Hey everyone!

I think everyone reaches to a point where they get so frustrated with their skin that it feels like everything you do, doesn’t work. Well I’ve been up and down with my skin many a time, but usually I can fix it, by simplifying my routine or using a new product that is great etc. But I’m really stuck here, I feel like I’ve followed everything that is “right” and nothing works. That’s why I’m here.

My skin is combo, right now it’s summer so I get oily areas, break out on my cheeks, but get dry in my mouth area and sometimes my eyes. I am sensitive to fragrance and alcohol, but otherwise my skin is resilient to trying new things and having a long or short routine.

Well my skin has actually been doing great with my routine, but I noticed it started to get dry around my mouth, specifically my lips and the surrounding area. So I decided to simplify my routine to what you see below- using products that are supposed to be great for fixing your barrier- Cerave rich in cermaides, the infamous krave barrier relief, Vaseline, a gentle cleanser and suncream. But for the past 2 weeks, I’ve been doing this but it isn’t improving. It feels great after my routine, but after it’s so dry again, I’m open to any tips and/or suggestions of products.

AM:
Splash face
Krave beauty serum
Cerave moisturiser 
Garnier sensitive
Vaseline

PM
Simple cleanser
Krave beauty serum
Cerave moisturiser 
Vaseline

Sahara Desert Lips

👎🏼𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂👎🏼
•The squeezing tube
•I would prefer it not to foam up and stay a gel – the next cleanser I want to try is the Geek &amp; Gorgeous Jelly Joker Cleanser

𝚂𝙸𝙼𝙿𝙻𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙱𝙾𝙾𝚂𝚃 𝙼𝙸𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙰𝚁 𝙵𝙰𝙲𝙸𝙰𝙻 𝙶𝙴𝙻 𝚆𝙰𝚂𝙷
🧼𝙲𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚂𝙴𝚁
🙀𝙷𝙾𝙻𝚈 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙸𝙻

🤷🏻‍♀️𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚃 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂🤷🏻‍♀️
•Gentle cleanse
•Revive and freshen skin
•Provide instant hydration

🧖🏻‍♀️𝙼𝚈 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴🧖🏻‍♀️
I use this cleanser in the PM (in the AM I just splash my face with water) and I love it sooo much! For me it is on the fence for holy grail&#47;love it- as I haven’t found a better cleanser and can happily use this one forever, I think this is a product that I will always come back to no matter how many other cleansers I try. I love the gel texture that goes on, as it feels super noroushing and gentle on my skin, but after using it, I feel so soft and cleansed sufficiently. Lactic acid is an ingredient that on its own, I was sensitive to- but in this formulation it works really well for my skin.

🌿𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂🌿
•Panthenol&#47;Vitamin B5 – Soothing and moisturising 
•Glycerin – Moisturising
•Saccharide Isomerate – Moisturising

🌼𝚂𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙻&#47;𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙾𝚄𝚁&#47;𝚃𝙴𝚇𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴🌼
👃🏼No scent
🎨Clear gel, foams up white when cleansing 
🌫Gel texture, foams up when clenasing, cooling effect

📦𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙽𝙶📦
150ml plastic squeeze tube 
Translucent, green and blue packaging, personally not a fan of this type of packaging – so I usually decanter this product into a glass bottle with a pump
♻️Recyclable packing!

💶𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙴💶
€6.99 at Kruidvat in the Netherlands🇳🇱

💰𝚁𝙴𝙿𝚄𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙴?💰
YES!

✍🏼𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂✍🏼
If you have sensitive skin or skin that can tolerate a lot I would use this! Even with acne-prone skin, I don’t personally feel that an exfoliating cleanser will do so much, so save your money and invest in exfoliants or actives that will do the job, and stick to a gentle cleanser. I love this product so much and recommend it to everyone! It’s one of very few products that I was able to get my anti-skincare boyfriend to use and now he uses it daily!

👎🏼𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂👎🏼
•The shelf life of this is too short

𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙰𝚁𝚈 𝚁𝙴𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙾𝙻 𝟶.𝟸% 𝙸𝙽 𝚂𝚀𝚄𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙴
💧𝚃𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃
😺𝚆𝙾𝚁𝚃𝙷 𝙰 𝚃𝚁𝚈!

