn wore in breakfast at Tiffany's.

Pill 109.

I remember wishing I would have clear skin for Christmas and that's what I got more or less if you ignore the red marks and a few tiny raised bumps. Accutane is seriously worth all the trouble for me. It even helped me pick up some good habits like moisturizing daily, running everyday, and not forgetting to take all my vitamins. I even found an awesome way to remove makeup that is super gentle and doesn't dry out my skin (jojoba oil). These are things I will take away from my accutane experience and shall continue utilizing it after I'm done.

Now that I'm nearing the end of my course I'm starting to research skincare products that will help me keep my awesome accutane skin. My biggest concern of course will be my oily skin.

Dermalogica Skin Mattifier - keeps your skin from being oily and has salicylic acid to help with breakouts - will use as a primer before makeup

Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel - apparently this is great as a spot treatment

Givenchy Mister Mat Mattifying Foundation Powder - keeps skin matte while smoothing out wrinkles and pores

Bioderma makeup remover- if I find jojoba oil to be too greasy for my post-accutane skin

Perricone Skin Clear Moisturizer - if the blackheads should make a reappearance on my nose