Out with the old, in with the older?

Here is another quick post! Throughout my teen years I was completely blessed with nearly perfect skin. I hardly ever broke out and when I did, my few spots would disappear in a flash. In came my 20s and my skin got worse. I still can't really complain...my skin is not awful by any means but, I get these super annoying, super painful, scarring, stick around for a month, under the skin cystic acne. NO FUN!

Over the past few years I've tried a few different products recommended to me by people at sephora, friends or other drug/department store employees. I'm going to go through a few products that I've finished up or that I am still currently using.

I should also explain my skin-type is a tad bazaar. I have really dry skin for the most part with patches of oil that move depending on the day. Also, I'm fairly sure my acne is hormonal, meaning it's not that my pores are clogged from the exterior what's happening to me is internal. I make sure to wash my face two times daily (therefore i am not over-washing or under), I exfoliate once a week and I moisturize after cleansing. However, I still get those super annoying cysts!

It's sort of nice to use a blog to be able to go back and read what you thought about a product before going back to repurchase it. So here we go!

Starting off with cleansers....

Clarins Daily Energizing Cleansing Gel 

That's a mouth full! I've been using this product since july after it was recommended to me by a family friend with similar skin issues. I don't really have any complaints about this product, more so it did not improve my skin nor make it worse. I think I paid about $22 for it at london drugs. It is a small container but last quite awhile! This cleanser foams up really nicely so you don't actually need to use very much of it on your skin. Also, I should mention my skin felt fairly tight after washing with it so I always had to use a fair bit of moisturizer after. 

Boscia Clear Complexion Cleanser

With a bit of a more expensive price tag, this brand (that can be purchased from sephora) claims to help balance hormones that can cause acne...or so the sales associate told me! One thing I liked about this cleanser is that it has no parabens, sulfates, or phthalates ( three things that are not good for your body!) and it was relatively natural. I paid about $31 dollars for it and it has awesome reviews on sephora.com. However, again, I did not notice any improvement in my skin and definitely had an initial purge period where I broke out with more black heads in my T-zone, not bad ones mind you. This was a cleanser I had used a few years back when I had purchased a boscia kit and I definitely feel the same way now as I did then about it. It's nothing special, it might help with someone elses skin problems but definitely did not help mine. Further, I found I needed to use a larger amount in the morning and at night in comparison to the Clarins product simply because it didn't foam up as well and I didn't feel like it was taking my make up off. 

After trying this product for a second time I think I'd rather repurchase the Clarins cleanser over boscia. 

I have recently read reviews on DERMADOCTOR's "Ain't Misbehavin' Medicated AHA/BHA Acne Cleaner" and people have claimed it's a god sent for adult cystic acne. SO! I'm definitely going to have to give it a shot!

On to my moisturizing essentials. 

Kiehl's Ulta Facial Cream 

This is a product I used back when I was in highschool and I had forgotten how much I absolutely loved it! It's not exactly cheap but not awful at all, with a price tag of $32 dollars for a 50ml container. I bought this back in october of 2013 and am just down to the bottom of the barrel now. It feels light on your skin, not oily at all and sinks in fairly quickly for a thick moisturizer. This is a product I would definitely recommend! Kiehls just recently released an intense hydrating version of this cream that I think I may have to try just to get that extra bit of moisturizing power for my super dry skin. It's also good to note this product did not make me break out anymore than I normally would so, yay! 

Stila Skincare - light source

I use this serum once daily in the morning and boy does it feel good; definitely another great product to try! It's super gentle and has anti-aging properties (nothing wrong with a little prevention!) that work to repair dark spots and scarring as well as a bunch of other great benefits! A serum is great to use before a moisturizer because it sinks in deeper helping to repair any damage you may have to your skin. It sinks in really quickly and smells awesome too! My only complaint is the price tag. I believe total I paid $61 for it including tax....online it says you can purchase it for $45, a much nicer price. Thankfully for this product one pump goes a long way! 

Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil 

I love tarte products, they feel great on your face, they're natural and this product is no exception! This is my go to night moisturizer. It's pure oil so you have to allow a bit of time for it to sink in. At first it feels a bit greasy but I assure you, oil is awesome for your skin and will not make you break out if it's pure like this product is! I purchased this after a friend of mine raved about it and said her skin has never felt better and I couldn't agree more after using it. If you have dry skin, like me, I'd definitely recommend applying a moisturizer after the oil sinks, it takes care of all those pesky dry patches. Price tag for this is about $55 dollars for 1.7 f oz of oil. It may seem like a lot but you only need about 3-4 drops daily. I got this product for my birthday back in july and have hardly made a dent in it (as you can see by the picture below).  - I have heard coconut oil is another alternative to this, however, I haven't personally tried it.

Touch ups...

Vichy Normaderm Total Mat and Hyaluspot

These are two things that I actually have not purchased yet but they are on my list of things to buy asap! I received these as samples when I was discussing my skin problems with a lady who worked at shoppers drug mart. I'll start with total mat. I believe it is meant to be a moisturizer however, it did not hydrate my skin enough. But, what it did do is seriously help my complexion. It helped keep my breakouts at bay while the acne I did have healed up slightly faster. I would definitely want to try this out for a longer period of time to see if these results are consistent or if I just got lucky. Hyaluspot is meant to be a salicylic acid spot treatment that you can keep applying daily as much as you need to. Be warned it will dry your skin out and can cause peeling on the spot you apply it to. But this stuff definitely shortened the length of time I had a spot for! I will be purchasing this one some time after my next pay cheque. 

Now that I've posted a picture of these two I can chuck out these empties, woohoo! 

Well there you have it, a short list of a few of the products I have recently used. I would be interested to know if any of you guys have tried these products and what your experiences were? Please excuse my rambling, I just got home and decided to start writing over lunch hahaha. Also, my photography is nothing special :) just some quick iphone pictures. Hope you all have a wonderful day and thanks for reading!