Last July, so a little over a year ago, I shared a bit about my problematic skin and adult acne. At the time of that post, I felt like I had things pretty under control but I was still using some acne-targeted products with some strong chemicals and medications in them that I wanted to cut out. Once I did so, my skin freaked out a bit so it’s been a lot of trial and error. Little by little I’ve made some adjustments, kept a few products and introduced a few new ones too, so I thought I’d share where I’m at.
A fun little addition to my beauty drawer has been this cat headband, to keep my hair out of my face while cleansing. I originally saw it on Soko Glam, my go-to for everything about Korean skincare, and knew I had to order it. I can fall down the rabbit hole with the Korean skincare beauty culture. Below is my updated take on a Korean skincare routine. Another fun gadget has been this face steamer from Dr. Dennis Gross. I have been such a fan of his since back in the day when I was obsessed with all things Olivia Palermo – so of course I looked up her dermatologist. His at home face peels have become a weekly part of my routine and now this face steamer is such an extra treat to keep my skin moist in the dry desert air, and fight any impurities.
1 – MAKEUP REMOVER
I used to use these wipes, but after a ton of recommendations and comments from you guys I decided to try a micellar water. This one from Bioderma is my favorite…it removes all my makeup with just one cotton round and is super gentle on my skin too. Caudalie is another great option I tried, however I felt like I was using two or three cotton rounds each evening, (it took more product to get my face clean) so I’m not sure if I’ll repurchase it.
2 – CLEANSER (Morning and Night)
This was the toughest change to my routine, because my skin is so sensitive, so I needed something gentle enough to not irritate my skin but still keep my acne at bay. The two products I’ve been using both morning and night are: Fresh Beauty’s Soy Cleanser and SkinFood Tea Tree Cleanser. I love both of these products so much….the soy cleanser has such a fresh feeling to it, plus it’s kind of like a gel so it helps remove any remaining makeup the micellar water didn’t catch and calms my skin. The tea tree cleanser is the power product, fighting any breakouts I might have naturally. I originally found it on SokoGlam – such a great resource for Korean Skincare products, but it looks like they discontinued it, so the hunt is on! The only place I was able to find it has been on Amazon. It’s twice the price on there, but still not so bad compared to other products.
3 – BEAUTY WATER (Morning & Night)
Still loving this Son & Park toner over a year later, no complaints. I sometimes mix it up with SK-II essence as well. Both are super hydrating and help tone my skin. If I miss a day or two, I definitely notice a difference in my skin’s texture.
4 – DARK SPOT CORRECTOR (Morning & Night)Â
I’ve added a few new spot treatments to my rotation, but I don’t feel like one is better than the other. This Burt’s Bees product is still at the top of my list. It’s super affordable, more of a watery texture, gets the job done. Kiehl’s Dark Spot Corrector: Another product I rediscovered recently when organizing some of my skincare products and now have been using it each morning. Goes on perfectly under makeup with no residue. Sunday Riley’s Good Genes All-In-One Treatment is a very new find: as a fresh lemon scent, goes on like a light moisturizer, works on overall skin tone vs a dark spot, but maybe I need to give this one more time.
5 – HELLO, PIMPLE PATCHES!Â
I still use Tea Tree Oil as a spot treatment when needed (love this one), it’s great for killing any bacteria pretty quickly. My new found love is these Pimple Patches. I recently ordered a big pack from Amazon, but they’re also available via Urban Outfitters… they have been great to throw in my bag when traveling. My skin always freaks out from flights and produces more oil, so these are great to have on hand. I have never used a product that actually reduces the size of a pimple over night – these do just that. Okay, this might be gross, but they literally suck out all the bad stuff (for lack of a better term) from the infected area and when you take the patch off in the morning, the blemish is significantly flatter. Just make sure to use them after cleansing before applying any other product to your face, otherwise they won’t stick.
6 – SERUMS
I’ve gone back to using First Aid Beauty’s Hydrating Serum. It’s super hydrating, which my skin definitely needs this time of year in the desert. Again, FAB is super gentle for people with sensitive skin, so I’m glad I rediscovered this one. Another one I tried out over the last year has been by Corsx .This is considered an essence and has more of sticky texture, so definitely better for the evening. If you acne prone skin I recommend this one for the 96% snail secretion filtrate which has amazing healing properties.
7 – MOISTURIZER
Biossance’s gel moisturizer is probably my favorite skincare product ever – Rob is addicted as well. If I’m not using that morning and night, I either use Burt’s Bee’s Sensitive Skin Moisturizer or FAB’s Coconut Priming Moisturizer. FAB’s priming moisturizer is a little thick, but has a slight tint to it and creates a great palette for your makeup.
8 – EYE CREAM (Morning & Night)
Some noteworthy eye creams: (I’m always mixing these up)
Biossance Eye Gel
Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream
Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado by Kiehl’s
Any new products you guys have been loving?
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Oh, excited to try some of these! I also have sensitive acne prone skin and it’s so frustrating to be oil-y but still fighting dryness from the acne products! Would love to integrate more cleans products into my routine! Thank you for sharing these <3
I’ve been following your skin routine, but after doing some research with the brands, I learned that most of them are not cruelty free. Most products you have on the list too are not cruelty free too. It’s so disappointing.
Also, Keihl’s avocado eye cream has tons of parabens but of course it nowhere to be find on the ingredients list.
I highly recommend checking out Glow Recipe (k-beauty skincare that’s cruelty-free and focuses on using natural ingredients) if you haven’t already. I love their Blueberry Bounce Cleanser and want to try their Watermelon Pink Juice Moisturizer next. 🙂 Osmia Organics (natural skincare created by an MD) and Josh Rosebrook (a unisex skincare brand made with organic & wildcrafted plant & herb Ingredients) are long-time skincare faves too.
There is best skincare routine in this article and these all product seems good to try out. I will definitely recommend these. Thanks for sharing.
What is the name of the powder foundation in these photos?