My skin had an urge for a skincare purge. The current skincare arsenal for this update has turned out to be quite minimal! Though they be few though they are potent and with just these four products my skin has been feeling calm, clean, and supple. Not every item is used daily but I haven’t been reaching for anything more than beyond these four…for now. What a drastic dial down, no? On the contrary, my skin has never felt more on the way up. I just realized in the last week that I had practically no whiteheads this month when I cut down to these four, nearly next to none.
THE CREAMY CLEANSER – Andalou Naturals Apricot Probiotic Cleansing milk (Php500+ @ Healthy Options)
While I went on and on genuinely last year about Les Couvent Des Minimes’ Beneficial Rose Cleansing Milk the truth is that one is over Php200 more expensive than this one by Andalou Naturals, their Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk which I have reviewed individually here. There is something just organically spot on with how this cleanser makes my skin feel after, it doesn’t feel stripped I also like that this creamy cleanser works quite well with this next gadget.
THE GLAM GADGET – The Clarisonic Mia 2 ($149.00 @ Macy’s NYC)
Yes, when I was in New York City, US I went for it and got myself a Clarisonic Mia 2 for my birthday (using a Macy’s gift card thanks, Tita Marisu) which now boasts 2 speeds. I got the limited edition polka dot one (though I’m kind of wishing I got the plain baby pink one). My mistake was in assuming this whole time that the Clarisonic brush-heads spin when they actually just make gentle sonic vibrations that cause the bristles to gently cleanse and exfoliate the skin’s surface without causing irritation, they also sell different brush heads separately. The Clarisonic Mia 2 also pulses in the midst of cleansing when it’s time to move to another area of the face. I use this about every other day, something like a Mon, Wed or Fri. It nicely preps the skin surface to receive serums, facial oils, or moisturizers.
THE SERUM YOU SHOULDN’T BE SCARED OF – Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair (New Improved, Synchronized Recovery Complex II)
As stated by lovely skincare expert, Caroline Hirons’ via her blog here, the improved version of Estee Lauder’s NEW Advanced Night Repair is apparently a much better offering than its predecessor, right off the bat it contains way less silicone. “It is oil and fragrance-free and non-comedogenic, thus suitable for sensitive and acnaic skins…” and now it also contains a lot of good hyaluronic acid to plump up that pretty fez. I put 2 drops of it on at night after cleansing before my moisturizer (up next) and I don’t get any sting or itch with this and I wake up to a visibly “corrected” skin surface. I use it like twice or thrice a week.
THE MILKY MOISTURIZER – Kate Somerville Goat’s Milk Cream (for sensitive skin) $50+
When I first got this I thought this highly acclaimed moisturizer would be too rich for me, but when I started using less skincare in conjunction with it this product had room to shine (I don’t mean visually) on its own and it works beautifully applied minutes after my gentle Estee Lauder NEW Advanced Night Repair Serum before bed. It’s got a neutral milky scent and sinks in well overnight and I don’t wake up sticky. It does the job of coating your skin treatment really well.
The result of when I’ve just used all 4 of these products in sequence, which was last night, is today’s skin…what a joy. My face feels clean, hydrated, not sticky, and properly reset for the rest of the week, and for some reason I can’t feel a single whitehead or congested pore, even now that it’s 950PM, a long time already from last night my face still feels this way now, baby butt-ness.
