The Change Up: Skin Edition

If there was one thing I could have told myself when I was a teenager, it would have been to stop picking at the acne that plagued my face and stuck around like an uninvited guest. As a teenager I suffered from really bad acne and no matter what I did, it just didn't go away completely. Oh the woe of being a teenager right? By some miracle once I reached 19, all of my acne had really cleared up and my skin now has the marks from acne scars and some unevenness, but that's a lot better than clumps of zits on parts of my face. Anyways, aside from talking about acne over and over, these days as a 21-year-old, I've started to really try to take better care of my skin. I'm always looking to even my skin tone and fade away the scars from years before. Last month, I decided to change up my skincare routine (if you could even call it that) and invest in some nicer things to put on my face. And I'm working on washing my face twice a day now, rather than once in the shower. Oops.


I ventured over to Kiehl's because I've heard so many great things from my favorite bloggers and after doing all my research, I was impressed with what I had read. I first picked up the Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser, which is powered by Amazonian White Clay to help really get into pores and cleanse the skin of all toxins, dirt, and the usual bits that no one asks for. I've started using this before I put my makeup on even though I can't really say I do it in the morning because I don't really wake up at a normal morning time unless I have to. Then I'll do it at night too post makeup removal. I can say I like the formula, it feels like it is really cleansing my skin but I'm hoping over time I'll see more of a difference with how my skin looks.

After I picked the cleanser up, I also picked up the infamous Midnight Recovery Concentrate that's aimed to be applied at night after cleansing and before moisturizer. It's infused with a bunch of different botanicals and oils that have restorative properties to work during your sleep schedule. I usually drop a few drops into my fingertips and massage it into my skin. It's very weird to use the first time if you're not used to something like an oil going everywhere but it gets easier as you grow used to using it. I feel like my skin does look more even in terms of tone and evenness so it must be helping to heal it.

With these two items, I started my Kiehl's experience and naturally I learned more about other products that I thought I needed to add to my routine to make it a proper routine. I also picked up the Clearly Corrective Clarity-Activating Toner to apply after cleansing because I love a good toner on skin to get that extra bit of dirt out and get the good stuff back in. For a moisturizer I picked up a travel sized version of the Ultra Facial Moisturizer which is definitely big enough to be used overtime. I apply this one as my day moisturizer and I'm still using my Chanel Hydra Beauty Crème at nighttime.

I acquired these over time and they definitely last if you use them sparingly like you're supposed to. It's all about the ingredients and what you're putting on your face since your skin there is the most important I think. Occasionally I'll do a mask too but that's another post for another day.

I might change things up as the year goes but for right now this is what I'm working through and trying not to be so lazy about washing and conditioning my skin.