Fantastic Skincare - we're snail here 🐌

[botemp]

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I am very slowly working on consolidating the gathered information from previous threads into easier to read formats but it’s slow going. In order to make use of the below form and join in I would suggest reading thread 1 and at the very least the following info sheets (provided they apply to you):

Basics of an Actives Routine

Where to Start

Anti-Ageing Info sheet

Adult Acne Info Sheet

For those who are taking a peek and wondering what this all about, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients (rather than the latest new shiny product and all its empty promises) for our particular skin 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 and the linked docs) so we're not being asked to answer 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 . Please note, the form is not here to generate a routine for you, sometimes it involves product recommendations but mostly it's there so we can answer a specific question without having to go back and forth endlessly. Also, 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.

Well I figured if I burnt my face off at least I could report back to you lot

Thank you JDSTER Lego and Bo for your clay mask recommendations, I was in Boots yesterday and picked up the Una Brennan one. Used last night in the 50 shades routine, didn't get 'grits' but pores do look smaller so worth keeping up. I'll try with the supermud next time. That being said I really like the UB mask, just using that with the SA (before oil) gave me better results than I get with supermud and it's a quarter of the price! So unless the supermud works miracles in the routine then I won't repurchase and will stick with UB.

nickpic I have very bad enlarged/open pores but my skin doesn't look like yours, mine is sort of orange peely whilst yours looks more like it's very dry which is causing it to crack, like Bo said that looks more like dehydration.

user that's great that you liked una Brennan one.

Hi, any recommendations will be gratefully received. Thanks in advance!

Skin type:normal (I think. I tend to break out in spots but my skin doesn't feel oily.*

Approx age (range):* 30-35

Primary skin concern:aging and dull skin and pigmentation. *

Routine :*

AM :wash with forever living liquid soap and apply forever living moisturising creme (not a seller, I just have used it for years because I don't know what else to try)*

PM :*remove make up with a baby wipe and apply more of the above cream

Makeup: medium coverage. Enough to cover dark patches and spots but not too much that it looks caked on.

Occasional treatments:none*

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results:* I break out in spots easily so avoid cheap/greasy products

Things that are really working well for me now:*

Any dietary/health concerns/pregnant:no*

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: eg. Up to 50 but if there is a miracle cream I will pay double that!

I specifically* want young, fresh, glowing skin without pigmentation, and wrinkles

APRIL EMPTIES, TRIALS, AND PLANNED PURCHASES

EMPTIES
None, though TO az acid is not far off, don't think I'll repurchase as it's run out so soon (used every 2nd night for 3 weeks) though may have got a duff tube. Even so, think I've got too many things in my routine doing the same thing so this is the one I'll most likely ditch.

PRODUCTS ON TRIAL:

TO Vit c - really like it, have not had issues with pilling or using in the morning under SPF or makeup. May be wishful thinking but I do feel my skin is a bit brighter. I've been using it for three weeks.

LRP Cicaplast - love it, seems to have amazing healing properties, only been using it for 3 days but healed a bite/spot that had gone scabby and reduced scars from old spots.

LRP SPF 50 spray - quite like it, greasy at first but dried down quite quickly. Will use for topups on my hands, arms and chest and on face when walking straight after work but probably not for outdoor socialising when I'm wearing more makeup. Only used twice so far and not yet tested with heavier makeup.

Una Brennan clay mask - used once but good results, as said in my post above seems to so a better job than the much more expensive supermud.

PLANNED PURCHASES

Una Brennan Vit c cleansing oil. Was eyeing it up in Boots but the hylamide cleansing oil I use at the moment seems to suit my skin so not sure if I should change for the sake of it. Or would it be Vit c overkill as I'm using TO Vit c as well?

Bioderma spray SPF - ordered but not arrived yet.

TO retinol 1% but probably not for a while yet as have introduced quite a few things lately and still have 2% retinoid to use up.

Sunscreens - am looking at LRP Anthelios tinted dry touch, bioderma nude (think that was the name, tinted one for oily/combo skin) and Biore watery essence. My Ultrasun will be finished fairly soon so need to pull the plug on one of these. I know the Biore one is generally well liked but opinions on the other two are most welcome, Bo I know you weren't a huge fan of bioderma nude but with my skin (oily, medium tone) thought it might be a good option.

