The Retinoid Diaries: Taking a Hiatus After Day 3

The more I document my skincare habits, the more I realize the stupid things I put myself.

Point and case, I was sick on Day 3 of Tazorac, but I still went through with it all. Even though I noticed that my face stung whenever I put ANYTHING on it. ANYTHING. I blamed my chaffed nostrils, but what would that have to do with the apples of my cheeks? Nothing. Just nothing.

Oh, my chosen stupidity.

Then, on Saturday, I did it again.

I washed my face, took care of everything and then I put on sunscreen less than an hour before I went to take an intensive exercise dance class.

Not only was I sweating, but my sunscreen was going into my pores and my face felt like it was on fire! It looked like I had a minor sunburn after the class ended, but it felt much worse than that!

Again, stupid me, for using a nice smelling sunscreen instead of my usual two-in-one SPF moisturizer.

My face was on fire, my nostrils are peeling rice paper like flakes, my lips are chaps to the point where it feels like I botoxed them, and then I went out drinking and didn't have time to wait and think about putting on Tazorac since my face was already suffering.

However, my face looks red, feels red, and is sensitive to EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT I've put on my face. So I am going to be taking a Tazorac Hiatus until my face stops reacting with everything it comes into contract with. My Missha FTE stung, my Chia Seed Hydrating Tonor stung, the serums from masks STUNG. What the hell is wrong with my that I keep on inserting new things without figuring out what's really the issue.  I need to slow the hell down.

My beauty routine will be affected by this, for sure.

The Retinoid Diaries: Day 3 of Tazorac

My skin was TERRIBLE yesterday. So I took a long shower, saw all the redness and irritation, skipped my usual toner step, used Tazorac, waiting, used Missha's FTE (second bottle!!), and slapped on a LOVEMORE mask (my favorite brand so far).

The Lovemore mask was a rose brightening one. IT WORKED WONDERS. Honestly, I love those masks and each time they have saved my skin from something else.

Wore it with my silicon mask until I felt the edges by my cheeks dry. Then took off the silicon and waited for it to dray a bit more before I peeled it off. Followed my Mizon AIO Snail cream.

My skin was GORGEOUS in the morning compared to the bumpy red mess it was the day before.

Today though, I put some Missha FTE and waiting, so when I applied Tazorac is stung a little little bit. Then I waited a mini-drama episode worth of time (15 plus minutes) and then applied a hydrating toner (Chia Seed, yuck) it stung again!!!

Doesn't help that my nostril were chapped to bits because I am sick and have a runny nose. That stung, applying anything before and after the Tazorac stung. However, my sebum looks a lot better, a lot clearer and for that I am glad.

To counteract the pain and stinging, I decided to stay with the whole concept of masking post-Tazorac as to balance out the dryness of "tret-face." Keeping my skin moisturized as I am trying my best to heal it without dealing with comedones. (Please don't goggle "comedones" it's really the most unpleasant Google Images I've seen today. And I've watched Buzzfeed's gross video with extraction popping, which really was the GROSSEST thing, how is there even a niche market for people who like watching that sort of stuff. I'm mentally puking bile at the thought and I want that thought to be over so I am stopping now!)

Have a few skin-colored comedones on my face, the biggest on is between my eyebrows. Thought it was a mole or a skin tag (as those run on both sides of my family), but Dr. Myself has WebMD'd extensively to the point where I've come to terms with it being a comedone. Although I don't know how it got there... or when it appeared....

Cheers to tonight, as my My Beauty Diary Bird's Nest mask is drying over my tret-face. Masking daily is rather time consuming, but I'm enjoying myself.

The Retinoid Diaries: Day 1 of Tazorac

Most people talk about tret-face, the ultimate purge before good skin finally unveils itself.

Me? I've got Taz-attacked, or I plan on being so.

Ages ago, but not too long, I was scared by a dermatologist because of an odd sty that they scraped my face getting a sample of. Being on Medicare at the time, I didn't care, none of these visits cost me a dime. But they did cost me my skin, well, scarless skin, because his assistant left a gash on the bridge of my nose.

Past aggression aside, I was prescribed a tube of Tazorac Cream, .1%. Using up all the samples he gave didn't seem to make a crazy difference. So I put the tube away, it is still good until April 2017 anyway.

Now that there's a love affair with retinoids and skincare gurus.... and this new toner or new cleanser is making my skin horrid....

Time to bring the tube back out!!

And to do a double no-no, I also brought out the Laneige Water Sleeping mask I bought at duty free. Because if a possible dry "tret-face" is going to happen, you betcha I'm going to over moisturize.

So today's routine went like this:

1. Oil Cleanser - Shu Uemura Yellow Bottle (which works better with my step 2 cleanser)
2. SUM37 MRCS (still not used to bits of rose petal being rubbed around my face)
3. Tazorac (which I did wrong, I should have put a toner/essence on, but I am so tired of this Chia Seed failing)
4. Laneige sleeping pack
5. Laneige sleeping pack reapplied when the first layer was dry.


