Flawless Skin w/ Biore; Current Skincare Routine!

My skin and I have had a rocky relationship. In early high school, I had no clue about skincare.. I used body wash for my face and body lotion as well, and as I'm sure you can imagine, it didn't work out well. I finally moved on to proper face wash and moisturizer for the end of high school and ever since, but over the years it has been a lot of experimenting and trial and error. So when I finally found a routine that's kept my skin calm and healthy, for longer than just a week or two, it felt like hitting the jackpot. Everyone has different skin, but I think these products will work for a lot of you as well! 

So here is a look into my current skincare routine!

I've learned that washing my face every day isn't always the best thing for my skin. I tend to wash my face about every other day instead, as long as I didn't put on makeup or spend the whole day out, and the other days I just rinse with cold water in the morning. When I do wash my face and just want a simple clean, I reach for my Biore Combination Skin Balancing Cleanser - Deep Cleansing. It's gentle enough to be a daily cleanser if you need it to be, but as it says, provides a nice deep cleanse.

Now, when it comes to moisturizer/lotion... I've gone through so many different brands and types. My skin usually likes them for a little while, and then out of no where it says "no thanks" and starts breaking out and acting up. I've been using this moisturizing lotion by CeraVe for months now, and my skin is still in love with it- (*knock on wood*)! I still get the occasional breakout, because skin will be skin, but no weird dryness or temper tantrums that tend to happen with other lotions.

The ever controversial toner! I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about toner recently, from people who swear by it for their skin and dermatologists who say it's unnecessary and can actually dry your skin out. I fall into the category of people who not necessarily swear by it, but love it. At least this toner, which since it's alcohol-free, doesn't dry out your skin.

I actually stole (sorry mom) this toner from my mom's medicine cabinet.. Eventually I'll buy my own! But it's been amazing for my skin. For the days when I don't wash my face, like I mentioned above, sometimes I will use this toner instead, or I'll even use it after I do wash my face too. It refreshes my skin and I believe actually hydrates it as well. All I do is dampen a cotton round with the toner- I use Delon cotton rounds that have one side soft and one side textured for exfoliating- and gently buff my skin with the textured side.

Once or twice a week, I feel like my skin needs a truly deep clean and good exfoliating. That's where these two come in. I was offered to be sent these products by Seventeen Magazine and I jumped on the opportunity, because I've always had good luck with Biore products. The first Biore cleanser I mentioned before I bought on my own, so I expected to love these ones just like I love that one. I wasn't let down! 

The first cleanser is your typical gel cleanser with little exfoliating beads, but they're not too big like some cleansers and there isn't an over abundance of them where it feels like they're scratching your face while cleansing. It's gentle but gets a deeper clean to unclog pores and leave your skin feeling smooth and fresh.

The second cleanser is a really interesting product.. It's a powder. You wet your face, poor a quarter sized amount of it in your hands and activate it with water. It turns into somewhat of a paste, but then suds like a normal cleanser once you start working it into your skin. It's a much deeper cleanse and exfoliates more than the other cleanser since it's a real scrub. However, the really cool part about it is that the scrub dissolves eventually so you don't over-scrub! It's definitely a different product, but it's easy, does the job, and feels amazing for a deep clean.

My first introduction to Biore and the savior for pesky black heads and clogged pores! Seventeen Magazine also sent me these Biore Deep Cleansing Pore Strips, which I've already been using for years, so I was more than happy to have more. These ones include face strips, as well as the usual nose strips, to unclog clogged pores anywhere else on your face. I use these maybe once a month if my pores are being too difficult with me.

Breakouts happen no matter what. Last month I was sent an acne kit by Paula's Choice from Seventeen Magazine as well, and these two products have been amazing and a part of my skincare routine since. (I use the cleanser included in that kit every now and then too if my skin is truly breaking out, but not enough for it to be a real part of my routine.) 

Whenever I have a pimple or what will soon become a pimple, I take a q-tip and dampen it with the Paula's Choice Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution and put it directly on the blemish. I then use the other side of the q-tip, take a little of the Paula's Choice Daily Skin Clearing Blemish Treatment and put that on the blemish as well. The redness significantly goes down and in most cases the blemish dries out and goes away after one treatment. For pesky blemishes, it takes about two or three maximum before it's gone for good!

Last, but not least! Makeup removal isn't just left up to my cleansers, it needs an extra step. Before I touch my cleansers, I try to get most of the makeup off my face first with a cleansing water. Currently I've been using this one by Garnier and it's worked beautifully. I use my Delon cotton rounds dampened with the cleansing water and buff my skin, using maybe up to two or three until no more makeup comes off on the cotton round. Then I'll go in with my real cleansers. I've also used the Simple Micellar Water before which works great as well!

And that's my current skincare routine! These products have kept my skin clean, clear, and hydrated every since I got them. I hope what I use could help you all and benefit your skincare as well! If there are certain products you swear by and that have helped your skin be healthy and clear, please leave them in the comments below! Thank you all for reading and have a lovely week!

xoxo

~You could win some of these products! Biore is hosting a #BioreBeautifulSweepstakes where a lucky winner will receive $500 and Biore products! You can sign up for your chance to win here: biorebeautifulsweepstakes.com. If you love Biore products and use them as well, you can post photos on your social media using the products or after you've used them with #BioreBeautifulSweepstakes! Good luck to everyone who enters!

And thank you to Seventeen Magazine and Biore for these products and sponsoring this post!

*All opinions are my own!*