Ditch The Foundation, Embrace Some Fantastic Skincare Instead!

[botemp]

Thread 1

Thread 2

Thread 3

Thread 4

For those who are taking a peek and wondering whether thread 1,2, 3, and 4 are worth reading, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients for our particular needs. Distinguishing the acid toners from the actives whilst avoiding the truly unimpressive and harmful ingredients with a hope to achieve a bit of anti-ageing, alleviate irritation and sensitivities with some idle chat in between. Deviations on this thread are mostly my fault.

If you're in need of some advice coming to grips with your skincare routine please don't hesitate to ask, we don't bite, only occasionally sting with a bit of Biologique Recherche P50 now and then . Just make sure to state clearly what your concerns and needs are in as much detail as possible, skincare is highly individual and a random recommendation for a 'good' product will be completely different from one person to the next.

Make sure you've read the earlier threads (or at the very least the first one) so we're not being asked to answer to previously raised questions. It takes a lot of time and effort to answer these queries and often the answers can be found in previous threads, but if you still have questions relating specifically to you, use the following form to make life easier on us. We generally answer one or to two people a day on a first come first served basis. Not everyone will have answers and sometimes we can't answer you at all. We're only a bunch of amateurs that can respond by suggesting what we would do in your place, for any severe conditions please seek out professional help.

Skin type:

Approx age (range):

Primary skin concern:

Routine :

AM :

PM :

Makeup : eg. no/light coverage/medium coverage/heavy coverage

Occasional treatments:

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results:

Things that are really working well for me now:

Any dietary/health concerns/pregnant:

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: eg. >£10, £10-20, £20-50, £50-100, no limits.

I specifically [want help with/am looking for a product to/am curious about trying]:

---

Ahem, and finally a little note on spending. I'm well aware these threads cause many to reach for their wallets and spend with wild abandon. There can sometimes be a bit of a frenzy surrounding the excitement around a newly discovered product or on the back of great improvements when someone reports back. This is all great, it doesn't however, mean everything that's a sudden miracle for one will be it for you. Usually, it's a light bulb moment for connecting the right skincare ingredient with an individual experiencing a specific problem. Take your time to mull over decisions and question whether it's right for you too. Skincare is highly individual, it's a slow game that should cost mostly in patience, input, education, and perseverance. Please don't make it cost you financially needlessly either.

*LRP cicaplast b5 balm.

The name of the product I'm talking about might help...

Thanks Aurora.

Still loving The Concealer. I've worn it every day and I'm usually v inconsistent re whether I can be bothered with make up. It's just enough 😀

I know exactly what you mean pupsie

I couldn't get to The Concealer yesterday. I did buy a Dior lip glow but no Concealer. Maybe next week time.

Hair colour is on. Fingers crossed.

botemp thank you so much for your comprehensive response, I really appreciate the time you have taken to write it, so kind of you! The scarring I have is a result of old blemishes and sometimes trying extraction from my horrid visible pores.

I think Asian skin does scar much more that Caucasian skin and it is definitely a bit thicker. It has its good points but the tendancy for scarring and the pores are definitely not included.

I am using the MAP as a moisturiser in the morning. I find it quite rich on my skin and don't think i could put on another cream/lotion on top. I just don't think it would sink in. Do you think i need something else?

I am using a SPF daily after MAP, the Soap & Glory one at the moment but I think I will investigate the Biore Watery Essence and give that a try as I've heard good things, has anyone tried this or got anything better? I need something that will work with my makeup and not make me really greasy .

I have to confess that I haven't been using another moisturiser at night. Ive been trying to get the retinol to work as effectively as possible and I thought that would mean no moisturiser was best. I have to say though that my skin hasn't felt dry or tight, the Azaleic in particular feels kind of moisturising. Is there anything that you would recommend?

I hadn't realised that Alpha Arbutin was a derivative of hydroquinone, that is kind of worrying! I think I will look into that a bit further, last thing I want is to whiten the rest of my face and make the scarring look even darker!

I will investigate your cleanser recommendations, I had a feeling that I may be overdoing the acid, using it in tue facewash too. Will also look at mandelic and kajic acid and the mandalic product you recommended.

