I've put a lot of pressure on myself since setting my goals for 25. I really want to achieve them and I thought clearing my skin would be the easiest one considering I'd been working on it for so long. Unfortunately, last month's set back really threw me through a loop. Then, things continued to get worse.

      I felt like nothing I did was working. I felt like my face was redder and angrier than ever before. Turns out, I was right.

      With all the pressure I'd put on myself, I'd started being super strict about cleaning my skin (way too often). I was also using a harsh serum (12.5% Vitamin C) when I probably should've started with a lower dose. Worst of all, I was picking at any little imperfection until my skin cracked and bled. This caused redness and more scarring. Trying to make myself better I just made everything worse.

      So, I decided to do something similar to my basic routine from a year ago when I wrecked my skin. I only cleanse with water in the mornings. Cerave Foaming Cleanser is only for night time. Next, I stopped using heavy toners and switched to Thayer's Fragrance Free Witch Hazel toner. It's very gentle, listed as an SCA Holy Grail product, and alcohol free too. Then, most begrudgingly, I set aside the Vitamin C Serum since it felt a bit harsh. It was expensive and I felt it was a bit of a waste, but I needed to start over.

      My routine is much simpler now, and I'm hoping my skin can recover over the next couple months. I'll have to resist picking (which feels impossible) but I can see that it's counterproductive. We'll see how my skin fares in the warmer weather, but I have high hopes. Maybe hitting rock bottom was what I needed to find success.

-Dana.


What was your worst skincare setback? Did one of your favourite products suddenly cause a reaction? Have you ever had to get rid of an expensive product? Tell me in the comments section!

You know, I'm really tired of spending money hand over fist because of a few pimples. Unfortunately, after my fiasco a year ago due to basic drugstore brands, I felt I needed to try the more expensive products. Sure, they haven't harmed me one bit. But have they helped? That question is harder to respond to than I'd like.

Short answer? No. Long answer? Still no.

Maybe cleansing my face everyday has helped a tiny bit. However, any basic cleanser could do that. From my readings on r/SkincareAddiction, I learned that there are safe and gentle drugstore brands for skincare. Ones that didn't cost hundreds of dollars. I mean, in total over the last year I spent more than $1200 on skincare products. Worse yet, I don't think my skin looks any different that before I started Lush last May. YIKES!

I feel a bit scammed. Skincare is such a tricky thing and it's very subjective. What works for one person doesn't for another. I understand the need for variety, but preying on people who are desperate for solutions and vulnerable due to self-esteem issues is pretty crummy. Thanks capitalism.

Well, I think I've learned my lesson. No more trying brands in a sweeping manner without tons of research. I've read so much about my skin type and conditions via SCA and I will continue to do so. Over the next month, I'll be phasing out most of my Kiehl's products (except the Vitamin C serum. I can only order that online from other brands). In their stead, I'm switching to Cerave cleansers and moisturizers. As for a toner, it's really up in the air right now. Maybe I won't use one at all for a while and see how I fair. Still, I'm going to keep my eye out for something soothing and cheap!

Setbacks are normal, but this is a bit rough. I'm only two months into truly pushing myself on skincare and to lose a whole year's worth of work really sucks. Maybe this spring will go better.

-Dana.


What products did you feel scammed by? Did you buy anything that you later felt was overpriced? Do you find expensive skincare routines worth it? Leave me a message down below!

I bite the bullet today and dug deeper into the world of skincare. There are some pretty obessed communities out there that I've been avoiding because I knew I'd get swallowed up by all the information. Still, it's been more than a year on this journey of mine. It was time.

Yes, I finally decided to join the r/SkincareAddiction forum.

SCA is a popular subreddit that boasts a plethora of skincare information. There recommendations for every skin type and lists for "Holy Grail" products for each type. You can post pictures and discuss different conditions. The routine help section is probably the part I was most interested in. It was there that I found out a lot of the steps I was missing from my routine.

I had the basics down, but I was missing key serums and moisturizers. (Did you know your skin shouldn't feel tight after your routine? That means it's too dry!) A standard routine would look like this:

AM

• Cleanser
• Toner
• Light Serum
• Moisturizer
• Sunscreen

On television, often when celebrities or the rich elite are depicted, you'll see women getting expensive facials at spas rather than at home face-masks. I always thought those were a little ridiculous. If I can do this at home for cheap, why would I pay someone else to do it?

Oh, am I sure eating some crow now.

