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.

Hello you wise people! I am hoping someone may be able to help me with products for my skin. I shall try and explain much as possible so sorry if it's long.

Skin type: I am fair, with blemishes but no spots which break above the surface of the skin. A bit of redness and big pores. Very oily forehead, and get flaky skin on my nose and cheeks next to my nose. I have acne scarring on the sides of my cheeks closest to my hairline. My skin used to be very sensitive but I think it has settled a bit recently.

Basically I had bad acne for a decade. Roaccutane cleared it up last year (a bloody miracle!) but now my skin has totally changed. I am out of my depth with skincare and interested in acids etc.

Age: 26

Primary skin concern: blemishes/redness and a bit of flakiness. My skin just looks really dull and the surface isn't great. When I finished roaccutane my skin looked amazing but recently it just looks shite.

Routine AM: slap on a bit of Cetaphil moisturiser and then makeup

PM: remove makeup using Body Shop chamomile cleansing balm and then moisturise afterwards.

Makeup: I don't need advice on makeup but I love the stuff! I have gone from having to wear a really full heavy coverage to now wearing a bb cream, concealer and a bit of powder. I wear quite a bit on my eyes and also brows so need something which removes makeup well.

Occasional treatments: I've never ever had anything done at a salon or beautician place!

Things I've tried with disastrous results: I thought the La Roche Posay 3 step system would be a life saver for me but it literally did nothing. This was in my acne days though. I've tried many products over the years but nothing with my new skin. Hence the help I need.

Things working well for me now: I really love how well the chamomile balm I'm using currently removes makeup. It's effortless.

No health concerns

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: Preferably as cheap as possible as I'm a student. Less than £10 would be amazing but I can stretch to £10-20 if needed.

I specifically want help with a good routine which suits my skin. I have seen a bit about acids etc but it really confuses me the more I read about it. I have attached some photos so hopefully you can see a bit better what my skin looks like

I'll be ever so pleased if you could help me!

Bit embarrassed about how infrequently I am on here at the mo!

I have huge breakouts across both cheeks, not a place they usually appear. Feeling sad about those!

Did you see Dr Sam recommended THE concealer? The secret is out.

Anyone who uses it, do you know how it compares to the no7 dark circle corrector?

bo I've given up on the Superdrug serum and am back to my usual routine which I've been on since August, can I introduce the niod naap? Also I always get red spots on my neck any ideas why?
I'm still on hunt for a base that my skin likes, I've tried so many grrrr! I don't like foundation it just doesn't work on my skin for some reason! So need something like a bb cream or a tint but feel like I've tried them all!

SheStood And the price has gone up on Allbeauty

In other news, I used a Casmara gold mask for the first time this evening (ok, I shared one with my 8yo daughter), and my skin is surprisingly plumptious and soft! Lovely stuff :)

My pink parcel box arrived today, pretty pleased
Got bath salts which are lavender and lime, berry toothpaste (YAY!! I can't use mint!), a buttercream scented body lotion, a necklace, pomegranate sheet mask plus chocolate, mint tea and some little fondant fancy things

Felix I'm sure Bo will have some advice too, but I've got some thoughts: Cetaphil isn't a great moisturiser, which one is it that you use? There are a couple on the Boots website.

And a decent SPF will be recommended - perhaps either the Biore watery essence or new Body Shop one (I've used both and they're excellent).

For the evening: The BS Chamomile cleanser is great, then for a second cleanse the Toleriane cleanser or other light cleanser (I like the BS Aloe one). It's then that you'd use an acid to help with texture: there are a few that are popular on here but I'm still working my way through the Nip and Fab Extreme glycolic pads.

Finally a moisturiser and/or oil depending on your skin type.

After getting a basic routine together you can introduce other actives like vit C, which may help with pigmentation... Hope that helps a bit :)

Tsmummy thank you, that's all really helpful.

This is the Cetaphil moisturiser I use http://www.boots.com/health-pharmacy/medicines-treatments/skin-problems/cetaphil-moisturising-cream-100g-10118022

It's what I bought to use when I was on my acne treatment because it gives you extremely dry skin. I hate wasting products so just carried on using it but it's almost finished now! It's definitely too rich for my skin now I think.

SPF is something I was going to ask about but forgot to mention it. I saw the new BS one pop up somewhere recently (may have been a review on a blog or something?) - is it quite high, like 50spf or something? My bb cream has spf but it's only 15 so pretty pointless really.

I have looked at the Nip & Fab products before but never bought them because I've seen a few people say they are really harsh on their skin. Although I suppose I don't know until I've tried them.

Thanks again for the advice

Forgot to say about moisturiser - I'm really unsure what sort of thing I should be looking for? I have an oily forehead but that's probably because I have a fringe. The rest of my skin isn't as bad at all. It's hard to know what constitutes as 'normal' skin!

Has anyone used the face theory supergel lotion moisturiser??

Thanks, yongian, I missed it but no remorse as it's the small version and it was a pickup only type listing.

Felix and eversions I'll get back to you after the weekend. Felix, you haven't answered what your skin type is exactly, I'm having a hard time taking it as 'very oily' (on the forehead) as someone truly oily would not be able to start their day without cleanser, let alone get moisturiser to adhere in the AM.Is it more the case that during the day the oil production gears up? Wrt sensitivity was that during the Roaccutane (or other treatments)? Which LRP 3 step system did you try, there are many lines of them.

Storm, I apologise, but since Donald Trump and his weird tweets I can't read the word 'sad' online in a 'normal' way anymore.

Sorry didn't mean to be deliberately vague wrt to skin type! I find it difficult to decipher what my skin is actually like because it's so much different now to how it used to be. It's not horrendously oily, it's manageable. It does build up over the day but I'm sure it's because I have a full fringe. When I was under the dermatologist for my acne treatment, he did mention the fringe issue and said I may get some spots on my forehead because of it (which I do). So I may just have to put up with it, which I can live with.

