Truth be told, I only got into skincare in my last year of university. Shamefully, it was because I started noticing how my peers seem to glow up every single day of the week while I remained as plain old me. I started feeling like my skincare routine was primitive. I felt pressured into thinking that washing my face every day and night was not enough anymore. (Obviously, it isn’t, and I didn’t know better that one had to tone and moisturise too.)

I’ve always thought that my skin was terribly sensitive to any kind of facial product, so I never ventured into skincare before. Not even makeup. I’m not too sure what exactly made me make the change, but I did remember the first product that I tried that was totally out of my undergrad budget that time and was very much a luxury then too. It was Mario Badescu’s Glycolic Acid Toner. I remember that I was reading up on a lot of sebum related topics on skincare. I was determined to fix the overproduction of oil on the surface of my skin. Hence, I turned to this glycolic acid toner, which was honestly a pretty good choice for someone who has no knowledge in using skincare products. That is, apart from the regular face wash.

Moving forward, two years from then, I have tried a handful of skincare products. Not too many to label myself a beauty expert, but perhaps enough of a beauty rookie that I’m confident enough to look at beauty ingredients list and identify if that product would work for me or not.

Now in my beauty arsenal I have one toner (not Mario Badescu’s Glycolic Acid Toner), one hydrator, two moisturisers, two clay masks, one exfoliator, two whiteners or dark spot correctors, two pimple and acne combatants, and three different face washes I alternate after every tube.

Now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty details.

Day 1, Saturday

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Day

I used to wear foundation (like, who doesn’t?) when I started wearing makeup in my last year of university. Back then, I remembered wanting so badly to cover up the hyperpigmentations from acne scars. I did this with layers and layers of foundation and concealer. That was my only objective of wearing foundation. But as the months went by, I started noticing that my skin would break out when I wore liquid foundation. Obviously, one could give it a quick fix with a bit of anti-pimple gel or cream. But I wasn’t happy that I had to go through the pimple process in the first place. I wanted to wear makeup without sacrificing it to acne.

And so, about five months ago, I chucked away the quarter-empty bottle of foundation I had. Instead, I got a Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Bisque. It was the best decision I had made, cosmetics-wise. I had the benefit of the brown-beige tint to work like foundation. At the same time, it is essentially moisturising my skin while making me look made up. On top of that, this tinted moisturiser is extremely light on the skin. It feels weightless and less baked, unlike the regular liquid foundation. And even better, this tinted moisturizer not only tints and moisturises, but it also has SPF 30. It’s technically an SPF level that’s not enough in Singapore, but it’s a start. (I am especially guilty for not wearing sunscreen. Oops.) Following this moisturiser, I do my makeup as per normal.

Bio Essence Exfoliating Gel Day

At night when I return home and take my makeup off, I would also exfoliate my skin. Isn’t this a little contradicting, considering I’ve “moisturised” throughout the day only to get rid of it at the end? Here’s something good to know: I don’t exfoliate as regularly as one is advised to (that is, exfoliate once a week). I only exfoliate when my skin feels clogged and generally unbreathable. My skin also gets dehydrated easily. This explains why I have an overproduction of sebum to make up for the lack of natural moisture. So, I will only perform this step when I feel like I need it.

I use Bio Essence’s Bio-Renew Royal Jelly Exfoliating Gel. I like it compared to other types of exfoliators (such as AHA and/or BHA). That’s because I can actually see the flakes that (supposedly) carry out the dirt from within my skin. Then, I would rub it with two fingers around my face for a few minutes. I make sure to cover every surface of my skin before rinsing it off and continuing with face wash. The theory is that when you’ve exfoliated with this exfoliating gel, dirt trapped deep in your skin can easily resurface. This makes it easier to get rid of them during face washing.

So far, I haven’t had a negative experience from using it. Apparently, I also buy into this theory despite not seeing visible results apart from the flakes. If anything, I would only make a repurchase if this product is on sale. I find its usual selling price a little too high for me based on my skincare experience with this exfoliating gel.

Day 2, Sunday

Origins Retexturizing Rose Clay Mask Day

The next day, I will apply one of two clay masks, both from Origins: Retexturizing Rose or Out of Trouble. The first one gives me a more luxurious feeling because the pink clay liquid is infused with exfoliating Jojoba beads. Even the clay itself smells great. I like how it feels when it’s first squeezed out of the tube onto my fingertips, and how it feels when I swipe it across my face.

I have this habit of piling clay in a thick layer onto my skin because I like the feeling of its weight on my face. It’s obviously not your usual expectation for a skincare product, but I’m giving it a pass for clay masks in general.

