My routine as of February 2015

First of all, before reading this post, you should have some general knowledge of the Asian skincare routine. It is very different from the Western skincare routine. For more in-dept knowledge, please go here and here.

The Western skincare routine is a very basic and, I find it very harsh, routine. The three main steps of the routine is cleanse-toner-cream. For many years I believed that if I followed this skincare routine daily, I would one day look like Miranda Kerr or Gong Li. My mother tried to introduce me to more products, but for teenager me, just those 3 products were good enough. And I wonder why I kept on getting more pimples by the day...

In 2010 I discovered the wonders of Asian skincare when I went to Japan. Why did it take me so long to discover it when I live in Asia?! I brought more then a few bottles and tubes back. In 2011 I went to Korea, and I came back with an additional luggage bag full of skincare products. Since using them, my skin has generally been the best it has ever been my life, not counting pre-puberty. However, please do not think that a good skincare routine will miraculously solve your all your skin problems.

I went to a dermatologist 3 years ago when my acne worsened so much I look like I had some kind of disease. The medical creams that he gave me (I refused antibiotics), worked like magic. The acne that I had been plagued with for years were gone in a month. The natural dwelling Staphylococcus bacteria that caused acne, had been cleared a la bush-fire style. May they never come back in such huge proportions again.

Well, my main point is that there is a reason why a dermatologist has to study for years to gain his title. They actually know what they are doing and they can identify if you just have an extreme case of acne or whether you have some underlying condition that has caused your problems. Unless you are a dermatologist or work in a related field, we are all amateurs trying to fumble about in a world full of new and exciting products, each newer and more fantastic then the previous.

My going to the dermatologist was like calling the pest exterminators after rats have infested my house. After all the rats are killed and gone, in an ideal world they would never come back. In reality, I would need to continuously maintain my house hygiene so as not to give them a chance to come back.  I find that the skincare routine I use, as patterned after the Korean skincare routine, keeps my 'house' so clean that it has even turned 'better' then before the 'rats' arrived. For that matter, if your Western skincare routine works for you, don't fix what isn't broken!

So, lets stops talking so much and get to the meat of the matter. What is my routine?

Morning:

• First Essence: Secret Key First Treatment Essence
• Toner: Etude House Wonder Pore 10-in-1 toner
• Essence: Skinfood Premium Tomato Whitening Essence
• Essence: Benton Snail Bee High Essence
• Eye Cream: The Body Shop Natrulift Pomegranate Eye Roll On
• Light Moisturizer: Mizon Snail Repair All in One Cream
• Sunscreen: Biore UV Perfect Face Milk
• Sunscreen: Shara Shara No Sun Power Lasting Sunblock
• Spot Treatment: The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil
• Other: Etude House Wonder Pore Corrector
• Other: Etude House Dust Cut Facial Mist
• Other: Etude House Dust Cut Cream

Does that seem like a lot? Actually it isn't as I take out steps depending on my skin condition in the morning. I never actually use all of them at the same time unless I don't mind looking like a greasebaby! If this is bad, I use at least twice this amount for my night routine!

Night:

• 1st Cleanser: Etude House Happy Tea Time Cleansing Cream Lemon Tea  
• 2nd Cleanser: Innisfree Jeju Bija Anti-Trouble Facial Foam
• Treatment: COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid
• First Essence: Secret Key First Treatment Essence
• Toner: Etude House Wonder Pore 10-in-1 toner
• Eye Cream: The Body Shop Natrulift Pomegranate Eye Roll On
• Eye Cream: Laneige Water Bank Eye Gel
• Light Moisturizer: Mizon Snail Repair All in One Cream
• Essence: Skinfood Premium Tomato Whitening Essence
• Essence: Benton Snail Bee High Essence
• Essence: Laneige White Plus Renew Essence
• Essence: Tony Moly Floria Whitening Capsule Essence
• Essence: Odbo Aqua Soothing Silky Essence
• Spot Treatment: Clintia Clarifying Spot Treatment Gel
• Spot Treatment: The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil
• Sleeping Pack: Laneige Water Sleeping Pack EX
• Sleeping Pack: Tony Moly Dual Effect Night Repair Sleeping Pack
• Other: Etude House Dust Cut Facial Mist

This does not include the variable sheet masks or sachets of sleeping packs I use every few days.

This is just the simplified version of my routine for those who want the tl;dr. I will soon be posting about why I use each product, and HOW I use each product! I think that if you want to know about the properties of each product the best way to go about it is checking the companies product webpage. If it is a popular product there will most likely be other better bloggers for the skincare science on how each product works! I cannot compete with that nor do I want to, instead I will be sharing on how I have managed to used each product to its best for me.

Please check here for the next instalment!