And now we wait.

Until then, i hope to say adieu to all the darn whiteheads popping up this week. New products, much stress, less sleep, bad skin.

Missha FTE I miss you so much, can't wait until my Amazon order comes in the mail. Though I have to say, I am also missing the clear toner. But if the Chia Seed really is the issue (maybe it's the MRCS?!?!) I am just going to go out and buy a $13 500ml bottle of Kikumasamune Sake Skin Lotion High Moisture. Or maybe just the regular white bottle and not the the pink "high moist" one. Nah, the white bottle has Propylparaben listed, which is a 7 out of 9 on the list of "not good for you," the other parabens are merely at a 4 in the pink "high moist" bottle..

Skincare Routine Mondays: April 25, 2016

1. Oil Cleanser: None.
2. Water-based Cleanser: Been switching between Fresh Soy Face Cleanser (which is still my favorite) and SUM:37's Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick. Alternating because something is going on with my skin and I can't figure out what.
3. Toner:  The Face Shop's Chia Water 100 toner from set (on right)
4. Serum or essence: The Face Shop Chia Seed First Essence (10ml sample size) and I "tried" the set's "lotion." 
5. Moisturizer:
    AM: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30, though lately I've been breaking out the BIORE UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence because the weather has been so nice and I don't need the grease of my usual Aveeno.
   PM :Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml), which honestly has been the most skin saving, best thing this week!!

RANT:

So my Missha Time Revolution set has finished itself, and I had already started introducing MRCS into my routine.... BUT, something is going wrong!!!

I know starting too many new products at once is bad, but it happens. :( I am out, and so I started the Chia Water set thing and OH NOES, my skin feels smooth-ish, but there are SO MANY little bumps popping up everywhere! Little white-ish ones that aren't white-heads, but aren't normal either!

The MRCS gives my skin a little tightness, I'm guessing it's overly drying my skin, so I've been using what little is left of the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser that I love so dearly (and thank goodness it's Sephora's Birthday gift as well, so I have a little more to live off of). So MRCS is not as "miraculous" as it made to be. However, it's only made worse by the new products that took over Missha's place...

Toner, First Essence 10 ml, Moisture Cream 10 ml, "Lotion" UGH

The most disappointing though is The Face Shop's Chia Water set. Sure, it looks pretty, and it was an impulse buy in duty free, butttttt not pleasing at all. They're in two skinny, but really heavy glass bottle, that I'm always nervous I'm going to crack the sink with (already cracked it once before).

The toner is toner, it's not as watery as the one I just finished from Missha, but it does the job. Unlike the Missha Clear Toner, this is a hydrating toner. The first essence is more gel-like and sticky when I put it on, but the WORST is the "lotion" that came with the set. I feel like I'm just putting hand lotion on my face to the extent where I stopped using it after two days. It felt awful and just ineffective. 

Mizon All in One Snail Repair cream has really saved my face this week. If it weren't for that product, I would probably cry and use face mask after face mask, begging my skin to get it's act together and just pretend that my Missha Time Revolution set did not run out.

Though I do not know where exactly I stand with toner yet, but I do know that I got spoiled by using good products to start my skincare routine, and now that I'm using sub-par products I am really feeling (paying) the difference.

Skincare Routine Mondays: April 18, 2016

It's official, I am OUT of Missha FTE. Also, introducing a cult favorite foaming face soap. More below.

1. Oil Cleanser: None. Should I bother when I'm fresh-faced (a la sans make-up) everyday? Please advise.
2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Which is nearing it's end, which bothers me because at $15 for 1.7 ounces, that's a lot of money for a product that lasts... less than three months? My first record of it was from February 1st. It's just past the mid-point of April, meaning that it's getting low at the 2.5 month mark, which concerns me for such a luxury product that I actually LOVE using. Starting using SU:M37's MRCS (aka miracle rose cleansing stick, aka cult favorite). It's literally a cylinder of soap and I write more about it below.
3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set), but will be switching over to The Face Shop's Chia Water 100 toner. (From something similar to this set, though my packaging is different)
4. Serum or essence: "First" Essence-- Missha's The First Treatment Essence (in the Time Revolution Starter Set), which I AM OFFICIALLY OUT OF, so I have been sad. However, I will start using The Face Shop Chia Seed First Essence (10ml sample size), but I am not sure how I feel about this set. I will follow with the set's Lotion, which I cannot tell if the consistency is more or less thick than the Mizon Cream I am using now.
5. Moisturizer:
    AM: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30.
   PM :Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml), which gets absorbed so nicely that it's not bad at all to layer underneath my greasy morning Aveeno SPF moisturizer.
6. Treatment Sheet Mask:My Scheming 我的心機 L-Ascorbic Acid Whitening, which I actually got individually from Poya (which is where I bought the majority of my individually bought masks from). It's a milky serum, that I have been hoarding and using on my face since I don't have a set serum and my Missha FTE is out.

