Her Care Diary: Skincare

Hello everybody! I have been a little busy recently (with my new "project") and I'm expecting more  busy days ahead. But when one is doing something of their passion and interest, the feeling is AWESOME right? That's exactly what I am feeling right now! Will definitely share more when is ready, ya!

I'm posting here a series of my regime from skincare to bodycare to haircare which I'll like to call these segments as "Her Care Diary". I will share about the current products I'm using regularly and what they are. Since each segment will be quite lengthy, I'll break into a few posts so do check back regularly to read other segments. For this post, let's start it rolling with SKINCARE!

Her Care Diary: Skincare <as of August 2013>
As time evolves, skincare products these days have undergone great advancement and breakthrough developments.The market is so competitive that when you flip through a women magazine or browse a beauty site, you will see plenty of skincare brands, new launched products, new research of ingredients and advanced technology. I wish I have all the dollars and cents to try many skincare products out there! I am thankful so far that my skin has been behaving well all these years (except for occasional bad skin days...well who doesn't experience bad skin days right?) thus allowing me to try various skincare products without sticking to a particular brand or range.

My skin type: Normal/combination.
My main skin concerns: Dullness and uneven skin tone.

My skincare routine is straightforward: Cleanse--> Tone-->Serum-->Moisturize and weekly Exfoliate-->weekly Mask. My cosmetics contain SPF hence I don't use a separate sunscreen.

Cleanse

This is an important step of a skincare routine. I do medium-sometimes heavy makeup so I need to double cleanse at the end of the day. Double cleanse here refers to using a makeup remover first then a cleanser. Even days without makeup, proper cleanse of the face is as important for me.

- Hada Labo Cleansing Oil *FAVE* (This oil based makeup remover gently removes my makeup without leaving my skin feeling greasy. It hydrates my skin while it cleanses off the makeup.)

- Shiseido Perfect Whip Foam *FAVE* (Not sure if available locally as this was purchased in Japan. This cleanser leaves skin squeaky skin.)

- Pure Beauty Pomegrante Antioxidant 2 in 1 Foam Cleanser (This can be used as a 5-minutes wash-off mask too!)

Tone

After each cleansing, I will use toner to prepare my skin for serum and moisturizer. In most Japanese skincare, toner is referred as lotion. I usually put a few drops on my palm and lightly pat on my skin. There are different types of toner/lotion:-

-Smoothing Toner: This prepares skin for better absorption of other skincare products. It also contain properties to moisturize, brighten or smooth the skin depending on what type of toner.

Cleansing Toner: This removes and wipes away impurities or any residues.

Astringent Toner: This normally contacts high proportion of alcohol. It helps to control oily skin and minimize pores.

- Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion *FAVE* (This star product of Hada Labo proclaimed 1 sold every 4 seconds in Japan! Needless to say more...hehe this is good stuff!) 

Serum

I'm the kind who likes to "splurge" on serums. And I love to try out different serums! So far I have tried Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair, Estee Lauder Perfectionist Wrinkle Lifting Firming Serum, Lancôme Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate, Lancôme Visionnaire, Clarins Intensive Whitening Serum, Clarins Double Serum Concentrate, Clarins Hydraquench, Shiseido White Lucent, Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen Booster, Laneige Water Bank Essence etc. These are my favorites...I can't decide which is truly the best as each has different function but I can say Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair is my all time favourite. I'm not using any of the above currently as I always tempted to try other serums in the market :) . 

The below mentioned are what I am currently using.

- Loccitane Immortelle Precious Serum *FAVE* (Loving this serum. It has "aromatheraphy" scent which I personally like and the texture is light. )

-  Kiehl's Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution (For correction of dark spots and to clarify skin tone.)

- Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moist Essence Ex (A pocket-friendly drugstore serum mainly for hydration purpose.)

Moisturizer

Depending on the need of my skin, I use different moisturizers at different stages of my age. I have tried moisturizers for whitening, anti-aging, hydration and wrinkles. Like said, I never stick to a range or brand. My cleanser could be from brand A, my serum could be from Brand B, my moisturizer could be from Brand C! I know some said it probably works best if products used are from the same range, same brand. But I personally don't stick by that philosophy.

- Étude House Collagen Moistfull Cream *FAVE* (This sounds thick but the gel texture is light and has a pleasant scent. I can use it for day and for night. Price is reasonable for a moisturizer.)

Exfoliate 

I am discipline in a way that I make sure I exfoliate (and mask) weekly and normally twice a week. This is to thoroughly remove dirts and impurities. And also to smoothen the skin! 

- Étude House Baking Powder Crunch Pore Scrub *FAVE* (My review of this product here--> http://sheislbk.blogspot.com/2013/08/etude-house-baking-powder-crunch-pore.html#more)

- Cure Natural Aqua Gel *FAVE* (This Cure wonder is a favourite by many out there. Very gentle and exfoliate well!)

- Kose Exfoliating Massage Gel *FAVE* (I like this exfoliator too as it works differently from the above two products. It has a kind of warm up sensation when massage on our skin. The warm up sensation helps to thoroughly remove dirts from clogged pores and old skin cells.)

Masks

After exfoliation, mask is my next step (yupe, they work hand in hand). I normally do different masks depending on the need of my skin condition.

- Laneige Water Sleeping Pack *FAVE* (This star product is light in texture and smells great. It provides moisture boost to the skin leaving skin hydrated and brighten!)

- Kose White Mask *FAVE* (This Kose best-seller is a peel off mask. It clarifies and brighten my skin after usage.)

- Sheet masks (Few of my favourite sheet mask brands are My Beauty Diary, Love More and Sexy Look. I will use different one for different need each time - hydrating, brightening, whitening, cooling, firming, anti aging etc.)

I hope you find this post useful :) . Whenever I can I will do up posts on Her Care Diary: Bodycare & Her Care Diary: Haircare.

What is your skincare regime? Do you have any extra steps apart from the basics? Feel free to leave comments below. 

Thank you for reading! 

The product used and reviewed are based purely on LBK's personal experience of using the product and humble opinion. If the product is a sponsored item, it will be stated as SPONSORED.

 "A smile is a curve that sets everything right"