I’ve been trying to keep up with my skin since middle school. I have an array of concerns: I’m acne prone — some pictures from my last major breakout can be found here — with an oily t-zone, dark under eyes, and around my mouth gets real dry during the winter. I also think I have a bit of eczema on my neck. All that to say, I’m not someone who’s gifted with clear skin.
Here are the products I currently use to keep me together!
Cleanser: Korres Total Clarity Purifying Milk Cleanse
It’s inexpensive, creamy, doesn’t make my skin feel stripped, removes makeup, and a little goes a long way. I don’t usually ask much of my cleansers, but this one holds it down for real!
Note: my mama buys this for us, and I can’t seem to find it online. I will update the post when I find a direct link to a reputable retailer.
Toner: Rosen Skincare Tropics Toner
I got a whole bunch of Rosen Skincare products for Christmas, so expect to see them a few times! Created by a Black woman for women of color who deal with dark spots, this toner is my new favorite product. My skin feels so soft, and my dark spots genuinely disappear within a week. My skin is largely well-adjusted to most active ingredients, but I’m still cautious. So, at the moment, I only tone in the morning.
Key ingredients include hyaluronic acid, kojic acid, and pineapple extract.
Serums: Topicals Faded Serum and Rosen Skincare Bright Citrus Serum
All the hype around Topicals’s Faded Serum is well deserved. I’ve been a faithful user for years now — the product’s sulfur smell used to be much stronger. I don’t even notice it anymore. When this was the only active step in my routine, I built up to using it every other night. But now I have reduced my usage to twice a week in order to protect my moisture barrier.
Key ingredients include niacinamide, tranexamic acid, kojic acid, and azelaic acid.
The Bright Citrus Serum is exactly what it sounds like, a vitamin C serum. Rosen’s formula includes mulberry extract, and I only use it twice a week in order to protect my moisture barrier.
Moisturizer: COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence, Neutrogena Hydro Boost, and Cocokind Revitalizing Eye Cream
What can I say about the snail essence that TikTok hasn’t spent the past two years promoting? I go in with this as my first layer of moisture. And yes, in Massachusetts’s winter air, I need more than one layer.
I follow that up with Neutrogena Hydro Boost. The ads for the product were absolutely everywhere, I was in the market for a dependable moisturizer, and it is half the price of my old one. A little goes a long way, and it pairs perfectly with the snail mucin!
My eyes are puffy in the morning, so I swipe on Cocokind’s eye cream to make myself look more awake. And, a quick tip, having well moisturized under eyes helps your under-eye makeup lay and set better. This step makes me feel particularly fancy.
Sunscreen: Black Girl Sunscreen SPF 30
It’s 2023. Yes, Black people should wear sunscreen. We’re still susceptible to sunburns and skin cancer. And how are you fighting off dark spots without it? You’re not. You’re simply not. I love BGS’s SPF 30 because it leaves no white cast, doesn’t burn my eyes, and it’s moisturizing!
Face Mask: Rosen Skincare Smooth Jelly Mask
Yet another Rosen appearance! I don’t do face masks often. The rest of my routine does a lot of heavy lifting, so they aren’t really necessary for me. That is until I met Rosen’s Smooth Jelly Mask. Do you want to talk about baby bottom smooth? This mask plays no games! I mean, the box does say, “smoothing mask treatment for people with dark spots and textured skin.” But a lot of products say. a lot of things. Again, I don’t play with my moisture barrier because once that’s messed up, the acne flare-ups are sure to come. Rosen recommends that you apply this mask once every one to two weeks and to not use any strong exfoliants one to two days post-use. And I sure do listen to them.
Key ingredients include lactic acid and licorice root.
Spot Treatment: Rosen Skincare Break-Out
Ok, I’m done, I promise. This is actually the first Rosen product I bought myself. I reach for the Break-Out spot treatment wand when it’s that time of the month, and hormonal acne starts to beat my a**. It helps me minimize the pimples overnight so my skincare regimen can work on them throughout the day. I’m remembering that I need to change my pillowcase as I’m typing this.
Key ingredients include zinc oxide and apple cider vinegar.
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