Skincare Life Lessons for Acne

Hey guys, I know I've been very absent, but I was going through a bout of skin depression so I decided to just abstain. I don't know how many people have gone through a phase where they were so ashamed of their skin that it hindered their social life, but it's a phase that I've gone through and am trying to snap out of. I firmly believe that social life and development of any person completely trumps skin woes but trying to find the confidence to get past it is hard. One thought that gets me through is that nobody really notices because let's face it, if you have bad skin, you've probably had bad skin for a while and people are used to it by now. Besides, people are talking to you and your brain, not your skin. Also, 95% of people (family excluded of course, we all know what those loving comments are like) of the minute percentage who notice will be too polite to mention it. And we all know ignorance is bliss, no?

Anyway, moving past the psych to the physical. These pointers are what has personally helped me get rid of 90% of my active acne and I really really wish I had known all these 8 years ago when my acne bloomed. So no matter if you're a pre-pubescent hormonal teen, or 25 and struggling with adult acne, just hear me out because it can't hurt, can it?

1. Face the reality of YOUR type of skin. Stop reading and believing everything those beautiful bloggers with gorgeous skin write about, look for a reliable community of people in a similar situation to consult with instead
I admit, I am a die hard blogger fan. After all, I'm trying to write one myself. But face reality with me and see that bloggers are special people who have very hardy skin. Not everyone can try out so many products and barely have adverse reactions. You and I, with the acne face, are not one of this special group. To still get the products!favourites!routine! fix, look for communities such as r/skincareaddiction or r/asianbeauty which are full of great advice actually backed by science, not just anecdotal advise partially influenced by sponsorships. It's wonderful to know you're not the only one out there and when people post before and afters, it just puts so much hope back into the world.


2. Stop buying into bullshit product claims (pending patent xxx ingredient!) and learn to read and understand ingredient labels
How many times have you been suckered into a product just because it claims to "get rid of acne in just 10 days!" simply because you were desperate looking for the next "the one magical unicorn product"?

Learning to read ingredient lists is one of the best things I did because I could actually be somewhat able to find out whether the claims can be fulfilled and which ingredients were actually good. For example,  if a product that claims to whiten, brighten with vitamin c (listed as ascorbic acid, or xx ascorbyl if it's a more stable derivative) has it listed as the first item in the ingredients list, then it's a winner. If it's way down, put that product back down! I always try to buy products with the "active" ingredients high up in the ingredient list rather than having just plain ol' water and alcohol denat. making up the bulk of the product.


3. Know your sensitivities to ingredients
It's hard to know what products you're sensitive to when you have faceful of bumps. After all, if new bumps appear, they just blend into the many.

I only recommend the following routine because I don't have the balls to go entirely without products. This routine encourages proper cleansing and hydration only. It may not sound like a legit way of doing things, but try it.

- oil cleanse to remove makeup (I highly recommend the asian oils that emulsify with water rather than to remove oil with a washcloth)
- gentle soap (try those derm recommended/formulated types such as cerave, cetaphil, physiogel etc.)
- sheet mask, preferably in the healing or calming variety. Don't apply moisturizer because the sheet mask should be sufficient.
- Spot treat with your choice of treatment that works for you. Benzoyl Peroxide seems to work better than salicylic acid/tea tree oil/niacinamide/sulphur for me, but might be different for you.

Try this routine for a week or 2 and hopefully things calm down (an exception would be if your acne was hormonal - in this case please see a derm).

Now it's time to add other products back into the routine. It should be easier to tell which cause bumps and which don't because the face is clearer. Ingredients to look out for would be cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, coconut oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride (coconut oil derivative). I myself am sensitive to the fatty alcohols (cetyl, stearyl and cetearyl) and lanolin, which are very commonly found in creamy moisturizers/washes, even in those formulated by dematologists. Even my prescription cream had it, so no wonder I was still breaking out! >:(  This list is by no means exhaustive, but I've found that running the products through cosdna.com and seeing which ingredients brings up an acne rating is a good start to identify acne-causing ingredients.