Over the Christmas holidays, my lovely partner bought me a day of pampering at a local spa. This was so sweet of him and, with my current obsession with skincare, I was super excited.  When I arrive at the spa and began my other treatments, the whole time my mind was focused on the facial. Was it going to do anything? Was it a gimmick? Would I look like a fresh faced baby?

The treatment I selected was designed for acne and involved chemical exfoliation using fruit enzymes. (You know how pineapple tingles when you eat it? It's because the pineapple is breaking down the cells on your tongue. It can be used to exfoliate skin too!) When I laid down for the experience, I was really pleased with how many steps were involved. My boyfriend had paid over $100 for this treatment and I definitely wanted it to be worth it. We spent about half an hour steaming and rubbing and extracting. Then came the actual facial. We did the chemical exfoliation first and the esthetician mentioned it might tingle... Wow, what an understatement.

It didn't tingle. It didn't feel fresh or even itchy. No. It BURNED.

I mentioned this to the esthetician to which she said, "Yep, that's normal." Normal to feel like my face is melting off like the cheese sliding off a slice of pizza. Okay. Sure. Then I had to sit there for 10 minutes with that shit on my face. When the woman left the room, I said a few choice words to myself. The lava began to settle into my pores and I started to accept that this was my life now. I would be fire face. Maybe you could cover up exposed muscle with foundation.

Time ticked by slowly and I spent the majority of the time screaming internally until she returned and took it off. Once the chemical exfoliation was removed, I shivered in pleasure. It was so nice to not feel the burning I was relishing in it. Next came the soothing oatmeal mask, which felt like ice after the magma treatment. When all was said and done, I got up from the table and swore to never come back. Those rich ladies on TV were nuts, this was awful. Only insane people who had killed all the nerve endings in their face with plastic surgery would do this.  Then I looked in a mirror...

Damn. I looked good. Smooth, clearer. I still had skin, really good skin, even though it felt like I left it on the spa floor. I thanked the esthetician and tipped well, noticeably quiet as I contemplated what had just occurred.

The following month, I had some of the best skin of my life. Clearer than usual and so soft. I even felt confident enough to not wear make-up. The only difference was the expensive facial. It felt like a revelation and I realized that maybe facials were worth the money. Eventually, my skin went back to being it's naughty self and I longed for another face-melting that drained my bank account.

So was it worth it? Yes and no. I didn't like the experience of the burning exfoliation, but I loved the results. If it weren't so expensive, I'd do it more often.  However, it's nice to know that it's a viable option when I can afford it. Doing regular upkeep for it would be a big hit to my wallet as they recommend you do it every six weeks (which is when my skin started to freak out again). So, maybe I understand how these wealthy women do this regularly if it shows such good results. Beauty is pain, apparently. For good skincare, you start to become a masochist if something works. You want the burning just for the results.

While this facial won't be a regular addition to my routine, I'm pleased to have tried it. I will definitely keep this in mind if I ever have a skin emergency again.

-Dana.

Have you ever tried chemical exfoliation? Did you get a strange facial at a spa? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments!

Yeah, I already have enough doctors and specialists in my life. I don't need another, and I especially don't need one not covered by my government health plan. If you think cleanser is expensive, try seeing a specialist for five minutes. Anyways, I dug deeper into the hormone angle. This lead me to remember my PCOS and how I had been neglecting it for a while (2 years-ish?). Like I said before, the symptoms weren't really my top priority with my other health issues in the spotlight. It didn't seem like a really big problem, though maybe I was ignoring the obvious. So I took a step back for a moment. I cut out the extras in my Lush routine, and just observed my skin for a while. When only using a cleanser and toner, I noticed my skin was decent (not great, but not awful) for a few weeks at a time. Then, like clockwork, my skin would breakout terribly and get all inflamed for a two week period. The cycle would restart and I was keeping track of it all in my period app. This went on for a couple months and I had to come to terms with the fact that my hormones were contributing to my acne problem.

This meant it was time to go back on a daily medication, one I had taken before briefly, but not a task I was looking forward too. I have trouble taking medicine and vitamins every day (there's a reason I got an IUD for my birth control), and I hadn't been on a medication for anything since the summer because everything was making my Fibromyalgia fatigue worse. Still, I begrudgingly made the appointment with my doctor to go back on Spironolactone. It's original use is as a heart pill to lower blood pressure, but its biggest side effect is helping eliminate the nastier symptoms of PCOS like Hirstutism (I have a tiny blonde beard that I can wax or shave easily. Like I said, I'm a lucky patient really.) by lowering the amount of androgens in my system which are caused by my high levels of testosterone. The best part is that by lowering my androgens not only does my tiny goatee go away but so does my acne. It can take a very long time to work, from three months up to a year, but it was truly time to take this step. I may not see results for a while, but I can't keep ignoring my PCOS.

