Skincare Lounge: Routines, Recs and Reviews

[Jane]

 

Credit: YesStyle

 

I am sure I am not the only one around here who stocks up on skincare when they travel, watch beauty and skincare gurus on youtube, browse the local drugstores to check out what's new, scour blogs and forums for product reviews and recs, and make endless wish lists of products to buy and try.

 

So here's the thread for all skincare enthusiasts to hang out.

 

Drop that skincare routine, share your latest hauls, rave about a product or ask for recommendations. Our wallets may not thank us, but our skin will!

 

Beautiful skin requires a commitment, not a miracle.

Erno Laszlo

Edited August 23, 2020 by wallflowersforjane

[SilverMoonTea]

@wallflowersforjane

My current use : Shiseido Senka

I found this quite light to use almost everyday. I cannot use too much moisturizer, as will easily get breakout. This brand is good and not so expensive. 

 

 

I have couple of masks sheet. Other day will give short review lols... 

[Chocolate]

 

P50 is my holy grail. It's a combination of lactic and salicylic acid plus other stuff. I have tried another version for pigmentation but find that this works better.

 

My skin is oily. When I discovered AHA and BHA, it did wonders. But it was time consuming to have to apply both separately and with wait time in between. I use P50 in the toner step. It removes dead skin cells (or to put simply, makes your skin smooth LOL) and helps reduce blackheads and oil seeds effectively. Can't live without it.

 

On days when I have a pimple or just need something stronger to clear the pores, I add on Cosrx BHA. This is 4% of a gentler version of salicylic acid equivalent used in SK but works just as well as the western products with 2% actual salicylic acid.

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by Chocolate

[Mouse]

@Chocolate I've always wanted to try P50 but it's so hard to find it here in Toronto. I, too, am oily and blemish prone so I'm always on the hunt for effective products.

 

My current routine (I say current because I like to switch products and try new ones after a while). I have been using these for some time now and really love how they work on me.

 

Cleanser: BeautyCounter Clear Pore Cleanser

 

 

Moisturizer: Tatcha - The Water Cream

 

 

Before bedtime: Skinceuticals Blemish & Age Defense Serum and Biossance Squaline + Tea Tree Balancing Oil

 

 

 

 

 

Other products in my skincare regimen that I don't use every day but I use every other day:

 

Timeless Skin Care 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum

 

 

 

 

 

[jeijei]

Skin type: Dry, sensitive, acne-prone

Wallet type: poor

 

Current routine (if I'm not lazy)

1. Cerave hydrating facial cleanser

2. Moisturizer

3. The Ordinary 5% Lactic Acid

4. Isdin suncream 

 

Waiting for Deciem to reco me a new routine for my acne and hyperpigmentation.

* Don't use the famous The Ordinary BHA+ AHA on sensitive skin.

 

 

Routine that gave me awesome skin:

1. Physiogel facial cleanser

2. Cosrx Galactomyces

3. Moisturizer

4. Cosrx BHA 2x a week

5. Benzoyl peroxide spot treatment 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by jeijei

[Jane]

My skincare type is oily. Over the years, I have learned that less is more for me. My skin needs to be hydrated so a toner that delivers moisture is very important for me. For that the Hada Labo range is my favourite.

 

Current Routine

1. Oil Cleaner: Senka All Clear Oil

2. Facial Wash: Hada Labo Hydrating Light Cleanser

3. Toner: Hada Labo Hydrating Light Lotion

4. Moisturiser: I'M From Vitamin Tree Water-Gel (Sometimes)

5. Essence: Naruko Raw Job's Tears Pore Brightening Essence (Sometimes)

6. Eye Cream: Innisfree Green Tea Seed Eye & Face Ball (Sometimes)

7. Mud Mask: Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask (Once a week)

8. Sunscreen: Biore UV Aqua Rich

 

@SilverMoonTea Skin twins! I can't use that many products too. Oh I have never seen this Senka range. I used the Senka Perfect Whip cleansers, now the Senka All Clear Oil is my first cleanser step.