There is no choice but to go through this trial and error experiment to identify which products and eventually which ingredients are the cause of clogged pores or acne.

r/skincareaddiction recommends patch testing, meaning to test on a small portion of the face for about a week before applying to the entire face. This way, should you break out, you'll only break out in a small portion rather than all over. Patch testing is for people with extremely good self control in my opinion, I'm of the slather it all over immediately and hope for the best variety. PATCH TEST!!!!


4. Stick with it
I am just about the most fickle and impatient person on this earth. I like things to happen IMMEDIATELY. Naturally, when the new "unicorn product" doesn't work overnight, I'm off the next day looking for the "rainbow unicorn product". Just, NO. If it's not causing more acne, stick with it, stick with it, stick with it, because if it's not causing more acne, there no longer is an irritant in your routine and the rest of the acne will slowly diminish. Then you will be faced with the problems of the aftermath of acne rather than acne. New problems, but better problems hopefully?


5. Don't overdo it
The product is working, LET'S PUT/DO MORE OF IT!!! Worst compulsion ever. This is for products with actives in it. Liquid exfoliators (AHAs and BHAs) or in other words glycolic acid, mandelic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, fruit enzymes. Retin-A or Tretinoin. Derma-rolling. Even physical exfoliation such as scrubs or brushes. If it works with the current frequency that you're doing it, just keep it simple and keep at it. Over doing it could cause damage to the skin barrier and result in hyper sensitive skin that reacts badly (I'm talking flaking, redness, dehydrated skin or even rashes) and who would want that right after getting rid of acne?! I learnt this the hard way. Don't be too enthusiastic.


I think that's enough of this great wall of text. I genuinely hope this advice will help someone out there, and if you do try this out do let me know how it goes!

Oops! I (popped a pimple) Did It Again

All through my adolescent, pubescent years, I've been told that I would some day grow out of my acne. Let me tell you, those bitches be lying. At least for the very unlucky few of us, that is. Though I seldom get a throbbing pus filled pimple nowadays, I have been trained by years and years of re-occurring acneface and itchy fingers. I have the recovery method pretty much perfected.

First step upon discovery of pimple, especially if it has no head. Not tea tree oil (I find that just dries out the area like crazy and makes my pimple look like a scab with a pimple underneath, not a pleasant sight), not benzoyl peroxide, but simply to slap a clay mask on it. My favourites are the Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask and the Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask. Leave this on for as long as you can and it will bring the pimple to a head. If you're lucky, the pimple will just disappear on its on.

When the pimple pops very satisfyingly, cleanse/disinfect area and put some salicylic acid on. My go-tos are the Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid and the Stridex Maximum Strength Pads. Important -  Don't put anything on after the salicylic acid for about 20-30min because the salicylic acid requires the correct PH to work and you don't want to change that by applying anything else. The salicylic acid is supposed to eat up the oil inside the pore and cleanse the inside of the pore.

This step is optional, but it speeds the healing process up by days. Nexcare acne patches are my superstar. Put a Nexcare patch on top of the pimple and it acts like a vacuum and absorbs all the nastynasty out. It's a little yellow translucent sticker, and when it's sucked out all the junk, the centre of it turns an opaque white colour. Strangely satisfying to see. Pimple will be clean and flat and proceed to turn into a scab in the day.

To speed up the healing process, either a healing oil like Tamanu Oil or simple Aloe Vera Gel (better if fresh from the leaf if you're lucky enough to possess a plant) applied twice daily.

Avada Kedavra Pimple. There you have it, pimple vanquishing in a single night, and ready to face the weekend. 