After a few minutes, the mask will start to harden. I would leave the mask on for about 15 minutes, then rinse it off. You know how some advertisements claim that their products make their skin instantly better after one use? I’m not going to say anything like that next, but I sure am going to acknowledge that my skin does feel soft and actually regular.

This clay mask resets my skin to square one, in a good way. I get to carry out the rest of my skincare routine knowing that my skin will remain this good for the next three days. Of course, I wouldn’t recommended anyone to apply clay masks too often because it does have drying effects on the skin. So, I combat this by spraying on Bybi’s Mega Mist. It’s my version of an all-purpose hyaluronic acid hydrator that saved my skin from thirst too many times.

Or Origins Out of Trouble Clay Mask Day

As for Origins Out of Trouble clay mask, I am able to wear this mask more often than the Retexturizing Rose one. It feels milder to the skin though it’s meant to combat acne and oily skin. The clay liquid isn’t as fluid as the Retexturizing Rose one, so spreading it on my face requires just a bit more effort. It would be a lot of help if you had a cosmetic spatula with you to help spread it out. I also like to spread this even thicker than the Retexturizing Rose one because it is quite viscous, doesn’t spread to well, so it gets thicker as I try to get a sort-of full coverage of my skin with this mask. Also, the scent has a hint of mint in it, probably from its camphor content.

Then, I leave it for about 10 to 12 minutes and rinse it off. For this mask, I’ve learnt not to leave it on for too long unlike the Retexturizing Rose one. I find that it’s more effective when I use it more frequently in a week, perhaps 2 to 3 times, but also maximize its use to 12 minutes each time.

Because this mask is essentially meant to combat acne and pimples, furthermore containing a sound mixture of most known anti-acne ingredients such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide and salicylic acid (not included are niacinamide and witch hazel, both of which I adore and look for in anti-acne products), it’s best to follow the instructions given on the back of the tube, which is to use it for 10 minutes. I play cheat and use it for 12 minutes instead. It feels like medication in a less pharmaceutical kind of way, so one still has to take precautions when using it. It’s skincare, all right? But also, it is skin-care.

Day 3, Monday

Sebamed Anti-Pimple Gel Day

On days when I don’t have acne (which is not always), I will only put on Sebamed Anti-Pimple Gel when I need it. But most times, I put it on if that particular day’s skincare routine allows me to layer it in.

I’ve had my fair share of trying out different anti-pimple gels from a myriad of brands. I’ve also learnt that I am one of the few who are unfortunately allergic to tea tree oil, an ingredient commonly found in anti-pimple products because of its anti-inflammatory property. Then, I stumbled upon this German brand called Sebamed.

Back then when I started out trying to fix my forever-present acne problem at age 21, I didn’t know any ingredient that was good for combating acne and pimples. I knew about Mario Badescu’s drying lotion, which I couldn’t afford at that time because I was still an undergrad student and penniless. So, I turned to the usual Guardian or Watsons (a drugstore/chain store in Singapore that stocks health and beauty products of all kinds). I was just eager to get my hands on something. I saw a multitude of skincare brands with the word acne sprawled across the face of different packages. But in the end, I picked up Sebamed’s toner and anti-pimple gel.

I remember vividly that I didn’t know the difference between the different brands’ products, so I chose Sebamed by chance. Perhaps it is also because of the skin pH-balancing effect it is said to promote. Luckily for me, I chose the right product (yes, the right one!) though I picked it blindly. Sebamed’s facial toner and anti-pimple gel contain witch hazel, written on the packaging as hamamelis virginiana, which works very well for me in combating acne and pimples. While most people turn to tea tree oil to treat acne, I use witch hazel.

Here’s How I Use Sebamed’s Anti-Pimple Gel Correctly

On another note, I would like to say that, at this point of time, I have more or less mastered the use of Sebamed Anti-Pimple Gel. I mastered it in my attempt to get rid of two pimples that appeared in the centre of my face, most likely because my skin felt dehydrated then. I medicated my pimples for two days, applying and reapplying the anti-pimple gel every four hours. By the second day, the deeply seated pus had surfaced to the top of my skin. It’s all yellow and “cooked”, ready to be popped. But I stopped myself from popping because the surrounding skin is still red and inflamed. So I continued to medicate the pimple with the anti-pimple gel and by the third day, the yellow pus was too hard and dry to medicate anymore that it just fell off while I was washing my face.

Based on this experience and the subsequent ones, the “Disappear in 3 Days!” tagline actually works. You just have to be religiously and continuously applying the gel on the pimple to raise the pus to the surface and then to dry it out so it’s easier to pop it off your face.

