The Lisptick Wardrobe

My love for dark, bold lips is well documented in this blog. I think. At least I think so. I'm never shy about them, I whip them here and now regardless of the season, which is quiet obvious since where I live, we don't know any other season than wet and dry. I pretty much have the liberty of wearing dark lips all year around; yessssssssss!

When did it begin, again, if I recount correctly, it all began 3 years ago when I picked up MUFE ARTIST PLEXI GLOSS in a whim. It's very glossy, highly-pigmented, wet, and, erm, messy? (as it transfers everywhere) product. Still, the goods overcome the bad and it's the only thing I had on my lips until I find my one and only, my holy grail, my sun and my shine; BURBERRY LIP VELVET IN OXBLOOD.

It's something I never stop raving about in this blog for how lovely and utterly incredible it is. I swear there's no better lipstick in this world for me but this one baby, encapsulated in hefty, magnetic packaging with Burberry's iconic check printed on it. It feels luxurious. The lipstick itself is equally so, having the said check printed on the bullet.

Another matte lipsitck in my arsenal is GLASTONBERRY from CHARLOTTE TILBURRY. I bought this one as birthday present, and, honestly, it's a purchase I regret, a little, for the color is rather hard to pull. But still, I can never seem to get rid of it for a reason that I'd admit to be shallow; the photogenic packaging!

On the creamier side I have CLINIQUE POP LIP PRIMER in BERRY & MAC BRAVE RED. Both have more forgiving formula. My lips are quiet difficult to work with, I don't think it gets along well with tinted lip balm and some lipsticks. I'm still yet to pin point what is wrong, but by the end of the day, I'd end up with flakey, unflattering lips that makes some formula hard to work with (like matte, for example).

In liquid lipstick category, I'm utterly smitten by NYX SOFT MATTE LIP CREAMS that I bought two in just a span of a week (let me tell you, this is an achievement!). I think other bloggers have raved about this little bottle of magic and wonder enough, so, I'll refrain from making long paragraph on why they are amazing, and they're truly deserving of the love they received. BODY SHOP MATTE LIP LIQUID wasn't something I appreciated enough when I got it, but lately, it's been my favorite choice for a dark lip days.

What's in your lipstick wardrobe?

The Importance of Keeping Clarity + Clay Masks for Oily Skin

STRUGGLE OF OILY SKIN

The struggle of us, oily-skin gang, is real. Not only having overly active sebaceous glands, we have to deal with overly shiny face during the day. Our skin produces higher level of sebum as result of our large pores, and these large pores are not only prone to clog, which can lead to acne, but also adds difficulty in choosing every single product to put on our skin.

I'm sure we've all been there, religiously checking every singe blogs and reviews, every single products for anything with shine free, matte, doesn't clog pore, oil-free, long wear, etc before actually biting the bullet and shell our money. Wrong product can easily trigger break out, which will trigger us to find another product that can conceal it while we try to banish the leftover scar (which probably require us to find yet another product to add in our skincare arsenal). In conclusion; the struggle is real!

I've been having this skin type since I can remember, my mom even joke that she can fry an egg on my face! Yes, my face is that oily. Living in tropical country with high level of humidity, and highly-polluted area isn't helping either. However, lately, I'm starting to find peace with my skin, I think it's in best condition yet!

THE IMPORTANCE OF DOUBLE CLEANSE

Often times, you'll find yourself too done to actually clean your face after a long day. All you want to do is dive face-first on the bed and embrace the sweet, sweet dream.

Then wake up with a red spot on your face. Upcoming acne. Oh, no.

That was me. And probably you. Yes, been there, done that. It's such a horrible thing to wake up in the morning to find a red bump anywhere in my face. Especially on the nose!

Although acne is not necessarily caused by clogged pores, when pores are clogged by excessive oils, it can set a perfect condition for acne bacteria to bred. Our skin's fight against the bacterial-infection causes inflammation which is the acne itself.

Other problems that often occur on oily skin is black and white heads. Whiteheads occur under the skin and can easily be removed while blackheads are on the skin itself. Luckily, I don't have any blackheads but whiteheads! They're like an entire troop on my face! Other than my skin looking unsightly, they also ruin any chance of flawless skin because they add these gritty, little bumps. Can you relate with me???

All these skin conditions are caused mostly by sebum and clogged pores. Hence, it's extremely important to make sure my pore is as clear as possible to avoid any bacteria party. If I cannot fix the biochemistry of my skin, at least I can stop the break out by preventing it.

Cleaning my skin has become something I religiously do over the years, especially as of late after I struggled with the worst break outs yet back in March~April. Double cleansing - makeup remover, followed by regular cleanser - isn't enough. Some extra care is needed to ensure the clarity of our skin, namely clay masks.

THE PURIFYING MASKS

Clay mask has been staple for everyone with oily skin and pesky, gigantic pores. Clay mask contains kaolin that's been known to absorb excess oil, draw out dirt and impurities. Often times, they're volcanic clay, which is known to have the best and good minerals, as volcanic ash is supplies high nutrients to the soil. Clay also has anti-microbial properties to deal with acne. The only downside is they can be drying, although volcanic-clay is said to be a lot gentler.

