This is quite a lengthy post..
I'm pretty sure everyone have been through either one or both of what is mentioned in the title of this blog post.
Here's my story..
About a week before Chinese New Year, for some reason, my skin condition became pretty bad - the worst it has ever been to be honest. I regret not taking a picture of my skin condition then because now I cannot show a before and after but I'll try my very best to explain!
Before Chinese New Year and during the first 2 weeks of Chinese New Year, I started getting a lot of breakouts and bumps AND dryness on my face. Little red spots, pimples, blackheads, flaky skin, you name it, I got it - although not all over, mostly on my cheeks and forehead area. And of course those pimples and blackheads soon turned to scaring.
Imagine applying foundation on that kind of skin condition. None of my foundation worked properly at that time and I was beyond bummed because, I mean... IT'S CHINESE NEW YEAR HEY. The only time of the year when you can walk around Kuching looking all fancy and pretty and nobody be judging.
Did I also mention that I had really dry and sensitive eyes that I could not put on my contact lenses? Yes.
Apart from all that jazz, I also had my hair bleached! We all know what bleaching does to one's hair - yes I still do it from time to time because so beautttt :D
So, in this blog post I want share about all the products I used to help with my skin and my hair. Also, the makeup products and methods I used at the time of my bad skin.
I was back in East Malaysia for about 2 weeks. During that time frame, I had very limited skin care products because I spend most of my time in West Malaysia - all my skin care products were in West Malaysia. Boo.
When I got back to the west i started loading my face with skin care and what not in hopes that my skin will improve. Here goes!
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Innisfree Green Persimmon Pore Toner
Laniege Water Bank Mineral Skin Mist
Innisfree Capsule Recipe Pack
Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum, Oil, Lotion, Balancing Cream
Innisfree It's Real Squeeze Mask
ppp Skincare Post- Laser Facial Mask |
Here are all the skin care products I used to help my skin. I've mentioned all about the Innisfree Green Tea Set, oil and masks
here so I won't be mentioning those again in this blog post.
Starting with the Innisfree Green Persimmon Pore Toner. This toner is as good or maybe even better than my usual toner from Hada Labo. It seeps right into the skin. It has a floral smell to it, which is pretty strong. For those of you who dislike scented products, you may not like this. However, the smell goes away almost right after. At least, I don't smell anything after that. I think the smell is pretty calming.
Awhile back, I purchased a Laniege travel set skin care on
Luxola for I believe 20% off. I don't remember how much it costed but it ranged from RM90-100. I think. Anyway, the products did not work out so well for me as it made me breakout quite a bit. I noticed little bumps every time I apply all the products. But there was one product in the set that I enjoyed - the Laniege Water Bank Mineral Skin Mist. When I feel like my face is really dry and flaky after the application of my foundation or bb cream, I will spray this mist all over my face. It gives me a healthier, more dewy complexion.
The ppp Skincare Post-Laser Facial mask is pretty bomb! Put it on. Took it off. Pat it in. Leave it to dry. And instantly my face is super hydrated and plump. Plump? You know, like, in a healthy way? Unfortunately, I have no idea where you can purchase this in Malaysia. My cousin gave it to me and what I do know is that she is working in the
PPP Laser Clinic in Singapore. Click the link to find out more.
Now, these babies I got free from purchasing up to a certain amount of products from Innisfree. I haven't tried these before and when my skin got bad, I thought, why not?
This is the massage capsule where you massage it onto your face for about 5 minutes and then rinse it off with luke warm water. The remaining can be kept refrigerated for 7 days upon opening. But all I do is place it in the fridge, massage it on until it becomes tacky and then just wash it off with water. My skin feels extremely hydrated and smooth after using this. Makes my skin looks much more awake as well. I have not used this yellow capsule (Canola Honey - for ample nutrition and intensive hydration for radiant skin) one yet. I've been using the one at the back (Green Tea - to deliver green tea moisture deep within your skin).
Here's how it looks like. It's a pudding like texture for this Green Tea one. One capsule has sufficient amount for about 5-7 times of application, in my case. Really luurrvvveee this.
In conjunction with this capsule, I've also been using the sleeping capsule - this one you apply it all over your face as the last step of your skin care and leave it on overnight. I used the Bija & Aloe one to sooth skin trouble and supply moisture. Amazing. I forgot to take pictures of it before throwing the capsule out when I was done with it so yeah no photos of that particular capsule.
These capsules can be purchased individually for RM7, some RM10. Definitely worth a try!
Now, moving on the makeup I used in order to make myself look more presentable but at the same time helping my skin heal. I couldn't go without makeup during Chinese New Year! So, yes I had to, HAD TO, use makeup. I'm pretty sure every girl will have days like this when you should let your skin "breath" but you just can't. i.e Job interviews, parties, dinners... and whatnot.
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| My current holy grail, pretty much. |
The first product is the TooFaced Primed Poreless primer - the baby pink squeazy bottle. I honestly haven't tried a lot of face primers. The only two primers I've ever tried so far are the Benefit Porefessional and this TooFaced one. I prefer this TooFaced primer because I have pretty dry skin - not large pores as well. This may sound a little weird but I have no reasons as to why I prefer the Too Faced one. I just do. Hah. Using a primer at this time is crucial because instead of using foundation or a medium coverage bb cream, I'm only using a tinted moisturiser. And that, stays on your face for the shortest time, ever.
