Thoughts of 2017
* 2017 is definitely the year of changes: first time ever my skin got dry during the winter and I was so puzzled after using the same products for years and never even thinking about routine changes or upping my skincare game, I thought I was born with not so great (oily combination) skin and that would be it forever.
* In the 2016 I started actively using toners after washing my face and that made a huge difference, I got less and less pimples and they went away faster, I noticed the face wash wasn't cleaning all the make up and that was clogging my pores.
* I started to feel desperate about aging as I noticed my first fine lines!
* I started to lurk skincare blogs, websites and forums, hoping for a miracle cure for aging... and all the time I kept finding recommendations of Asian, mainly Korean products.
* I was kinda shocked about all these things I had honestly never ever heard of: AHA, BHA, vitamin C, retinol, wait I should use sunscreen every day?
* I bought lots of random stuff (like The Body Shop's Drops of Youth series) based on pretty packaging and hype.
* I have tried more different products than ever before in my life!
* I have experienced all sorts of different pimples that I didn't even know existed because I tried all those products.
* I have started shopping online for skincare and this was a huge step for me, a game changer.
* I have bought more expensive products than I ever thought I would and I don't even regret (I do regret some products of course but I do not regret the journey as every new thing has taught me something about my skin).
* I am worth it! My skin is worth investing in! I am not wasting money by using it to take care of myself and my skin.
* I have started to read the ingredient lists and actually try to do a little research to understand what is in them and if they're going to work for the purpose I'm buying them for.
* I have started to learn what kind of products and ingredients work for me (but the progress is slow).
* I have analyzed my own skin further than just the basic "meh combination" that I read somewhere when I was a teenager.
* I found some solutions for my family's skin problems after doing so much research for my own (they mostly had oily dehydrated skins).
* I have started to pay attention to expiration dates and hygiene more in general. I threw away my super old products.
* In November 2017 I discovered facial oils which is funny because all my life I have been avoiding anything that could resemble an oil. I think oil cleansing method in the beginning of the year changed my way of thinking.
* Do I dare to say that oils are maybe somewhat a part of the "miracle cure for aging" that was my original quest in the beginning of 2017? (On top of retinol and sunscreen.)
* I'm much more open to different products and methods! Oils, sleeping packs, mists, double or triple cleansing, the multilayer cotton pads...
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| My very first samples. Felt like a lot... |
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| ... and suddenly, boom! Actually now that I think about it, lately I've received very little samples or none compared to first hauls. Wonder what has happened? |
Best Surprises
* Tosowoong is not that popular or sexy brand I have heard, but their products have been surprisingly safe options for me! The apricot Cleansing Oil I have repurchased for myself and for my family as well, also I think soon I'm going to repurchase Tosowoong's Soft Touch Sun Cream.
* Oils! Rose Hip Seed Oil and Squalane so far. True game changers.
* The Ordinary. Yes, for me, they have helped me to open my eyes to ingredients as well. They have helped me to be more adventurous: I can afford to buy and test things, get excited over them, play with my skincare!
* There's a lot of information out there if you just look! I never thought that there would be hundreds and thousands of skincare communities and blogs. Of course, always remember common sense and source checks.
* My fiance and the support he provides me in my hobbies and struggles.
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| I think this was my very first The Ordinary order! |
Biggest Disappointments
* COSRX. Yes. Everyone's raving about their products and I got excited as well, I tried BHA, AHA, Hyaluronic Acid, Good Morning Gel and samples... but they just don't seem to work for me. People say, they are gentle and moisturizing, but I just felt like everything was making my skin dry or irritated or gave me a rash! Or just wasn't working otherwise. I feel wary of buying anything from Cosrx in the future.
* Chemical exfoliation in general. The way people talk about it, it's like the best thing ever. Still experimenting to find the right products for myself.
* I was expecting my skin to like me more after I started caring about sun protection. I think the opposite happened. Almost one year of religious sunscreen and I notice no difference whether I wear it or not except I have now more clogged pores. And scars. From trying sunscreens that caused me cystic acne.
