My routine has seen some minor changes outside of my core products (marked with *), and I'm quite happy with how it is now. There's not too many steps, but I manage to fit a lot of product types in:
- Cleansing oil (evening only): Kose speedy, I've dug out my limited edition Alice in Wonderland bottle *u* The performance is still my baseline for comparing other cleansing oils to, and so far the only one I like more is Shu's anti-oxi cleansing oil, but the difference is price is too much. I am (slightly) trying to buy more locally (to reduce some carbon emissions, although it's hard to make a blanket statement of this behaviour's impact), so will try Muji's cleansing oil next.
- Second cleanser (evening only): Hada Labo foaming cleanser*, I do need to buy more refills of this, but it seems like my trusted eBay seller for Hada Labo was/is hospitalized and have put his shop on hiatus :(
- Acid (evening only, on non-retinoid days): I was using some BHA pads in the summer, but have now switched to using TO's 10% mandelic acid. I find it difficult to notice the effect of acids, actually all actives, until you don't use them. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, my skin enjoys having lots of actives applied to it, and does respond with better texture.
- First toner: Etude House soon jung toner. this is a new step I introduced for the cooler weather. I wanted a non-hyaluronic acid toner to as the step before so there's more water on my skin for the HA to hold onto. I'm half way through the bottle of EH toner and quite like it. It's very watery and light-weight, doing exactly what I need it to do. I already bought another bottle, but am looking for a cheaper option.
- HA toner+oil: Hada Labo shirojyun toner* + Komeyu rice oil. Will go back to rosehip seed oil after.
- Moisturizing toner: Laneige cream skin toner. I just ordered this and haven't actually received it yet, but this is intended to save my skin during the freezing temperatures in Jan/Feb.
- Vitamin C (morning only): Melano CC serum, this is my preferred Vit C in cooler weather since the formula is oil-based. I did try Timeless' serum while in Houston and liked it, it smelled fine and didn't oxidize too much when kept in the fridge. I would re-purchase it for warmer weather if it had free shipping in Canada. Instead I got TO's Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate due to Gosthamista's good review, specifically that it selectively acts on pigmentation.
- Essence: Scinic snail essence or Tosowoong tea tree essence during active breakouts, although LGH tea tree essence still reigns supreme. Will be trying Purito's green buffet serum next.
- Retinol (evening only): TO 0.2% retinol in squalene, so I finally tried a retinoid product! It's only been a month, so there's no results to report. Perhaps my skin texture as improved? The squalene does take a long time to absorb, so I take the change do a little bit of facial massage. It double dose of oil has worked well to prevent my skin from feeling dry so far. Not sure if I'll find a non-oil based retinol for the summer, or just use TO's niacinamide serum.
- Moisturizer: Hada Labo shirojyun milk* I did buy EH's soon jung cica balm just in case my skin is feeling extra dry or irritated.
Total morning steps: 5
Total evening steps: 7
I don't foresee much change to my routine in 2020, aside from trying out Stratia's products the next time black friday rolls around, and trying Hera's moisturizing cushion if a pretty limited edition case comes out.
In terms of goals for the latter half of my 20s, it would primarily be maintenance and secondary be fading hyperpigmentation from the inevitable hormonal breakouts. It seems to take about 5 years to stabilize a major improvement to my skin, I started doing a consistent-dish routine in my late teens, which eventually balanced out my skin's sebum production such that I'd say I now have normal skin with an oily t-zone. But I also had a lot of breakouts which resulted in lots of PIH, uneven skin texture, and "enlarged" pores around my nose. These got resolved in my early 20s when I discovered and consistently used actives. So now it'll be continuing those actives, and starting some non-active anti-aging products (peptides, anti-oxidants), while keeping up the baseline of hydration, anti-inflammatory products, and sun protection.
In terms of goals for the latter half of my 20s, it would primarily be maintenance and secondary be fading hyperpigmentation from the inevitable hormonal breakouts. It seems to take about 5 years to stabilize a major improvement to my skin, I started doing a consistent-dish routine in my late teens, which eventually balanced out my skin's sebum production such that I'd say I now have normal skin with an oily t-zone. But I also had a lot of breakouts which resulted in lots of PIH, uneven skin texture, and "enlarged" pores around my nose. These got resolved in my early 20s when I discovered and consistently used actives. So now it'll be continuing those actives, and starting some non-active anti-aging products (peptides, anti-oxidants), while keeping up the baseline of hydration, anti-inflammatory products, and sun protection.
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