Next, is a colour corrector product.
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| Yes it's running out. |
Pretty cool huh! In the bottle, the content is this swirly cream in 3 colours - green, lavender and peach. So amazeballs. Ok. This is a primer, colour corrector and an anti-aging skincare serum.
According to the website:
The Green tone helps neutralises redness and conceals blemishes.
The Lavender tone counteracts sallow undertone for a vibrant, energised look.
The Peach tone brightens, illuminates and helps diminish the appearance of sun spots.
I really enjoyed using this product. I feel that it hydrates skin very much. Makes it feel smooth, brighter and definitely healthier. And yes it does neutralise the redness which I have around my cheeks area. But unlike many green-toned bases our there, it does not make your face look awfully white. It's more natural. If you have pretty close to perfect skin, using this alone will be pretty good already. I don't have any sun spots so I can't justify if it does cover or not. Do note that this is just a colour corrector product and you can't expect your face to look completely prefect and flawless by just applying this product alone. The reason why I am using this is because like I have said before I've been using only tinted moisturiser therefore I have to use products to help my tinted moisturiser stay and have my skin looking more even. If I am using a more full coverage bb cream or foundation, I might skip this step.
After that, I apply this.
I honestly have no idea what this product was when I got it. Every time you purchase from
Luxola, you get to choose 2 samples before checking out. So one time I chose this. I have never heard of this brand, Klarity, ever. But guess what? I will be purchasing a full sized one probably soon because it. is. bomb. It says here on the box that it is a white lotion with SPF 30/PA++ which provides whitening, purify, repair, firming, smooth, soothe, hydrate, tone, anti-aging, sun-screen and waterproof. For face and body. Just wow. It's working quite well so far but I haven't used it long enough to say for sure. Will dedicated a whole post on this product as soon as I purchase a full sized one. Stay tuned for that!
So the tinted moisturiser that I have been mentioning in this post is this. This is the Tarte BB tinted moisturiser with SPF 20 sunscreen. The consistency of this BB is pretty thick but yet somewhat, watery? I do not recommend this to people who have acne prone or oily skin. Certainly only provides light coverage - not even up to medium coverage. It's the only product that can go on smoothly on my skin for the time being.
Another product I would recommend is the Laura Mercier tinted moisturisers. A friend of mine recently just picked that up from Sephora and loved it. She has combination skin with blemishes and one layer of that product is enough to make her look really glowy and radiant.
No, I am not done.
What I use to cover up scaring, pimple marks and dark eye circles. Erase paste from benefit for the under eyes. I got the shade 02 Medium. It has a salmony kinda colour and it's a little dark for me but shade 01 Light is too light that it makes my under eyes slightly ashy. Apart from just covering the dark circles, it brightens as well! Again, super hydrating.
And to cover up my blemishes and pimples marks, I use the Make Up Forever Full Cover concealer. It does what it says - provides full coverage. However, this product is on the dry side. Which is why the eye cream is lying next to it. :D Simple mix both of them together and viola! Full coverage and hydrating. Sometimes I use these under my eyes too! You can use any eye cream you want, doesn't matter.
And on to the last and final step of ze fez makeup. The setting powder.
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| Tarte Amazonian Clay Finish Powder |
I have always preferred using translucent powders to set my makeup simply because I don't want any harsh lines showing nor do I need more coverage from the setting powder. I picked this up from Sephora for about RM40-50. It's a mini sized one which is great because it's so easy to travel with!
This Tarte Amazonian Clay Finish Powder has no paraben, mineral oil, phthalates, triclosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, gluten and is also dermatologist tested. I am all for no paraben or organic products! What you put on your face, is very important. Yes, very very very. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, the hair. Here's how it looks after bleaching. Still fairly decent because this was taken right after I left the saloon and I had treatment done.
After about 3-4 days of washing once everyday, the bottom half of my hair (bleached areas) started to get kinda dry and tangly. But fear not, because yes, again, thank you Innisfree. I am too in love with Innisfree, I know.
The camellia essential hair oil serum is saooh gewd. I mentioned this before in the blogpost on Innisfree skin care products. Received a sample sized one of this from them, loved it, went to purchase a full sized one. Works wonder, really. For all you dry, damaged hair people, give this a try! Leaves hair looking soft and healthy. Love love. And, only RM40! The smell does not linger on your hair though. Which is fine and probably great for people who does not like scented products.
And..... I am finally done with this blogpost! Phew. Hope you guys found these helpful! Also, do note that what worked well for me may not work for you but everything is worth trying. If you never try, you'll never know. Products for makeup and hair are generally easier to try. What you can do is moisturise your clean face and go barefaced to Sephora or anywhere with testers. Pick up products you want to try and just do your whole face of makeup in there - it's not a crime I promise you. Then walk around or leave the store and do some shopping. From this you will sort of know if this product suits you or breaks you out because some products takes time to oxidise and set properly. So yeah :)
Good day beautiful people! <3 div="">
