Hey y'all, it's been a while. I'm not so good at this blog consistency thing. As I write this, it's 10:00 at night and I have work tomorrow morning. Despite that, I thought it would be fun to share some of the new skincare products I got recently.
As I mentioned on Instagram, my skin has taken a turn for the better since I last talked about it here. While I would say I only had moderate acne before, I'm now down to 1 or 2 breakouts a month and they usually last no longer than a few days. Since I feel I've gotten the breakouts under control, I thought it was time to tackle some of the other issues I had with my skin - mainly, some texture issues around my nose (where my glasses sit) and the hyper-pigmentation and scarring from all the old acne.
Looking at my bare face, you'd think I still had a lot of acne. The fact is, I don't and never did. My issues in the past with acne have always been me having 1 or 2 breakouts constantly on my face somewhere, rather than a whole bunch at once. Even if that was manageable, what wasn't (and still isn't) is the scarring. Every breakout I've had has last a pretty dark scar that I can't seem to get rid of and all together, it makes me feel pretty bad about my skin. Even though my skin is pretty smooth, which means I can cover it easily with foundation, I would like to get to the point where I'm comfortable wearing less or even no face makeup.
That's where these guys from The Ordinary come in! I actually came across this line of skincare after reading about The Supers serums from Glossier. At $28 a piece, they were a bit pricey as someone who is used to buying pretty affordable Korean skincare. The Ordinary is actually a brand under Deciem, a Canadian company that's been around for a while. Their whole concept is that they offer "clinical formulations with integrity" - basically quality skincare without all the marketing or extraordinary packaging. They claim to be all about honesty and integrity, which is something I can get behind.
The first product I picked out is Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% - a clear dupe for Glossier's Super Pure serum. Niacinamide is a key ingredient in reducing redness and blemishes, while zinc helps with sebum control and congestion. At just $5.90 for the bottle, it was a steal. I've only used this once, but so far I've noticed it absorbs pretty quickly.
I've been looking at trying vitamin C serums for a while because its properties include anti-aging and overall skin brightening. I decided to give Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% a go. The Ordinary offers a variety of formulations of vitamin C, which you can read about the differences here. I chose what I did because of it has the highest potency for the lowest cost. Of course, because of that, it can cause some tingling and can have a period of adjustment for your skin. I've tried this out once and I noticed it has a strange powdery residue. I'll continue using it to see what effect is gives, though.
The last serum I picked up was Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA. Arbutin is really big in Korean skincare, but not so much here in the U.S., so I was pleasantly surprised to find it in a Western line of skincare. Arbutin can reduce dark spots and hyper pigmentation, which is exactly what I need. It even has hyaluronic acid, which I'm obsessed with. I'm excited to try it out!
The final thing I got from The Ordinary was their 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil. I'm honestly pretty skeptical of oils, but rose hip seed oil is supposed to be a great hydrator, even for people with oily skin. I thought I'd pick it up since winter is coming (lol) and the extra hydration would be nice. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I'll keep you guys updated!
Lastly, I picked up the CLEAR Regular Strength Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution With 2% Salicylic Acid from Paula's Choice. I haven't talked about it before, but I previously used and just ran out of Paula's Choice's Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant and it literally changed my life. I really think it's what made my breakouts stop. Since I'm almost out, I decided it was time to try something else. Paula's Choice's CLEAR Regular Strength is also a BHA, but it's supposed to be lighter and gentler. I'm slightly afraid it won't work as well for my skin, but we shall see!
Anywho, that's all for today. Like I'm said, I'm really excited to try these products out and I'll be sure to update y'all in a few months what my results are. I'm planning on doing an updated skincare routine featuring the products I feel helped with my breakouts, so stay tuned for that.
Thanks for reading,
Christina