Triple Threat Serums

We've discussed several times the triple-threat facial: clay, peel, hydrate -- a routine which I personally swear by.  There is nothing more satisfying than a puttering around on a Sunday morning, knowing I'm doing something great for my skin.  Then brunch.

Recently, my skin has been acting up like cray.  Like all other acne fluctuations, I'm sure it's some combination of stress, diet, hormones, and everything else that I can't control. As a beauty blogger though, it is my duty to attempt to remedy the situation with products.

Instead of doing my triple-threat mask once a week, I've been layering on a combination of serums to hopefully cull some of the breakouts and get to work on the scarring.  The hyper-pigmentation alone is starting to stress me out, and since stress leads to more breakouts...it's a vicious cycle.

First I'll layer on a brightening/evening serum; usually, I'll look for anything with a slightly acidic ingredient, like lactic or glycolic acid.  I'm using Pepta-Bright from Indeed Labs, which I don't think actually contains either of the ingredients I just mentioned, but I do think it's been working.  The texture and tone of the skin around any active breakouts has improved; I can't wait to see what happens next.

To follow your brightening serum, apply your favourite antioxidant serum.  Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster is a Vitamin C serum -- one of my favourite ingredients.  I'm that person who applies lemon juice after cleansing; my skin loves it. This serum is an extremely light, spreadable liquid, so a little goes a long way. Mine is a sample size from a Black Friday set last year.

Finally, a dose of hydration, even if you don't think you need it.  Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst-Quenching Serum is a new one for me, but it has that signature Caudalie fragrance that I can't get enough of. Caudalie hasn't disappointed me yet -- I'll report back!

What you put on next is up to you! During the day, I'll put on a moisturizer with SPF, at night I'll apply an oil.

I'm really struggling to find a moisturizer that works for my uber-finicky skin; please let me know of any recommendations!

Skincare Routine

Time for a new skincare update!  I typically go through a flurry of product testing then settle on two to three routines that I combine into a skincare routine.  This typically results in a flurry of skincare posts: I recently spoke about my evening skincare routine, as well as some of the cleansing masks I use.  I also talked about last year's skincare favourites, and a few of them have made the jump into 2013.

The way I go about skincare is almost completely based on instinct.  That is, I wake up and I choose my cleanser, serum, face oil and moisturiser based on how it feels, the things I've been putting into my body, and just plain old guessing.

I realize that is the most unhelpful and unclear advice I can give, but I do think that everyone should get to know their skin.  As a person with problem skin, I tried a number of treatments to help my skin clear up.  I probably tried too many things too quickly, but having a skin issue helped me familiarize myself with my skin's habits.

A few things I've learned about my skin...

• My skin hates benzoyl peroxide and acetyl-salicylic acid.  It was fantastic having cystic acne, because both those things are pretty prominent in acne treatments.  I talk about the acne treatments I can use here.
• My skin loves to be exfoliated in times of crisis.  The Clarisonic is one of the things that helped me through The Great Acne Crisis of '10.  That said, it's been a couple of years and I don't use my Clarisonic nearly as often anymore.  I find a gentler exfoliation to be more helpful -- I use a muslin cloth, an enzyme exfoliant  or a glycolic acid treatment.
• Despite having extremely oily skin, my skin loves to be moisturised, especially with oils.  I'll talk more about my moisturising masks later, but here's how it goes:  I'll use a peel then cover it with an insanely thick layer of moisturiser and face oil.
• I love serums.  My moisturisers feel lost and lonely without then.
• My lips do not respond well to central heating.  Here's what I use to keep them happy.

To check out what I'm using, click 'Watch on YouTube' for a full product line-up.  Hope you don't mind that I ramble!

Pai Skincare

Pai's skincare is made for sensitive skin so parabens, silicones and other nasties are delightfully absent.  I've been unconsciously shifting my routine towards natural brands that emphasize organic ingredients.  I can definitely tell the difference when I use regular brands now -- my face feels oddly tight and squeaky. Not since the days of Clinique's 3-Step programme have I used something so consistently.  Remember when I kept five cleansers in rotation?  I think we can all say that I've fallen hard for this line.

I start my P.M. skincare routine by squeezing out two pumps of the Camelia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser and massage it into my skin in small circles.  If I'm wearing very heavy eye makeup, I'll prep with a swipe of Bioderma, but for regular, day-to-day makeup or sunscreen, a double-cleanse with this will get it all off.  After breaking down all the product with my fingers, I'll turn on the hot water and wet the Muslin Cloth -- it comes free with their 100 ml cleanser, but not the 25 ml travel size.  After the cloth is thoroughly soaked, I'll wring it out and lay it over my face for a few seconds, letting the steam do its work.  Next I use broad strokes to wipe the cleanser off my face, and small circular motions around any areas that need work (usually around my nose, mouth and chin).  Can I just say how much I love muslin?  It's essentially replaced my Clarisonic for everyday exfoliation and I've already bought three more.  I'm obsessed.

I don't always use a toner, but I'll usually finish my cleansing routine with a spray of thermal water before applying the Rosehip BioRegenerate* (review here).  I take a little time really work this into my skin, to stimulate the muscles and encourage circulation.  This is a step a lot of people miss, and it's hard to do with just a facial moisturiser since they absorb so quickly and don't leave enough slip.  After I've completely given my face a workout, I smooth on the Geranium & Thistle Combination Skin Cream to seal it all in.  If I need an extra kick of hydration, I'll put on a thick layer and sleep in it, like a moisturising mask.  A quick pat around the eyes with their ridiculously hydrating Echium Anti-Aging Eye Cream, and I'm ready for bed.

I had a weird time in January where I started breaking out, but these past few weeks, my skin has calmed down a lot, even in the harsh Canadian winter.  I can tell my skin's starting to work with the products and settling into a very happy equilibrium.  I don't use this routine morning and night since I need some sort of play time to exercise my product ADD, but this is the longest I've gone without switching out any products since high school a very long time ago.

Still not convinced?  They have a fantastic sample pack that lets you try their cleanser, exfoliator and a couple of moisturisers -- it also comes with a free muslin cloth, which is a pretty sweet bonus -- it's available on their website at paiskincare.com for $10.

Have you tried Pai?  The rest of my skincare routine will be up next, so stay tuned!

*PR Sample

My Skin Saviours: Acne

I've always been relatively lucky with my skin. Through high school, I had very few blemishes, if any.  My brother had quite serious acne so my mom started me on facials when I was 12 or 13, in hope of avoiding any emotional or physical scarring.

It worked, sort of.  It worked right up until I stopped getting facials, which was when I went off to university and got lazy about them.  I don't blame the facials for this exactly -- I think what happened was that I never really bothered to take care of my skin because someone else was taking care of it for me.  When someone physically squeezes the gunk out of your pores every two or three weeks, it's hard to understand the merits of regular cleansing and toning.  Throw in the typically terrible eating habits of a first-year, and already-grubby face was due for a massive eruption.

It cropped up slowly, and I think the absolute worst of the breakouts didn't show up until my third year.  That was when I started to do some massive research into my skin type, finding out what was triggering the breakouts and what I could do to calm it.  I went on a round of antibiotics, which helped, but it was such a pain I quickly gave up on it.  Nearly three years later, my skin has calmed down and I've got a small by formidable army of products that I call upon.

You'll remember my first Clarisonic post -- I don't use it as religiously as I used to.  It got really expensive to replace the pads, and once my acne calmed down, using it twice a day seemed rather abrasive.  I've cut it down to once a week (if that) when my skin starts feeling sort of ratty.