I saw CH post on insta about BR, hadnt heard of it before and I did google. I had assumed this couldnt be bought on line and had ruled it out as I wouldnt be able to get to London to purchase. It does sound interesting but I'm not that keen on a CH recommendation as my own opinion is that her skin isn't like mine and also given the amount of stuff she has access to? Id expect her skin to look a bit more wow! Given that you have mentioned it I am going to have another look now!

yongnian I'm excited to give the VitC a try now I hear that it might be the way to go. A sunscreen that is a bit lighter will also help as i think i will be a lot more though in applying enough if it isn't making my face greasy. Always good to hear from someone who has some of the same concerns as you. Aging isn't my worry right now but I'm sure that will happen soon enough!

This thread is amazing, I'm hoping we all get to our happy skin place, without spending a fortune too!

For the love of god. My roots look orangy. Haven't rinsed conditioner yet but ffs. Dye has zero red in it. My roots had zero red on them.

Ffs. I'm trying to put aveda black malva conditioner over my lovely new orange toned brown hair. It'll probably go green now. Also zero grey coverage so 🖕🏻 to you L'Oréal preference. Cool light brown my arse. Sorry, O know it's not skin related but I need a whinge about it. Spent almost a year getting rid of the colour and my fringe and top part back to natural and now it's exactly the brassy brown it used to be. And I did the permenant one. 😫

Oh Enid! Maybe it'll look better in the daylight.....

Hope your hair isn't looking too bad this morning enid

Enid that sucks..I know there are some V knowledgeable hairdressers on the board. Is it worth posting? Growing colour (or layers) out is a ballache.

Aurora I think it's me you're thinking of - I have both the SC and TO Retinols/Retinoids and was using them both but not at the same time! I'd hoped the TO 2% would acclimatise my skin to retinol so I could go back to using the SC 1%, but it didn't work. I've relegated the SC to my decollete :)

Enid If you need to strip the colour a bit, try shampooing with Head and Shoulders... I've had to do that a few times Good luck!

Can anyone recommend me a powder to just take down the shine in t zone but also kind to my dehydrated and compromised barrier skin?? No fragrance either? Oh and not full of silicones lol am I asking too much?!

bo you know what my skin is like but I really do need something to address the congestion/filaments and dullness that plagues me sometimes, is there anything at all you think I could possibly get away with?

Grrrr I still have stitches in but they've said I can have a bath and wash wound from today but still no antiperspirant/deo

I loved the LE video starring Mary Greenwell too, Aurora. I'm always so amazed at how much I can pick up from one video starring her vs. hundreds of others who all just do the same thing. She also had my most wanted Surrat products (the contour and highlight) which I've been waiting forever for to get back into stock already and now I want it even more! She made me all excited about eyeshadows again too, it was applied so flatteringly and soft.

Sceptic, the TO Vit C 23% can be used before or after, normal pH dependent Vit C should be used post cleansing before BHA and AHAs (in that order).

I actually sent back my order for TM which I'd bought before buying THE concealer but arrived after. It really is all the base product I need now which sort of makes up for the fact that it's pretty much the same price.

superstaary, here's where I'll stick up for CH. It's a bit like that Italian saying, 'Don't trust a skinny chef.' Someone with great skin genetically is never going to be someone you want to approach for skincare on that argument alone, their involvement and effect on it is pretty minimal. CH didn't inherit the best genes for ageing, it's nothing she can do much about and I suspect there may have been some extended sunbathing in her past before this was considered a harmful thing. You really can't blame her for that and we really can't know how good or bad her regime is, only she knows her skin best so I do have to trust in the fact that she's working in the best interest of that. In broad lines my approach to skincare isn't very different than hers and in places it diverts vastly and I do see the merrit of her recommendations and approach for some. In a sense her skin is somewhat more like yours than you think, it'll take a bit more prodding to get to react to products but you won't require the heavy occlusive side of it.

Biore will probably suit you better but I'd wait out the new formulation that's water resistant and will be out later this month. Hopefully, Amazon Japan will ship it, currently it's very hit and miss what they will ship globally. I just placed an order with them for the first time on Wednesday and it's already arrived in the Amsterdam depo this morning! Can't wait for it to get here but with my luck I probably won't be home for it and it'll be here Monday...

SPF works in place of moisturiser, especially if a serum is less watery and more oily, you just hadn't mentioned an SPF in your routine. I would use the Vit C 23% in place of the MAP not on top off. Don't panic about the Arbutin, it is deemed safe and a lot less problematic than HQ. I was simply left wondering if it's the best active for darker skins as it's one you only really hear being enjoyed by very pale SEA for 'whitening' (read brightening) purposes.

