A Review of December

During December I used all of the Clinique products that I mentioned in my post (The Products I’m Using January 2010)  and the Biore Strips. My skin has improved a lot, it looks clearer and healthier after just using the Clinique 3 Step System. I had looked up about the products before using them and I remembered reading that a women’s skin had broken out for the 1st month and then cleared up after that. So I was expecting to break out badly but I didn’t. What I did notice was that my forehead became very oily looking during the day. This did not happen to me before. In a way I was happy about my forehead getting oily because I figured it was the product cleaning my pores out and I think that was the problem before, my pores weren't getting cleaned properly.

After using the mask (Cliniques Anti-Blemish Solutions) I found that bumps or pores that were clogged but not really noticeable came to the surface but didn’t look very noticeable. They were easy to extract.

I also felt using the Biore pore strips helped to clean the skin (this can also be done with eggs and tissue)
Some people think it is bad to use these strips and that they only remove the top part of the blackhead and I probably agree with them but I don’t use them in the belief that they will remove all my blackheads. I use them in the attempt to remove the top layer of the blackhead so that I can use products that can go deep down to the bottom of the pore to help clean the pore out more efficiently.
I also cut them up and use them on the chin and other areas. I personally don't think that they work great on the forehead.

Whoops just remembered I did have one or two patches of dry skin on my face. Most of this was caused by burning myself with a hair removal face cream but 1 or 2 patches of dryness was due to using Clinique.
This was easily fixed with a moisturising cream.

The Products Im Using

Cliniques 3 Step System no.3 = 1. Liquid Facial Soap (Oily Skin Formula)
                                                 2.Clarifying Lotion
                                                 3.Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions  (Oil Control Cleansing Mask)
Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream.
Biore Ultra Deep Cleansing Pore Strips. (Nose Strips)

I Plan to add to the list.
St. Ives Naturally Clear  Apricot Scrub Blemish & Blackhead Control   (Oil Free 2% Salicylic Acid)
St. Ives Timeless Skin   Microdermabrasion
Clearasil Maximum Strength Pore Cleansing Pads or Clearasil Deep Pore Cleansing Pads.

I might also add to the list.
Elizabeth Ardens 8 hour Moisturiser and possible a vitamin A,C,E moisturising creams  & eye creams.

How I am getting rid of blackheads and hopefully getting flawless clear skin!!!

Ok so here is my first blog. I am planning to keep a journal about my skin for 365 days to try and get it beautiful. I have struggled for years to find products to suit my skin type, to stick to a routine and to prevent getting ripped off by buying anymore products that don’t work! I have decided to write this blog to remind myself of products that do and do not work and hopefully I will be able to help others who have similar problems.

My Skin Type
I have oily skin especially along my T zone. But that never really bothered my much because it only really appeared to be oily late at night. My biggest problem is BLACKHEADS! I have them everywhere. I don’t really get spots maybe 1 or 2 every so often. But I get loads of blackheads everywhere especially in the T zone but lately they are starting to form on my cheeks as well.

My Solution
Years ago when I was on holidays I had some extra money I bought the sample size Clinique 3 step system. I took the skin test and I was told that step 3 (oily) suited my skin best. So I got it, used it religiously and it worked! Even thought they were small sets, I think they lasted for over a month. Anyway I could not afford Clinique after that (I was still in school) so I just bought loads of different drug store brands but none of them worked. A few years later I went back to try Clinique again (I was all excited because I knew it had worked before) Not so this time! A different lady did another skin test and told me I was skin type 2 and gave me the products for that type. They didn’t work at all. I was so annoyed especially because firstly Clinique had worked before and secondly because Clinique is not cheap!! So back to the store brands!!

It always annoyed me why Clinique worked the first time and not the second time and I had a guess that it was because of the different types. Clearly skin type 3 suited me better. I was always tempted to go back and try again but never really had the money to do so.
But lately I was fed up and out of desperation I said I would give it another try.

On December the 7th 2009 I bought the Clinique 3 step Skin Care system no 3 (oily). I got the skin test done again with another lady. She also said that I was skin type 2.I was like here we go again but I had already explained to her the above story and she explained that while I was skin type 2 I probably needed a stronger type so she gave me no 3.

So I am going to document how I am getting on with Clinique, what effect it is having on my skin and if I am getting rid of my blackheads and basically my weekly facial routine.