My main issue is with blemishes/redness, flakiness around my nose, surface texture being a bit rough and not nice and smooth, and my skin just looking really dull in general. I finished the treatment in May/June last year and haven't tried any different skincare since. When I finished treatment, my skin looked really bright and was very smooth and minimal redness/blemishes. I've not had any sort of proper skincare routine since then which is why it's all gone downhill.

Sensitivity was pre-treatment. I would have allergic reactions to random cosmetics I would try, which would give me really sore and dry skin under my eyes, round my nose and mouth. I've not had a reaction for maybe a year or two now, but I haven't tried many new products in that time. I could never work out what I was allergic to - I had reactions to MAC foundation (unsure specifically which one) and ELDW, some moisturisers, some over the counter acne treatments. There was more than that but that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

The LRP I used was the Effaclar anti-blemish system

Ooh also remembered Kiehls was one I had a very bad reaction too. I can't remember what range it was but my DM bought me a moisturiser and something else from there.

Do those goo.gl links to The Ordinary products mean that Gothamista is part of the DECIEM affiliate program?

user, these days anything that is not presented as a direct clean link (but even those can be tampered with) I assume to be an affiliate link. I have Ghostery to block the bulk of it and generally clear out my cookies before purchasing anything as I can't really keep track of whose affiliate program overwrites the others with all those tracking cookies that still reward payment when you go back to the site (not using the affiliate link) within a certain time period (14 days - month usually) on your own account and purchase anything from there.

Gothamista, whilst informative and relatively impartial, is someone who has worked in the Beauty Industry for eons and there is plenty of evidence that she favours certain products from certain US k-beauty stores (who undoubtedly keep her bathroom full of products to review) and even does videos for them. There's a heavy whiff of commercialism around the channel but so far I haven't seen anything truly damming that has put me off.

Thanks Botemp

I was surprised that Gothamista chose to reply to this comment in the way that she did (lots of other comments not responded to) until I realised (well I went looking for it) that she has an affiliate link to the Sulwhasoo product on another video.

Comment on The Ordinary video:

'You are my personal hero. I had to look at the prices three times. This after spending $400 on Sulehasoo and O Hui.'

Reply

Gothamista1 day ago

'I know, right?? Don't get me wrong though...they will not do for you what Sulwhasoo will! IMO money spent on sulwhasoo is money well spent!'

A 'whiff of commercialism' indeed.

bo I understand what you are saying, however what else can I do to restore it? The Superdrug serum you suggested wasn't good on my skin and it was only very basic anyway so don't see how that would have had any major impact on restoration anyway? I'm very willing to add products that will do this as I want to be happier with my skin but as you say u are reluctant to recommend me anything so am at a loss

Hi there - just wanted to say a big thanks to Botemp - I bought the recommended Paula's Choice and Facetheory with a new focus on salicylic acid and love both! I noticed a difference within a few days - my skin looked more lively than it has done for many months. Will keep using them and hope that it may long continue!

bo just to add, I'm only happy with my cleanser (dermalogica ultracalming) which I've used for years and hylamide subq which has defo helped a little with dehydration although does turn my skin red for a little while after. I'm definitely not happy with my moisturiser!

ChiChi which FaceTheory product did you get?

Shop I bought the Relaxing Night Cream with hyaluronic acid, the Regenerating Moisturiser with Retinol, collagen and argan oil and Regenacalm serum with 2% retinal l and hyaluronic acid. I really like all of them so far!

I'm in need of some serious guidance...

Skin type: Extreme combination, sensitive, occasional hormonal outbreak around jawline.

Approx age (range): early 30s

Primary skin concern: unbalanced: greasy and also dry/flakey - very apparent when wearing makeup. Deep black under eye bags becoming increasingly worse and sensitive. Pores the size of saucers

Routine : minimal, lacking continuity

AM :
cleanse - Biore Pore Penetration Charcoal Bar using hands
mositurise - Elizabethan Quince, Goat Milk & Manuka Honey Skin Cream for All Skin Types, Quince, Goat Milk & Marshmallow AHA Eye Cream

Occasionally I'll use Oceanus Marine Renewal Skin Cleansing Cream

^ all the long winded named products are from a here I wonder if they're too rich for my skin

PM : exactly the same as morning

Makeup : Minimal OR non-existent again, mainly due to it looking flakey on my skin. I try to use natural where possible. (skinshop.co.uk + Neils Yard have worked ok in the past). I tend to want to claw my face off after a day at work, so often go without completely

Occasional treatments: Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads - attempted to use regularly and they appear to do naff all for me. L'Oreal Paris Pure Clay Purity Mask once or twice a month when I remember

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results: Paula's Choice products seems to have no effect: Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid and CALM Redness Relief SPF 30 Moisturizer gives me a white sheen

Things that are really working well for me now: Nothing particularly :(

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: under £20 per product or less ideally. Easy access will be key to me keeping a routine, natural as poss.

ChiChi I've been using the regenacalm serum for a couple of months, I really really like it. I've also just started using the relaxing nightcream and enjoying that too.
I'm going to try their new vitamin C serum when it comes out, I'm a big FaceTheory fan

Mint, I have the facetheory gel lotion moisturiser. It's a great moisturiser, but a little on the greasy side for me (I have oily skin). The Neutrogena hydro boost water gel is perfect for me, sinks in immediately & skin feels hydrated not oily. (I think they do a water cream preparation too for normal to dry skin) Both contain HA

Thanks sunshiney

botemp, is this the Neutrogena LED system you mean? I've always been curious whether they actually work or not. I like the sound of this particular one as it covers the whole face in one go rather than having to spend ages on separate parts!