My current NIGHT skin routine

So my current skin routine is pretty cheap and simple. It is also a temporary routine while I am awaiting my Korean products (SO EXCITED!) to arrive.

I am learning about the benefits of Korean double cleansing. I used to just use my regular face wash over my makeup and then put on serum and lotion and call it a day. It wasn't super effective but I assumed it was removing my makeup decently. When I wipe my face on my towel following cleansing I would always leave behind black streaks from my mascara and eyeliner.

After learning about double cleansing I started using an oil on my skin to remove the make up. I'm super acne prone so I stay away from coconut oil going on face because according to Beneficial Botanicals it has a comedogenic rating of 4 out of 5. 0 being it will not clog pores and 5 being high. I tried Safflower oil which I got at the grocery store. It is suppose to have a rating of 0 but it was making me break out. Maybe I got the wrong kind of oil or for some reason it just doesn't work for
me.

So my routine was as follows:
1. really wanted to do the korean double cleanse but oil wash I ordered from Korea has not yet arrived, therefore used an all light first press virgin olive oil on my face to remove make up and sebaum and other oils. UPDATE 3/29: Replaced by Skinfood Black Sugar Cleansing Oil. Click here to read why the switch was made.

2. I washed it off with one of the 4 face washes on the right side.

I used either the green oil free acne wash or the orange neutrogena rapid clear. Haven't used the oxy in a while, its not bad but the scent is too manly for my taste. My brother loves it though and he suffers from acne as well. I don't use the clean and clear because the 10% benzoyl peroxide dries me out a lot and I heard benzol peroxide gives you wrinkles and that freaked me out.

3. Occasionally about 2-3 times a week I will exfoliate, when I feel my skin needs it. I prefer the Biore polish satiner, the clinic one is not bad.

But you see what I mean when I say I tried so many American products and they just don't really work for me. I'm not super satisfied with any of the above products nor would I consider repurchase except maybe the Biore one.

4. I used a drug store toner it was $2 and it does have a lot of alcohol like most American toners. The composition of the drug store one was super similar to the clean and clear one I used before. I have ordered an alcohol free one from Korea which has not yet arrived, so I plan to keep using the drug store one as I don't have too many complaints about it, except that some days it dries me out a bit too much. Overall for price it is okay I guess, I would repurchase because after I make extractions I need something to disinfect the pores. I wouldn't use it as a go to everyday toner though, it is much too drying.

5. I use this Olay serum after the toner. It is not a bad serum, I have used it in the past before, I recently repurchased 2 of them. It doesn't break me out, absorbs quickly, non greasy, it provides some moisture but not enough by itself. It makes my skin velvety but doesn't do much for complexion or wrinkles. Overall it is not a bad product but definitely not a holy grail or even top 10 favorites item. The price I feel is also a tad sleep it was around the 25 dollar mark.

6. I love this product a lot and use it after the serum on my trouble spots. It is the ELF Zit Zapper acne treatment. It is super cheap. It was a dollar at Jacks 99cent store. I bought like 10 of them. I will do a review of this product in my next blog. It contains 1% salicylic acid.

7. On days when my acne is really bad I follow up the elf zit zapper with my doctor prescribed clindamycin gel. There was an online article about a study where patients were treated with 3 different treatments. One was clindamycin alone, clindamycin with a tretinoin, and clindamycin with salicylic acid. The clindaymycin with salicyclic acid performed as good or even better than the clindamycin with tretinoin. I found the combo effective for my skin. Here is the link to the study if you want to read about it. http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?dv09082

8. Sometimes I use this olay complete moisturizer for sensitive skin. Price is not bad was 11 dollars for a good size product. I don't have any other moisturizers at the moment and I dislike using this at night because it contains sunblock. It is a mediocre day product because the sunblock is spf 15 a lot of information online say you need at least spf 30 if you are going to be outside for a prolong period of time. So I end up putting on another sunblock when I head out anyway. 

My main problem with this is that I think it clogs my pores, it might be the sunblock but I seem to notice more comedones forming after using this product. So I rarely use it, only if I'm super dry after the above steps and really need moisturizing. UPDATE 3/29: REPLACED BY TONYMOLY PURE ECO ALOE GEL 92%. Will post why switch was made. I also never really liked this product anyway it was mediocre at best.

7. My last and favorite step is the Holika Holika Sleeping Mask in Red Wine. I love this product and have a full review on it in my previous blog post. UPDATE 3/29: Still love this item so much. One of my all time top 10 times for sure!

So there you have it, my daily NIGHT routine. At least until my Korean products come in. Signing out and Good luck guys!