My Skincare Routine

As mentioned during my products sweep, here is my skin during the year:

Summer: Very oily
Fall: Oily
Winter: Combination to dry
Spring: Combination to oily


My skincare routine is pretty simple. While it looks like I put a lot of stuff on my face, I don't use all of them during the day. The following is my routine for the fall.

Back row: Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque, Kirkland Daily Facial Wipes
Middle row: Clarisonic Mia, LaRoche Posay Effaclar K Acne Treatment Fluid, Bioderma Sebium H2O, Avene Cleanance Gel
Front row: NeoStrata Smoothing Cream Level 1, Yes to Carrots Moisturizing Eye Cream, Nuxe Masque Doux aux Troix Roses


Here's the breakdown:


Cleansing

Avene Cleanance Gel

Use: Morning, Night

Rating: 10/10

I have been using this cleanser, on and off, since 2006 (5.5 years to be exact). It is extremely refreshing. The first ingredients are Avene thermal water, "regular" water, as well as a surfactant (aka "surface acting agent). The cleanser is so gentle on my skin. Does not leave a stiff sensation after washing my face. Unfortunately, many acne-prone skin products do contain stripping and harsher ingredients. Fortunately, this is not one of those products. It doesn't feel too harsh on my skin in the morning or at night. Very lightly scented - given fragrance is one of the last ingredients, I'm not worried.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser

Use: Night, with Clarisonic

Rating: Used by itself: 4/10, Used with Clarisonic Mia: 10/10

Used by itself, this cleanser is so gentle, it does absolutely nothing to my skin. It's like putting water on my skin. It doesn't remove anything... at all. The reason I chose the dry skin version is because the oily skin version lathers up (and actually does remove makeup). But, given I solely purchased this to be used in conjunction with the Clarisonic Mia, I wanted something creamy/gel-based, which is exactly what this is. Works great with the Mia because it's so gentle and is the exact same consistency as the wash that comes with the Mia.

Clarisonic Mia

Use: Night

Rating: 8/10

The famous, highly-debated Clarisonic. So many discussions. So many imitations. I took the plunge and bought this on The Shopping Channel. Reason I give this an 8/10 is because of it's price. It boggles my mind that this goes for, in Canada, at the time, $189 at Sephora from what I remember. I paid about $160 including taxes and shipping, and also received two bonus brushes and a full size cleanser. Does it remove makeup when you think you've removed everything... YES, absolutely. Is it an exfoliator? No. Please do not get this confused. I only use this maybe twice a week - I feel like using this every night may be a bit harsh for my skin. Maybe during winter time when my skin is dry, but I try to use it after a long night out or an extremely stressful day. Just feels so clean.

Makeup Removal

Bioderma Sebium H2O

Use: Night

Rating: 7/10

I like this a lot - quite gentle, removes makeup, no harsh ingredients. Reason for 8/10 is because it does sting my eyes a bit. I also feel this product has been hyped up a bit too much by bloggers, YouTube, makeup artists, etc. I think it does a decent job, but likely not going to re-purchase it. I still prefer the Vichy 3-in-1 Micellar Cleansing Lotion over this, but I know some may beg to differ. Still a good product, but when you know something else is better out there for you, this just doesn't cut it.

Kirkland Daily Facial Wipes

Use: Night

Rating: 10/10

I gave this a generous 10/10 because I have tried so many cleansing wipes and this one doesn't smell and doesn't irritate my eyes. I use it primarily for my eyes and lips. Unfortunately, I cannot provide a solid rating for its capacity to remove waterproof mascara as I do not use waterproof mascara. The wipes are extremely durable and quite thick. You just can't go wrong.

Creams

LaRoche Posay Effaclar K Acne Treatment Fluid

Use: Day

Rating: 10/10

I absolutely love this product. A few months ago, I may have given this a 6/10 due to its lack of SPF. Over the months, I realized that I may be allergic to SPF. For the mere 10 minutes I spend in the sun in a day, I don't want to add another layer of chemicals on my skin. Now that this is the case, I really love the texture - very light. Again, no abrasive ingredients, but moisturizing enough. This is not a mattifying lotion - LaRoche does have a product for mattifying purposes. This is a great product for maintaining an acne-free face, not so much for dealing with recurring acne. It does contain salicylic acid, which is great (although likely in very small quantities).

NeoStrata Smoothing Cream Level 1

Use: Night

Rating: 9/10

The one point I deducted is due to its slightly sticky finish, which stays as is throughout the night. As I wake up, I feel the cream sliding off my face when I wash my face. Other than that, the second ingredient is glycolic acid. I love how this exfoliates my skin without having to use a more superficial product, such as a scrub with beads. I have been using this for a week and I think I may have found my best friend?! I have reason to believe this has made my skin glow in the past few days. I've actually received compliments after using this for three days. Not sure, but I'm thinking it's this.

Yes to Carrots Moisturizing Eye Cream

Use: Day, Night

Rating: 6/10

There's not much to say about this cream. For $14 for 48g, you get what you pay for. Well, it's relatively moisturizing. It does leave a film-like feeling on my eyes (where I apply it). I've spent $80 on an eye cream with zero results. I'm not too convinced on eye creams - I've yet to find one that's truly moisturizing for my relatively dry eye area. I will continue to use this until it's done. It does the job, but will not re-purchase.

Masques

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque

Use: When required, at night

Rating: 7/10

Again, not much to say about this product. It's a very basic clay masque. Good for using on oily skin, but I would say may be drying on dry skin. I like that tight feeling on my face, so I do like using this if I have a small/sudden eruption. It does have a strong scent to it, hence the name "mint" in the title. I have a feeling the scent is highly artificial and not real menthol, so I am not too afraid of using this product on my skin. No bad side effects for me (knock on wood).

Nuxe Masque Doux aux Troix Roses

Use: Weekly, at night

Rating: 9/10

I love this product, but cannot stand the smell, hence the lack of one point away from perfection! I use this to really just maintain my acne-free skin. I was a bit reluctant to buying  this Nuxe product, or Nuxe at all for that matter. I haven't heard much talk about this line, but the ingredients were decent for a masque - not drying. Also contains kaolin as the second ingredient (clay) and sweet almond oil as the third ingredient, which I adore! The lady at the beauty counter raved about it, so why not?! So far, I am pleasantly surprised. The name of the product is "Gentle masque, with three roses." Based on my ingredients posting earlier, you may notice my newfound hate for rose/rose water in skincare products. The good thing is these rose ingredients are placed all the way at the end - I strongly feel there just isn't enough of it to even possibly cause slight irritation. So far, as mentioned, I am extremely satisfied. Not drying. Doesn't pull. You still feel fresh after. I love it.

That's all... Will gladly update this once I purchase new skincare products.

See you,

SKJ

xox