* The quality-price ratio of many products is always very random. It's frustrating to try to guess it beforehand. I'm not rich but I want to pamper myself with fancy things sometimes and I want those fancy things to work.
* Many Asian products have actually caused me breakouts! I think it's because they use many ingredients that I rarely see in products here. Or they just are formulated differently. Or it's just because of ferments.
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| Pink is definitely one of my favorite colors! |
Thoughts about my blog
* It's surprisingly hard to find time and energy to write a blog, actually! But that also forces me to actually think and analyze my product choices. (And learn more English!) So it's a very good learning experience. But all the time it takes... especially adding photos. All you real bloggers out there, I appreciate your work and dedication.
* Oh boy, also researching products and ingredients takes a lot of time! No wonder people don't usually do it or care about it. Even brand websites don't always list ingredients that go into their products. It's like ingredient lists are big secrets, or mystery codes that can be hidden under stickers etc. It's a little weird considering how vocal we are about our allergies, food restrictions, illnesses and medications, environment changes etc but we really do not care about what we put on our skins and where it comes from???
* I'm surprised I actually have visitors on my blog once in a while! How does that happen?? :) I hope my posts have been at least somewhat helpful!
TOP 5 most popular skincare notebook posts of 2017
TOP 5 visitor countries of 2017
1. Vietnam
2. United States
3. Ireland
4. Malaysia
5. Canada
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| One of the first products to wreck my skin and my inspiration to find out more about skincare products and their ingredients. |
Thoughts about my skin
* My skin absolutely doesn't like touching too much, patting several products/using several cotton pads to cleanse it causes redness and slight irritation.
* My skin is high maintenance when it comes to cleansing. Every morning, every night a proper multi step cleansing is necessary. I just can't splash with water or wipe with micellar water, it will show the next day or the same evening. Hello, new clogged pores.
* I've almost stopped picking my skin. At least I pick maybe 1/10 of what I used to. It really helps, the less I touch things, the less the things get inflamed. And now that I have less things to pick, I pick less. In the beginning it was a slow process and I had to ask my fiance to scream at me/guide me out of toilet everytime he thought that I had been there too long...
* Chemical exfoliation... yup. I did, in the end, overexfoliate once! I finally understand what people meant by "shiny skin, like glass", "too smooth, too good to be true". Painful dryness, more acne, some cystic too. BUT THE LESSON ITSELF IS; my skin can't handle a lot of acids/actives. Just no. A couple of times a week is more than enough.
* I feel like my skin is more into vitamin C derivates than AHA, BHA? Granted I've tried only glycolic acids. And betaine salicylate and salicylic acid. (Cosrx BHA caused me something that seemed like an allergic reaction, but The Ordinary's SA Solution is fine?)
* I have realized how sad and bad my skin condition is when I have started to take close up pictures of my face once in a while. They truly highlight everything that you can't see with a naked eye, all the little bumps and scars and pores and broken capillaries, EVERYTHING. I can't even recognize myself in those photos. I should take them more often to follow how my skin is doing but oh my they make me cry so I tend to avoid it, but then later I wish I would have something I could use as a reference.
* I think the left side of my face looks a bit more damaged, as in orange skin texture. It gets irritated quicker than my right side as well, the rash shows up faster and is redder etc. My right side gets more pimples however and is uglier in acne way. I realized that for the last 8 years my desk has been so that my left side is towards the window and the window faces south. (And I never used sunscreen before.) Coincidence?
* When I would get pimples before I just thought "well, this is how it goes, annoying but I hope it will go away soon enough" and "it seems to be a good week, only a couple of pimples, I will put lots of concealer and it'll be fine". However, now when I get a pimple or two I feel dumbfounded: is something wrong with my routine, which product hates me this time, I have done something bad! I immediately start to blame myself. I think too much about my skin, I need to give it a rest.
