My Skincare Routine

Hi I'm Celine.

NC35 | Combination Skin | South East Asian 

EEEK! Barefaced, No Make-Up, sporting a shower cap and headband!

Well, this is my skin. And this is my Skincare Journey. Let me guide you and together let's explore the wonderful world of Reddit Skincare. In this post, I'll share you the basics and lead you to the rabbit hole itself! And if you think Reddit is just TMI, or just plain not-available-in-the-philippines-products, I'm posting products I actually use, and are actually available in our country.

So, Let us begin!

1. Know your skin type.

When I was a beauty intern at MEGA Magazine, I picked up a book about the different skin types. Of course, I knew about the Oily, Dry, and Normal, but what I didn't know was about "Combination Skin". Basically, it's having Oily, Dry, and Normal Skin in certain parts of your face/body. I've used products that say "For Dry Skin" because I thought I had dry skin and they'd cause me breakouts! I've used products for Oily skin, thinking the overproduction of sebum causes me zits, and they just take the life out of my skin. 

Combination skin tends to go by the weather. It can be really oily during the summer or the humid season, and super dry during.... well September-January. The Philippines is humid subtropical which means a lot of western and even Asian products are too heavy for the humidity in our country.

To learn more about your own skin type. Here's a blog with all the Skin Type Profile:

GARDEN OF WISDOM

http://www.gardenofwisdom.com/profiles.html

2. Do a step-by-step Routine.

Remember that one beauty product that can do it all? It's advertising. No product works like a miracle. The Asian Skincare is a routine. Don't be surprised to see 9 products for Night Time and another set of 9 for Day Time! Here are the most common kinds of products you might want to familiarize yourself with. I got this list from Asian Beauty Reddit:

• Emulsifying oil cleanser
• Foaming, milk, gel, powder, or soaping cleanser
• Chemical exfoliator(s) and/or toner
• Essence, serums, and ampoules
• Emulsion
• Lotion
• Cream
• Facial oils
• Sunscreen

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/comments/2jcss2/asian_skincare_101_a_beginners_guide_faq/

2.1 Have a Daytime Routine

The goal of a Daytime Routine is care and protect. Yes, Protect. Our very sunny country makes it impossible to go out without wearing SPF. And despite the abundance of melanin in our skin (We are so gifted to have brown Malay skin) it surely can use some TLC. You want to moisture your skin as well, as it will get dehydrated throughout the day. Here's how a Daytime routine could look like:

Type of Product	What I use	PH Level	Price	Availability
Cream Cleanser	Etude House: Happy Tea Time Milk Tea Cleansing Cream	5	php 198	Etude House Branches
Toner	Hada Labo: Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion‎	5.5	php 950	Lazada
Moisturizer	Sure Aid: Petroleum Jelly		php 49	Watson's, SM Supermarkets
Sunscreen	Biore: UV Perfect Milk SPF 50+ PA++++ (Blue)		php 380	Watson's

2.2 Have Nighttime Routine

The goal of a Nighttime Routine is to cleanse and nourish. There's this saying that "Your skin regenerates at night" but that isn't a fact, that's just marketing. The reason why you load up on skin products at night is because you don't want them all layered up under your make-up. And the greasy feeling having so much product on your face throughout the day doesn't help either.

Type of Product	What I use	PH Level	Price	Availability
Oil Cleanser	Biore: Cleansing Oil / Make-up Remover (Purple)		php 299	Watson's
Cream Cleanser	Etude House: Happy Tea Time Milk Tea Cleansing Cream	5	php 198	Etude House Branches
Toner	Hada Labo: Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Lotion‎	5.5	php 950	Lazada
Chemical Exfoliator: BHA	IPI: Salicylic Acid 3%		php 27	Watson's
Physical Exfoliator: Once every two weeks	Purederm: Exfoliating Pore Cleansing Pads		php 29	Watson's
Moisturizer	Nivea Cream (Blue Tub)		php 120	Watson's, SM Supermarkets
Serum / Ampoule	Hayan Aesthetic Serum: Snail		php 300	Bazaar
Face Mask	Purederm: Cell Illuminating Multi-Step Treatment		php 75	Watson's

3. Patch Test Everything First

You can always ask for samples, especially from Beauty Product Stores (Don't expect Watsons or drugstores to have one). Bring a small cosmetic container, ask politely the lady  for a sample, you won't know they might be storing a sachet somewhere.

4. Don't try everything all at once

This is the worst mistake you'll ever do. It's wasteful and you might end up giving up your skincare routine because of a bad breakout. Don't layer up unless you've tried a product more than two weeks. Layering up products may mess up the PH level of your skin causing the next product to react, or the previous product may have ingredients that simply won't go well with your next product. Learn that skincare is a process and like any scientific experiment it requires that every product in your routine go well with each other and most importantly, they go well with your skin. Unlike Make-up, I don't believe in Skincare "Hauls" it's just way too risky trying new products all at once.

My Skincare Routine January 2016: Biore Cleansing Oil, Nivea Creme, IPI 3% Salicylic Acid, Biore UV Perfect Milk SPF50+ PA++++, Etude House Happy Tea Time Milk Tea Cleansing Creme

Products I've used for March 2016:
Products that didn't work for me: Watson's Face Mask (I don't recommend them, they caused me breakouts, Ekel Snail Mask (I don't recommend them, maybe it's because propylene glycol is top on their ingredients list)
Products still in my Skincare Routine: Purederm Snail Cell Illuminating Multi-Step Treatment Mask, IPI 3% Salicylic Acid (I use a fanbrush to apply the product), Nivea Creme, Hayan Aesthetic Snail Serum, Biore UV Perfect Milk SPF50+ PA++++, Biore Cleansing Oil, Etude Happy Tea Time Milk Tea Cleansing Cream, SureAid Petroleum Jelly

Incorporating more Japanese products in my Skincare April 2016: Hada Labo Lotions, Biore UV Perfect Milk, and Biore Aqua Perfect.