 

@Chocolate I broke out like crazy when I incorporated the CosRX BHA into my routine. I thought it was purging at first but it didn't stop even after I stopped the product. Can I give you my bottle? I don't know what to do with anymore. 😁

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by wallflowersforjane

[OsmanthusTea]

Daytime

Neutrogena Pure Mild Facial Wash
CliniqueFit Workout BB Cream SPF 40

Anna Sui EyeBrow Kit

Clinique Chubby Stick or Dior Rouge 999 or others

 

Nighttime

Neutrogena Pure Mild Facial Wash

Retinoid Acid 0.1 Rx

Cerave Night Lotion or The FaceShop Mango Seed Cream or Cetaphyl Cream

 

Also some sheet mask when I am in the mood. I have a hoard of sheet masks in my fridge.
 

My skin care regimen and makeup have been simplified a lot over the years. I am no longer using a complicated with millions steps kind of skin care regimen and a whole makeup store on my face.

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by OsmanthusTea

[SilverMoonTea]

@Mouse always curious about that Tatcha stuff... but my wallet won't be happy about it haha.. Is that brand very good? I think they have some clean powder or something.

 

Btw anyone tried The Drunk Elephant or The Glow Recipes brand before? Its also look interesting and a lot of raving on it.

[Teeners]

What a fun topic. I don't really have a routine because I'm not faithful to products. My only constant of late is this moisturizer. I have very oily skin. I used to get small bumps on my forehead and ever since switching to this my forehead has been smooth as can be. 😄 Oh, I like Philosophy's Purity face wash as well.

I have the same question for @Mouse on The Water Cream. I bought a travel size and haven't decided if I want to plunk down big bucks for it.

[Tofu]

@wallflowersforjane: Same for me too. I discovered a brand a few years back and it makes up about more than half of my skincare products. Haha!

 

Skin Type: Combination skin (a little more on the oily side)

Oil Cleanser: Heimish All Clean Balm

Foam Cleanser: Pyungkang Yul Low pH Deep Cleansing Foam

Toner: Pyunkang Yul Mist Toner

Ampoule: Pyungkang Yul Moisture Ampoule

Moisturizer: Pyungkang Yul Moisture Cream

Oil: Pyungkang Yul Oil (I use this maybe a few times a month, it's not something I grab often)

Eye Cream: Pyunkang Yul Black Tea Time Reverse 

Sunscreen: Supergoop! Play and Neogen Day-Light Protection 

 

I use the double cleansing technique only on days I have makeup on. On all other days, I just use the foam cleanser. I also use the Philosophy Vitamin C Resurfacing Peel about twice a month. 

 

@SilverMoonTea: My sister's entire skincare routine is full of Drunk Elephant (I call her rich because of this. Haha!). She usually talks about how much she likes their C-Firma Day Serum and the Lala Retro Whipped Cream. I've tried the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask. It made me break out so I stopped using it.

 

[Jane]

Hey @Teeners Glad to see you here! My derm recommended that I should look into La Roche Posay as well for a more pH friendly product. Once I am done with my remaining Etude House Soon Jung line products, I am going to check that out.

 

42 minutes ago, Tofu said:

@wallflowersforjane: Same for me too. I discovered a brand a few years back and it makes up about more than half of my skincare products. Haha!

 

 

Doesn't stop me from buying other brands though. Always looking for the next Holy Grail! Oh you use a lot of Pyunkang Yul! I have been interested in this one but have too much in my stash to justify buying new things. My colleague got the mist toner and she loves it.

[NiteWalker]

im using innisfree :x

 

im not particular about my skin though

[Jane]

On 8/23/2020 at 5:10 PM, NiteWalker said:

im using innisfree :x

 

im not particular about my skin though

 

Innisfree is a fave! I always have at least one innisfree product in my routine. It's the only shop that I will buy products at the physical storefront because I have a membership. Lol.

[NiteWalker]

27 minutes ago, wallflowersforjane said:

 

Innisfree is a fave! I always have at least one innisfree product in my routine. It's the only shop that I will buy products at the physical storefront because I have a membership. Lol.

