My Current Skin Care Routine! ♥

Hello everyone! It has definitely been a really long time since my last post and I am extremely sorry about that, but I've been in a rut with what to post and how I want it to turn out. Personally, I feel that I should update when I feel completely driven and inspired and not just pumping out posts for the heck of it.. I've deleted all my old posts to start with a fresh, clean slate. I eventually will make youtube videos, but I really wanna get into the flow of things by just posting content! If you guys like my posts, I'll probably expand into making videos :)

 So without further ado, here's my current skin care routine!

(( BEWARE!! This post is pretty lengthy, but I really wanted to explain my routine as detailed as I could so everyone can get an idea of how well these products worked for me, so you guys can see if it works for you! So if you read the entire thing, know that I love you and appreciate you very much (°◡°♡) ))

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Here are all the products I use and you're probably thinking if I really use all these products.. and yes, I do! Don't worry, I'll break down the steps I take so you can see how I use these because I think some of these are strictly situation based. Over the years, it's all been trail and error and I've been trying out so many different products this year. I've been getting so many compliments on my skin lately and I just wanted to share my routine with everyone!

---------------------------♥ STEP 1: CLEANSE ♥-------------------------

As you can see here, I have two different cleansers. I have normal to dry skin ((**which is strange for an Asian, since most have oily/combo skin, I'll explain why this is relevant later)) so I need exfoliation so it buffs away all the dry patches and reduces the appearance of acne scars and hyper-pigmentation. The reason why I have two is because I like to switch out between a deep scrub and a gentle one. These are gentle enough for me to use everyday but I recommend the St.Ives Green Tea Scrub for people who have more sensitive skin because it is more gentle than the St.Ives Apricot Scrub. The apricot one has more exfoliants compared to the green tea one. In the picture I did a swatch to show you what the product looks like. It'll last me about 1-2 months, depending on how generous I feel like putting on my face since I use it so often.

 Treating my skin is definitely something I look forward to on a daily basis. It wakes me up in the morning even when I just wanna spend all day in bed... or it refreshes me before I go to bed at night. These have seriously made my skin so much better and I hardly stray away from these cleansers because they are that great!

 ---------------------------♥STEP 2: TONE♥--------------------------

After I wash my face, I'll typically tone my face with a toner. This is Lush's Eau Roma Water Spray Toner. I'm really lazy when it comes to using toners due to the fact that I don't really see too much of a difference so it's nice that it comes in a spray bottle like this! It's supposed to balance out the pH levels in your skin.. but I can't measure my own pH??????????/? Although I don't see a difference when using this product, I don't like to skip it just because it is a very important step into getting your skin prepped before moisturizing and whatnot.

  I usually use this for is a refresher throughout the day when my face gets hot.. In the summer, I did get oily during the day so I would blot my face to get the excess oil off and then sprayed this on!! It's super cooling and refreshing and it's so nice because it doesn't move my makeup around or anything. So it's definitely quite the pick me up during the summer time!

---------------------------♥STEP 3: MOISTURIZE♥----------------------

This has to be my favorite just because it's so satisfying to have my dry skin absorb all the moisture. This is definitely what makes my skin look so good because it brings life back into my skin! There are a lot of moisturizers here, but like I said they are all situational so I'll explain them here.

So I'm going to explain these products in the order you see them ((left to right)).

1) Nature Republic's Aloe Vera Soothing Gel: A friend gave this to me because she has oily skin and it didn't too well for her and I needed a new moisturizer so she gave me this one! ((Thank you Lina!)) Anyway, this stuff is super light weight and not creamy and thick like other moisturizers. Honestly, I really hate cream moisturizers just because it feels like thick, sticky lotion on my face and I don't want my face to be weighed down.  It's made of 92% aloe vera so it's very hydrating and it soothes skin irritation due to the sun or dryness you might have. It absorbs very quickly but the only downside is that it dries equally as fast.. So I have to put on my makeup quickly or else my makeup doesn't sit right.