SPECIAL MENTION:
Hylamide sub q serum, I absolutely love this stuff. Until I found it I was in despair of finding an anti ageing product that wasn't too heavy for day wear or didn't make me excessively oily. It was my gateway product into the world of Deciem and The Ordinary though....which may not be a good thing, though have got my over purchasing under control now thanks to these threads

APRIL EMPTIES, TRIALS, AND PLANNED PURCHASES

EMPTIES:

Shiseido Senka Mineral Water UV Essence SPF50 PA++++

Lovely basic SPF that's more suited for cooler temps as it isn't water resistant. Don't know if I'd repurchase as I'm not the biggest fan of the Avobenzone and Octinoxate filters (due to environmental and photostability issues - the latter not being of concern in this product) and I had primarily purchased this for the sake of thread research.

The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA

Bought this to qualify for free shipping and have had it for forever. Ehm... it's nice... yep, that's about it, it's nice. Granted I'm not exactly the target audience and I just used it as a hydrating serum. I used it far too infrequently to really assess its anti-ageing properties.

Benton Snail Bee High Content Cream

This was actually kind of finished but I had left cutting open the tube for forever and since I ran out of my Tenshi No Bihada cream and haven't really been monitoring my inventory all that much this came in handy. It did, however, confirm that for my normal to somewhat combo skin this is a winter time product only. I already had sussed out that the combo of this and TO Retinoid 2% caused clogging issues for me. Great basic nourishing cream for normal to dryish skin otherwise.

Tenshi no Bihada Hyaluronic Acid Cream

From my Amazon JP haul, at 80g I'd expected to last really long but realistically it's more like a 50ml cream. Cheap (if you disregard the whole shipping exercise as part of a larger haul) and basic, texturally it's very light and pretty much turns into water on the skin but is still both hydrating and moisturising enough even for my normal-ish skin that can get dryish in the winter (I started this in early Feb, lasted about 2 1/2 months with twice daily use). It is a bit slippery and weird on the fingers so often needed a spatula of sorts. Next time might decant it into an airless pump or similar. Ingredient wise it's a bit of a suped up Toleriane Fluide but with a few more humectants and (non oily) moisturising agents. INCI here. Will RP.

PRODUCTS ON TRIAL:

Not testing anything at the moment... oh the shame

PLANNED PURCHASES:

Ehm... loads. As mentioned above I haven't been keeping track of my skincare inventory and I'm out of a few things. Currently juggling several shopping baskets to get the right ratios of product to shipping equation.

*Tenshi no Bihada cream
*Japanese cottons (probably going to try the Shu Uemura ones this time)
*TO Retinoid 2% is nearly finished so will have to RP that too.
*Something with Astaxanthin as I'd further like to boost the antioxidant presence in my AM routine beyond singularly Vit C. I was kind of interested in the Astalift sample set but worry that if I really like it I'm probably not prepared to pay the €50 price tag for the full product. I'm thinking of getting the Antioxidant vial from Skin Actives instead as that contain Astaxanthin and add that to some of my Tenshi No Bihada cream. The other Japanese alternatives appear to be discontinued or difficult to purchase
*Whilst browsing the Skin Actives aisles, I'm also considered getting the Niacinamide vial to add to another portion of Tenshi No Bihada Cream and see how that works out. I'm also thinking of trying their Collagen serum with EGF after all the Bioeffect talk but will probably try it out on the body.
*Sidmool Niaten 10% serum
*Cult Beauty has sent me a discount code as it's my birthday month and I'm thinking lots of Surrat stuff again, provided it's in stock, which it most likely isn't
*Need a new YNBB shade for the nails, my current one true love seems to be unable to protect from UV damage anymore as it yellows out in the sun after a few days and looks a bit 'dirty' it's really, really old. I'd RP it but the brand is no longer sold here and online shops refuse to ship nail polish these days.
*Thinking of buying the Missha FTE again even though it's reformulated for the supposedly worse, the other alternatives just haven't been all that enticing so maybe this is the best out of the mediocre offerings? Or maybe I should just ask for the ridiculously priced SK-II original for my bday
*Decubal Vital Face Cream (translation), a basic high lipid (18%) and high Niacinamide cream (5% I believe) with lots of Ceramides in it, so a good all rounder for the night time but possibly obsolete if I get the Sidmool serum and/or the Nia vial from SA. Will wait for the local H&B to have it on offer anyhow, also want to try their cleansing milk.
*Avene Xeracalm Cleansing Oil - the LRP Lipikar is nearing the end.
*Missha PHA pads for the purposes of this thread but it keeps escaping me to order.
*Peripera Ink Airy Velvet - once I figure out which colours exactly I want... argh, I may just end up buying them all, thankfully they're cheap.