I'll post more reviews of the products I use soon! Hopefully, this post helps you on your Skincare Journey!

<3MissCelineous

Reddit Skincare

Building your skincare routine is an ongoing life-long process, with a lot of misses than hits. As we age, our skin condition changes and the first bottle of Ponds you bought when you're 15 might not suffice what your skin needs now you're 25.

I promised myself that at the age of 25, I'll start taking care of my skin (not that I don't clean or moisturize it), probably throw in a Retinol product or an eye cream. The reason about this 25 mark is - well - Advertising. But thanks to my boyfriend who frequents reddit, I stumbled upon:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction

and other Beauty subreddits I frequently go to:

https://www.reddit.com/r/BeautyAddiction

https://www.reddit.com/r/Beauty

And I too, fell into the rabbit hole of information. 

As one said, "The skin you have in your 50s is the skin you inherit in your 30s" and I realized. Why wait till I turn 25 to take care of my skin? Why not now that I'm 22? So I did my extensive online research on reddit and celebrity bloggers on reddit like:

Fiddy of Fifty Shades of Snail

Image courtesy of https://fiftyshadesofsnail.com/why-asian-skin-care-works-and-how/my-routine/

She's into Asian Skin care, Asian brands, essence, serums, and gives her readers advice on multi-step skincare routines. Preferring multi-step routines than all-in-one products that don't really do much.

Michelle of Lab Muffin

Image Courtesy of http://www.labmuffin.com/2015/11/how-to-exfoliate-2-all-about-chemical-exfoliants/

Michelle has a PhD in chemistry. She has the most scientific approach on reviewing products, without overwhelming the reader with all the science-y information. She makes these cute illustrations that just helped me understand the chemistry behind products way better than two semesters of Chem!

Cat Cactus or the famed Snow White and the Asian Pear

image courtesy of http://www.snowwhiteandtheasianpear.com/p/spreadsheet.html

I love her spreadsheets! She will humor you and tell you she's been there and done that when it comes to skincare. I give her credit for the "Spreadsheet" approach on skincare, which makes trial and error of beauty products more efficient. She advocates Multi-Step Korean Skincare Routine, and with so many products in the market, knowing what particular product doesn't work for you can save you tons of bucks than throwing the entire 9-Step Skincare Routine you've built/bought.


I read a lot of beauty blogs, stumbling links and links on reddit posts. These are just some of the many bloggers who can help you on your opinions about products. There's an entire list of them here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AsianBeauty/wiki/bloggers

And every so often as you go deeper into the rabbit hole, you will pick up more bloggers. Feel free to comment their links and I'll check them!

MOOCs Explained: My access to First World Education from a third world 2mbps Home.

The internet has changed the way we do things yet the Philippine Educational system is so left behind compared to our booming neighbors like Singapore, Korea and Japan. We just integrated to K12 a few years ago and sadly it seems that when the Americans left more than 60 years, our educational systems haven't changed that much. Our textbooks just get thicker and thicker and more programs/ courses are added. 

So in my desire to self study as I prepare for local Law School Exams, I tried deviating from the usual enlisting into a Review Class/ answering Practice Tests (I still am doing them) and instead enlisted myself in different MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses offered by different Top Universities in the World.

It's a different approach to self studying, it's a dynamic way of learning too. It's like learning in a classroom except you can rewind, pause or forward your instructor if you want to get to a particular topic. There is class interaction (peer to peer review, chatrooms etc.) and frequent testing and small quizzes. And the best thing? Most courses can be paced accordingly to your schedule. Most of them are free too!

Top Providers of MOOCs: (Courses as of 7/18/2015)

1. Coursera (1,059 Courses)

2. edX (589 Courses)

3. Canvas.net (272 Courses)

4. FutureLearn (174 Courses)

5. Udacity (95 Courses)

(Source: List of 51 providers offering MOOCs/ Online Courses | Class Central )

Plus most of them have mobile applications! I've downloaded the Apps from the sites I signed up so I I can study while in bed, on your commute, in the train, in the toilet, wherever, whenever!

The thing about MOOCs is that most of them are free, but you need to purchase a certificate if you want one. Most Courses are priced around $49 to $39 ( around Php 2,156 to Php 1,719 which I think is the Price per unit in most Colleges so it's relatively cheap to get certification).

If you are considering taking MOOCs seriously and is looking for full courses or MBAs, you might want to check individual College/ Universities. I know Stanford and MIT offer, but they will require a fee and you really need to buy course books only available in the US. But it will still be cheaper than taking it in the US (sans the Culture, prestige of being inside one, but I think for Filipinos who value learning but can only afford as much, this is something worth trying).

Gubat Surf Camp Sorsogon

My childhood in Sorsogon is filled with daily trips to Rizal Beach and so I was really surprised to learn that there is actually a surf camp a kilometer away. Buenavista, Gubat Sorsogon has goodbreaks from early morning and would resume around 4pm. Mid day will give you white water but its good enough for someone who wants to learn. The coastline is wide and the waters are shallow. My cousin and I didn't miss the opportunity to try surfing with some fellows who came all the way from Manila.

<3MissCelineous

Bulusan Lake

An hour's drive from the city will lead you to a rainforest with cool climate and rich vegatation. Bulusan Lake is a crater of freshwater at the foot of the famed Bulusan Volcano. You can enjoy and hour's trail by foot, or simply go kayak or canoe and marvel at the majestic view.

Trail aroun the lake

<3MissCelineous