Before you begin with this post, do read my earlier skincare post where I’ve mentioned some important tips that I follow till today.
My skin type :
My skin used to be combination-oily in summers and
normal-dry in winters. For the past year (2015) my skin has been mostly normal
and leans towards normal-dry in winters. I’m not exactly sure why this change
has happened, it could be because of the products I had used or a better diet
or because I’ve moved to a new city which does not have a humid climate.
Because of the major change in my skin type, I had to change a lot of my
products – facewash, moisturizer, mask – so that they were suitable to normal &
normal-dry skin type. I do not have sensitive or acne-prone skin. I used to
breakout in pimples every now & then and I used The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask to help me cleanse out my skin completely.
Because of the
products I have been using, my pimples have completely stopped, I don’t get
breakouts even during my periods….unless I don’t wash my face or don’t remove
my makeup & sleep off. Therefore I had switched from the Warming Mineral
Mask to a gentler one.
This post is dedicated to my winter skin care ritual, some
of the products have been in use since last July and some I started using last
December. Together, they help to keep my skin moisturized, hydrated,
healthy-looking, glowy and blemish-free.
Night time routine : I have reviewed most of these products,
so you can just click on the names to see the detailed reviews.
I like to take off my
makeup with either the Bioderma Sensibio H20 or The Body Shop Chamomile Silky Cleansing oil, depending on how heavy my makeup is and how much product I
wanna save. (Bioderma is pricey and never on sale -_-)
Then I follow up with
a cleanser. I use Kama Ayurveda Rose Jasmine face cleanser (pic below) to
get rid of the residue of makeup remover. Its very effective in getting rid of all that! Since it contains salicylic
acid, it also works on pimples & diminishes them. Loving this cleanser
since the first day I used it.
Next, I pat my face dry and move onto the Vichy Thermal Spa Water. I guess you can
call this a toner. This is one of the main products that helps me
get rid of pimples and keep them at
bay. The Kama cleanser is the other product.
I dry out my eye area
and apply Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair
Eye Cream. Ladies, this is a gem product. I’ve never
seen any product work as quickly as this does. In one day of using this I saw a
difference to my under eye circles. After 2- 3 days all the shadows had
disappeared, only the hereditary darkness remained. I haven’t been able to find
this eye cream online & even stores have run out of it. Maybe its discontinued
which SUCKS because this is the cheapest retinol eye cream you will get in the
indian drugstore T_T Its also multipurpose (see below)
I recently reviewed the Natio Smoothing Facial Oil on my
blog & I’ve also updated its review since then, so check it out. I apply
this to my damp skin (as the instructions suggest) especially focusing on the drier areas of my face.
Earlier I used to apply it with the Emolene Cream, that combo has helped
me get rid of dry patches completely. So now
I use the oil directly on my skin.
I let my face stay with these products for 30min – 1hr
during which I catch up on work and blog posts. Then I apply the Emolene Cream to driest areas or areas prone
to dryness, if I feel the need. I
wake up with silky-smooth, nourished skin.
How do I get rid of
pimples ?
As long as I am loyal to the above mentioned routine, I do
not have to worry about breakouts. However, I sometimes slip up. During
winters, when the temperatures got really cold, I’m talking 7 degrees & so,
I just could not imagine washing my face. On
those nights I just used Kara makeup remover wipes and/or Bioderma Sensibio H2O
(depending on how heavy the makeup was) and
no cleanser/toner/moisturizer. So after 2 days of such horrid lapse of skin
care combined with my menses, I did get bumps on my face. Then I got back to
cleansing my skin properly and using the Vichy Thermal Spa Water. If there
were unsightly pimples, I got rid of them sooner by dabbing the Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream. Yea,
this
amazing eye cream is also a great zip zapper, must be due the retinol
in it! I also use face masks, currently I’m partial to the Freeman
Chocolate & Strawberry Mask. It is a clay mask that’s less drying
than the other ones I own, which makes it suitable for winters :)
So that is it for my night time routine, not much right ?
The day time ritual is similar :
In the morning I like to use a scrub like the Neutrogena
Blackhead Eliminating Scrub few times a week, especially if I’m irregular with makeup removal. I have been using
this scrub since years because I absolutely love it. Its my go-to scrub during winters and if I feel the need for daily exfoliation. It’s a very gentle
scrub that has tiny scrub particles. In spite of the scrub particles being
tiny, it makes my skin silky-smooth. I follow it up with the Kama
Ayurveda Rose Jasmine Cleanser. On days when I don’t use the scrub I just
use this cleanser.
Then I follow up with the Vichy Thermal Spa Water,
Neutrogena eye cream & ZA Total Hydration Milky Moisturizer. I top it up with sunscreen, currently I’m using the Neutrogena Dry Touch Sunscreen.
Then finally I move on to makeup :)
I'm happy with this routine because my skin is finally blemish free. I might need to change up the oil because of the summer season and I need to find a new moisturizer once the ZA one gets over ! I love the ZA moisturizer and its going to be a hard product to replace! If you have any suggestions then please comment below & let me know, it will be highly appreciated :D
