陳心怡

pickups from The Ordinary!!

Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution (acid exfoliation): Ngl I was kind of afraid to try this because my skin had been behaving for 2 months and I didn’t want to mess anything up. I started by patch testing, and then I only used a small amount so my skin could get used to it. I then saturated my cotton pad and went for the full face and there were no adverse effects THANKFULLY. I use it about twice a week, but I haven’t been able to see any significant effects so far. On a lighter note the formula is a light pink color and it’s cute. xp

Update: I’ve been using this for ~3 months and it actually does helps with texture (like when I get small bumps near my jaw/cheeks). However, if I saturate a cotton pad too much, my skin burns for a minute or two. The burning does subside afterward.

Wishtrend’s Mandelic Acid 5% does a similar job (it’s more expensive but still a pretty good price). Mandelic acid has a larger molecular size so it’s a more suitable AHA for sensitive skin. I usually don’t get any burning sensation from this, but sometimes I do when I use too much. The burning from this subsides much quicker than that from glycolic acid. I’ve noticed that this also helps with reducing redness and evening out the skin tone the next day.

Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA: I originally started using this as the step before my moisturizer. However, I recently started using it as my first or second step and noticed it was more effective at lightening dark spots. The only thing about using it as the first/second step is that it doesn’t have much slip and can be a bit hard to spread over the face unless you put at least a drop on your cheeks/chin/forehead. It also makes the products afterward harder to spread, so I usually end up using fewer layers on the days that I use this.

staples from COSRX

aka the brand I can count on to calm and hydrate my skin

November 14, 2018 // Wednesday

it’s been pretty busy recently. I finished my first round of midterms ~2 weeks ago but I have my second round in a few days 😭 it’s so fast. I also gave my research presentation this week–it took some time to make but it def helped me understand what I’m doing in the lab lul

October 24, 2018 // Wednesday

You may or may not have noticed, but I actually don’t have a “cleanser” category under my skincare page. And cleansing is a pretty important step, so I just wanted to explain myself real quick here

What my cleansing routine looks like:

Morning: water

Night: oil-based cleanser (KOSE SOFTYMO)

So in the morning I’ve found that using water is enough for me. Cleansing my face with a water based cleanser either makes my skin feel tight or is just unnecessary. If I can save some time and money by skipping this step, I’m gonna. LOL

At night I use an oil-based cleanser because I do wear sunscreen. However, I don’t wear any makeup like..pretty much ever. So I just need something to get the sunscreen off of my face. This oil cleanser actually doesn’t leave any residue on my skin, so I feel ok without using a water-based cleanser afterward (oil-based followed by water-based cleanser is the general order for most Asian beauty routines).

That being said, my cleansing routine is pretty basic mostly because I don’t really wear makeup. If I did, I’d definitely take the time to remove it at night with a few extra steps because I think it’s pretty important to get out all the gunk that you pack into your pores to get your skin looking flawless during the day. The way I think about it is: if I don’t get it out before I go on with my routine, I’ll just be packing in the bad stuff even deeper as I pat in my hydrating products.

October 17, 2018 // Wednesday

Time for some life updates. Somehow I feel like I’ve barely studied for my classes. Not even sure where all my time is going LMAO I do spend a lot of time in lab and I’ve been filling out some apps too but I definitely could be studying faster. I think it’s mostly because I gave up trying to study late and just go to sleep instead LOL. Also I got a plant for my desk and looking at it makes me so happy. I went home last weekend and got my eyes checked and both got a little worse ): I was expecting it though because it was getting a little hard to see the board in lecture. Ahh I’ve still been meeting some new people every week so this is nice lul I really shoulda tried harder last year but it’s okay because I’m making up for it this year. Also I’ve been keeping up my running streak; I try to run 1-2x a week with my cousin. OH I also made hella skincare purchases last week for some very good prices so I will have more products to share later. Lastly, I just got out of an interview for something I really really wanna join but I don’t hear back until next Tues so now I’ll just pray~