Yay!! Another edition of The Skincare Diaries!! This time, please meet Joanne from The Convenient Beauty!! She has gorgeous FOTD's, a love of Tom Ford and always honest and thorough reviews!! Someday I'd love to have a peek inside her stash *hint hint*!! You can find her @ The Convenient Beauty :-) 

Hello everyone!

I'm so flattered when Gummy asked me to guest blog for her lovely Gummy's Vision. As I'm still adjusting my skincare routine, we thought this post can bring some insight to address different skin issues. Just a little warning: this post is very wordy and long!

I'll start out with my skin conditions and my approach to skin care. Then I'll describe the products I've been using and my routine. I'll end this post with on-going issues that needs more research.

MY SKIN CONDITION

1. Combination, oily nose and rather oily forehead, normal (in the summer) to dry (in the winter) cheeks. I have some dry patches next to my nose and my chin if I don't exfoliate regularly.
2. Quite smooth texture
3. Porous in some areas like my nose, the apples of my cheeks. The pores aren't severe and can be easily cover with tinted moisturizer. But I notice everything :D.
4. Sun spot mostly on my cheek bones and one or two under the eyes
5. Dark spots resulted from my recent break our in the winter. Mostly located on my chin and my jaw.

So my skin care routine targets to 1) maintain the natural smooth texture of my skin, 2) brighten up the dull areas, dark spot and sun spot, 3) prevent break-outs and 4) prevent winkles using gentle organic products and a flexible routine.

MY SKIN CARE PHILOSOPHY

Healthy skin comes from the inside. A healthy lifestyle and diet is my top priority, not only for better skin but also for a more productive and happy life.
Each product works toward a specific purpose. I look for the products that target the four main goals: smooth texture maintenance, brightening, break-out prevention and anti-winkle.

Adaptive routine to my daily skin condition. Depending on how my skin does on that day, I can add or skip products. For instant, if my skin is hydrated and bright that day, I'll skip brightening moisturizer.

Light treatment for nighttime. Sleeping doesn't fix everything yet it's when the body recovers and relax from day time. I want my skin to be able breath and does its things at night. I don't pack 5 layers of products before bedtime.
Cleanse thoroughly yet gently. This is a crucial step for my daily routine. Clean skin doesn't provide the environment for bad bacteria. That's enough to prevent break-outs, winkle, clogged pores.

Organic only. I'm still studying this particular subject. Even though most of my makeup is preservative-free, some contain risky chemicals that I avoid like preservatives, mineral oils and the like.

STEPS AND PRODUCTS

Cleansing

Daily cleansing has made a huge difference on my skin. Together with exfoliation, it smooths and even out my skin. Six months ago, my facial skin was nearly one shade tanner than my neck. Now it's almost the exactly same with the neck but redder due to pigmentation.

I use two types of cleanser, one for everyday and the other one for deep cleansing.

1. Daily cleanser: Liz Earl Hot Cloth and Polish Cleanser that comes with a cotton square. Guys  you must try this cleanser. My skin feels clean, smooth, polished without feeling tightened. I usually cleanse before going to bed.
2. Deep cleansing cleansers: Clarisonic Hydra with Clarisonic Mia 1 when I'm on makeup-fast and Philosophy Purity to remove makeup. After finishing up Philosophy Purity, I'll go back to Fresh Soya Cleanser that's more gentle and thorough. I deep cleanse my face twice to three times a week, depending on how much makeup I wear that week.

I remove the makeup as soon as I get home. Sometimes in the car with Boots No. 7 wipes. So Clinique Makeup remover for the eyes. Shu Uemura Cleasing Oil all over the face then cleanse again with Philosophy Purity. After I finish these three, I'll go back to Bioderma Crealine, and Fresh Soya Cleanser and start Tatcha Cleansing oil for sure!!

Exfoliating

Ladies, exfoliating is my key to brighter, smoother, more even skin! I've struggled in vain for years until I figured how to exfoliate my skin properly. Exfoliating alone resolve majority of my skin problems.

The Body Shop Extra Gentle Aloe Exfoliator for Sensitive Skin is fantastic. I hated it at first because it wasn't strong enough to combat grease and dirt by itself. Now that I have Clarisonic Mia and cleanse daily, this gentle exfoliator removes dead skin and polish my face lightly. I use it every other day in the shower.

Then twice or three times a week, I break out my Clarisonic Mia 1! The black heads on my nose do not come back no more! Dry patches are gone. And my skin texture has become smoother and more even.

Conditioning

After all those cleansing and exfoliating, I get the moisture of my skin back with Liz Earle Instant Boost Toner. It softens and moisturizes my skin. It's the only toner that conditions my skin. Others simple splash some water or worst alcohol on my tightened skin after cleansing. My skin feels really soft and smooth. You guys must try it!!

Moisturizing and brightening/repairing

After toner, I either apply Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial (what a mouthful name!) or Kiehl's Acai Damage-Repairing Serum depending on how dry the weather is. Korres cream retains more moisture so I generally use it for drier weather. The Kiehl's serum keeps my skin hydrated in more humid weather. It feels a bit tingling right after application then gradually soothing on the skin. These products together with exfoliator brighten up my skin noticeably. I'm happy!

Sunscreen

A must-have step everyday. I use Kiehl's Super Fluid SPF 50 daily if I mainly stay indoors and Neutrogena Healthy Skin SPF 100 for days out. I also wear hats for picnics, parks, walks and stuff.

Eye cream

I'm currently liking Jurlique Pure Age-Defying eyecream. It keeps my under eye areas hydrated. The texture is weightless but my makeup creases slightly. On the day I do full face makeup, I skip eyecream and my undereye areas aren't dry out. I'm still doubting the anti-aging aspect of Jurlique since I don't have defined lines or winkles. It's hard to judge the cream now.

Acne treatment

Murad Spot Acne Treatment works wonderfully for my acne. Gummy actually recommended it. I'm so glad I listened :D. The pimples feel less painful and they disappear much faster leaving minor dark spots that can be removed after one or two exfoliation.

Lip treatment

My lips are dehydrated all the time. I'm loving Fresh Sugar Lip Polish and Sugar Lip Treatment for everyday. I also love to use EOS lip balm underneath lipsticks or lip glosses.

I'm still battling with sun spots and pigmentation. Although they're not severe, I want to conquer them. I believe there're effective products for the job. The search goes on but I enjoy the learning process. I also want to resume home-made masks to fight pigmentation. I'm just lazy on that part. Ugh.

I would love to hear your thoughts on any products I'm using. Any recommendation for sun spots will be awesome too. A big thank you to Gummy for having me over! Hugs to Gummy's Vision readers!

Joanne