I can't remember which spa it was, but Pupsie will remind me, but they will sell P50 to you in the UK over the phone/email and send it to you.

Enid, oh no! That's the nightmare that has always kept me away from box dye, hope it's not as bad this morning.

mint/jo, I've only ever really liked Laura Mercier's Translucent Loose Setting Powder and the Chantecaille HD Perfecting Powder compact (the latter sadly having disappeared in a hotel room and I've never had the heart to repurchase it). Granted I haven't tried many others but they usually ended up making me super dehydrated and patchy looking instead of finished. I know there's the By Terry hydrating one specifically for this problem, never tried it myself and is possibly fragranced.

Wrt the 'something to address the congestion/filaments and dullness', it's a tough one at best I could say look at the INCI for the Skinceuticals Retexturing Activator which is an Urea derived serum that works like an AHA exfoliator but without the potential irritation, NIOD have that non-acid acid precursor thing that would fall under the same category albeit with different ingredients, and as discussed before you'd need something with ceramides like the Superdrug serum to help restore the barrier. I think I also mentioned you could look at that Silica product Aurora linked to once that helped her son's eczema. PHA acids are another to look into though there's little out there yet that isn't also mixed with traditional acids. There are a few new Asian releases coming up that I haven't looked into yet but I'm sort of anticipating those won't suit you well ingredient wise.

Mint I've got the ByTerry Hyaluronic powder - it's great for my dry/dehydrated skin, doesn't lead to patchiness etc. Expensive, but it'll last me years and feels unlike any other powder I've had.

Thanks bo I'll check these out. Wrt the Superdrug serum I already use and like the hylamide sub q serum so don't need the Superdrug one?
So the skinceuiticals product or the niod one how would I use these in conjunction with my routine of cleanse, sub q, moisturise?

tsmummy08 thank you I'm gonna look at that one

Oh sorry bo meant to say im a bit worried about the silica product as I think it breaks me out, avene water was high in silica and I got little whiteheads

Well the superdrug has the necessary ceramides, I think sub q doesn't and neither does the dermalogica moisturiser. Ceramides is definitely something I'd consider incorporating somewhere in your routine to help with barrier repair. But in all honesty, my preferred route of choice for you would still be to seek out a dermatologist with all this.

It's tough to say about Silica, with you it's often a formulation and several ingredients issues rather than just one defining thing so it may well be that you're fine with it in one place but not in another. The By Terry powder is pretty much all silica so I'd discount that one if that's a concern.

Sorry meant to add, the NIOD or SC would be like an acid product but I think they all would slip into the serum stage so before or after Sub Q and always before Moisturiser. The NIOD might feel a little safer as ingredients are similar to Sub Q and at least they'll help you out (refund wise) if you have a bad reaction, I don't know if SC has a similar policy but it has a much shorter INCI and has additional (non-oily) moisturising benefits which may also be preferable in that sense.

Thank you all for the hair sympathy.
I know it's just hair. It's not quite as bad after the aveda. It looks fine, just not at all what I wanted, the roots are a different shade from the ends, grey hairs are still there and it is brassy when the light hits it. Spent 2 years getting semi colour so that the permanent I used to get would grow out. I liked how it faded and my own colour was nice. Why didn't I leave it. 🙄

I really need a new good hair salon. Few and far between here. Daren't put anything else on it myself and think if I try to wash it out, it'll go brassier. Maybe it's not that bad...at least it's not too dark I suppose... Could be worse.

Thanks bo is there any other products with ceramides, maybe a night cream? Or can I use the Superdrug serum be used with the sub q too??
Yeah I just saw the ingredients of the terry powder and thought it's prob a no no. I've heard also that people who can't use silicone based products won't get on with silica?? It's mostly the cyclo something cone I don't like.

The silica thing is very interesting. I never even thought to look at the avene water that closely. My skin seems to like it but I wasn't sure about the LRP one. I'll have to look to see what differences they have.

It's weird because every time I used the avene water I noticed tiny little whiteheads cropping up which is a shame because I liked the feel and dampness to help absorption of products.

bo meant to ask do you know any other moisturisers which are oil free, fragrance free, alcohol free which are hydrating without leaving residue!? What are your thoughts on the dermalogica active moist?