Daily Skincare Routine: Hazel

I used to have EXTREMELY dry skin... by 'used to', I mean a couple years ago. By extremely dry, I would mean white patches around my mouth, on the apples of my cheeks, and lamentably underneath my eyes where premature wrinkles would normally start to form. That was also the time I was breaking out in the most unfortunate places. Mind you, I was already in my early 20's... I could only attribute this predicament to the speculation that I was either having late puberty signals, or worse – adult acne. I had tried a handful of skincare brands, from the upscale end to drugstore range and nothing worked. Until I found Naruko. But I'll save that for another day. Long story short, my breakouts were reduced drastically and became much more contained. After my skin stopped breaking out, I braved myself to try out other brands. Keep reading if you are interested to see what products are on my skincare shelf at the moment!

DAYTIME SKINCARE ROUTINE

This may sound a bit surprising, but I only wash my face in the morning when I'm in the shower. Yup. You read it right. I wash my face ONCE a day. The funny thing, though, is that I don't break out and this routine seems to be very effective in keeping my skin flawless. I am currently using this Shiseido cleanser from their White Lucent line. I had used it before a few years back, and was re-introduced to it when my mum gave hers to me. I use this in conjunction with my beloved Clarisonic Mia!

I use my Clarisonic Mia once a day everyday when I'm cleansing my face in the shower, as opposed to only using my hands. It might not be the same case for everybody, but this method works very, VERY well for my skin. I no longer develop massive adult zits; only a few blackheads around my nose here and there that I eventually squeeze out with my fingers (nasty, sorry).

I have a peculiar skin history. A few years ago, I had concluded that my skin was extremely dry, as previously mentioned. Now, it's so oily that I'd look like a major grease ball by the end of the day, even the most potent mattifying powder could not last the whole day on my face. I thought it had something to do with the moisturizer I was using, so I tried to find a replacement for it and came across the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel. I loved it. But when it ran out, I wanted to try something else. Entered this Ole Henriksen moisturizer for oily skin. It's great so far and it doesn't make my face greasy after I put it on, but it still doesn't help with oil control throughout the day.

NIGHT TIME SKINCARE ROUTINE

I absolutely ADORE these Balea makeup cleansing wipes – they are simply amazing; hands down the best cleansing wipes I have ever used. The only downside is that they sting my eyes when I use them to remove my eye makeup. Because these wipes already provide all the cleansing & moisturizing I need, I don't do the soap-and-water system at night anymore (by the way, I only wear Tinted Moisturizer + concealer for face makeup, not foundations). Again, this might not work for everybody, but it's excellent for my skin.

But don't fret, because this miracle water is coming to the rescue! I use this Bioderma Sensibio H2O for sensitive skin to remove my stubborn eye makeup, which is not waterproof FYI. I got the pump bottle to optimize application. I usually pump twice onto two individual cotton pads.

And then I go straight into eye cream! This is TheFaceShop's lifting eye cream from their Flebote Collagenic line. It's super moisturizing – perfect for the night time. It's helped a lot with my under-eye area and impending crow feet that have been slowly but surely forming.

On days that I need a little pick-me-up, I spray this all over my face. It's hydrating and moisturizing. Click here to purchase it from Amazon (Canada)!

Let me know in the comments if there are any products you'd recommend.

xx Hazel