* However, I've actually had "good skin days" this year. I didn't know before what "glowy" means, but now I've experienced it a couple of times! It is quite thrilling, isn't it? I'm definitely using a lot less foundation and powder and haven't even bought a new concealer. To be honest I can't remember when I last time used primer because sunscreen replaced that step and is good enough.
My skin dislikes
* Saccharomyces?
* Other ferments???
* Alcohol denat. high up in the ingredient list, dries and irritates somewhat
* Sunscreens in general? They always end up clogging my skin or causing other problems
* Rice??? Or just rice ferment?
* Avobenzone, octocrylene? Some chemical sunscreen filter?
* Sodium hyaluronate? Too dry air here?
* Coconut oil and derivates coco-caprylate? Not sure but they've been in products causing cc's
My skin loves
* Tea tree
* Tea?
* Centella asiatica and its variations
* Gentle physical exfoliation, konjac sponge
* Niacinamide
* Squalane
* Rose hip seed oil
* Vitamin C derivates, MAP and AG
Products that I've finished 2017
How many products I used to the end (so not counting the ones that didn't work for me and I had to give away or samples, or the possible things finished in the beginning of the year that I can't remember):
Skincare
Cleansing Oils 1
Cleansers 3
Creams/Lotions/Emulsions 10
Sleeping Masks 1
Oils 1
Eye creams 0
Toners 4
Essences 1
Serums 3
Sunscreens 2
Antioxidants / Vitamin C 1
Exfoliants 0
Chemical exfoliants 0
Masks 0
Treatments (sheetmasks etc) 1
Lips 0
Mists 0
Others 4
* Konjac sponge 4
Samples
Body Wash 4
* The Body Shop Frosted Berries Shower Gel 1
Body / Hand creams 0
Makeup
Primer
Foundation 1
Powder 1
Eyeshadow 0
Mascara 4
* Lumene Star Effect 3
* Lumene Blueberry 1
Eyeliner 0
Lipstick/lipgloss 0
Highlighter 0
Brows 0
Hair
Shampoos 3
* L'oreal Elvital Anti-Breakage Repairing Shampoo 1
* Garnier Fructis Strengthening Shampoo Grow Strong 1
* Head&Shoulders Anti-Dandruff Shampoo Classic Clean 1
Conditioners 2
* L'Oreal Elvital Anti-Breakage Balsam Conditioner 1
* Garnier Fructis Strengthening Conditioner Grow Strong 1
Others
Products that I´m using right now (or testing once in a while)
Skincare
Cleansing Oils
Cleansers
Creams/Lotions/Emulsions
* Tonymoly The Black Tea London Classic Cream
* Dr. Young CentellaSCA Cream
Sleeping Masks
Oils
* Frantsila Tea Tree Oil
* The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil
Eye creams
Toners
* Skin Watchers Pore Control Toner
Essences
* Scinic First Treatment Essence
Serums
* The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin
* The Ordinary Hylauronic Acid 2% + B5
Sunscreens
* La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 Reparing Balm SPF 50
Antioxidants / Vitamin C
* Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%
Exfoliants
Chemical exfoliants
* The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2%
* Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid
* BHA Blackhead Power Liquid
Masks
Treatments (sheetmasks etc)
* The Body Shop Tea Tree Targeted Gel
Lips
* Bepanthen
* Nivea Lip Butter Original
* Nivea Lip Butter Raspberry Rosé
Mists
* Laneige Water Bank Mineral Skin Mist
Others
* Etude House Natural Konjac Face Cleansing Puff
Body Wash
* Palmolive Naturals Camellia Oil & Almond Shower Cream
Body / Hand creams
* The Body Shop Frosted Berries Softening Body Gel-Lotion
* Fair CosmEthics Body Lotion with Fairtrade Brazil Nut Oil
* Kicks Skin Treat Virgin Olive Oil Foot Treatment
Makeup
Primer
Foundation
Powder
Eyeshadow
* Maybelline The Blushed Nudes
* NYX Hot Singles Eyeshadow Whipped Cream
Mascara
* Lumene Star Effect
Eyeliner
* Beauty People 365 Stay Waterproof Brush Pen Eyeliner
* H&M Soft Kajal Eye Pencil Pale Nude
* Isadora Inliner Kajal Satin White
Lipstick/lipgloss
* Tonymoly Perfect Lips Shocking Lip Red
* Illamasque Lava Lips Marbled Lipstick Vixen
