2017 Favorite Masks

In addition to my daily skin care routine, I usually like to do different face masks throughout the week to help keep my skin looking fresh and clear. Here are a couple of the face masks that I have been using nonstop for the first half of 2017.

• Innisfree: Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask: This is the first clay mask that I have ever used and I love this to help exfoliate my skin and remove all the dirt and sebum that I have trapped in my pores. It leaves my skin feeling super clean and refresh. I do find it a bit drying especially during the colder months so I usually like to use this only once a week so that my skin does not get super dried out.
• Milky Piggy Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask: I got this product because of all the reviews I have seen of it online. It is a super interesting product since it goes on like a cream but within five minutes it begins to completely bubble up to help exfoliate the skin. I do find that when it starts bubbling up, it gets super itchy but luckily you only need to leave this on the face for about five minutes. It leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean but I do find it to be a bit messy with all the bubbles since it does get everywhere. I usually also use this product once a week and will usually alternate between this one and the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, I do find that this one is less drying than the clay mask.
• St. Clare Sebum Treatment MP3 Blackhead Remover Set: This actually comes with two other product a sebum softener and a serum to close your pore once you remove all the blackheads. I absolutely love this product for removing blackheads from my nose, it is very similar to the My Scheming Blackhead Acne Removal Activated Carbon 3 Step Mask set but I find that this one is slightly better than the other one. Some reviews have mentioned that this product is white but it seems that they must have reformulated as mine is black. It does an amazing job at removing all my blackheads and leaving my nose feeling soft and smooth. The only downside is that it is super hard to obtain in the US (my friend brought it back for me from Taiwan) so if you are having a hard time getting this product, I would recommend the My Scheming Blackhead mas set instead.
• Etude House: I Need You Mask Sheets: These have been my favorite sheet masks for a couple of years. I usually restock every time I go to ASIA! They have many different types of scents and each scent actually corresponds to different focuses. For example the Tea Tree masks is for soothing & clean and the honey masks is for moisturizing. I usually pick out the masks depend on the type of treatment my skin needs on a specific day. They all smell amazing and I love how they feel  on my skin. I have been trying to use these every other day but since I am lazy I usually end up using one mask a week.

I do hope to try out different types of masks in the future so if there are any recommendations please leave them in the comments 🙂

My Scheming Blackhead Acne Removal Activated Carbon Mask Review

Recently, I have been obsessed with face mask, especially blackhead removal ones. I have heard mixed reviews about the My Scheming Blackhead Acne Removal Activated Carbon Mask. From the Youtube videos that I have watched, many of the youtubers have said extremely good things about this product, however the amazon reviews were mixed. My best friend had actually tried out this product before me and she said that it was pretty good but it does not remove all the blackheads present. I decided that I had to try it for myself so I picked it up from amazon. It current retails for about $11 on amazon.

This product has three steps and they come nicely packaged together. On each bottle, they include the step that it is along with a short simple explanation of what the product is suppose to do. My box also included a sheet with English instructions on how to use this product however some reviewers on Amazon mentioned that they did not get instructions in their boxes. There are plenty of videos on Youtube that help explain how to use this product so I do not think that it is much of an issue. I am also listing below the steps that I took when I applied this product for the first time.

1. First, I boiled some water and let the steam open up my pores before I even applied any product. You can also use a warm towel and place it over your nose to open up your pores as well.
2. Second, I applied Solution 1 of the product which is a Deep Pore Sebum Softener. This product I left on for about 5 minutes before washing it off (it is extremely important to wash off this product prior to using Solution 2). Solution 1 did have a herbally scent to it but it was not too strong. It did make my nose a bit itchy when I put it on (I was not allergic or anything).
3. Before, I used Solution 2 (which is the Blackhead Removal Activated Carbon Mask), I made sure that my nose was wet. Then I applied a thick layer of the mask (make sure the layer is thick as it makes it easier to take off). The mask did have a bit of a scent at first but it quickly went away. It did take a while for this product to dry from 20-40 minutes, which was a bit long for me since I usually use the Biore Nose stripes and those take about 10 minutes.
4. Once the product was all dried, I peeled it off from the bottom up (another important tip). It was a bit hard to peel off but not painful or anything, unless you have super sharp nails.
5. The last step is Solution 3 which is a Skin Clarifying Pore Treatment Essence, this is to help close your pores after the mask. This also had an herbally scent to it but nothing too powerful.

Below, I am attaching images of the end product from the pore strip (it is not overlly gross but if you do get easily gross out by these things DO STOP READING NOWW!!!)

Stop reading if you are disgusted by images of pore stripes.

Stop reading if you are disgusted by images of pore stripes.

Overall, I think that the product does work pretty well. My nose and chin felt amazingly soft after using this product. It does remove the fine hairs that are present on your face which is why your skin feels so soft afterwards. A significant amount of blackheads/white heads were removed using this product, however I do find that some of the extremely deep blackheads do not get removed. It does not leave your nose completely free of blackheads but does a pretty good job at a decent price.

2016 Skincare Routine

Current skincare favorites 

When I was younger, I use to take my skin for granted as I never had any big skin problems. I had the usual breakout during puberty but other than that my skin remained pretty clear. My skin type would be categorized as dry, so in the past my skin care routine consisted of moisturizer and that was pretty much it. It was not until I got older and realized the importance of skin care, so I have been trying to find a routine that works for me and I have been using these sets of products for about a couple of months now and I really like how my skin is looking and feeling.

1. Makeup Removing Wipes: If I had to pick only one step in this routine that I would follow, it would be to remove my makeup. I love makeup remover wipes because I can easily wipe off my makeup and I do not need to worry about getting cotton pads/cotton balls. My favorite ones are the Simple (Pictured) and the Neutrogena wipes
2. Purity Made Simple: I do find that makeup remover wipes do not fully remove my makeup; no matter how long I wipe there will always be left over mascara or eyeliner somewhere near my eye. Therefore, I began going in with the Purity One Step Facial Cleanser to really remove all the dirt on my face. I have heard from some people that Purity is enough to remove all their makeup, however I found that was not the case for me. When I used Purity alone there was always leftover makeup residue on my face but combing it with makeup remover sheets really gets my face clean.
3. Toner: I have been loving the Clinique Clarifying Lotion. Toner is most likely the newest item in my skincare routine; in the past I did not understand the point of toner. But after I began using it, it makes my skin feel so much better. My skin feels a lot softer and smoother with the help of toner.
4. Eye Cream: Another new addition into my skincare routine ever since I realized that I am only going to get older and need to prevent wrinkles, especially near the eye area. I have been using the Estee Lauder Advanced Time Zone eye cream. I cannot say that there is an amazing difference between using the eye cream and not using the eye cream, but I hope that in the future I will be able to say there is a difference. Anyways, better to prevent the wrinkles before they come!
5. Moisturizer: My skin has always been dry and moisturizer is another must have in my skincare routine. I have been loving the Clinique – Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel as it does my skin amazingly smooth and it does not break me out.

I have been using these products since summer and still loving the combination. I may change things up once winter comes along but currently these are my go-to products.