Long time no blog, this semester is killing me and my skin. As you can see from my last post, I’ve been putting new products to use but I’ve definitely made the biggest mistake in the book. Trying out too many things at once. My skin is starting to seriously break out again like crazy, all over my lower jawline and my right-cheek. Its just extremely red and “bumpy” looking right now because of the newly formed acne and what’s worse is I can’t tell what is causing it.

I’ve started on a new cleanser, moisturizer and toner. Also to try out J.lynne cosmetics foundation and priming powder, I’ve been using that regularly as well – along with the Maybelline Dream Matte Powder.

I’ve cut out on the make-up for now to see if its the cosmetics or the skincare regimen that is causing it. I will report back within a couple of weeks to let you all know the news. I’m resorted back to my original trustworthy JUJU Aloe toner and to the Olay moisturizer to test the cleanser first.

Remember ladies, don’t get too excited and slather on a ton of new products at once. Adding on one product at a time is the safest way to go! Then even if something breaks you out, you’ll know which one did it!!

Product: Etude House – Vitamin A & Vitamin C Essence Masks
Price: ~USD 1.49 each @ soompi (kimnvy)
Review:

These are two out of the three Etude House Essence masks that I purchased a while back. I used both the Vitamin A one and the Vitamin C one in the two nights before I went to get my wisdom teeth removed. I figured that I’d be in too much pain and too loopy to really take good care of my skin afterward, so I might as well treat it well before to prep for it. Personally, I really liked both of the masks and I couldn’t really tell the difference between the two – they both just as well, in my opinion.

They have a light fragrance to them but its nothing too strong or noticeable. Since these are essence masks, I’m supposed to pat the remaining essence into my face after waiting the 15-20 minutes. I actually waited a full 30 minutes before peeling off the mask. My skin definitely felt extremely hydrated and it left a sight glow to my skin. I felt that the masks made my skin look a lot healthier. Also, compared to the Skinfood Herb Salad Essence mask, I had no problem with patting in the remaining essence to dry – it didn’t make my skin feel sticky or anything

I only get one or two occasional active pimples now that I’m on Tazorac (usually around that time of the month) and I feel that the mask really helped with decreasing the dark spots that active pimples leave. I really wish I knew where to buy these masks in bulk, that would be awesome. Personally, I like the Vitamin A mask more because I feel that Vitamin A is a great anti-aging and healing agent. If you’re looking for hydrating though, the Vitamin C mask would be better.

Rating: 5/5

Product: Catena Cell Repairing & Mark Removing Mask
Price: ~USD 7.70 @ Sasa
Review:

When I bought these masks, I thought that it was kind of expensive for just the 5 pieces. This mask had great reviews on Sasa’s website so I decided that I would give it a try. As stated in the name, the mask is geared towards those with marks and scars, such as from acne. After using a pack of the masks, I thought that the masks worked pretty well but still wouldn’t add up to how nourishing the Aegissi masks were.

The website states that the mask contains silicon meant to “diffuse scar skin tone”. Knowing this, the mask probably works by depositing silica to fill in pores to give the impression of a smoother skin tone. It is also supposed to promote the healing of damaged tissue and increase skin elasticity. After using this mask, I did feel that the texture of my skin was improving and that recent inflammations caused by acne was healing quicker. I liked this mask but not enough to keep purchasing it.

Rating: 4/5

Product: Aegissi Carrot Essence Mask
Price: ~USD 0.80 @ Sasa
Review:

I bought six of these masks last year and I absolutely fell in love. I’m extremely sad that they went out of stock so quickly on Sasa and never came back! Extremely peeved because these were amazing sheet masks that were well worth the price! I wish the product was still listed on Sasa’s website so I can show you guys the description because I can quite remember the exact ingredients that were in the mask.

Carrots are good for the skin, since they contain carotene (provitamin A) and antioxidants that are great for the skin. Carrot masks are extremely good for people with oily/acne-prone skin. The mask has a really nice fragrance to it and is very hydrating. I felt that while using this mask, my acne subsided and it took great care of my skin during midterms and stressful times. You have to leave it on for 20-30 minutes; I left it on for the full 30 minutes. It leaves my skin baby soft after use and helped in clearing up my acne.

