Adventures in skincare
Nov. 28th, 2024 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkWelp, whenever I feel like there are things in my life that are out of my control (*cough* publishing *cough*), I start focusing on skincare as something I CAN control, lol.
I started out super-frugal and have now fallen into the bad habit of buying a bunch of different products in the hope of finding one that works. To be fair, my definition of "splurging" on skincare is like...paying for Maelove or Three Ships products as my upper limit. They're more expensive than the stuff you can get from a drugstore/Whole Foods, but to my understanding, they're on the cheapest end when it comes to quality skincare products. (I also tend to buy Paula's Choice products, which are comparable in price, but Paula's Choice often runs sales which result in significant discounts.)
(I'm also trying to soothe my conscience with the fact that I rarely buy consumer goods. Most of my salary goes to bills and food, and after that I may buy books or a video game once every few months. I don't buy clothes and I don't spend money on activities or travel. So really, I have no reason to feel guilty, right?)
Things that I've learned:
- Vitamin C serums make my skin look good, but they're difficult for me to use because (1) I have to use warm compresses on my eyes for my dry eye issues, sometimes multiple times a day, and my compresses get dirty when there's colored residue on my skin like from a Vitamin C serum, and (2) I'm sure it's good for my skin in the long run, but I don't like that I have to use it every day or else my skin goes back to being dull. To be fair, I originally tried a Vitamin C serum to try to fade some dark spots on my skin, and though it seems to help, I'd rather use a different method. So I don't think I'd buy another one once my current bottle runs out.
- As I mentioned in my previous skincare post, I don't like long skin care routines. I don't have the patience or time for them. So, what I should have been doing all along is using a hybrid exfoliant/moisturizer at night instead of cleansing, then exfoliating, THEN moisturizing. The two products on my docket to try are Three Ships Beauty's Bio-Retinol and Maelove's Night Renewer Glycolic Acid Cream.
- My ideal routine would be: Daytime: (1) clenase, (2) spot-treat acne with a BHA exfoliant, (3) moisturize; Nighttime: (1) cleanse, (2) use 2-in-1 exfoliant/moisturizer.
- I'd like to get away with inexpensive moisturizers and cleansers if I can (I'm hoping Cosrx products will work for me) and then shell out for pricier exfoliant/bio-retinol/nighttime moisturizers.
I started out super-frugal and have now fallen into the bad habit of buying a bunch of different products in the hope of finding one that works. To be fair, my definition of "splurging" on skincare is like...paying for Maelove or Three Ships products as my upper limit. They're more expensive than the stuff you can get from a drugstore/Whole Foods, but to my understanding, they're on the cheapest end when it comes to quality skincare products. (I also tend to buy Paula's Choice products, which are comparable in price, but Paula's Choice often runs sales which result in significant discounts.)
(I'm also trying to soothe my conscience with the fact that I rarely buy consumer goods. Most of my salary goes to bills and food, and after that I may buy books or a video game once every few months. I don't buy clothes and I don't spend money on activities or travel. So really, I have no reason to feel guilty, right?)
Things that I've learned:
- Vitamin C serums make my skin look good, but they're difficult for me to use because (1) I have to use warm compresses on my eyes for my dry eye issues, sometimes multiple times a day, and my compresses get dirty when there's colored residue on my skin like from a Vitamin C serum, and (2) I'm sure it's good for my skin in the long run, but I don't like that I have to use it every day or else my skin goes back to being dull. To be fair, I originally tried a Vitamin C serum to try to fade some dark spots on my skin, and though it seems to help, I'd rather use a different method. So I don't think I'd buy another one once my current bottle runs out.
- As I mentioned in my previous skincare post, I don't like long skin care routines. I don't have the patience or time for them. So, what I should have been doing all along is using a hybrid exfoliant/moisturizer at night instead of cleansing, then exfoliating, THEN moisturizing. The two products on my docket to try are Three Ships Beauty's Bio-Retinol and Maelove's Night Renewer Glycolic Acid Cream.
- My ideal routine would be: Daytime: (1) clenase, (2) spot-treat acne with a BHA exfoliant, (3) moisturize; Nighttime: (1) cleanse, (2) use 2-in-1 exfoliant/moisturizer.
- I'd like to get away with inexpensive moisturizers and cleansers if I can (I'm hoping Cosrx products will work for me) and then shell out for pricier exfoliant/bio-retinol/nighttime moisturizers.