* Lumene
Highlighter
* It's Skin It's Top Professional Golden Vanilla
* Lumene Invisible Illumination Instant Illuminizer Midnight Sun
Blush
* Rimmel 3 in 1 Powder Blush Autumn Catwalk
Brows
* Missha Color Wear Browcara
Hair
Shampoos
* L'oreal Elvital Anti-Breakage Repairing Shampoo
Conditioners
* L'Oreal Elvital Anti-Breakage Balsam Conditioner
Others
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| I think the updated packaging for TO's Rose Hip Seed Oil looks clearer and better. |
Products that I tried and gave away or trying to find a purpose for
Gave away
* Too white, now second guessing if I still could have used it under makeup anyway
* Gave me little bumps after using several days in row, now second guessing if I could have used it less and once in a while
* Made my skin dry, gave me acne, cystic too, I do not miss it
Finding purpose
* Maybe will be used as a body wash to get rid of sunscreen next summer
* Body wash, I think
* ??? been opened for a while and I feel bad for giving someone a product that irritated me so... trash? Illuminating foot cream?
* Thinking about slathering my hands in retinoid to keep them wrinkle free too, haha!
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| Lookfantastic Advent Calendar items. |
Products that are waiting to be tested
Might give some of them away, though. Sometimes I go on a shopping spree. I was thinking about my mom when I bought all the Mizon stuff. Funny thing, I didn't know the list would be this long.
Etude House Soon Jung Trial Kit
Etude House 99% Aloe Soothing Gel
Missha Cleansing Puff White Clay
Innisfree Cover Stamping Puff
Rosette Ceramide Gel
Pladerm Dual Sun Cream
Tosowoong Pink Sun Block
The Ordinary Alpha Lipoic Acid 5%
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10%
The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane
Lumene Kirkas Clarity Radiance Boosting Complexion Water
Laneige Water Sleeping Mask
Skinfood Black Sugar Mask Wash Off
Simple Cleansing Micellar Water
Innisfree No Sebum Mineral Powder
Mizon Skin Recovery Night Repair Seruming Ampoule
Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule
Mizon All in One Snail Repair Cream
Mizon Hyaluronic Acid 100 Ampoule
+ Everything in the Lookfantastic Advent Calendar
+ Some oils I just ordered (evening primrose, cucumber, tamanu)
+ Some Deciem Black Friday discount stuff
+ Tosowoong Pure sheet masks
Thoughts of Next Year 2018?
* I don't think 2018 will be as eventful or full of realizations as 2017 but we will see!
* I think I will be more focused and more adventurous at the same time!
* My goal is to not wildly buy everything recommended and try all possible products/ingredients just to "see how I react".
* I do hope I buy less products and especially less those that end up not working for me.
* I hope I have the energy to keep up with the new skincare world I have discovered!
* I hope I can lose some weight and it doesn't affect my skin and hormonal balance too much and it will only have positive results.
Skincare goals:
* Start using retinoids, slowly
* Find eye cream or serum
* Explore more facial oils
* Keep using sunscreen even though the perfect one hasn't appeared yet
* Remember to apply sunscreen more to body as well
* Maybe actually start taking vitamins routinely
* Try to be less rough with my skin, patting easily turns into rubbing...
* Actually start to take care of neck and decollete!
Makeup goals:
* Start using more makeup again, especially eye shadow, eyeliner, liptint/lipstick
* Find products that are easy to apply and last the whole day without fixing
* Find a good setting spray/fix and actually use them
* Learn to do my eyebrows
* Learn to do a little contouring
* Look more presentable in general!
* Change my mascara more often
* Wash my makeup brushes more often
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