Winter Skincare Routine 2013

I'm no skincare expert.  No, I do think I am somewhat a skincare expert. I know a lot of skincare facts, what are gimmicks, what good ingredients are and "theory", I've successfully helped some people with their skin problems. And yet, come to my own face, I just don't really know what to do with it. It's like all those supposed to work really well ingredients are just somewhat meh to me. So that's quite frustrating. I'm really still experimenting and this blog post is more like a personal record/diary than recommendation. However, I think I might have come down to a routine that maybe, just maybe, works for me.

我不是护肤专家。不，我的确觉得自己算得上是个护肤专家。我知道很多护肤知识，哪些是商家骗人的玩意，哪些是好东西，还有些理论，我也试过成功帮朋友改善肌肤问题。只是，到了我自己的这张脸，我就不知道拿它怎么样才好。那些什么很有用很见效的成分到了我这张脸上，似乎就效果减半。真是沮丧呢。所以我也还是在实验阶段，这篇博文是个人记录多过产品推荐。不过，我似乎，好像碰到了一个不错，貌似有效的步骤。

I know that foams are not guranteed to remove all traces of gunks, or they might be too drying, or whatsoever. But for some reason, I just love foams. And I do quite like the Curél Sebum Care Foaming Wash. It foams up nicely, though not very rich. I like that after I use it, I feel that my skin is clean but not drying. Penelopi Moon Junoa is a soap I got after reading a glorifying review written by Xiaoman( link here, it's in Chinese though). This stuff really really foams up! I love the rich thick foams this soap can give. Also, it's surprisingly not drying at all. It leaves my skin feeling very clean and somewhat moisturizing(?), it certainly does not leave an oil film. I like it a lot the only thing I hate about it is that I need to use a net to lather it up, this laziness is personal, I wish this comes in a liquid version though. I mainly use the Curél one, I use the soap when I can be bothered to do the lathering.

我知道泡沫不能保证洗得很干净，或者太过干燥，或是什么的。但不知道为什么，我就是很喜欢泡沫。而我真的挺喜欢Curél Sebum Care Foaming Wash。它的泡沫虽不是很浓密，但还可以。我喜欢的是，每次洗完脸后，感觉脸很干净，同时不会太干。Penelopi Moon Junoa是一个洁面皂，是因为小蛮大赞（链接在此）才买来试试的。这货真的超级起泡，大爱那浓密的泡沫啊。而且它洗完脸，感觉很干净，完全不会绷紧，干燥，反而真是像小蛮所说的“莹润”，完全不是留下了一层油膜的那种。我非常喜欢这个洁面皂，我唯一讨厌的一点就是每次都要用打泡网把泡沫打起来，不过这种懒惰是个人问题啦，我希望它有以后会出洗面奶版本。我主要还是用Curél的，当我愿意拿出多些时间来打泡时，我才用洁面皂。

Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Toner, nothing special. I don't think it makes a noticeable difference. But I do use it because the ingredients are nice. See here's my problem - I don't know why given such great ingredients I don't get a noticeable effect from using it! I use it both AM and PM.

宝拉珍选深层平衡爽肤水，没什么特别的。我真的没有见到明显的改善。不过我还是坚持用，因为里面的成分还是挺不错的。见到我的问题了吧 － 我不明白为什么明明成份不错，我还是见不到一个明显的改善！每天早上和晚上使用。

I read that chemical exfoliation is better than physical ones as it's less abrasive. It is said that the exfoiliating beads might damage skincells, irritate sensitive skin. Chemical ingredients are much more gentle and exfoliate gradually. I'm using Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid. I read that BHA is really good for acne skin, as it's oil-soluable and therefore can penetrate deeper into the pores. From my personal experience with it, I can't say that it's a miracle worker as it claimed to be. My skin is indeed improving and I'm having less and less acne. But I can't say if the improvement is because of it, or my skin just gets better and better by itself. I only use it at night.

我看过篇文章说化学去角质比物理的，也就是通过磨砂，好得多。据说磨砂里的小粒子会伤害到皮肤细胞，慈济敏感肌肤。化学去角质的成分温和很多，是渐渐去角质。我在用宝拉珍选的2%水杨酸焕采精华液。我看过的文章里都说水杨酸是超好的东西，它是油溶性，可以去到毛孔深处里。就我个人使用经验来讲，我不能说它是一个奇迹产品。我的皮肤的确是变好了，痘痘越长越少。不过我很难说改善的原因可以归功于它，说不定是因为我的皮肤的确在自我改善。我只在晚上用它。

Now this is a product that I know for sure that works - Garnier Light Brightening Roll-on. I used it everyday for a few weeks but I didn't notice much improvement of my dark circles or eye bags. Then I stopped. I used in only on my right eye but not my left eye so that I can see the contrast. Then I knew it worked. After a few weeks, my right eye's eye bag is visibly smaller than my left one, so is the area of the dark circle. But I didn't notice any lightening in the darkest area on my dark circles(which I hope with constant use, there will be). So now I use it morning and night on both eyes.