This is my number 1 go-to mask, I really wish that Sasa would restock.

Rating: 5/5

Product: Kose SOFTYMO Softy Nose Clean Pack
Price: ~USD 4.90 @ Sasa
Review:

I’ve heard that this product has been very popular since its review by the TV show “Nu Ren Wo Zui Da”, but I bought this a while ago. It is your basic pore strip for your nose and again, like the other two Asian brand nose strips that I have introduced on this blog, it is black in color. One side is adhesive and all you have to do is wet your nose before applying.

I liked this because you get 10 strips in one pack and each of the strips works pretty well. It is not as strong as the mook brand strips that I had introduced last time. I would say that it is similar to the Biore kind that you can purchase at the drugstore. I found that the results were usually a hit or miss. Sometimes it would clear up my nose and pull out plenty of blackheads but other times it would dry and come right off without pulling anything out, although this may be a problem with my regimen somehow before applying the nose strip. I would give this product an average rating.

Rating: 3/5

Product: SKINFOOD Herb Salad Mask Sheet
Price: ~USD 2.49 @ soompi (kimnvy)
Review:

I bought this mask because I love mask sheets and I am in love with a lot of Skinfood’s products. I chose to try out the Herb Salad Mask Sheet just because of my acne-prone, oily skin. The Herb Salad mask is designed for sensitive skin and is meant to soothe redness and irritation. Since its cold, my skin has started to get extremely dry and sometimes it even hurts when I apply my moisturizer because of how cracked it is. I’ve also started to get some breakouts here and there on my upper-lip and cheeks, so I thought that the mask could help soothe my skin.

According to the directions, I placed the sheet on my face for about 15 minutes before removing. I was supposed to tap the remaining liquid on my face in and let the rest dry/absorb – but I found that it left my skin feeling extremely sticky and gunky, even after the residue had dried. So I went and splashed with water just to get rid of the gunky feeling that it left on my skin. Perhaps I’m just not used to the feeling since I don’t have much experience with these types of sheet masks.

Overall, I feel that this mask did a pretty good job. It was seriously hydrating and it made my skin feel very soft after using it. I felt that the redness in my skin caused by the recent cold, dry weather has decreased. In the couple of days after using the mask, even the flakiness on my cheeks has decreased. I think that if you have sensitive skin, I would give this mask a try because it really does a good job with redness and helping your skin heal faster. My only qualm is that it was almost $3 for each, and $3 for one use is kind of ridiculous in my opinion – I mean, I like the mask but I’m not in love with it.

Rating: 4/5

Product: Lancome Ablutia Fraîcheur Purifying Foaming Cleanser
Price: ~USD 20.00 @ Gottchalks (on sale b/c Gottchalks was going out of business)
Review:

I bought this for a slightly cheaper price, but it retails for about USD 30 regularly. The packaging for this is very nice, it comes it a very sanitary pump-bottle with a cap to prevent leakage when traveling with it. This cleanser comes out as a reddish/pink gel that you need to lather in your hands before applying to your face.

The ingredients of this cleanser is almost the exact same as the Clinique cleanser, which means that one of the major ingredients is also sodium laureth sulfate. This ingredient is known to be too harsh for people with sensitive skin, but it doesn’t do much to me so this cleanser actually works pretty well.

It is an oil-free gel cleanser that activates with water to remove makeup, excess oil and impurities. The cleanser claims that it won’t strip your skin of its essential oils, and I don’t feel like my skin gets oily after cleansing in the morning and night. I’m not very sure about how well it takes off makeup though, since I usually take off my makeup with a makeup remover beforehand.

All in all, I feel that this cleanser is good and doesn’t break me out but it isn’t anything special. I basically just took off a point for the price because the cleanser really isn’t that great for the price. I feel that I can get the same results using my Clinique cleanser. I have been using this product for at least four months now and as you can see, there is probably still another month or so left in the bottle so it will at least last you a long time.