The second supplement I'm adding to my routine is a lovely little spinning face brush. Like I said above, this is more of a pampering item than a big decision. It's certainly an upgrade for my twice daily face wash. A lot of the well-advertised brands are super expensive, but I got a spin brush for cheap through a cosmetics company at which my mother used to work. You can get one on Amazon, or any drugstore really. All it really needs to do is have a soft brush and twirl it's little bristles. You don't need bells and whistles. Adding this to my routine has been great as I use far less product and still manage to lather my whole face. The gentle exfoliating is also quite lovely. It makes cleansing a little more fun too, which definitely makes me want to follow my regimen. I'm hoping to continue using it for the remainder of my Kiehl's routine and for any future products if I decide to switch it up.

My only real complaint about the spin brush is that it can take a few minutes of cleaning after use. The soaps really nestle themselves into the bristles and that can be a pain. I'm sure I'll get it down to an exact science after repeated use though. Fingers crossed that the new year brings me some relief in the skincare department! Shortly after my birthday next month, I will have reached the one year mark in my journey to achieve clear skin. Hopefully, I'll have some positive things to report by then.

Dana~

Do you have hormonal acne? Have you ever taken pills for your acne? What do you think of spinning brushes?  Am I nuts for trying so many things at once again? Sound off in the comments down below!

Last time I checked in about my journey into the expensive and overwhelming world of skincare, I discussed how my Lush routine was working and what I changed after using it for most of the summer. Well, Autumn came and went, taking with it my Lush routine. By November, I was just plain fed up.

At that point, it had been almost 10 months since I started this crazy ride, and my skin honestly wasn't looking any better! Sure, with each new product I'd go through a period of adjustment that felt like it was making a difference, but then after a month or two my skin would get angry again. I'm turning 24 in January, and I feel like I have the skin of a middle school outcast

The Lush routine did last the longest, partly due to the fact that it was gentler than the other methods I tried, so I had less side effects. Also, I felt super guilty for how much money I spent on them and didn't want to throw in the towel too soon... However, after 6 whole months of consistent use with no true change in my issues (acne, oiliness..etc), I knew it was time to change things up.

During the summer, I heard good things about a place called Kiehl's. They take a more dermatological approach to skin care and even do little swatch skin tests in store. Now, I'm a sucker for little gimmicks that tell me more about myself so this felt like it was right up my alley. Even better was that my closest Kiehl's was right across from the Lush store in my local mall, Metropolis at Metrotown (I just imagine the shopkeepers, one in a black apron and the other in a white lab coat, walking out into the atrium to shake their fists at each other). When I walked in and mentioned the little skin test, I was seated and tested within in seconds. It didn't seem as cool as it looked in the video I watched previously, but it was neat nonetheless. The little test papers told me I was "normal-to-oily". Honestly, I think it lied because I had done a face mask earlier in the day which skewed the results, but whatever. After about 10 minutes of chatting, I walked out of Kiehl's with a two-step, twice daily routine and a once a week face mask.

The products include Blue Herbal Acne Cleanser Treatment, Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner, and Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Mask. Now, I only bought three things, and only in the smaller sizes, because the sticker shock was a bit painful. Even with the smaller products, I still racked up a $65 bill. Lower than the bill I got from Lush the first time, but still a decent assault on my wallet.

It's been a month since I purchased the Kiehl's routine, and so far I'm enjoying it. This is much simpler than the initial Lush routine. I don't feel like I have to cut things out or rearrange any steps to make it easier. Also, the toner doesn't dry out my skin nearly as much as some of the Lush products. (We also won't talk about the month of April after I tried out OXY and Nivea.) I've been feeling cleaner, and fresher than before. The redness hasn't really changed, but my pores aren't pumping out oil like before. I'm optimistic about this routine, and I'm fond of how it feels.

I'll give it another couple months before I make my final decision, so for now the Kiehl's routine receive's a 7.5/10.

Before the new year starts, I have a couple ideas as to how I can supplement my skincare regimen. This will of course get it's own post, but it'll be a few days before I have everything set up. For now, Happy Holidays and I wish you the cleanest, freshest skin possible.