接下这个产品我可以肯定它真的有起作用 －Garnier Light Brightening Roll-on 。我持续用了几个星期后，没见到我的黑眼圈或眼袋有多大改善。然后我就停了，我只在左眼用，左眼不用，好对比效果。然后我就知道这货真的有用了。再几个星期后，我右眼的眼袋看得出比左眼小一点，黑眼圈的范围也小一点。不过黑眼圈重灾区颜色倒是没有淡些（希望持续使用会有效果吧）。所以现在我每天早上晚上都在两边眼睛上用。

Like I said, I'm having less and less acne, but I still got quite a lot of acne dark marks to work on. Therefore I got this Garnier Dark Spot Corrector. I read the ingredients, it's potent with vitamin C(second highest on the list). So supposedly, it should work great. But honestly, I don't notice my spots fading much quicker from using this. If I remember correctly, the vitamin C it contains is citrus acid, which I learnt recently is not the best form of vitamin C, it is less stable and can't penetrate as deep. Next time I should be looking for one with a tongue twister name - tetra hexyl decyl ascorbate. I use it morning and night.

我的确痘痘越来越少了，但是我还有很多痘印要消灭。因此我买了这个Garnier Dark Spot Corrector。我看了成分表，它含有大量的维他命C（在成分表上位居第二！）。所以按理来说，应该很见效。但老实说，我没见到什么效果，痘印没有消得特别快。如果我没记错的话，里面所含的维他命C是果酸版的，前几天我了解到那种不是最好的维他命C，因为它没那么稳定而且不能深层去到细胞里。下次我要找一款绕口令名字的维他命C － tetra hexyl decyl ascorbate，它才是目前发现最好的。不过我现在还是坚持每天早上晚上用它。

Origins Make a Difference Plus Rejuvenating Treatment is the most expensive skincare product I've ever purchased. It's a whopping HKD450 for 75ml(HKD410 for 50ml, so I went straight for the 75ml version). It has great reviews online, saying that it plumps up the skin over night, the skin was dull but then radiant the next day, blah blah blah. I must say, I'm quite disappointed. It's mediocre. After using it for 2 months now, I still don't see the miracle effects. It is moderately moisturizing, enough to combat the fall but not winter. I'm not saying it's bad, but just really doesn't worth the money. I use this morning and night after the Garnier Dark Spot Corrector.

悦木之源储水赋活凝乳是我买过最贵的护肤品。洋洋洒洒HKD450买那75ml（因为50ml装是HKD410，所以我毫不犹豫地选择了75ml款的）。它在网上被狂赞，说什么一个晚上过后，肌肤变得饱和了，水润了，前一天还是满脸无光的，用了之后第二天就光采焕发，什么什么的。我只能说，我非常失望。它真的很一般。我持续用了2个月了，我都还没见到任何传说中的奇迹效果。它也只是中等程度的保湿，秋天的干燥它可抵挡，但冬天的就无力了。我不是说它差劲，只是很不值得那价。我每天早上和晚上在用完Garnier Dark Spot Corrector后用它。

Eau Thermal Avène Fluide Hydrant Matifiant Oil Control Milk, what a mouthful name! I like this moisturizer, it doesn't contain alcohol or fragrance. It's moisturizing and I can see it does help with the shine. Though it's quite pricey, HKD260 for 50ml, that's close to Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream, I don't need a lot of it every time. A pump is more than enough for my face, I apply the rest onto my neck. I enjoy using it very much. I use it moring and night after the Origins Make a Difference Plus.

我挺喜欢雅漾的这个Fluide Hydrant Matifiant Oil Control Milk保湿乳，我喜欢它既不含香料也不含酒精。它挺保湿的，而且我真的可以见到它是有助控油的。虽然它不便宜，HKD260换50ml，快拍得上科颜氏的高保湿面霜了，但每次用量不需要多。按一次就已足够应付整张脸有余了，剩下的，我就抹在脖子上。我每天早上晚上在用了悦木之源储水赋活凝乳后使用。

Now these two acne spot treatments I don't use on a daily basis. I use the Oxy 5 when I have a zit forming. I can't say that it works every single time, sometimes it has no effect on the acne, sometimes it works like a charm, so I still use it every single time I have a zit forming. I find that it doesn't do much for healing the acne though, and that's when Kiehl's Blue Herbal Treatment comes into play, this stuff really helps with healing every single time, it speeds up the process. Normally it would take me a week or two to heal a popped zit, but this baby cut the time down to 1 or 2 days! Now that's amazing. But it doesn't do much for acne prevention. I use these two both AM and PM when I need to.