SU:M37 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick is not "miraculous" per say, but it is exactly everything else it says it is. Rose, yep!  

It's quite fragrant, so if you don't like the smell of roses, don't even think about this. I bought it at Duty Free in Incheon this past January. Since it's a natural soap, and these things go bad, I decided that I would use it this weekend as I was going to my friend's house and didn't feel like toting around a nearly empty bottle of face wash.

Instructions:

• Wet face.
• Rub stick over face as if your whole face was a pair of lips needing chapstick.
• The label makes it looks like you need to rub on face until foamy but I think
• Rub face with hands after swiping stick over face (it will suds enough itself)
• Rinse

I also tried to method of rubbing it on my hands and then sudsing it up that way, but I felt like I wasted more product that way. It's really up to you.

The first impression I had was concern. Once I rinsed my face, my face felt tight. I think panicked that thought that this is a bar of soap, what if the pH isn't right?!?! Cue mini-internal drama going on inside my head. Why would my skin feel tight? Usually a pH imbalance, too alkali or something. Looked it up, it has an acidic 5.5 pH level, so that should be fine, it's in the right range. So what was it then?

However, I used it several more time over the weekend and it felt nice. I just felt like I was using too much of it, so I worked my way down to wetting my face and giving my face a quick once over before foaming the soap on my skin up. 

I am still not sure how I feel about this, especially after the initial tightness feel. Doesn't seem Holy Grail status, and it seems to be in the same price range as my Fresh Soy Cleanser that I just love so much more. We will see how this goes.

Skincare Routine Mondays: April 11, 2016

Missed the last two weeks because... school. Anyway, not much has changed. Just a bit of anxiety now that my Missha FTE is soon to be OUT.

1. Oil Cleanser: None. Should I bother when I'm fresh-faced (a la sans make-up) everyday? Please advise.
2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Soon to be out. Thinking of trying out Corsx Low Ph Good Morning Gel Cleanser, which is actually on sale at Jolse, but I already whined about my hesitancy in purchasing from them.
3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set). 
4. Serum or essence: Not quite an essence/serum, but a "First" Essence-- Missha's The First Treatment Essence (in the Time Revolution Starter Set). And WOE is ME, as I am almost out and I realize that I do like this stuff, even though I don't really know what it actually is doing for me. One of those things where you keep doing it for the long haul, you know? I am almost out and I have been skimping on how much product I use because I don't want to be out! 
5. Moisturizer:
    AM: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30.
   PM :Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml), which gets absorbed so nicely that it's not bad at all to layer underneath my greasy morning Aveeno SPF moisturizer.
6. Treatment Sheet Mask: NRK's Collagen Booster Firming Mask, which I actually got individually from Poya (which you can purchase through Poya via Yahoo) 

I actually didn't take a picture the second time around. The first time I used it, I used the snail mask, as seen above. It came with a lot of clear viscous serum, and had a white plastic lining that had to be removed.

Honestly, it was big for my face, though I appreciated that the area between the nose and the upper lip was wide and big enough to be properly covered. However, the edges of my mouth were totally peeking out. It had the cuts in the side so that you can adjust and overlap them properly, which I didn't do such a great job if you can see all the wrinkles hanging out.

Layer that with my Daiso silicon cover and BAM, serum for days. (A good thing, even though I look miserable in that last shot!) The snail mask was unremarkable. Really, I hardly even remembered I did it until I was surfing through my photos trying to find one of the Collagen Booster. The Collagen Booster did not get any pictures taken of, but it had a nice and pleasant smell. It felt great, or maybe it's been a while since I did a mud mask follower by a sheet mask, but either way, it left a better impression than the snail mask (which didn't leave an impression at all, now that I think of it...).

NRK is sold in Taiwan, and it's pricer, too. Honestly, though I paid 27 NTD for it, which is just under a dollar, the LOVEMORE masks are a much better investment. I raved about them last time, and still, it's number one in my book. NRK is also thicker than the My Beauty Diary masks, which are also cheaper and a better bang for your buck. 

Skincare Routine Mondays: March 21, 2016

Back from my allergy attack!!! The adverse reaction happened on Sunday, and I actually went back to normal (kind of) around Thursday.

First Impressions, basically a short NPE!!! for the Lovemore mask (#6) and a further impression on the Mizon AIO Snail Repair Cream (now that I've phased out the Nature Republic Combination Watery Cream).