I find that my nose and my chin are the spots that I break out easily. My pores around there are the worst; they're large, home for black and white heads alike, the bottom line is they're horrid! Instead of applying the mask all over my face, usually, I just put them on these two area since they can be too drying for my forehead and other face area.

KIEHL'S RARE EARTH DEEP CLEANSING MASQUE is the second clay mask I've tried. The first one was from TBS but it was too harsh on my skin, often times leaving my skin feeling tight and raw due to its high level of alcohol. This one is a lot gentler as it contains aloe that soothes and hydrates the skin. The bentonite in this works to absorb the sebum, while amazonian clay removes the impurities from the skin.

INNISFREE JEJU CLAY MASK is highly coveted among k-beauty for being the best mask for oily skin, however, seeing that I still have a whole tub of clay mask left, I decided to go with INNISFREE JEJU VOLCANIC 3 IN 1 NOSE PACK. This one is specifically targeted to use on nose area, as the name suggested. Ingredients wise, it's more or less the same with KIEHL's, but this one offers ease of black/whiteheads removal after use.

INNISFREE is something that I use on weekdays while KIEHL's is often used during weekend. I avoid using both on the same day in fear that it'll over-stripe moisture from my skin which leads to irritation. To make sure my skin isn't too overly dry after, I usually put on sheet mask that I've cooled on the fridge or immediately continue with my night skincare routine which includes facial oil.

THE PEELING MASK

The downside of clay mask is I have to wait until they dray for at least 15 minutes. They're not perfect on the go, nor when I'm too sleepy or tired to properly wait 15 minutes before rinsing off my face. At those times, I turn to peeling mask.

LANEIGE CLEAR C PEELING MASK might not cleanse my pore, but it ensures my cell turn over on top of getting ride of my dead skin cells, that not only make my skin looking dull, but also contribute to forming of acne. It contains plant-derived malic acid AHA from sugarcane, orange, lemon, and bilbery. The strawberry seeds in it ensures my skin staying smooth while gently removing the dead flakes.

This is incredibly easy and quick to use. After washing my face, I apply this on and massage it, focusing on my nose area. Wash with warm water, then proceed with regular skincare. I notice that my skin always feels plumper, brighter after usage.

How do you deal with your oily skin?

2017 Best of Skincare

I didn't realize, until I snapped these pictures in one December morning (quiet bright, there were people outside working on the house's canopy, and they probably question why the lady of this room is always taking photos of, of...things), that my skincare drawer has been overrun by Korean skincare. Specifically; INNISFREE. From scale 1 to 10, how big is the possibility that you're only using one brand for skincare? When you're a beauty junkie? Probably around 5, but mine is high on the 8th (because I'm still faithful to KIEHL's MRC and LANEIGE's LIGHT BALANCING EMULSION).

I pondered; what's with Innisfree? and realized i'ts combination of; 1) my Korean trip last January, 2) Innsifree's local store, 3) they're simply AMAZING. None of their products has disappoint me so far. Price-wise, they're cheaper than KIEHL's or LANEIGE (my two favorite brands for skincare), so I'm naturally attracted to try their products.

I have oily skin, enlarged pores, and struggle with whiteheads everyday. It's incredibly important to keep my skin as clear as possible, no matter how lazy I am (22 at night and just wanna face-plant on the bed), I always make it to remove my makeup.

INNISFREE GREEN TEA FRESH MAKE UP REMOVER OIL is k-beauty's cult favorite for makeup remover. This one is targeted for oily skin. My sister have the other for dry skin, and indeed, the texture feels different as this one feels lighter and thinner in consistency. It doesn't clog pores, nor does it break me out (like another oil cleanser I've tried in the past), and I'm already in my second bottle (with the third sitting pretty in my drawer).

Following in is JEJU VOLCANIC PORE CLEANSING FOAM. JEJU VOLCANIC-line is INNSIFREE's stand-out line against black heads and enlarged pores. I purchased it on a whim after I ran out of my beloved SHISEIDO PERFECT WHIP, I might have love this more than SHISEIDO one's (gasp!). It feels super thick, lathers well, and has small granule particles that might act as incredibly gentle exfoliator. It also contains orchid extracts which helps soothes and moisturizes skin. I noticed after using this, I got less and less break out.

Which probably means this is a lot better than SHISEIDO, but I'm still on the fence...

JEJU VOLCANIC 3 IN 1 NOSE PACK is another thing in my arsenal to battle sebums, but I will talk about this hybrid of pack+scrub+cleanser product in later post that specifically address treatment for oily skin (keep your eyes on the blog).

For troubled, sensitive, and blemished skin, INNSIFREE comes up with BIJA-line. Since I'm also battling with acne scarring and prone to acne in general, I picked up the BIJA TROUBE SKIN, a toner, randomly before I went to see THOR:RAGNAROK, alone (is this piece of information important? Yes, it is. Maybe). Bija is korean version of nutmeg, the oil extracted from this seed has great anti-inflammatory effect.

Last but not least is sunscreen, which is the most vital part for any skincare routine and anti-aging effort. I didn't incorporate it as religiously until I find PERFECT UV PROTECTION CREAM FOR OILY SKIN, as I found most sunscreen is too heavy for my skin. It boasts SPF 50+ with PA+++++, which is  perfect in the condition when I'm living in.

That has been my favorite skincare finds in 2017. What's yours?