🤷🏻‍♀️𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚃 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂🤷🏻‍♀️
•Reduce appearance of fine lines
•Reduce appearance of photo damage
•Reduce appearance of general skin aging

🧖🏻‍♀️𝙼𝚈 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴🧖🏻‍♀️
I loved this retinol, when I first used it- I was terrified of all the things I read online about retinol and I knew I had to start low and slow, so I thought this was perfect. When I first used it, I woke up the next day with my skin glowing, and I was so happy! I did not use it often at all, as I wanted my skin to be used to it, but I noticed that I wasn’t receiving the same effect as I did at the beginning- I thought maybe that I had to increase the percentage or something, but I didn’t think my skin was ready for that kind of tolerance. It wasn’t until I read a review on here that I saw that it is only effective for 3 months after opening, so I was using expired product! 3 months is nowhere near enough time for me to finish this bottle, so it feels so wasteful if I were to purchase it again, even if I had a tolerance of more than twice a week.

🌿𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂🌿
•Squalane – emollient
•Retinol&#47;Vitamin A – Cell-communicating agent
•Jojoba Oil – Emollient

🌼𝚂𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙻&#47;𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙾𝚄𝚁&#47;𝚃𝙴𝚇𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴🌼
👃🏼Oil and I almost want to say herbal scent
🎨Light brown liquid
🌫Thin watery oil 

📦𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙽𝙶📦
30ml glass bottle with pipette 
Chique and simple design from TO!
♻️Recyclable packaging! (Drop off at local shop)

💶𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙴💶
€5.30 at Deciem in the Netherlands🇳🇱 

💰𝚁𝙴𝙿𝚄𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙴?💰
No 

✍🏼𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂✍🏼
If this had a longer shelf life it would be perfect, I didn’t suffer from any irritation from it and did see an improvement in my skin. I rate it so low because it’s just SO wasteful about how much you have to get rid of. The price of this is great, and if you want to use retinol as a beginner this is a great start, just know that you probably won’t finish it before it is no longer effective

👎🏼𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂👎🏼
•Price, it’s quite an expensive purchase
•I’m not the biggest fan on the texture of a cleansing oil

𝙳𝙷𝙲 𝙳𝙴𝙴𝙿 𝙲𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙾𝙸𝙻
🧼𝙲𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙽𝚂𝙴𝚁
😺𝚆𝙾𝚁𝚃𝙷 𝙰 𝚃𝚁𝚈!

🤷🏻‍♀️𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚃 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂🤷🏻‍♀️
•Removes makeup and suncream
•Dissolves impurities 
•Hydrates and softens skin

🧖🏻‍♀️𝙼𝚈 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴🧖🏻‍♀️
I find this product does it’s job really well, it works by breaking down all my suncream application and occasional makeup that I wear at the end of the day. I use this in the PM, but I have to say not as often as I maybe should, as I often skip this step and just do a first cleanse. It’s not a hate on this product, but I think I don’t enjoy cleansing oils in general, as the feeling on my face isn’t something that I look forward to, like other steps of my routine.

🌿𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂🌿
•Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil – Antioxidant
•Tocopheral&#47;Vitmain E – Antioxidant
•Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil – Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Perfuming 

🌼𝚂𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙻&#47;𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙾𝚄𝚁&#47;𝚃𝙴𝚇𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴🌼
👃🏼Olive oil, quite pleasant for a non-fragranced product
🎨Gold, looks fancy next to my products
🌫Lightweight oil, blends into the skin beautifully

📦𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙽𝙶📦
6.7fl oz. &#47; 200ml clear plastic bottle
Simple but luxury looking design 
♻️Recyclable packaging!

💶𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙴💶
€32.95 at ICI PARIS XL in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 

💰𝚁𝙴𝙿𝚄𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙴?💰
No

✍🏼𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂✍🏼
I think if you enjoy cleansing oils, you definitely will like this product! It doesn’t feel very heavy on the skin and glides makeup and suncream right off. But for me, I will return to using a micellar water after I finish this bottle up. I understand why this is a popular product, it’s just not for me

👎🏼𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂👎🏼
•The price is too high for a broke student like me
•The smell is unpleasant, but tolerable for me (but not my boyfriend😹)

𝙺𝚁𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝙰𝚄𝚃𝚈 𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚃 𝙱𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚁 𝚁𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙴𝙵
💧𝚂𝙴𝚁𝚄𝙼
😻𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴 𝙸𝚃

🤷🏻‍♀️𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚃 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂🤷🏻‍♀️
•Calms sensitivity 
•Repairing damaged skin barrier
•Evens out skintone

🧖🏻‍♀️𝙼𝚈 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴🧖🏻‍♀️
After not having a problem with my eczema for over 10 years, last year my skin decided to have a major freak out, due to stress, environment and the changing weather. It did go away for a while, but those of you with eczema know that it’s lots of small battles and not one big war. So now when I have flare-ups this is my go-to product and it works wonders! I apply it to my face morning and night even without flare ups and it is a wonderful cosmetically elegant product that just sinks into my skin.