SPECIAL MENTION:

I'm hesitant to try it as it has fragrance but among the new arrivals on EPP I did see an interesting new product from SVR, a 50% Vit C foam treatment/mask type thing which effectively gives 25% of available Vit C (as I understand it) along with Gluconolactone (a polyhydroxy acid PHA). It's SAP based which has confused me somewhat as that's not the go-to Vit C form for brightening (it's a good anti-acne form of Vit C but it doesn't have proven efficacy for other Vit C claims like L-AA and MAP) but I'm still mightily intrigued if only for its shaving foam like appearance. Linking to cocooncenter as it has the full INCI on there but it's cheaper on EPP:

www.cocooncenter.co.uk/svr-hydracid-c50-masque-eclat-50ml/31118.html

APRIL EMPTIES, TRIALS, AND PLANNED PURCHASES*

EMPTIES:*

Soap and glory clean on me. Will RP
TBS honey body balm. Like but will only RP when there's a sale!
Secret key 24k gold first cream. Pot 4 so yes will RP
Kind natured conditioner. It was ok, nothing stand out. If on offer would RP
Original source shower gel - as above
Innisfree hand cream, not sure which scent. I like this, sinks in well and not greasy
L'oreal ever pure shampoo. Like, have already RP. Must be my tenth bottle

PRODUCTS ON TRIAL:*

Melano CC vit C serum. Smells nice, spreads well, doesn't irritate and seems to be helping my skin

TO ret 1%. Flaky red and peeling at first. Better now I have the hang of it! I like and my skin is showing a drastic difference

The organic pharmacy antioxidant lip balm. Was a freebie. Smells good, seems to hydrate well

NYX HD concealer. Good choice of colours, lightweight. Not as creamy/pigmented as the NARS creamy concealer but a decent budget one

Maybelline Angel push up mascara. It's a comb type so don't try if you like a fat brush! I like it so far, easy to get the tiny lashes

Missha collagen eye cream. Um, I don't use eye creams generally so.. Doesn't sting or irritate. Moisturising

PLANNED PURCHASES:*

Lancome 24hr foundation. When my vouchers finally arrive! In 008 which is the palest shade

Purchased but not arrived TO serum and coverage foundation

SPECIAL MENTION:*

A'Pieu sun bling balm I talked about above. Not had chance to try yet but will review once I've tried under foundation

Testing embargoed bath bombs from Boots

Also I have been using Tony moly panda dream cream as a hand cream and thought it was nice. It should be, it's a bloody face cream

#iloveyou perfume from the perfume shop. It smells like cake. And vanilla and a patisserie!

40g is a wee bit small for a hand cream, Lego. Good for in a handbag though. Do keep in mind it's a whole process getting the Amazon JP cart to come out in your favour. You need to buy just enough to stay under the taxes threshold (around £20) and under a kg of things to keep the shipping reasonable or buy a lot of things all at once (import taxes are quite reasonable as they take off the JP ones and don't charge admin costs). Or maybe you've found it on eBay and this all doesn't apply

Don't think it's too controversial JDSTER, more grey area territory. IIRC from my brief look at the Boots and Superdrug Clinics I think it was available through that too so then it becomes perfectly legal but maybe that was isotrex (tret) and epiduo (adapalene + benzyl peroxide) only? I have to say in comparison to my Verso Retinol, TO 2% isn't as good (I've used it for a long enough amount now to confidently say it). Price is the only thing that's got me sticking with TO and my skin isn't in a place where it needs more from a Retinol so I can understand why some might want to switch to something stronger, provided they can tolerate it.

LordWontYouBuyMeAMercedesBenz, have you read through the previous threads and the linked info sheets in the OP? most of the information you're seeking is in there.

usedup, the Bioderma Nude Touch only seems to be available in two colours, natural and dore. The latter being a bit more olive toned so it may work out in your favour, the natural just isn't the ideal match for me and it means I need to wear a base with it to even it out so it kind of defeats its intended purpose for me. As a sunscreen, I have no complaints about it (not water resistant/proof though). I can't remember now but is the LRP Anthelios dry touch the one mint and others were struggling with? I highly suspect if you never tried the original Biore formulation the difference with the new one won't bother much but people always liked Biore primarily for the cosmetic elegance and sort of took it as a given that the UVA coverage was a little on the weak side so it's sort of lost it's USP in that sense. The Biore milk may be a good alternative to look at too.

Totally forgot to add to my shopping list, the kpop idol legs in a bottle sunscreen, Parasola Illumi Skin UV Essence.

It's great reading everyone's empties, trialled and planned.

Lord your skincare regime is basic to say the least . Have you read the 'cheat sheets' in the original post? The anti ageing one will give out details of what a routine should look like for your age. You definitely need a good cleansing regime and an SPF as a bare minimum.

