Skincare Routine

When I turned thirteen, things turned ugly. All those hormones rushing through my body caused changes. Of course all the normal development happened, but mainly I noticed the changes in my hair and in my skin.

I got teenage acne pretty badly. Mainly my face, by also my chest and back. It was greasy and red and sore and I had it worst out of all of my friends. It was embarrassing.

In an attempt to control and improve my skin, I did lots of research and tried lots of products and was really into my skincare routine.

Of course, none of it really did much to combat my acne. Despite a friends suggestions that I was simply 'not washing my face properly', I was going through puberty. It was my hormones. I also went to the doctors pretty regularly for tablets and special pharmaceutical creams, again none of which really made a dent.

Finally, when I was around 16 my doctor prescribed me Dianette which is a contraceptive pill used to treat severe acne. Writing this, I goggled Dianette to re-acquaint myself with my old friend and have found that is has since been linked with a high risk of blood clots. However, for me back then, it was my savior. Literally in about a month and a half my skin clearer up. It was amazing. Even now at 23 I chose my Pill carefully because of the effect it has on my skin. I have tried a few, and Yasmin also works wonders for me. I stopped taking it for a few months last year, and my back and chest once again broke out in pretty nasty spots.

Anyway, I guess because of all my problems in the past, I am very good at looking after my skin. Even after a big night out I will always take the time to cleanse, tone and moisturize before falling into bed. Saturday, after my morning gym session is when I give my skin an extra treat.

Here is what I use.

Daily

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water | La Roche Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel | La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo [+] | L'Oréal Paris Triple Active Anti-Shine Mattifying Hydrating Moisturiser | Soap & Glory Wish Upon a Jar Peptide Plus Rejuvenating Night Cream

Saturday Special

St Ives Blemish Fighting Facial Scrub | Quick Fix Facials Brightening Peel Mask | Mudd Original Mask

Wishlist

Benefit Porefessional | Soap & Glory Fab Pore Mask | No7 Beautiful Skin Deep Pore Purifier | Super Facialist Salicylic Acid Anti Blemish Clay Mask | Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil | Superfacialist Rose Peaceful Skin Night Cream |

(Yes, I have big pore issues)

Thank Goodness - A Deodorant That Properly Works

I am one of the lucky few in London who are actually able to walk to work. It's great, I don't have to get on a cramped, smelly tube first thing in the morning. Halleluiah. I get to play my music in peace whilst I take a stroll over one of the most iconic structures in the world instead.

Except it doesn't usually work out like that. As I mentioned here, I massively struggle with mornings. So, of course, I am always running late. Thus, my calm walk into the office becomes a mad 20 minute sprint instead. And so I arrive a big, hot mess.

Not great. That, plus office air, plus dubious air conditioning, plus running around at work, plus lots of hot coffee is not the best combination. It does not make me the freshest of person, and quite frankly my old deodorant was just not cutting it.

So, I decided that I needed to try something new. I traded it in for Sure Maximum Protection. And thank goodness for that! It comes in a cream formula which is something I have never experienced before. It feels wetter than a spray or a traditional roll on and took a few goes before I learned the correct amount to apply, but I quite like that is a bit different. It emphasizes that it is something a bit more special. In terms of protection, it definitely does what it says on the tin (2x the protection of regular deodorant!). It keeps me dry and fresh and sweet smelling all day long. So far, I have only tried 'everyday fresh' which has quiet a strong scent, but can't wait to compare it to some others in the range too.