The Mission to Improve My Skin #2

We've now hit the second month of this mission to improve my skin, and I have a few admissions to make. I suck! I suck at keeping up with things, especially with my skin diary, and it annoys me that I let my laziness get in the way of important things such as my skin.If you want to see how the first month went, just click on this link and it'll take you to the post: The Mission to Improve My Skin #1

Sunday 28 August
I did something really stupid today. I went to mum's house for the day, and was in the bathroom minding my own business as I was washing my hands, and lo and behold, a blackhead removal tool is right there on the vanity. Needless to say, I came out of the bathroom ten minutes later looking like a right bloody mess. But uh... at least some of the annoying blackheads on the right side of the chin is gone?

Tuesday 30 August
Today I bit the bullet and went to my local GP to ask for a referral to see a dermatologist. I'm getting really sick and tired of not seeing much of an improvement in my skin, and I need some help. My skin continues to break out, and while my diet has scarcely improved, never getting worse, I've noticed more pimples that lurk deeply beneath the skin and take weeks to hit the surface. I've also come to the conclusion that the Formula 10.0.6 doesn't work as well as I would like it to because surely it could help reduce the size of the evil lurkers? It works on tiny little pimples, and sometimes the bigger ones if I pile on the product and leave it for a few minutes to sink in before rubbing it in. It also dries out the areas of skin that I apply this on, and it starts becoming flaky.

Friday 2 September
I'm going to do a Face Off thing where I cut and peel off my face. I am getting fed up with how it keeps getting dry and flaky. I've made the decision to switch from the YesTo Tomatoes Activated Charcoal bar to a cleansing milk, though I'm still looking for the best one for my budget. According to Kevin James Bennet, a cleansing milk is much more gentle on the skin and will help with oiliness in the long run. Considering how, today, I've decided to fork out $58 next month for a bottle of Too Faced Born This Way foundation, you'd better hope that my skin is in shipshape condition for it! I technically don't own any foundations at the moment because it's so hard trying to find one for fair olive/neutral skin tones.

Wednesday 7 September
On the weekend I picked up a cleansing milk by Natio because the Natio warehouse not too far from mum's house was having one of their big sales, and a bottle of the cleansing milk was $10, compared to the RRP of $18.95. Ever since I started using it on Sunday night I've been seeing quite the improvement in my skin. I no longer feel tightness of my skin after cleansing, and I notice fewer flakiness as each day goes by. Today, I barely noticed any dryness except for a tiny amount around my mouth. My skin is oily today but I'm chalking that down to the exfoliating scrub I used this morning in the shower.  I haven't been using my skin diary in a while, almost two weeks, actually. I've gotta get back into the habit of using it. There're two more pimples on my chin *cries*

Wednesday 14 September
A week later and my skin has never looked better in weeks. Ever since I started using the cleansing milk my acne breakouts have actually reduced, though it is possible that it's because I've cut down on the amount of tea that I drink. I think that's just wishful thinking because I believe it's more due to the fact that I'm not inundating my skin with such harsh cleansers and picking at the blackheads and pimples. I wore makeup today and at the end of the day I found a tiny pimple on my chin. ARGH!

Friday 16 September
We come to the end of the second month, and I can honestly admit that my skin is in a significantly better state than it was a month ago, and I owe it all to the cleansing milk. It's the one main difference that I made in my skincare routine and my skin has become smoother, softer, more hydrated and I'm experiencing fewer breakouts than I used to. My nose area still has so much oil that America could invade it, but I'm hoping that I just need to keep hydrating my skin for the oil to gradually reduce in severity, much like training my hair to last longer without a wash.

Throughout this month I've noticed a few things that made quite a difference to how my skin comes out. One, my Sugar Baby Super Serum is a lifesaver. It is improving the fine wrinkles under my eyes and on my cheekbones, as well as on my forehead, and it is so hydrating and makes my skin look brighter. Secondly, the Botanics Micellar Water that Cat sent me in her first care package makes my skin sting every time I use it to clean my makeup off. I'm almost out of the water, and I've got a bottle of Sukin Micellar Water in storage. I find that I wake up with dry patches after using the micellar water, as opposed to times when I don't use it. It also happens with other waters that beauty consultants at drugstores and department stores use to prep my skin for colour matching. It is possible that I'm mildly allergic to it...

Fingers crossed that next month yields much better results as I work on refining my skincare and coming up with a routine that gives me gorgeous skin. I believe I'm on my way there, and I'm gradually cutting my consumption of sweet cups of tea to one a day. My water consumption is a flop!

Do you have any secrets for achieving beautiful, acne-free skin? Share them below in a comment!

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