1. Oil Cleanser: None. Still none. Whatever. I don't wear make-up.
2. Water-based Cleanser: Fresh Soy Face Cleanser.
3. Toner: Missha's Clear Toner (in the Time Revolution Starter Set). Actually made my irritated skin tingle a bit, but such a slight reaction. I think using this and the First Essence really helped to rejuvenate my skin.
4. Serum or essence: Not quite an essence/serum, but a "First" Essence-- Missha's The First Treatment Essence (in the Time Revolution Starter Set).
5. Moisturizer:
    AM: Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer SPF 30. But sometimes I just use NR's Combo Watery Cream with Biore's Watery Essence PA 50+++. Depends on how greasy I  feel.  
   PM :Mizon - All in One Snail Repair Cream (75ml)
6. Treatment Sheet Mask: Lovemore's Pearl Barley and Milk sheet mask

First Impressions, basically a short NPE!!! for the Lovemore mask.

Think about this name... Lovemore and hell yes! I'd lovemore of this mask, because it really is, simply put, that fabulous!

As you may have read, I was suffering from a very adverse allergic reaction on the lower half of my face. It was awful and instantly blew up, making my poor skin suffer. After the redness and swelling had died down, I was left with skin that felt like sand paper, like the winds of time themselves hit my face and left my skin coarse with windburn.


It was horrific.

However, on Thursday, I had the great idea (and unlike the accidental numbing agent, this was a great idea) to try out of my of precious Lovemore Masks. I tried out the Pearl Barley and Milk soothing mask, because I needed the smoothing part for sure. Not to mention that the "pearl barley" they are taking about is none other than Job's Tears (薏仁 yi ren) which is the main ingredient in one of my favorite traditional Chinese breakfast shop beverages Yi Ren Jiang (薏仁漿), which all the ladies at the bakeshop loved to tell me that it helps me skin become even white. Not a goal I actually want to attain, but I LOVE THIS DRINK. It reminds me of oatmeal, but not quite, much lighter and SO MUCH BETTER. So good, that it made me sooooo happy to put it on my face.

Here's a googled image that shows you the difference between "pearl barley" and "Job's tears"

Unlike other brands, Lovemore only comes in five to a box. The box itself cost me around $250 NTD, or in American, about $7 to $8 dollars. It wasn't as easy to find, especially not at a good price. I think it was a deal that I got at Poya which is an AWESOME place to get masks. They have so much variety, you can buy the pack of 5 (or ten, as it's with My Beauty Diary), individual packs (which is how I sampled a million types of My Scheming masks). Seriously, I know people like their (overpriced) Watson's, and then there is (the occasionally limited) Cosmed, but NOTHING beat Poya and the fact that Poya stores are HUGE and have vastly selection on basically EVERYTHING (even got my beloved panty-liners here for mad cheap, but that's another story). According to this week's Poya DM, My Scheming Masks (ten pack) are 2 for $285 NTD, which according to Google is around $8.81 USD. That is TWENTY masks for 44 cents a PIECE. Can we talk about how AWESOME that is?! Because it's damn awesome. Though I "dan dian"d my My Scheming masks and it was only twenty cents more per mask and I didn't get any duplicates; there were too many types to choose from!! Right now My Beauty Diary (which is also quite high in quality) is being sold at two for $419 NTD, which is about 12/13 dollars a pack, making it less than $1.30 a mask, which is why I think mask prices in the US are really so absurd. They also have kept up with the trends and do offer some random K-beauty. I got my teeny tiny Guerisson horse oil cream from there. Which is more like a salve, so maybe I bought the wrong thing?

Bottomline: Got these Lovemore masks along with a variety of My Scheming, My Beauty Diary, and NRK masks, and that's only the Taiwan side of things.

What makes this mask different is that it's not only thin, but it understands that it needs a protective layer as to not let the serum evaporate as quickly. Therefore, though I did cover it with my silicon mask from Daiso, it already came with it's own cover. The plastic white sheet comes off, and you're supposed to keep the blue sheet on. Except I didn't read the directions (which, for once, I can read and understand without English translation) and took the blue sheet off. But you can see how transparent and thin it is, almost like the new My Beauty Diary masks.

And the smell, the light sweet milky smell!! It was so aromatic and lovely and I have to say I really enjoyed smelling the mask itself as well as wearing it. It was delicious!!

This mask also has the thinnest lip slit ever. Which is fine because I have some rather thin lips, and actually worked out in my favor because as a part of the allergic reaction I was having, my lips were equally chapped and rough. But look how it cut off the tops of my lips, aka, the Cupid's Bow. My lips are so thin, that this is something I rarely if ever had to deal with. The mask lined right up with the bottom lip and it was snug, but I can't say I was going to complain. My lips/face needs as much pampering as possible.

I LOVED IT SO MUCH. It is truly my current NO.1 mask. Is it HG status worthy? Quite possibly. The serum that this mask is soaked in, really, really, really saved my poor suffering skin and I am so grateful for that.

Thank you Lovemore, for making me love you more.