Cross post to Lord there with Bo. Bo I love your, what to me sounds totally obscure, wish list of products .
user forgot to say, I have the anthelios dry touch tinted face spf. It's quite heavy, almost like a foundation, I can't imagine wearing it then applying make up. So far I've used it before going out for a run and I can see it being useful on holiday. It's definitely waterproof. I had to double cleanse to shift it, one cleanse left little droplets of water on my face, like when something is waterproof actually!

I always like to aim for obscure, JDSTER

According to my eBay watch list I also have innisfree water fit cushion and the Tenshi cream Bo mentioned on my wish list

Olli late reply..but yes, throat sweets for after op are a good idea.

Sargeant I've used the cicaplast b5 balm on both new red marks and older ones. It has an almost overnight noticing every effect on the new ones and although slower, I think it helps older ones too. My oldest were probably about 3 months.

Good idea to narrow down the supplements. I'll take another look at Dr Myhill and see what I may have missed.

(It has to be the B5 one btw. I think LRP do one without but it's the b5 that's the magic ingredient)

*noticable

I do wish there was an edit button.

Throat sweets are going on my list. I need to food shop this week so going to grab everything I need then
My tech Google friend (I am not good with technology) has downloaded all the episodes of 13 reasons why onto my iPad for me to keep me occupied!

Thanks Enid I've ordered a little tube, and some of the cleanser Lego recommended. Good offers on both between Look Fantastic and Boots

The red marks are so frustrating aren't they?! Would be great to speed up their disappearance.

JDSTER no I have never used blotting papers, which do u use?
Bo did you see my earlier post replying to your last message about the lrp sprays?
Olli I've been watching 13 reasons why, think I've watched about 6 episodes so far and love it.

I'm waiting for my B5 baume to arrive. It can't come too soon... for some unknown reason I've got 2 spots on my face & 1 on my neck (where the marks take absolutely months to fade). I can't figure out why - can the TO Niacinamide cause purging before it starts to improve the skin? I've only used it 4 nights so far, if it is the Niacinamide that's caused them, will they go away once my skin is used to it? I'm not ill (AFAIK) which is my only other regular cause of random non-hormonal outbreaks of spots.

I have tried the SPF balm. Like so far, it's easy to apply and quite fluid with the cushion. Looks a bit glowy but not shiny, more of a healthy look and no white cast

Wow this thread is amazing! I'll admit to being somewhat confused by much of it but slowly learning... I'm 35 next week and starting to think it's time I took my skincare seriously. I've always taken makeup off, double cleanse etc but I am starting to look older and so here I am.

I've had a look at some of the pages linked etc and I have some products on their way to me (some stuff by the ordinary) so will see if there's any improvement with them.

I wanted to ask about moisturisers (will also read back through to see if I can find answers) basically is there a certain 'type' I should use, or are they all very similar? Are there any that make a difference? I'm struggling to explain what I mean! At the moment I'm using the Boots no7 protect one that came in the advent calendar but I have lots of small sample sized ones (rituals/decleor) and I'm just thinking if any of them are pointless I can get rid/use them up elsewhere rather than have them join an ever growing list of things to try, if that makes any sense at all! Apologies if it doesn't.

If it helps - my main concerns are fine lines, poss some enlarged pores. I tend to an oily t-zone but I don't suffer with any break outs etc.

Thanks very much

I've just found my answers sorry!

Gonna go through my stash now and have a bloody good sort out.

I have a poorly toddler this morning and won't let me put him down so spent the last few hours looking at cleansers! Found a few Japanese ones that I like the look of, only 1 of the ones I was interested in I can't seem to find available here online but that's not to bad. Really need a new daytime moisturizer too so that will pass a little more time

Guy great you've had a read through and found what you need. Moisturisers are genuinely just to add moisture but in this country they seem to be full of empty promises! The products from the ordinary hopefully have the active ingredients you need to address your skin concerns.

Lego it does sound like something in the nia/zinc that could be upsetting your skin if that's all that's changed. Have you just bought it recently I.e. Not just had it stashed away for a while? The first formulation had an ingredient, forgotten what it was, that was causing breakouts but I believe they've removed that now so presumably newly purchased stock won't have the offending ingredient. I find using it every 2nd or 3rd night is better for me and I alternate with retinoid.

mint there's lots of ranges of blotting paper inexpensive through to expensive (shiseido are nice but too much unless someone else buying them for you). I tend to get Boots skin clear, often on offer, cheap as chips and not too much powder- some are very powdery. Clinique used to do a 'film' type with no powder which just absorbed the oil. They were great but discontinued. I'm not sure if Mac do a film type. Dr Sam likes DHC blotting papers apparently but not tried them. People on here with dry skin will be about blotting papers (much like my work colleague with dry skin as I whip mine out twice a day at least )

Talking DHC, Bo I've bought two mini sized DHC cleansing oil from Amazon to try.