接下来这两个局部痘痘护理产品我不是每天都用。当我有痘初长时，我就用Oxy5。我不能说它每次都有效，有时真的完全什么效果都没有，有时又真的完全消掉了痘痘，所以每次长痘我都还是用些试试看。我发现它对爆了的痘就没有什么效果啦。而这时就是蓝色草本净痘修护啫喱出场的时候了。这货真的每次都很有效地帮助修护痘痘，大大地加快了愈合速度。一般来说，我需要1～2周的时间来愈合一个爆了的痘，但是这东西可以把时间减到1～2天。真的很不错。不过它对预防痘痘没什么用处。我有需要时才会每天早上晚上使用这两个产品。

I cannot make up my mind about the elf's eye brow treat & tame. The tame side, the tinted brow gel, has very little pigmentation, and it doesn't help my brows stay in place. The brush head is also very difficult to work with. So I hardly use it. But I try to use the treat side whenever I remember to. It's supposed to help with hair growth on brows, and I do want my brows to look thicker. 

我不知道我对elf's eye brow treat & tame有什么看法。棕色的定型啫喱色素很少，而且也不怎么起到定型作用。而刷头呢也很难使用。所以我基本上没怎么用它。不过我尽量记得时，多用用眉毛营养液。它应该是会刺激眉毛生长，而我也想眉毛看起来浓密些。

Although Origins Drink Up is supposed to be a hydrating mask that you wash off, I use it like a night cream when the weather gets really dry. In really cold winter time, all the aforementioned moisturizers failed to get rid of that tight feeling on my face. I could see that there's oil on my face but my face still feels very tight. I got a sample of this when I purchased the Make a Difference Plus, and I use it one night. And immediately upon application, the tightness goes away. I left it on and went to bed without washing it. The next morning even after washing my face, my face still didn't feel tight. I noticed that the key with this product, if I put this on right after all my moisturizers, it somehow doesn't work, my face still feels tight. I need to wait for a while(an hour or so), then if the tight feeing was still there, I put a pea size amount of this on, then the tightness goes away. I don't need to use it every night, really just when I need it and the moisture feeling lasts for days. Actually I haven't use this tube yet as I'm still using the sample size one. 

虽然这个悦木之源水润畅饮保湿面膜是一个你涂脸上，10分钟后要洗掉的面膜，但我天气真的很干燥时，把它当作晚霜来用。冬天很冷时，上面提及的保湿产品都不能让我的脸不感觉绷紧。即使我都见到脸上出油了，还是觉得绷紧。我买储水赋活凝乳时，获送了这个面膜的试用装，一天晚上我拿来试试用。结果真的刚抹脸上，马上就不觉得绷紧了。我没洗掉然后就去睡觉了。第二天醒来，洗完脸后，脸居然还不觉得绷紧！我发现这保湿面膜如果在我抹完保湿乳什么的后马上使用，那么不知道为什么的，它不见效，还是绷紧。我需要等一会（大概一个小时），然后脸如果还是觉得绷紧，那再挤出一个黄豆大小的用量抹脸上，那绷紧的感觉就会消失了。我不需要每晚使用它，真的只是当我需要时才使用，而且保湿效果可以持续几天呢。其实照片里的那瓶我还没开，我还在用试用装呢。

I've been wearing sunscreen everyday since somewhere in May. And for all the Asian gals out there wanna whiten their faces, I say sunscreen is the way to go. After using it consistently for 5 months, my good ol' Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 53 doesn't match my face anymore. I'm a shade lighter than I have ever been. And this Biore UV Auqa Rich Watery Essence Water Base SPF50+ PA+++ is just my HOLY GRAIL. I love the texture of it, it's not greasy or sticky or anything. It just feels very fresh and nice. This is my second tube and I plan to stock some more up when there're sales going on.

打5月的某天起，我就开始每天持续使用防晒。我想对所有在努力美白的女生说，坚持涂防晒，真的会有效。持续每天涂了5个月后，我那瓶很喜欢的妙巴黎果然美肌粉底液的53号色就不再适合了。我比过去的我白了一度。而这碧柔的UV Auqa Rich Watery Essence Water Base SPF50+ PA+++是我的大爱。我非常喜欢它的质地，不油腻，不黏什么的，只是感觉很清爽很舒服。这个已经是我的第二瓶了，打算见到有特价时去买多几瓶放家里囤着。

Yeah, I know, I'm kinda embarrassed to have such an extensive skincare routine. It takes me about 10 mintues to slather everything on after washing my face. But I think it kinda works, cuz my skin has really been improving. Besides, I kinda feel sassy when I do it.

是的，我知道，有这么多瓶瓶罐罐我也有点不好意思。每天洗完脸后，我大概需要10分钟来把这些东西都抹到脸上。不过我觉得貌似还真起作用，因为我的皮肤真的在变好。另外就是，我享受往脸上抹东西。

Tell me about your skincare routine, is it simple or is it as extensive as mine?

你的护肤程序是怎样的？非常简单呢，还是像我的那样繁复？