A topic for discussion on here is always my skin, I have combination skin, more on the oily than dry but it goes through phases where it is super dry and then super oily - your girl can't win. The past month and a half things have changed dramatically, I have really stripped back with everything in my skincare routine. Acne scarring and hyperpigmentation isn't a bad thing at all but I want to clear it up as much as I can. I am still trying different things, the other week I spoke all about PMD. A device that is really helped with the deep tissue acne scarring that I have suffered from for years, for the other scars and my skin in general I have been loving these certain products. There are so many that I have used over the years, but these have been the biggest success in a short space of time.
Internally, I have been taking Evening Primerose Oil tablets, they have worked wonders on my skin and helped me inside to out. As they say, you are what you eat. My diet isn't particularly bad, but I do have days where all I eat is crap. These have helped to not only clear my skin, but they have helped slow down amount of breakouts that I get. I hardly get any at the moment, unless I react to a product or its the time of the month.
The team over at Skinkissed got in contact with me recently to try their Luxury Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Serum (£20). Before I said yes to trying it, I gave it a quick Google and read the reviews on Amazon, my eyes could not believe what I was reading - every single review was positive, with people saying that they loved it and it had worked miracles for them. This got me very excited to try it, I have been using it nearly every night for around 3 weeks and can't believe it. After just 3 days I noticed these incredible changes like the reviews, my skin looked amazing. At the time, I was home and very much confident to go makeup free. My skin looked brighter, which I think is because of the Vitamin C, so much clearer and softer. Every morning, I have woken up with the softest skin and its down to the ingredients in this miracle serum. I love how with consistent use, my skin has improved by a mile and looks so much better than usual. It has really helped with those newly formed scars and hyperpigmentation.
My love for The Ordinary is immense, a brand that makes skincare so easy to follow and do. They have a whole range of skincare products that are perfect to target different things, I could go on forever. Recently, I have been loving the Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane*. The last time I used a retinoid, I went in with it too quickly and my skin has a really bad flare up, so this time I was a little hesitant but rest assured this is so much more gentle on the skin. Firstly Squalane is something that my skin loves. I have the one from The Oridnary and bring it out when my skin is extremely dry as it keeps it hydrated. The addition of a retinoid to something that I already love is a heavenly pair.It doesn't irritate my skin in the slightest, keeps it nourished and helps control breakouts. I use this twice a week instead of the serum above, the next morning my skin is so glowy. Yes, someone with oily skin can have a natural glow and it looks so healthy. This is not to be used if you have Acne skin, I am not diagnosed with Acne, just have breakout prone skin, this works perfectly to help with the pigmentation issues that I have.
The products that I sandwich in between these are usually cleansers, masks and toners. I love everything from The Body Shop at the moment. Their Overnight Tea Tree Mask is perfect to help a breakout, the Rose Toner is amazing at giving my skin a boost in hydration. For cleanser, I use nothing but the DHC Cleansing Oil followed up by Cetaphil, this duo removes all traces of makeup, and doesn't irritate my skin. In additon, the Magnitone Face Brush is a life saver, it really gets deep into the skin and washes everything away. Acnecide, is my go to spot treatment. Available online and over the counter in both Boots and Superdrug without a prescription from the Doctor. I use this when a whitehead appears, within two days it has gone and leaves me with nothing but very dry skin due to the ingredients but amazing at clearing up spots. For Moisturiser, I have been reaching for the Urban Veda, Neem Day and Night Cream. This range has been amazing at helping my oily prone skin, it helps to control it throughout the day and almost minimise it.
One product that I could not live without and having been using for over a year now is Aloe Vera gel. When I first started using it, I didn't think much of it apart from that it is cooling my very warm skin at night. A few weeks without it and I really noticed a difference. My skin wasn't 'healing and cooling' as it used to. I apply this all over my face every night without fail, it helps to calm any redness down, shrink the size of spots and overall just make my skin feel better.
I am loving that my routine is very simple, basic and effective- what more do you want!