Day 4 & 5, Tuesday & Wednesday

Palmer’s Dark Spot Corrector + Palmer’s Fade Cream Day

Too often, no matter what I do treat my acne, it will always end with bad hyperpigmentation. Currently, the Sebamed Anti-Pimple Gel helps to bring out the pus from within so I don’t end up with real scars and holes on my face. But hyperpigmentation will always come back for my skin.

To treat I started using two of Palmer’s products: Dark Spot Corrector in serum form and Fade Cream. Both of these contain retinol. Retinol is Vitamin A, commonly known to help lighten pigmentations as well as heal scars including reducing wrinkles and fine lines. From my experience with these two products, it takes between two to three weeks for the hyperpigmentation to fully disappear. Within the first week of using, you will start to notice that most of the dark areas are starting to lighten. The rest of the two weeks is mostly used to lighten the darker seated parts that are harder to remove.

Here’s How I Use Palmer’s Dark Spot Corrector & Fade Cream

For me, I mostly use the Dark Spot Corrector serum and Fade Cream layered over each other, first being the serum, then the cream only on the areas where there is hyperpigmentation. Typically, I use it like a spot treatment and pile it on in a thick layer on specific areas. Also, the Dark Spot Corrector has specks of glitter in its serum, so you look and feel very regal having that serum on.

Applying Bybi Mega Mist hyaluronic acid hydrator before I put on the serum and cream is one of my must-do skincare steps, if not the only. I find that the combination of these three products working in layers gives my skin a more lacquer-like finish and visibly minimised pores the next day. I can still see sebum on my skin, but it’s in a really light layer, just enough to make my skin feel hydrated as well as oiled. Also, when I touch my skin, the sebum doesn’t feel greasy like the usual face grease. It has a bit of shine, but when you touch it, it’s like some kind of protective liquid layer. On top of that, the serum and cream are doing their whitening magic while hydrating my skin underneath. All of these put together makes me feel very accomplished in my skincare routine.

Day 6, Thursday

Bybi Mega Mist Day

I feel like I’ve spoken plenty on the Bybi’s Mega Mist. It’s because it’s that good. Truth be told, I spray on Mega Mist whenever I can. At the start of my skincare routine in the evening or just before I leave the house in the morning for work. For us ladies with overly active sebum producing skin, you should take a chance on Bybi’s Mega Mist. It’s also possible that your skin is actually really dehydrated that it starts producing a ton of face oil just to make up for the lack of moisture. Hyaluronic acid in Mega Mist does an awesome job at keeping the skin hydrated by attracting surrounding moisture into your skin. I make it a thing to spray on Mega Mist before I proceed with any serum, cream, additional moisturiser or acne treatment.

Glossier Priming Moisturizer Rich Day

But then, if hyaluronic acid attracts moisture into your skin to hydrate it, what exactly keeps moisture in? Beats me, honestly. Just know that Mega Mist has its own magical way to keep moisture in. Apart from Mega Mist, I also use Glossier’s Priming Moisturizer Rich, all for two groups of ingredients: ceramides and fatty acids.

Briefly, ceramides are the ones that help lock in moisture (not attract moisture into the skin). So, Beverly Hills dermatologist Harold Lancer recommends on Allure that you should begin applying your ceramide cream just after a shower. While your skin is still damp (not wet), that’s when the ceramide will do its job best because it has moisture to trap. As for fatty acids such as omega-3s, -6s and -9s, they are essential to the body, though the body itself can’t produce them. These are the good and healthy fats that actually help with skin hydration and preventing inflammation.

As Glossier’s Priming Moisturizer Rich is literally quite rich in weight, I only apply this cream when I need to, that is, when my skin feels like it’s lacking oils or if I need an extra moisturising boost on top of the Mega Mist hyaluronic acid spray.

Day 7, Friday

Sebamed Deep Cleansing Facial Toner Day

Last but definitely not the least, Sebamed’s Deep Cleansing Facial Toner is actually first in line to all things beauty in my life at this point. At times I will feel too lazy or feel that my skin could use some rest from all the treatment, correction and medication to just be itself. Even when I let my skin free once in a while, I would still try to apply Sebamed Facial Toner. This is because it has a pH 5-balancing property, which is approximately the natural pH level of our skin. (Yes, it surprised me too to find out that human facial skin is slightly acidic in nature.)

A lot of times, face washing strips the skin of its natural oils that its pH levels get altered. To me, the least I can do for my skin on my most sluggish days is to return its pH level to its natural one after a quick face wash.