Hello beautiful!
So one day when I was washing my face and looking into the mirror, I suddenly had a thought to do a skincare routine post. I usually (but not as usually as usually) get comments like "your skin is perfect", "your skin is insanely good", "you have good skin", but honestly, I think it can be far far better. I have little bumps on the skin that cannot be seen but can be felt. Nevertheless, I am thankful that I am blessed with okay, more to the better side kind of complexion, because I know a lot of people deal with oily/acne/dry etc skin.
Not everybody has the same type of complexion, what works for me might not work for you but you can always take this as a reference point! Let me share a bit about my story before the routine!
I started out with really dry skin. When I was in secondary school, I did not do skincare at all. It was only when we had to put thick makeup for dance performances that I would use a facial cleanser to clean up after removing the make up. The rest of the days were just water. When I was in Secondary 2, I went on a dance exchange trip to Hong Kong at the end of the year, during winter. Very unfortunately, it was one of the coldest winters, about 8-10 degrees in HK that year as according to the news. FYI, If you haven't been to HK during winter before, winters in HK seldom (although possible) get to a single digit cold. In 2013 I went and it was 15-17 degrees. So during that year, we had a performance in Disneyland and we had to put make-up. I didn't thought dry skin was a bad thing at all until the moment I dab on my foundation. My face started peeling, literally. Lol.
Moving on to upper sec, I however got more conscious and started using a facial cleanser everyday. But without any knowledge in skincare, I thought just a facial cleanser would suffice. And I obviously continued to live with dry and peeling skin.
When I graduated and had more time for myself, I started watching YouTube videos and researched about skincare. Not sure what made me do it but I did it and I'm glad I did. Plus I was working so I had a little bit of money to get myself a full set of what I need.
After about 3 years of changing routines here and there, I finally came down to this one.
The average Korean skincare goes like:
Cleanser > Exfoliator (twice/wk) > first essence/booster > toner > essence > mask (twice/week) > eyecream > lotion > cream > sleeping mask (twice/wk, optional)
So many steps!!! Good skin does not come easy.
But for me, because the weather here is different from Korea, I skip some steps and deduce it to:
Cleanser > Exfoliator (twice/wk) > first essence/booster > toner > essence > mask (twice/week) > eyecream > lotion (morning) > cream (night) > sleeping mask (twice/wk)
Okay not like it makes a lot of difference but if you can see, I only used lotion in the morning and only cream in the night.
What is the difference?
Okay now you've understood the routine, I am just gonna show you what I use currently! I always change the products once I empty them but the routine generally is the same.
First, do yourself a favour by keeping your hair out of the way!
Cleanser
I currently use 3 different kind of cleansers, that is a lot but let me explain.
The first one, also the main one is the Innisfree Green Tea Pure Cleansing Foam. I use this both in the morning and night.
(Still on my trial pack because I haven't been able to finish it)
TIP!
*A pore cleanser brush has super fine bristles that is able to reach deep into your pores where your fingers cannot. Mine is the manual one because I dont have the funds to get an electronic one....yet. *
Normally after this step would suffice but I a bit kiasu so I do a triple cleanse with my main cleanser. Keep in mind that you want your face and pores to be free from any residue you've accumulated for the day so they they won't clog your pores and cause infection when you apply other products later on.
On days when I dont put any make up, I use the main cleanser twice.
The third one is the Etude House Sparkling Toc!s Scrub Foam.
Oh btw I dry my face with a facial tissue because I think there are a lot of germs on the towel. Haha.
Exfoliator
I prefer hard and sandy exfoliators to those with soft beads cus I think it does the job better! But if you have very sensitive* skin, go for the softer beads one. I have mild sensitive skin only beside the nose area so it's pretty okay for me.
*Sensitive as in your skin will sting and feel irritated when you put on unsuitable products or equivalent.
The one I'm using is the FLEBEAUTÉ White Crystal Diamond Peeling from TheFaceShop. It's a brightening scrub (yes I am a fan of whitening/brightening products) which claims to contain diamond powder.
Not sure how true that is but my grandmother said I looked fairer during the time I was on my first bottle. I am on my second bottle now.
TheFaceShop lowered their prices so its definitely worth a check although you can get it online too.
First Essence/Booster
The purpose of a booster (some call it first essence) is to boost your skin's ability to absorb whatever you're gonna put next so you the results are better, and you won't waste money too. Some people prefer to skip this step but I think it really works for me.
The one I'm using is The Smim Fermentation Concentrate Total Treatment (don't have a picture cus I threw away the bottle when I finished it) which is crazy expensive (SGD$66.90 from stores the last time I checked) but I always get it online or from Korea if my friends are going at half the price.