Dana~

What do you think about Kiehl's? Do you like their products? How do you feel about the price of skincare? Have you learned any easy or cheap hacks to beautiful skin? Let me know in the comments!

Well, it's been a few months since I began using Lush's face routine. I also reviewed the routine at the one month mark which you can read in part three of my skincare adventures. Now, as time went on, the routine changed a little bit here and there. I started to notice certain things working and other things just not working at all.

Over the summer, with a lovely heatwave and subsequent drought, my skin went through quite a bit. There was a lot of sweating and harsh temperature changes as I went from hot outdoors to cool air-conditioned rooms. It was interesting to see if the Lush products would withstand this test. Not all survived and those losers happened to be in the morning routine.

Now this is a bit sad to report seeing as I really raved about Kalamazoo and Enzymion in my last post. However, I found that over a period of a few months both those products left me feeling super oily and gross during the day. Also, a few weeks after my last post, I noticed I was starting to develop even more acne and these spots only seemed to appear in the afternoon. So as sad as I was to do it, I scrapped Kalamazoo and Enzymion from my routine and made my night routine a twice a day event. This helped clear up some of the new acne problems I developed and I started to feel a little cleaner during the day.

However, after 4 months of use, I'm still not seeing any major improvement in the original issues I had. My acne is less, sure, but not by very much. I still get pretty oily by mid-day, and my pores are still damn huge! Overall, for the money I spent I'm pretty disappointed by my results. For now, I will continue to use Coalface and Grease Lightning until I figure out my next routine in this adventure.

The updated score for the Lush routine is 5/10.

Dana~

My skin has slowly recovered from my last foray into cleansing products but it took almost a month of just plain water washing to get it there. The stress from my move did not help, and let's just say it's time to tackle my acne once more.

Now after the issues I had with heavy duty cleansers like Neutrogena and OXY, I figured it was time to try something a little more natural and if I was going to go that route why not turn to a great local company? Of course, my choice was going to be Lush. Since I moved to Burnaby a couple months back, I've been spending more and more time at Metropolis at Metrotown. This means I end up passing by the beautiful smelling Lush store on the regular and it's really hard not to follow those lovely scents into the shop. Well, about a month I go I ventured into the Lush store and decided to ask for some help finding a skincare routine to deal with my acne.

One of the lovely ladies in the soap section happily sat down with me and demonstrated several products for me. We went over my needs and she showed me a variety of things that could help. I also ended up a learning a thing or two about what my previous routines have been lacking. Turns out, moisturizer is a thing. Also, it should be used daily. I felt a little hesitant (oh, god the oil slicks!), but I was assured that moisturizer is necessary for every skin type.

Anyways, at the end I walked away with a bar of Coalface, a pot of Kalamazoo, a pot of Enzymion, a pot of Dark Angels, a tub of Cup O' Coffee, a tall bottle of Tea Tree Water and a little bottle of Grease Lighting. This was an expensive trip, but I felt determined at this point. I had a whole routine and it was supposedly much better for my skin than the harsher drugstore products.

Now this routine was a bit complex for me, the person who balks at washing her face twice a day. So a typical day in the life of this routine was a bit long. In the morning, I'd wash my face with Kalamazoo and put on the moisturizer Enzymion afterwards. If I showered, I would put Cup O' Coffee on for 15 minutes prior to getting into the shower. If it was the end of the week, I would skip Cup O' Coffee and instead use Dark Angel in the shower and let it sit while I washed my hair.  If at any point during the day I felt oily, I was to spritz some Tea Tree Water on and let that sit on my face while dabbing anything that dripped off my chin with a tissue.  At night, I was supposed to wash my face using the Coalface bar. Afterwards, I would then apply Grease Lightning to any spots on my face.

Did that seem like a lot to you? It certainly felt like a lot to me. I gave up on Cup O' Coffee within about a week. Showering was already a chore for me as the warm water and standing were painful due to my fibromyalgia, so working up to having a shower finally and then having to wait another 15 minutes was just not worth it. The Tea Tree Water also fell to the wayside. It felt a little gimmicky and I didn't really enjoy sitting around with a wet face.

Overall though, I really liked the face washing routine. Kalamazoo in the morning, followed by Enzymion and Coalface at night followed by Grease Lighting seemed to be working. My acne was lessening and I noticed my pores felt a little tighter, maybe even smaller.  The Enzymion and Kalamazoo smell amazing and I loved smelling citrus-y in the morning. My partner loved the scent too. Using the Coalface bar was a strange experience, I didn't like the scent (I mean, who likes black licorice anyway?) and it was strange to actually rub my face with a bar of soap. The Grease Lighting though was the fun part because after about five minutes it felt like my face skin had been clamped with clothes pins on either side. It was quite the silly feeling, but I think the night routine as a whole was having the biggest impact on my acne.