Rating: 4/5

Product: Skinfood Peach Sake Toner
Price: USD 10.99 @ skinfoodbestprice(ebay)
Review:

I bought this while it was on sale, it is usually $12.99 on ebay – I’m actually not sure if it is sold for a cheaper price elsewhere. I remember that I’ve tried looking before and eBay was the best place to obtain it. There is about 135mL of product per bottle. Skinfood claims that the toner is lightweight and refreshing, and I would have to agree that it is very refreshing on the skin after use. It doesn’t strip away from the skin but it doesn’t feel as nourishing and moisturizing as the JUJU Aloe toner from before.

The toner contains rice sake, peach extract as well as Vitamins A and C to nourish the skin. The purpose of this line is to control and reduce oil and I have been using it in conjunction with the serum. The toner is supposed to minimize shine and reduce the appearance of pores – I suppose that it does reduce the appearance of pores, but I can’t say for sure since I have too many scars to really tell (sad, I know). However, it does do its job in minimizing shine!

Since starting the use of these products, I realized that I really don’t even use my blotting papers anymore! This is not to say that I don’t need to blot at all, but its just that I don’t blot until the end of the day – which is really big deal for someone who used to blot within an hour of getting ready in the morning! I’m actually torn between whether I like this toner more or my aloe toner more, but it is definitely a very close tie. The sad thing is that I actually don’t get a lot of product for the price – so this may just be a “luxury” toner.

I would beware though, although it doesn’t feel harsh, it does contain alcohol as one of the major ingredients. If you have sensitive skin, I would sample this before spending the money on a whole bottle.

Rating: 5/5

Product: Mentholatum Acnes Oil Control Film
Price: USD 1.70 @ Sasa
Review:

I’ve been using this brand of oil blotting sheets for a long, long time and I never regret finding this product. It’s cheaper than the Johnson & Johnson/Clean & Clear brand that you can pick up at the drugstore and it doesn’t contain mineral oil. From what I know, a lot of oil blotting sheets contain mineral oil – which would clog pores and cause massive break outs. I really like the Mentholatum brand because the sheets aren’t just pieces of tissue paper like most of the Asian brand blotting sheets that I come across. The packaging claims that it is:

• * Unique microporous film with superior oil absorption power
• * Remove excessive oil instantly, leaving skin fresh and clean

I would say that its oil absorption power is very good, it is similar to that of the Clean & Clear brand, if not even a little better. I’m very glad that it doesn’t make my skin even oilier after blotting – as many claim that blotting sheets will do.

The packaging is good too, and comes with a little sticker to help you pull out one sheet at a time. The sheets are pretty sturdy, although I can go through about one and a half sheets per-blot on a really oily day, simply because that’s how oily I can get. The sheets are green and turn a dark, translucent green after use.

Since using this blotting sheet, I’ve seen a noticeable decrease in my number of breakouts. Definitely will continue to use this brand for as long as its still around! Forget the American brands!

Rating: 5/5

Product: JUJU Cosmetics Moisture Aloe Toner
Price: USD 8.40 @ Sasa
Review:

So for the couple months that I was M.I.A. my regimen had actually changed up a bit. Its now returned back to normal however because I was just utilizing the month to try out some new products. This aloe toner was one such product and let me just tell you: I am officially in love! The toner may look like it comes in a glass bottle but its actually just plastic. There is a small hole at the top that makes dispense of the product extremely easy since you can give the bottle a squeeze to squirt some of the liquid out.

There is no fragrance at all and unlike with most toners, it doesn’t feel harsh at all. It actually feels hydrating on my skin after I apply it and doesn’t strip my skin of anything. I apply the toner using a cotton ball and it literally glides along my skin. Aloe is supposed to be anti-inflammatory and soothing for the skin and it lives up to its properties! It had definitely help to calm the redness of my acne and actually reduced the amount of break-outs even while using Tazorac. This product is 100% organic aloe and doesn’t contain alcohol, which is great for people with sensitive skin.

This lasted me for about a month or so and I really feel that I need to stock up on this product again.

Rating: 5/5