It has a watery consistency so I put on a cotton pad to apply it!
In the past when I had dry peeling skin, I applied a lot of moisturiser, I still had dry peeling skin, until I met this magic water!!
I just used up the last drop of my 5th bottle and I am going to switch to another brand for as long as I take to finish one bottle because I think my skin is getting to immune to this already. But I am definitely going to switch back.
Toner
Traditionally we call this toner but since the Korean skincare craze started, they came out with a gel-based toner where they call it skin. The traditional one is with a watery consistency while the gel-based one is duh, gel and thick consistency. When I was still working as a beauty advisor last year, many seem to dislike the fact that most korean toners are gel-like but did you know that gel-based toners is more moisturising than the traditional ones?
The one that I am currently using is the Innisfree Green Tea Balancing and Moisture Line, given to me by my previous company. It was stated trial kit on the box but I have been using it for 2 months already and halfway there.
TIP!
*Because skins are gel-based, there is no need to pour them on a cotton pad before application. Just pour it on your hands and pat it on. However, if you are not using a booster, then use a cotton pad because from your bathroom to your skincare area, there is sure to be some dust landing on your face.
Also, patting products on your face is extremely important because it helps the skin to absorb the product. *
As far as I have researched, the Innisfree Green Tea line comes in 3 different categories, Fresh (for oily skin), Balancing (for Normal to Combination), Moisture (for dry skin).
Green Tea is extremely beneficial for the skin, generally the human body but I'm not gonna type it out cus this is getting too long. But my point is, if you dont have a specific result for you skin, go for the Green Tea one!
Essence
An essence is different from a toner and a moisturiser such that an essence repairs deep inside the layers of the skin, while a toner and moisturiser works for he surface of the skin.
I am using the Etudé House Moistfull Super Collagen Ampoule essence.
(Also still on my trial kit)
Mask
The mask sheets I use vary from Etudé House, TheFaceShop and Innisfree but mostly from EH.
I usually skip the previous step (essence) if I was putting on mask for the day.
There are a lot of different "flavours" but I really like Pearl, Acai Berry (or whatever berry), Aloe Vera and Lemon.
Pearl:
Brightening effect
Acai Berry:
Antioxidant effect. Berries generally helps in antioxidant
Aloe Vera:
Soothing effect
Lemon:
Whitening effect. Helps to clarify and reduce dark spots.
TIP!
*Use leftover essence in the bag to apply it in your elbows, knees etc. Essence flowing down from the mask sheet itself can be spread all over the neck. Also, this is not proven effective but I have a habit of refrigerating all my mask sheets because I want the cooling effect, especially in places like Singapore. Then right after application, I will camp in an air conditioned room for the next 10-12 minutes. Pat the remaining essence into the skin. *
Other than mask sheets, I also use the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask on days when I am not lazy.
I also use the lotion instead of cream in the night if I did mask before that.
Eye Cream
I honestly have been diligently skipping this step because my previous one expired and I wana get the duo whitening eye cream from Innisfree. But it costs a bomb here so I am waiting till my korea trip to get one there.
The previous one I was using is the Etude House Moistfull Collagen Firming Eye Cream. It is a good eye cream and does whatever it claims to do but I have bad under eye circles so I wana go for the whitening one!
TIP!
*It is very important that your eye cream is absorbed by your skin completely, or else unsightly oil bags will form around your eyes. Use your index finger's knuckles to massage around the eye socket and pat it in until no product is left on the surface of the skin. To reduce eyebags, use the index finger to hold on the inner corner area (near the nose bridge), and use the knuckles of the other index finger to massage the eyebag from an inner to outer directiom towards the temples until no product is left on the surface of the skin. *
Lotion/Cream
The ones I'm using is also from the same line as my toner! They gave it in a set. Not gonna say much about it because I already in the previous (toner) point.
Lotion for the day
Cream for the night
I am not sure what is the normal way of applying a lotion/cream but I rub it on my palms then cup my face with it before patting it in.
TIP!
*Heat from your palms can help to absorb the product better too. You can try rubbing your palms till a little heated before cupping the face. *
Sleeping Mask
Not a big fan of sleeping masks at all but the other day I went into TheFaceShop and saw this Whitening Capsule Sleeping Mask. "Whitening" totally caught me, and it wasn't extremely expensive so why not?
As the product name already states, "mask", so twice a week, before bed time obviously. No need to wash off, go to bed with it, wash off the next day.
Okay that is all for this post~ I hoped I helped you in one way or another. You can always leave a comment or send me an email if you have any other queries!!
Thank you, now go have good skin! x
"If the skin is not cared for, your skin will get mad at you." -Park Min Young