Acne Scarring Helpers

When my face freaked out and left me with a disgusting amount of scarring 3 months ago, I hauled my ass to the derm and was prescribed maximum strength products, both topical and oral. My scars faded some and the acne cleared up on most of my face except for my forehead. I'm freaking 24 and i should not have acne! Damn you, hormones! The oral medication was obviously not working (and to rub salt in the wound, made me gain weight) so I sought out a more holistic cure in liver supplements. I chose liver supplements over more typical acne supplements because all the signs of my health as well as where the acne appeared pointed to my liver not functioning too well. I am happy to say that 2 weeks into those supplements, I can see my forehead acne receding!!! Now I can get to work proper on the scarring.

First things first, I believe strongly that skin needs to be healthy in order for it to heal. That means that dehydrated skin or dry skin heals much slower and my skin was definitely dehydrated due to the derm's products. Though I followed her instructions on using the blemish cream less often, I still had dehydrated skin and she would not give me more advice. So again, I had to take matters into my own hands and added these products into my skincare regime.

1. L'oreal Youth Code Pre-Essence
After cleansing and toning, this should be the first product to be applied. Read my review here. This was a repurchase - I really love the way this feels on the skin, and how quickly it absorbs. The pre-essence really does boost the effects of the products used after and I will use this for as long as my skin reacts well to this.

2. Hada Labo Arbutin Whitening Lotion
I then put on this lotion for added hydration. I'm a long time user of the Hada Labo lotions (whether normal or whitening) and when I cut it out of my routine to use the derm's products, my skin really missed it. I'm using the arbutin lotion now for a scar-fading and hydration boost.

3. Morningstar Minerals Derma Boost Rejuvenating Spray Mist
After the lotion, which contains hyaluronic acid that absorbs water, I like to spray anything that has water content on my face. I mean, that is the point of the lotion right? I like the Renew Rosehip Toner, but I've since finished that and using the Derma Boost. It's very refreshing and I'm hoping to see better skin using this product.

4. Kitoko Kalani Super Aqua Gel
You're probably getting very sick of all the hydrating products, but I promise you, all these are extremely light on the skin. The Aqua Gel melts into a water on the skin, some patting and all of the product is just absorbed straight into the skin and you should be looking at extremely plumped up skin right now. I consider this the 'primed' skin for absorption of all other 'aiding' products and this is where I start to apply the brightening products given to me by my derm.

5. Hiruscar Post Acne
I have run out of the products (from my derm) that specifically targets the scars. They were also getting rather expensive for me to repurchase (~$100 a month!!!) so... I'm rather glad to say that Hiruscar is working for me, albeit quite slowly. The great thing is that Hiruscar absorbs into the skin and leaves no residue, even under makeup. It's also quite moisturizing! With this, I see the scars slowly evening out - while I say slowly, I find that the difference is evident each morning. Or maybe my eyes are just trying to trick me into being happier.

6. Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief
To seal it all off, I finish with the Clinique Moisture Surge to seal all the products in. I usually only use this at night, and only on dehydrated areas which for me are my forehead and cheeks. This is extremely hydrating, but also has a rather silicony finish which I'm not that big a fan of. It works though, which is what matters! This step is really not necessary unless you have really dehydrated skin or sleep in an extremely dry room.

So there you have it! My insanely long routine to keep my skin hydrated and in turn help my scars fade faster. If you're like me and much prefer water-based products over oil-based products, then layering is really the way to go! You have my word that all these products will feel like practically nothing on your skin. The only thing your skin will feel is super refreshed!

Weekly Favourites #7

Ah monday blues how I do not like you. As I've been mentioning, I'm trying to curb the spending habit so I've dug through my stash for some oldies but goodies.

Turns out my medication helped most of my face but nicely avoided my forehead. My forehead is a cyclical disaster area for comedones. When I realised that the medication wasn't working, I went to the root of the problem - blackheads. I've been using the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque quite excessively (every other day) to try to minimize the blackheads. This really works at deep cleansing the skin and ridding all the excess sebum. The Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion stops the comedones from getting inflamed. I used to think the lotion was for under the skin pimples/cysts, but it seems to be working on comedones too. The pair have been working quite well together, enough for me to see steady improvement. My only worry is that I'm drying out the skin but we'll see how that goes.