 

i love the lipsticks range too....lols though recently i seldom use any....ahhahaha

[Jane]

28 minutes ago, NiteWalker said:

 

i love the lipsticks range too....lols though recently i seldom use any....ahhahaha

 

Me too! Sigh, and I added so many to my collection in the last year. 😞

Edited August 24, 2020 by wallflowersforjane

[mademoiselle]

Wow, you guys' daily regime is 😲 🤩

Mine is just simple 3 steps - cleanse, tone*, moisturise (and I was suppose to put a facial sheet mask on & forgot yesterday). I dislike sunscreens so if I can avoid it, I will. If I can't then I use the same Biore UV Aqua Rich as @wallflowersforjane

*sometimes I get lazy I even skip.

 

Although I don't religiously apply them, but I do love these little lip balms by Mentholatum.

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by mademoisellesia

[Jane]

@mademoisellesia To each their own (skin)! Noooo, how could you skip sunscreen! I The Aqua Rich was a total game changer for me to know that sunscreen could be so light and easy to apply.

 

Daily reminder to all to use your facial sheet mask tonight!

[NiteWalker]

i usually need either lip balm or moisture balm to keep my lips from cracking

[mademoiselle]

@wallflowersforjane

You won't believe it. I wrote that post and forgot all about it and put toner and moisturiser on already! 🤦🏻‍♀️

 

Yes I agree the Biore sunscreen is the lightest sunscreen I had used.

[Mouse]

On 8/23/2020 at 12:12 AM, SilverMoonTea said:

@Mouse always curious about that Tatcha stuff... but my wallet won't be happy about it haha.. Is that brand very good? I think they have some clean powder or something.

 

Btw anyone tried The Drunk Elephant or The Glow Recipes brand before? Its also look interesting and a lot of raving on it.

@SilverMoonTea @Teeners I have oily skin and I am prone to breakouts so I’m very selective with the brands I use. I also don’t like anything that feels heavy on my face. The Tatcha Water Cream is definitely on the pricey side but you only need very little, it hydrates very well but doesn’t feel sticky. It goes on very light and feels  “watery” hence the name I guess. Lol I definitely recommend trying it. You can buy a small sample at Sephora (check if your store carries it). I usually buy my products from Sephora here because they have an excellent return policy should something not work for me. 
 

The Water Cream is the only Tatcha product I’ve tried so far but I hear the Tatcha Kissu lip mask is also amazing. 
 

As for Drunk Elephant - I actually have some samplers which I got from Sephora but I haven’t actually tried them yet so I don’t know if they’re effective but it gets amazing reviews. 
 

I have not tried Glow Recipe products but the banana soufflé moisturizer I heard is good. 

[Tofu]

17 hours ago, mademoisellesia said:

Wow, you guys' daily regime is 😲 🤩

 

My skincare routine is only followed maybe 3-4 times a week. I've been really lazy lately. Haha!

[mademoiselle]

11 minutes ago, Tofu said:

My skincare routine is only followed maybe 3-4 times a week. I've been really lazy lately. Haha!

I will always cleanse and moisturise as bare minimum if I go out. At times late at night after shower, I can get lazy even with the moisturiser. Then I use a spray mist, pat pat pat and that's it. 😝

 

Honestly though, I haven't heard of a lot of the brands you guys mentioned up there. I only know Innisfree, La Roche Posay. I get lost in front of personal care products in SK and JP. Just wanted to run away instead, too overwhelming.

[Jane]

@mademoisellesia I skip moisturiser a lot too. That's why the hydrating toner is so important for me!

 

I thought I would be better with my skincare routine during lockdown but that was so not the case. Lol. 

 

 

[Mouse]

To be honest, if I had amazing skin where I wasn't so prone to breakouts, I wouldn't use too many products either. But sadly I need the products.. haha!

 

The problem is, I tried different products during the lockdown and my skin has been loving it. But now I don't know which product is actually doing a good job. Do I re-purchase all of them when I run out? LOL so expensive though!

[Jane]

19 hours ago, Mouse said:

To be honest, if I had amazing skin where I wasn't so prone to breakouts, I wouldn't use too many products either. But sadly I need the products.. haha!

 

The problem is, I tried different products during the lockdown and my skin has been loving it. But now I don't know which product is actually doing a good job. Do I re-purchase all of them when I run out? LOL so expensive though!

 

That sounds like a great problem to have! My skin got worse during the lockdown. I think I was perspiring so much more being in a non air conditioned environment. I still haven't quite figured out what to do except to go back to my tried and true Hada Labo.