I'll give this Lush routine a 7/10 for now. I'm going to continue using it over the summer and I'll post an update as part four of this series.

Dana~

After my initial test of washing my face with water, I decided it was time to move onto the tried and true methods. For my next test, I wanted to try out a routine that I was familiar with as a teenager. Ooh, can't you just smell the salicylic acid already? Yes, that's right I tried Neutrogena and OXY. Most specifically, I used Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Cleansing Cloths and OXY Deep Cleaning Medicated Acne Pads.

Now, the Neutrogena cloths I remember using as a kid because my mom bought them to help clean up my acne. They came in a deep blue box back then and I hated them. It was just another chore to me and I wasn't about to do that. (Sorry, Mom.)  Anyways, now they come in this lovely orange box and I almost missed that deep blue box that eventually came to hold my pencils and other knick-knacks.

The OXY pads on the other hand were not something I used, but had been recommended to me by my partner as he used them growing up. They had a much stronger smell than I was expecting and came in a stark black and red little bottle. I figured from the way they were presented that the OXY pads would be the stronger of the two products.

My basic routine using the cloth and pads went like this: I washed my face twice a day using the Neutrogena cloths and a little bit of warm water. Afterwards, I would dry my face with a towel and then I'd apply one of the OXY pads to my skin. It was pretty simple to follow and hard to mess up.

After trying them for a month, I learned a fair bit about my skin and what it likes. It did not like this

Yes, my acne appeared to get a little bit better. I had less super large pimples, but breakouts still occurred and they didn't seem to go away any faster either. My pores were still huge and the blackheads never went away. The only major change was that I was no longer oily! Nope, no more oil slicks. Just so much dryness. My face became the Sahara, and I was not impressed. Honestly, I think I need to go back to just a water cleanse for a while before I try a new product.
routine, not at all. Now I don't have dry skin, not even close. However, while using this routine, my skin decided it hated moisture and began to flake. Yuck! That was not what I was expecting at all.

I'm going to give the Neutrogena cloths and OXY pads a 4/10 for lessening the acne and killing the oil-slick, but it created a whole new dryness problem that I now need to find a way to fix.

Dana~

While I would usually jump into something with both feet, I felt like throwing everything at my skin right away was a bad idea. So the first thing I decided to try was washing my face with... (wait for it!)... water. Yes, you heard me. Plain water. This idea was less of a whole routine to try, but mostly to get a baseline for my skin and for my rating system. As far as I know, I have oily skin which is why I get so many zits. Hopefully, even a little cleansing will nip that in the bud.

As I mature, I start to realize the importance of all those things I considered boring or insignificant. Most recently, I've come to terms with the fact that my mother was not being a nag when she urged me to look after my skin. Naive teenage me figured that since washing my face once didn't make a difference in my appearance, why would continuous washing work? Yeah, I wasn't very bright. Thank you puberty hormones for making me short-sighted during your tenure in my body.

Anyways, I decided that this year I'm going to start looking after my skin and putting more effort into keeping it healthy. Being 22, I don't have to worry about wrinkles yet but I do have some issues I'd like to clear up. Also, since I was diagnosed with PCOS a number of years ago, this may be extra challenging as my hormones will interfere with some results. So for the next year, or however long it takes to solve most or all of my problems, I will be trying different routine and products to improve my skin. Below are the issues that I'd like to solve:

• Acne
  - Clear up pimples
  - Prevent future breakouts
• Oiliness
  - Keep skin from becoming an oil slick by 5 p.m.
• Large Pores
  - Shrink pores
  - Eliminate blackheads
• Moisture Level
  - Find a balance between oily and dry so that skin is well-hydrated but not shiny

I will rate each product/routine out of 10 and discuss how well they worked for my skin. By the end of this journey, I hope to find a daily/weekly routine to maintain my skin's health and appearance. I plan to try everything under the sun, ranging from heavy duty cleansers to all natural organic soaps. My fingers are crossed that the best routine doesn't mean the most expensive, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Dana~


"What skin issues are you fighting? Have you found your skincare holy grail? Do you have any suggestions for me? Am I insane for even trying this? Leave your ideas and thoughts in the comments below!"