My Skin Care Routine

I just want to share to you my skin care routine (as of now...). Not all of the products that are going to be shown are my "Holy Grail" product since I haven't found some of them yet. Anyway, here it goes.

1. Cleanse

The first stage of my skin care routine is cleansing. In the morning, I use Likas Papaya Soap which was bought in the Philippines to rinse whatever I put on the night before.

In the evening, after having a day out, whether from work, a date or a mommy-day-out with Lulu, I use wet wipes first before washing my face. Why? Well, it's simple. To take off those lazy, lazy make-ups that I put on for the day that cannot be taken out with just one rinsing.

Why I use Likas Papaya? Well, I have an oily-combination skin. Papaya Soaps are rumoured as "skin-whitening" but in fact, it makes your skin dry. I'm using Likas Papaya Soap for years now, in fact ever since my college days, I'm already using it. I noticed that whenever I switch to other cleansing soap, I get break-outs. Likas Papaya Soap does dry my skin without making it very dry, making it healthier than using just a normal soap nor another cleanser.

2. Prep

To prepare my skin from the moisturizers that I need to put into my face, I use a facial toner to keep my pores open before moisturizing. I haven't found my holy grail facial toner, but my favorite from the bunch that I've used is the Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean Toning Lotion. I love this because it has this good and refreshing smell, plus the after effect of this toning lotion on my face once it is rubbed onto my face is very good. It has this minty-good smell effect on my face after toning.

It's ok, but I'm looking for a toner that has a whitening formula since I need to even out my scars that I've developed last year.

*** I use toning lotion the same with day and night. ***

3. Repair

I haven't found nor tried out any good serum for the repair part of my skin care routine so, I'll give this a pass for now.

4. Moisturize

I love using Sana Uroitaishi, The Moisture Ambassador! Moisturizer for the moisturizing part. It is in gel form which makes it non-sticky and easy to dry. It didn't give any bad reaction when I tried it, which is a good thing. It has this funny smell, a little smell of alcohol, but it doesn't really bother me. I use it only for the face area, but not on the eye area. Same usage with night and day.

5. Moisturize ( Eye Area )

I have two steps when it comes to my eye area. As you know, I have dark eye circles, which is one of my big problems as of now. As a solution to this problem, I use Laneige Eye Designer Cream as my first step, same for morning and evening, after toning. I let it dry first, and then after that, I put on Benefit's EyeCon. I love its vanilla-like smell, and the fact that it's very moisturizing. I don't experience those "very dry eye area" days anymore, ever since I started using this. I can say that this is my Holy Grail eye care product. Only that, I hope I could find an eye cream that is all in one, instead of using 2 creams in one.

Whenever I use these two creams together, the results are gorgeous. It whitens my dark eye circles, moisturizes my eye area and prevent it from getting dry.

6. Extras

a. Clinique - Rescue Balm

As of the moment, I use an after-sun treatment whenever I go out and get exposed from the sun. I use Clinique's Sun Balm. It's not really that helpful, since the sun here in Hong Kong is not that hot compare to Philippines. Also, it's not that necessary, because you don't usually get "sun burn" with staying under the sun just for a few minutes.

Anyway, this was a really big help when we went to the beach without sunblock and my daughter stayed under the sun for hours. When we got home, she was all red because of sunburns and I put this on her. Magically, the following morning, there are no peelings and sunburns! Magic!

b. Laneige - Water Sleeping Pack Ex

I use this as a mask replacement since I really don't like using mask. I use this as an overnight leave on to keep my face hydrated. It really works, and I noticed that after using it, my face does feel very much hydrated the following morning. I use this twice a week, as recommended by the Sales Assistant from Laneige.

c. Scrub - Clinique - Exfoliating Scrub

I use this scrub from Clinique twice a week only, to take off those hard-to-remove dirt on my face.