My Skincare Routine

As a part of the beauty series assigned by one of my classes in uni, I wanted to share a bit of my skincare routine.

FYI about my skin condition: a graveyard of acne scars. Luckily, now I never had any major breakouts, only normal hormonal ones. The scars tho. Huge pores. Super oily on the T-zone and have a tendency to dry out in several places.

I started getting my skincare game up on the early, second year of uni. I KNOW, IT'S SO BAD. I was 19. Could've started sooner? Before, I used to just wash my face with a foaming (!!!) wash and put makeup straight away, skipping SPF (I still cringe...) and when I'm done with the day, I wiped my face off with micellar water, re-strip my natural oils with a foaming wash, and put my Hiruscar as my scar treatment. 

I have had experiences with dermatologist since I'm 12. I started having major acne problems during my youth. Let's just say, my perfect skin was inexistent when I needed them the most (angsty teenage years where you want to get cute boys AND good grades). Lets just say dermatologists in Indonesia have the tendency to rip us off and giving their own concoction that resulted in an addiction, and once I stopped using them, things got worse. As I get older, I just want to use the over-the-counter ones that didn't give me double acne breakout when I switch or left them out of boredom. 

P.S. I'm not generalising; I believe there are great dermatologist out there in Jakarta. I just haven't found them, and have decided to spend zero energy testing them one by one. If you have one that works great, then awesome. If it works, why bother fixing them?

Let's start.

AM Routine

Cleanser : The Body Shop Chamomile Cleansing Butter. It has a balmy texture that takes off everything, from foundation to bulletproof eyeliner to stubborn mascara. I use it mainly because I hate the 'pulling' effect foaming wash gave you. For some people it can feel quite heavy in the morning, but I really like the moisturised feel I get after I cleanse with this.

Toner : I use Hada Labo Shirojyun Clear Lotion. It supposed to lighten your skin, so I was hoping that it will light my skin up too. I notice that my skin is much more lighter, but the acne scars don't really fade with this.

Treatment : Hiruscar Post Acne. I 100% credit Elin Ivana for this. It doesn't really improve my dark marks, but it does wonders on my skin texture. I have used this for almost 3 years now. It doesn't make my skin perfect, but it definitely plays a part on improving it.

Moisturiser : Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst or Benefit Cosmetics Total Moisture Facial Cream depending on what mood am I in. The Clinique is very very light while the Benefit one can get a bit heavy. Sometimes I get dry patches on around the nose and cheek and both are a life saver. Benefit one is very scented though, but it's fairly relaxing.

SPF : I used to use Biore UV Aqua Rich. It's awesome. Light, non-greasy. Protection wise, it's 50 with PA+++. But since it's getting harder and harder to find it, I use Skin Aqua Moisture Milk SPF 50+ PA+++. It's much greasier and leave my skin oily, but very good if you're putting it on your body.

PM Routine

1. Micellar water : Bioderma Hydrabio (blue top, clear water). I used to use Sebium (green top, blue water) but it leave my skin feeling tingly and a bit uncomfortable. Hydrabio is perfect.

2. First cleanser: same as above. The Body Shop Chamomile Cleansing Butter thingy.

3. Second cleanser: The Bath Box Goat Milk liquid soap with no scent. Smells awful, but works well for keeping acne in bay.

4. Booster : Kiehl's Iris Extract Activating Essence. Do I need it? Probably not. But its claim that boost/activate/help things works better over it sold me.

5. Retinol : Only twice a week. Getting into retinols was kinda scary. I'm only 20 when I started, but cannot deal with the amount of scars I have. Initial breakout happens but nothing major. I can confidently say my skin is better now. I use Paula's Choice 1% Retinol only in my troubled areas.

6. Essence : Sarange Phyto Whitening Essence. To further help the retinol lighten my scars. Korean. I don't really like Korean skincare, but my Mom said it doesn't work for her and it might work for me since I have 'younger' skin. But I think it helps, my skin is much lighter than before, but probably since my 'cocktail' is full of brightening agents as well. It's light in texture.

7. Moisturizer : same as above. Usually at night, I use the Benefit one as it's really seals everything.

8. Eye cream : My OG eye cream, Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eyes. I suffer from darkness but not puffiness. This is bomb. I can totally see a difference after I pull an all nighter for a 5000 words essay.

9. Facial oil : Even though I'm oily, I cleanse with a balm and topped off my skincare opera with an oil. Oily people shouldn't be afraid of facial oils. They're cool. I use Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. If I had to choose this and the eye cream, I choose the eye cream more. But this seal everything nicely and I can actually wake up with better skin. 

Haven't achieve that flawless skin yet, but we're going there.