2) Danielle Laroche Dead Sea Wonders Soothing Face Serum: That is a long name... So I bought this looking for a new moisturizer to replace the Nature Republic one because it's running low and I found this gem at Ross so I picked it up for a bargain! Since this is the most recent product out of the collection, I've just only been using it for a short while and I'm in love with it! On the box, it says it's enriched with argan oil and omega 3,6,&9 so I was expecting an oil based formula, but it came in a pump and it looks like a lotion. Like I said earlier, I hate cream based ones but this one is very light weight and it applies very smoothly. It contains essences from the Dead Sea, which is the purest ocean that contains pH restoring properties. I'm not sure how legit that is.. but I've seen it in a lot of skin care products. It rejuvenates and nourishes the skin while the oils protect and maintain skin hydration. This stuff works so well for me by keeping my skin hydrated ALL DAY LONG. I'm very happy with this purchase :)

3) Daiso Japan Hyaluronic Acid Gel Mask Sleeping Pack: This is one of those products that you use when you've had a long day.. It's an overnight mask that you rinse off in the morning when you wake up! It hydrates your skin overnight while you're sleeping so you don't really have to worry about it. It has a gel-like consistency that cools as it's drying on your face. After it's dry, it literally feels like there's nothing on your face. Just don't forget to wash it off in the morning. This can definitely be used every day but I think it's pretty special because I bought it at Daiso in Los Angeles a couple months ago and I don't have a Daiso where I live, so I'm preserving as much as I can!! So if you have a Daiso in your area, I'm jealous of you..  

Please excuse the different colors of the pictures.. The lighting decided to change and I tried to edit it but this is as close as I could get so please forgive me. 

---------------------------♥STEP 4: MAINTENANCE♥------------------

So my skin is far from perfect and I have a lot of days where my skin just goes completely haywire so these products really save me when I need it. These two items here are treatment items that I only use occasionally because they're kinda hardcore. (( THESE ARE OPTIONAL ))

1) Daiso Japan Natural Charcoal Peel Off Mask: There's a craze about this stuff in Japan and Korea where they use these charcoal peels to get rid of black heads on your nose, just like a pore strip. The difference is that it applies like a gel! So when it dries, that's when you know it's ready to be peeled off and that takes about 10-15 minutes or so. Make sure you don't leave it on longer than that because this stuff is super potent and it can really cling onto your skin.. Trust me on that one. It isn't supposed to be used more than 2 times a week just because of how harsh it can be. Supposedly, you can use this as a full face mask as well but I haven't tried it yet because it is quite messy to put on.. That's the only thing that I can say about this product that I didn't like. On the other hand, it works really well! Am I the only one who spends 10-15 minutes inspecting it to see all the nasty stuff that was on  my nose??? It's oddly really satisfying to look at. I'm not weird. Maybe. 

2) Neutrogena Naturals Acne Spot Treatment: It's in a very small bottle so a little goes a long way with this stuff. It's a spot treatment with a lotion feel to it. Once applied to the blemish, it dries and turns into this crusty looking spot on your face. I like to leave it on overnight for it to work at its maximum potential. I mean no one's gonna see me with my gremlin looking face and white spots so it doesn't really matter :) :) :) If any of you use the toothpaste trick for your big red pimples, think of this as a gentle alternative. Obviously it costs more than toothpaste, but there isn't that searing pain of an agitated pimple with minty freshness.

**Using Asian products on my skin is a tad bit difficult because most Asians have oily/combo skin. I really enjoy using Asian products because they are very light, and not heavily scented. I'll be investing into some more products soon just because we're transitioning into fall and my skin will likely get even more dry.. It's definitely not cute. 

That's it for my skin care routine! Personally, I don't think it's anything too crazy, it has all the basic steps you need to take care of your skin. Honestly, I'm very passionate about skin care and I do tons of research about it on my free time (( -cough- loser )) It's just so interesting how everything works and I really enjoy it. 

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I wanted to thank you guys for reading this post and I'm really excited to blog more! I have a lot of ideas that keep sprouting from my brain hehe so please be on the look out for those. Thank you for waiting for this post to come up, but I hope you guys think it's worth it. Please comment or let me know on social media about what you think/any questions you might have! For those of you who have blogspots, be sure to link me your blog below so I can check it out as well! I need more blogs to read so please enlighten me with yours. 

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