My love for pinks have fizzled and I've gone orange. My outdoor cheeks have been adorned with the Barry M Blusher in Orange. Honestly, the neon orange scared me at first, but all I need is a little on my cheeks for some life. Since this blush is matte, the NYX Mosaic Blush in Highlighter pops on the subtlest of glows. On the cheeks, nose bridge, cupid's bow, eyebrows, inner tear duct... I probably overuse it. No glitter or sparkles, only a pearly sheen.

My new purchase of the Maybelline Mineral Concealer in 02 Medium was an old favourite 5 years ago and I've rediscovered why. I feel like this has a new formula that's slightly more slippery, but just dabbed on, stippled out with a powder brush and medium to high coverage, easy peasy. My face has never gone on faster. This has been a godsend for my forehead.

The boy has always said eyeliner ages me so I've been ditching the eyeliner in favour of the Maybelline Magnum Volum' Express Ultracomb for school days (Y'know, to try to blend in with the 19 year olds, who am I kidding). This varies from the version with the normal brush as the effect is much more natural. Wouldn't say it gives my lashes that much more volume but I tend to favour lashes that actually look like lashes. 2 coats, definitely waterproofed it's way through a sweaty gym session hour.

Anyone shares the same favourites as me? What are yours? Have a good start to the week!

Empties 2012

Hello lovelies! Hope everyone had a good new year's celebration! Mine was nice and peaceful! I've been MIA for quite some time, but I'm here now! 

This is a post I want to do first because I've been accumulating all these things and I'm quick running out of space and I need to do a spring clean pretty soon. So here are my empties of 2012 or actually, since I decided that I wanted to do an empties post, so it's actually only a few months of 2012

First off, perfumes. I... have varied tastes in perfume. From L-R: Charme by La Perla, Chance by Chanel and Paris Hilton by Paris Hilton. Please don't judge me for using Paris Hilton.

Charme: This was love at first smell. I had to get it. Didn't help that it wasn't too expensive as well. Can't seem to find it anywhere now though! Will repurchase if I chance upon it again.

Chance: I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. I've been hinting to everyone in my family to get it for me at the airport (this perfume was first passed to me by Mom) and everyone has been steadfastly ignoring me. Too pricey for me to afford at this moment in time T_T But I will definitely get it when I can finally afford it.

Paris Hilton: Was somewhere in the US of A in a perfume shop and asked if they had anything similar to DKNY apple. This was recommended and cheap to boot so I got it. Grew on me after a while and it's really quite fresh and not too sweet smelling (I'm no smell connoisseur). Not sure if I will repurchase. If the price is right I guess.

The trend here seems to be that I'm a cheapo....

 

Makeup items that I've finished. I find it extremely extremely hard to finish anything. So here's the item that I use the most, that is, eyeliners! I have also finished a Shu Uemura foundation but I happily threw that bottle away. That foundation holds the record for the first make up anything that I've finished. Anyway, L-R: H&M Liquid Eyeliner, L'oreal Super Liner, K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner 24hr and Rimmel Exaggerate Waterproof Eyeliner.

H&M Liquid Eyeliner: Decent liner for the price but there are better ones out there. I've also realised that the ink turns grey(?) when it's running out.

L'oreal Super Liner: This was a free gift with purchase. Pretty decent, does flake but minimally. I used this till the felt tip went soft and it felt icky to apply. I've recently purchased a similar product - L'oreal Superliner Black Laquer and the brush was soft so I'm not sure if the brush was supposed to be hard or soft in the first place :S

K-Palette: Read my rave review linked above. Tends to be hard to apply when the ink is running out though. Will repurchase but only after I've tried similar products.

Rimmel: This has been by go to pencil liner for quite a few years and I actually bought a backup. It was great all through the first pencil, very minimal smudging and transfer, I loved it. Now I'm on my 2nd pencil and it smudges everywhere so I really don't know what to think ): Will not repurchase anymore. 