🌿𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂🌿
•Tamanu Oil – Antioxidant, Emollient, Antimicrobial
•Niacinamide – Skin-brightening, Anti-acne
•Safflower Seed Oil – Antioxident
•Glycerin – Moisturising 
•Sodium Hyaluronate – Moisturising 
•Squalane – Emollient 

🌼𝚂𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙻&#47;𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙾𝚄𝚁&#47;𝚃𝙴𝚇𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴🌼
👃🏼Strong unpleasant scent, my boyfriend says I smell of soy sauce when I use this
🎨Light green, blends out clear
🌫Lightweight cream

📦𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙽𝙶📦
1.52 Oz &#47; 45ml glass bottle with plastic pump and lid
Simple and clean packaging
♻️Recyclable packaging!

💶𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙴💶
€44.49 at Stylevana in the Netherlands🇳🇱 

💰𝚁𝙴𝙿𝚄𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙴?💰
Yes if I had the money (I’m a student)

✍🏼𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂✍🏼
I do really think this is an effective serum and does it’s job really well. The smell is just a little bit too intense for me, I have seen people get use to it, but still after a month, it’s a bit of a shock but it’s not unbearable. The price is also quite high for the amount of product and easily the most expensive thing I have ever bought, skincare wise. For these reasons, it is not a holy grail for me, and I’m on the hunt for some cheaper alternatives. I would recommend this if you have the money, and it’s definitely an investment in your skin as it has amazing ingredients.

👎🏼𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙴𝙶𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚅𝙴𝚂👎🏼
•For a student like me, this is quite pricey, however the open time is 12 months so you can make it last

𝙽𝙴𝙾𝙶𝙴𝙽 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙻 𝙵𝙴𝚁𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙼𝙸𝙲𝚁𝙾 𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴
💧𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴
🙀𝙷𝙾𝙻𝚈 𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙸𝙻

🤷🏻‍♀️𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚃 𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂🤷🏻‍♀️
•Effectively moisturizes skin
•Reinforces skin&#39;s barrier and balances its oil-water levels
•Enhances skin elasticity and boasts anti-oxidation effects

🧖🏻‍♀️𝙼𝚈 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴🧖🏻‍♀️
When researching essence’s this one came up a lot, along with the MISSHA time revolution first treatment essence. I heard they were very similar with almost identical ingredients, although neogen was slightly pricier. But for some reason this essence drew to me more than the latter. Maybe due to the ingredients, and the fact that I prefer their packaging. I found it instantly hydrating, and it makes my skin soft and supple, I love to use this in the morning to wake up my skin. After I use this for a few days in a row, I see the difference in the appearance of my pores, they appear smaller and less sebum is on my nose!

🌿𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂🌿
•Bifida Ferment Lysate – Probiotic 
•Saccharomyces Ferment Filtrate – Soothing, moisturising 
•Rice ferment filtrate – Soothing
•Glycerin – Moisturising 
•Green tea – Antioxidant, soothing
•Betaine – Moisturising 
•Allantoin – Soothing
•Sodium Hyaluronate – Moisturising 
•Adenosine – Cell-communicating ingredient
•Niacinamide – Cell-communicating ingredient, skin brightening, anti-acne, moisturising 

🌼𝚂𝙼𝙴𝙻𝙻&#47;𝙲𝙾𝙻𝙾𝚄𝚁&#47;𝚃𝙴𝚇𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙴🌼
👃🏼No scent
🎨Clear
🌫Watery&#47;Thin liquid texture

📦𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙺𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙽𝙶📦
150ml glass bottle 
Sleek design, looks very luxurious imo 
♻️Recyclable packaging!

💶𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙴💶
€31.59 at Stylevana in the Netherlands🇳🇱 

💰𝚁𝙴𝙿𝚄𝚁𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙴?💰
YES

✍🏼𝙵𝙸𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂✍🏼
I think for the amount of amazing ingredients and size you get for this, it’s definitely worth the price, my skin just eats this essence up, I only do one layer, but I know you can layer this over and over. I love this watery essence that hydrates and brightens my skin. Definitely holy grail!

emx