In the summer, I like to use mud masks to keep acne and oily skin under control. The two masks that I’m using right now are c. Booth Deep Cleansing Volcanic Mud Mask and Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque. I’ve used both of these products for over a year. Since the mint julep mask is really popular and there’s already a lot of reviews on it, I’ll be focusing more on the c. Booth mask for this post.
I use these masks once a week after I shower and wash my face at night. The c. Booth mask is in the form of a dark paste and it dries after 10-15 minutes. Afterward, rinse off the mask using lukewarm water. This mask tightens pores and dries out pimples. It’s effective and not too drying. The mint julep mask has similar functions. Personally, I much prefer the c. Booth mask over the mint julep mask because the mint julep mask tends to irritate my skin sometimes. I have combination skin so I only apply these mud masks to my T-zone. Otherwise, they would dry out my skin too much (especially the mint julep mask). In the winter time, I use these masks less frequently (once every 2 or 3 weeks).
Both masks are very affordable and you can find them at drugstores. Have you tried these masks before? What do you like to use for your summer skin care regiment?
-Karen
Hi everyone! I know the title of this post seems a little out of place because it’s already spring. But my skin still feels very dry lately. Over the past year, my skin type has changed from oily combination to dry combination. If you use Clinique skin care products, it’s basically from type 3 to type 2. I think this change is mainly due to the fact that I take better care of my skin (using more gentle products) and teenage hormones are no longer tormenting me now that I’m in my 20s. lol Today I’m going to show you guys what I do for my evening skin care routine during those dry months.
I use these products in the following order:
1. Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System: I bought this device recently and I’ve been using it once a day at night in the shower. It does a great job of exfoliating my skin by getting rid of dry patches, even out the skin surface, etc. It’s becoming a permanent part of my skin care routine now.
2. Clinique Liquid Soap: Actually, I use the St. Ives Green Tea Cleanser at night but the bottle tends to spill when I travel so I put it in another container. I put my morning cleanser here for picture purposes :) Any gentle gel/cream cleanser would work with the Olay system. I would not use a scrub with this system unless the microbeads are super small like in the Olay Pro-X Exfoliating Renewal Cleanser and Clinique Exfoliating Scrub.
3. My Beauty Diary Mask (Black Pearl): This is a great sheet mask for winter because it’s very hydrating and it’s an easy way to pamper yourself after a rough day. I like to use it once or twice a week. I used to be too lazy to apply this mask because there’s A LOT of essence in each packet and it gets kinda messy. But I finally learned a better way of using this product.
4. Clinique Acne Treatment Gel: Like I mentioned before, I honest don’t know what I’d do without this product. This is one of those holy grail skin care products for me. After cleansing (or sometimes after applying toner), I dab this gel onto my active breakouts to keep them under control. It contains salicylic acid and it basically dries up the pimple. I love the fact that this product works very well but sometimes it can be overly drying and make my skin flakey. That’s where the next step comes into play.
5. Olay Age Defying Daily Renewal Cream: If you were to ask me to apply a cream on my face 5 years ago, I definitely would not agree. Face creams used to break me out and I only used lotions back then because they were so much thinner. Now, I use an Olay cream at night and an Olay lotion during the day. It’s very important to moisturize the parts where I applied my acne spot treatment to prevent my skin for flaking.
7. Clinique Repairwear Intensive Eye Cream: I started incorporating night cream into my skin care routine almost a year ago. It’s never too early to prevent aging! I like this eye cream because it’s very moisturizing and not greasy at all. I get some product onto my ring finger and massage my eyelids gently in circular motion. Our ring fingers are our weakest fingers so we don’t apply too much force to the most sensitive part of our faces.
8. Beauty Rush Lip Balm: This is a very moisturizing lip balm. I generally only use it at night because it does not contain SPF and the packaging isn’t very convenient. I just don’t like dipping a dirty finger into the jar and then touching my lips with it. Too germaphobic for that…heh Plus the residue on the finger is sticky so I always need to use a tissue or wash my hands after application. Other than that, it’s great because it feels more like a lip butter than a lip balm.
Final note on toner: I realize that I didn’t include toner in my routine. I used to use one right after cleansing my face. But recently, I find it more effective if I wipe my face with toner right before I go to bed. I generally take showers kind of early so my hair can air dry before sleeping. By the time I go to bed, my skin is oily again. I prefer to get rid of the oil before I go to sleep.
Phew, this post turned out to be much longer than expected! Thanks for reading!! Let me know if you’d like to share your evening skin care routine :)
-Karen
Hello everyone! Today I’m going to talk about my daily skin care regiment. Although my regiment is constantly changing (I like to change my cleansers every once in a while so my skin doesn’t get used to them), there are some staple items. I have a different regiment for morning and night and almost all the products are included in the picture below.
Morning:
Night:
Others:
Out of all the items listed above, there’s a few that I consider as my absolute favorites. I’ll talk about 3 of them today.
Clinique Acne Solution Spot Healing Gel: If you are looking for an effective spot-treatment for acne, this is a great product. I’ve tried other spot-treatments but I always end up coming back to this one. It contains salicylic acid as the acne medication. Apply it twice a day (or more if needed) after you wash your face and before you put on moisturizer. It can be a bit drying especially during the winter. Make sure you use a good moisturizer to prevent your skin from flaking.
Olay Complete Lotion for Sensitive Skin: I’ve been using this product as my daytime lotion for almost 7 years. If you have combination/oily skin and is afraid that your moisturizer will cause breakout, this is a great product to try. The lotion feels very light on the skin and it does not have a fragrance. Since it’s only SPF 15, I suggest using additional facial sunblock or foundation/BB cream that contains sunscreen on top of the lotion.
My Beauty Diary Facial Mask (Black Pearl): I got this product a couple of months ago and I’ve been loving it so far. Each packet contains a sheet mask submerged in lots of serum. This is a great mask for hydrating your skin in the winter. Every time my face experiences wind damage, I always use this mask to rehydrate my skin. Since each packet contains a lot of serum, I suggest squeezing the excess serum to the bottom of the packet before removing the mask. You can add a new sheet mask and soak it with the leftover serum or simply apply the serum on your skin the next day. The instructions say leave the mask on your skin for 30 minutes before taking it off. The mask will not dry completely after 30 minutes. Once you take off the mask, rub the remaining serum all over the skin to help with absorption.
If you have questions about any of the products mentioned in this entry, feel free to leave a comment below. Take care!
-Karen