Makeup removers L-R: Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Make-up Remover and Mandom Bright Up Cleansing Lotion. I have also finished the Bifesta Cleansing Express but lost the bottle. 

Hada Labo/Bifesta Cleansing Express: Water-based remover, though it was quite heavy, almost like an oil. Stung my eyes but removed make up well without drying out the skin. 

Bifesta Cleansing Lotion: I really do like this cleansing lotion range because I can remove my make up in my room. For the cleansers that require me to wash my face I tend to be lazy and remove my make up prior to showering. The only bad thing about this lotion is that I finish it so fast and I use up my cotton pads really fast too which I don't find sustainable. I will definitely keep a bottle of this concurrent with an oil/oil-feel-but-water-based type of cleanser for lazy days.

The only thing about these cleansers that annoy me is their price point. At nearly $15 or >$15 each, they are extremely expensive and more than twice the price of the Kracie one I'm trying out now. I do really like them though. Such a dilemma *twiddle thumbs*. 

Acne saving products from L-R: Mario Badescu Silver Powder, Benzac AC 10, Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner. Please don't judge me from the sad sad sad state of my products.

Mario Badescu Silver Powder: What I like about this powder is that it is entirely natural with only 3 ingredients so it doesn't irritate the face other than drying it out. It really does work wonders when used after a hot bath and before a pore pack (it really pulls all the shit to the surface of the face!). Used over time, my face did feel less clogged and smoother. The ONE big nuisance about this powder is that when it dries, it flies off my face and before I know it my entire table top/pjs is covered in fine white powder. Other than that, A+ for this product and I'm on my back up now. 

Benzac AC: This worked for me for quite a while, then my skin became quite sensitive so I only used it on huge pimples. It works best on large pimples and can get them flat overnight. I have switched to the 5% one now but my skin is still too sensitive so again, only large pimples but even then, my skin does get red in areas that I've applied it. The only exception to that is my forehead where I'm currently using it in a thin layer. Will not repurchase after I finish the tube.

Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner: Blogged about this before, it's ace. It refines pores, cleanses the face spotless, and even removes make up. I have repurchased this and will continue doing so.

Cute little tubs of skincare from L-R: Laneige Sleeping Pack, Hada Labo Moisturing Cream, My Beauty Diary Rose and White Peony Sleep Concentrate.

Laneige Sleeping Pack: I have 4 of these simply because they are sample packs and came in 4s to match the retail size. Bought from gmarket. I quite like these and my face feels nice and refreshed and plump when I use it. My face isn't too oily in the morning either. Does take a while to sink into the skin though. I also like it as a thin layer as morning moisturizer. I will repurchase this when I run out. 

Hado Labo Moisturizer: This product is quite blah. Though it is moisturizing, it's also sticky and I don't like that on my face. For people who don't mind night products that are sticky, it does work quite well, especially for a water based product, in keeping the face hydrated. I won't repurchase this because I really don't like sticky things that sit on my face.

My Beauty Diary: This product claims to deeply hydrate and brighten. I really really like the texture of this sleeping pack. It soaks into the skin so fast, no matter how thick a layer I put. My skin loved it. It also smells heavenly. For people who don't like fragrance, too bad! I did find that my skin did look brighter when I used this mask, but moisture-wise, this wasn't that great. It also can't be used in the morning under make-up because it flakes off/rolls off in tiny pieces. I found that this mask is great to rejuvenate the skin in the day, then wiped off with toner. I would repurchase it if it wasn't like $20... just because I go through it so fast. Buy it in Hong Kong (I assume) or Taiwan where it's really cheap, like under $10 cheap.

Miscellaneous skincare clockwise L-R: Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream, Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Aqualabel Brightening White EX, Hada Labo Retinol Essence

Estee Lauder Eye Cream: I love this, it is all I could ask for in an eye cream (apart from helping with dark circles mine can't be saved) I would buy it if I can afford it but I can only afford it during extreme sales. 'Nuff said. 

