Nice view, ain't it?As you all may or may not know, I have severe dry skin. Okay, maybe I'm just exaggerating the 'severe' part, but that's how I would put it when if my skin consultant back in my hometown suggests it. On every appointment, she would go, "Norlaila, kulit awak masih kering. Sila kurangkan pakai Meeeeeekap,"
Yep.
But for starters, I dislike people calling me Norlaila. We all have the names that we don't want people to call us because that would reflect the total opposite of us. Norlaila is that name to me. Instantenously, I would feel the need to be all shy and respectful just to give credit of the name. but what does Norlaila has to do with the topic right now? Nothing.
There is absolutely nothing I can do with the makeup part. I mean, I like makeups and I want to be able to wear them regardless of my skin condition. As long as I have a face lah senang cerita. Hehe, the exaggeration this time is also mine, so my apologies.
The only way I know, and which is obvious to me in order to still wear makeup and maintain the condition of my skin is by way of skincare. First of all, like in my of my posts when it relates to skincare, I would like to state that EVERYONE is different, and EVERYONE should consult his/her skin consultant for suggestions on types of skincares to be used. Because of my skin is the kind of normal to dry, and because I can still pass using sensitive-tested products thanks to the dryness of my skin, I don't need to be on doctor's medication or wear just few limited recommended products. I am free to survey around, and survey I did.
Be warned again that everything I stated here is from my own personal encounters with skincares. And mostly are directed at normal to dry skin so if you're one of the oily skins, can't help ya thur. I used 99% affordable skincare line because I don't have any major problems other than my dry skin which sometimes flakes out. But thanks to the wet weather right now, my skin is doing pretty okay. Thus I could safely used products of the shelf without having major breakouts.
In the past, I've used most of the International drugstore brands like Clean & Clear, Biore, Nivea Visage, Neutrogena (still very fond of this skincare line), Dove (my first ever- worn it when I was 14!) , Ponds and Oil of Olay(was deeply influenced by TV Commercials at that time on this one, I remembered they even have series out feauturing Melissa Maureen). The one that I've been using occasionally from then till now is Fair & Lovely. I've also used local products such as Shurah, Safi (the green one) and Safi Balqis (the blue one). Not enough, I score on Temulawak as well. Those jamu kiosks really sold me out on those days. The only high end brand that I've ever tried-twice- is Clinique.
Until this day, I haven't had any breakouts resulting from my skincare, even when I have dry skin since way before. All my breakouts are - as put nicely by my 'Norlaila-calling' skin consultant, are contributed by my makeups.
Okay, let me rephrase that. It is not attributed to my makeups. It is attributed by the way I clean all the makeups that I wore at the end of the day. Yes, that's the acceptable excuse.
As of now, I am very keen on using products which are specially made for dry skin. And I noticed that I have leaned towards products enriched in nature ingredients. Those are the above and I shall explain them further.
I have used all products for a couple of months now and so far, though there are no extraordinary differences, but it does keep my face at "normal dry" level...and not worse than it is. I am not seeking to make my skin whiter or polisher, but merely to prevent any future breakouts that never happens to me. Probably because I don't have really major skin issues to change, so these products work fine for me.
Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating Light Moisturizer
This is, to me, a moisturizer speacially formulated to hydrate your skin, as the name suggests. I bought it because my skin obviously needs slap of moisturizing and nourishing and my pocket loves the extra money saved. Now I know that most people break out from Simple products, and to me that is because their lines are actually specially formulated for sensitive skin. If your skin is dry or oily but neither is it sensitive, please avoid using sensitive formulated products as the extra concentration in it can clash with the issues that your skin is dealing- most especially if you have oily skin. (notice that 'most' and 'especially' are redundant, so please take extra note!)
This moisturizer is okay in my opinion. Used it to replace my old Neutrogena one and I think if it's not better, it certainly isn't worst. And what I like about it is that it is free from harsh chemicals. Yep, I have a thing for things au naturale now.
Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream
For the love of God, you wouldn't even want to know how dry my hands are. Not even in comparison with my face. I have dry and chapped hands especially around the nails. The reason from old habits of biting them I think. This hand cream is a gel formula that seriously gives the extra moist that I needed. And because I trust in all things Neutrogena, I couldn't pass this one up.
Garnier Body NutriRepair Milk Lotion
As you can guess by now, this bottle of body moisturizer is specially formulated for dry skin as well. Put this all over the body after shower, and it will just milk into you. Okay maybe that sounds wrong but ya know what I mean. This is for dry and rough skin, so suitable for people who are dry on the elbows and the knees. Not that I'm saying I am one *looks away*
Clinelle Blemish Clear
Bought this a couple of months ago just because I got sick of Oxy and couldn't find the rare Rose-T oil for blemishes, I opt for the Clinelle line. This is not of dry skin purposes, but if I am faced with some breakouts, this will do the trick. Recently, my forehead suffers from blemishes because of excessive makeups applied on during a play. I diligently used this (maybe diligent) should be an emphasis somewhere here in this post), and the blemishes eventually cleared away. For now, I'm going to stick with this one here.
Now for a few tips and tricks that I used (on my own personal basis) but you guys are allowed to try out are this:
- steam your face with a bowl of hot water to open up pores. This will allow your cleanser to sink in easily into your skin. But if you are a savvy like me, splash your face with warm water during shower is sufficient before you put on your cleanser.
- to tone, make sure to do it in upward stroke motions ie place your facial tissue with toner and gently pat in from the chin upwards.
- to moisturize, I would apply it only on areas which are really dry on my face ie the nose area, my cheekbones and my forehead. the reason being that I apply makeup and I used other products like makeup base that would cover up just as well as moisturizer. And because I'm using BB Cream now, there's no need of me to apply lots of moisturizer. To me, the key is not on how thick you apply it, but how many times albeit just a dab that you apply it.
- I don't scrub my face often like most people do. I only scrub like once a week cuz of my dry skin.
- wearing facial masks works wonders. I'm still using the Himalaya Neem Face Pack and loved it till today.
You might have different skincare and skin routines as I do. This is just my fair share of it. My advice is; work on whatever it is best for you and don't be scared to experiment. I have walked the road of skincare since (read above) 14 years old, that the only thing that I can say about product usage is your way of using it ie once you buy a product, don't be lazy in using it. Follow the right instructions. I have not left my 3 steps cleanse-tone-moisturize since I was 14 regardless of what products I was using at the moment.
In the end, it's all in here. Mindset.
Bai all! (=
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