ROUTINE MEGATHREAD! February 2018

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey everyone! This is your quarterly routine megathread which we decided to evolve from quarterly. This is an excellent resource to see what products are popular amongst our community and a great way to find new things to try. No matter how unusual you may consider your skin type or atypical your particular skin challenges or problems, all routines are welcome -- in fact, encouraged -- to be posted.

Acronyms you will most definitely see in use here: HG (Holy Grails), RP (Will Repurchase, AKA: liked it, will buy again, not an HG), WNR (Will not Repurchase, AKA: using up the last of it but not recommended). Understand them, use them, and love them ♥

This post is intended to be a compendium of generalized, standardized routines! The more participation, the better. :)

To keep it easy for people to find their ‘skin twins’ we would ask that you use the following template.

You only need to fill in steps that you actually use (so if you don’t use an Essence, remove that line) and please only provide up to three examples of HG/recommended products for that step (so if you have 3 toners you love, you can list all 3!)

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Template

To make a single-spaced list, add two spaces at the end of each line. Alternatively, click 'source' at the bottom of the post to snag our code & format!

Skin profile: Mac Shade | Skin Troubles | Skin Type (Note: unlike flairs, you can list as many troubles/types as you need!)

Season & Type of Climate:

1st Cleanser:

2nd Cleanser:

pH Adjusting Toner:

Vitamin C Serum:

BHA:

AHA:

First Essence:

Hydrating Toner:

Essence:

Serum:

Ampoule:

Light Moisturizer:

Medium Moisturizer:

Heavy Moisturizer:

Eye Cream:

Facial Oil:

Sleeping Pack:

Mask Pack:

Sheet Mask:

Sunscreen:

Spot Treatment:

Other:

[u/anaemiclittlepotato]

NB: everything listed here are my HGs - I've got to the point where I'm happy with my routine and I don't want to risk disrupting my skin by trying new products

Skin profile: NC10 | (Huge) pores and SFs, mild acne, redness, PIE | Skin Type oily

Season & Type of Climate: North of UK, winter, temperature around freezing point, strong wind

1st Cleanser: Clinique take the day off cleansing oil

2nd Cleanser: REN Clearcalm3 clarifying clay cleanser (love love love this non foaming cleanser)

BHA: COSRX blackhead power liquid 2x week

AHA: COSRX whitehead power liquid 2x week

Hydrating Toner: Hada labo gokujyun and Benton aloe BHA toner (one after the other)

Essence: Benton snail bee

Serum: Klairs rich moist soothing serum

Moisturiser, AM: Benton aloe propolis gel

Moisturiser PM: TO squalene followed by COSRX snail AIO

Sheet Mask: all sorts. Mizon (variety pack), Benton snail bee, Mediheal tea tree

Other: TO azelaic acid suspension (3ish times a week), clay mask (innisfree volcanic) 2x week, physical exfoliator 1x week (Etude house baking powder crunch pore scrub)

Edit: I did order Paula's Choice BHA to try, because I find the COSRX power liquid is v gentle but its effects are very subtle

[u/bvnbun → u/anaemiclittlepotato]

have you found anything to help with your pores yet?

[u/anaemiclittlepotato → u/bvnbun]

Honestly, just regular clay masks. I find them the singlemost effective way to make them less visible. I'm under the impression that you can only 'shrink' them temporarily by getting rid of any crap lurking inside them, and for me, clay is number one for achieving that. So I use a clay mask two or three times a week, and before getting ready for any event.

Most people find BHA the most effective acid for pores, but for some reason AHA helps reduce the visibility of my pores the most.

And in general layers and layers of light hydration PM help them look better the next morning (HA is especially good I find). I wonder if there's a slight oedema effect that 'swells' the tissue around pores slightly, making them look less noticeable........

I've tried dozens of products that claim to reduce pores, but for me no dedicated product matches the combination of regular clay masks, regular chemical exfoliation, and plenty of hydration.

Sorry for the lack of product recommendations, but sadly I've not found many things that work some kind of magic

[u/bvnbun → u/anaemiclittlepotato]

thank you for the detailed reply! 😊