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair: I like the texture of this but could not really tell from such a small bottle. Very moisturizing so it was good for dry/oily combo skin like mine. It's something that I would buy when I'm tired of layering skincare and want to whittle my routine down to like, 2 or 3 products. Not yet though...not yet. 

Aqualable Brightening White EX: I finished 2 bottles of this. It's so refreshing on the face it's addictive. Need to use for an extended period of time before brightening results/fading of scars can be seen though. I've decided it's not effective enough to buy a 3rd bottle. 

Hada Labo Retinol Essence: Bought this because I feared wrinkles and I have an *ahem* matured face and was hoping to slow that down so I can look young for longer. I don't have wrinkles so I cannot tell whether this product worked -.- . Texture is nice but sticky. Will not repurchase... yet. I hope I don't get wrinkles for at least 3 decades more (cross fingers). 

So that rounds off the empties reviews I hope it helps some people in striking off some items in their WANT list and hopefully not add too many to that list. Feel free to ask me to elaborate as I've tried to keep each "review" short (though I tend to ramble, I know), or let me know what you think of the products too, maybe? 

Have a good start of year everybutty! <3

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash

Hi Guys! I'm sorry for the long break ( I do tend to do this a lot don't I). I've had some old friends just come back so doing plenty of entertaining... and catching up on sleep. Boy am I tired out, I don't even feel like 23 anymore. 

Because I didn't have time to take photos, I've decided to review something that does not require pictures of my bigass face. That is the Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash! Prior to this, I was using the Biore Marshmallow Whip Face Wash due to the influence of many bloggers in Singapore (damn...too naive...sucker..., will probably do a review soon on that), and it was just... meh. Wasn't doing much for me. 

Back in Sweden I used Neutrogena face wash, scrub and mask (because it was the cheapest) and I really liked the range. So I decided to get this Acne line here in Singapore. I think it was just over SGD$10, pretty decent imo, cheaper than the Biore rubbish anyway. 

The bottle comes with a pump which I like over squeezing stuff out of bottles. It seems to be a generic pump however, and not designed specifically for usage of this face wash because one pump of face wash is wayyyyyy too much to wash just your face. So be cautioned. 

The texture of the liquid is between a gel and a liquid, almost like the Bodyshop shower gels. Anyway, the texture is nothing special.

Upon cleansing, I find that this removes plenty. It removes make up quite thoroughly, though I still would suggest using a separate make up remover as I've seen the horrors of what improper cleansing can do. Also, it contains 2% salicylic acid to treat acne. Even though it's 2%, it's only a face wash so that probably won't do much for severe acne. What I find it does is that every time I use this wash, I find the dry skin on my healing acne coming off, so it performs well as a mild exfoliater. 

What I like to do during my shower is to use this as a form of a mask. Technically it's too liquid to do that but before I shampoo and soap, I like to put some of this on my face first to let the salicylic acid do more work. Then after shampooing and soaping, if most of it is on my face, I'll just lather it up and rinse everything off.

After cleansing my face feels soft and not tight or dry as when I used the Biore wash. It also feels extremely clean. 

I have dry skin but oily skin on my cheeks. I don't really know how to describe it, but when it's dry, I am able to see my pores, and my pores seem to have some form of clog, or it might just be a hair follicle. Beats me. But when I moisturize well enough, these pores disappear. So I honestly do not know whether those things are good or bad. But! After about using this wash for a week, those pores seem to be less drastic. So maybe the clogs are being exfoliated by this cleanser? You be the judge!

I have nothing bad to say about this cleanser, except that people without acne may not like it. If you have dry skin, then please, do not be kiasu (greedy?) and try this, it will do more harm than good. My review is from the point of view of someone with oily and dry skin with current acne and acne scarring, so please do take that into account! 

Summary:

Pros:

- inexpensive

- has a pump

- 2% salicylic acid that helps with mild exfoliation

- removes makeup and dirt very thoroughly

- seems to lessen clogged pores 

- face feels clean yet not tight and dry after washing

Cons:

- pump is generic pump; one pump is too much cleanser

- only for people with acne prone skin, may be too harsh on normal skin

Introduction

Hi everyone. I'm Val. I'm currently an Architecture student from Singapore with a slight obsession with buying the makeup that I can afford. Between buying materials, paying for printing and makeup, I'm perpetually broke. But that's besides the point. 

*Warning, big rant in coming 2 paragraphs, read only if interested.

I like to surf makeup blogs in my spare time. I also like to google swatches of things that I might never even get (hands up I'm sure I'm not alone in this) . This blog was born because of my general unhappiness at the state of make up blogs. I believe in a thorough review, and I appreciate someone who can write an informative review. I am tired of going through blogs who claim to review products, and then swipe a picture from the internet with no actual usage of the product. I am tired of having to go through archives to find out what shade the blogger is. A picture is never accurate especially with foundations/concealers because lighting changes the colour of skin! I want to read a blog that I can trust. I do not want to read a blog where I can only assume the blogger has tried a product out, and for an unknown amount of time because that only wastes my time. I appreciate short reviews for what they are, but as I have claimed previously, to come across a thorough review is rare.

Also, I cannot, for the life of me, understand swatches. Maybe because there are less Asian makeup blogs, or maybe, it's just that there are few Asians who are as tanned as me. Or maybe, i just cannot guesstimate colour. The reasons that will forever remain mysterious to me have driven me to try to compile a series of skin tones, and to show them in comparison with my skin tone as well as the swatch. I give the example of a ruler. Without a ruler, we will never know the true length of our noses, we can only give a good guess. If that ruler is present alongside the face, not will we know how long our noses are, we know how far it is from the tip of our head or our chin. Hence, even if the swatch is just on my skin, I find having other skintones available help me out greatly is guesstimating how many shades darker or lighter I would have to go with that particular cosmetic product.

*End of rant.

All unhappiness aside, my discontent has driven me to want to do something to counter what I feel is lacking, and I will, to the best of my ability and resources, try to achieve a certain standard of integrity and thoroughness in my writing.

I have a long (as a percentage of my life) history with make up. That would be just about 8 out of my almost 23 years of life. I blame my Mom. She introduced THE EYELINER to me. Ever since then, she has persistently nagged me to use eyeshadow, and I have consistently refused. The eyeliner is my first love. 

Somehow somewhere, nobody in my life breached the topic of good makeup removal. I suffered horribly for my negligence, and broke out horribly. It might've partially been due to stress and other factors, but my negligence exacerbated it. I have had acne and scarring for a good 4 years. I saw a doctor for 3 out of those 4 years and tried everything, but this DARNED skin refused to cooperate with me until I started Accutane. So very slowly, my acne and cysts(oh lord I hate cysts) started to subside and my scars started to fade. Till today(I'm still on a low dosage of Accutane, have taken it for a year), I'm still waiting for some cysts to subside. Hold on a minute before passing judgement to say that "oh her skin can't be that bad". I have pictures from 2011. Small to not scare the living daylights out of you. Pissed because... Well who wouldn't be pissed off with skin like that.

My skin is much better now but that aside, I have developed some skills (I hope) in covering up scarring and meanwhile, also learnt how to curb acne on my sensitive skin which tends to get irritated using creams like Retin A and Benzoyl Peroxide (I blame the eczema!!!!). Also, I find that just putting foundation/concealer alone is half assed (because who doesn't like flushed cheeks and bigger eyes!), and have also developed a terrible obsession with pretty much everything except eyeshadow (in defiance of my ma?).

So this is my story, and to put a face to it, this is me trying not to look greedy as I drink my coffee.

Thanks for reading!