How To Get Beautiful Skin For Under $20

This entry took me more than an hour to write because I was fascinated by the premium access in picnik.com. Fellow picnik-ers would have known that the website is going to close in April 2012 :(

Anyway the purpose of the entry is to discuss about base!

Not pH 8-14 but the base we put on our face. 

Thanks to my mom’s and dad’s genes I have a relatively normal face so I don’t have to apply primers/makeup base/ oil control gel etc etc.

Here’s an entry to tell you how to have a beautiful canvas for under $20!  

I only have to apply this before any bb cream/foundation/mineral powder.

 I was initially very reluctant to purchase this from my facialist because it cost $68 o.0 This tiny 30ml bottle is the most expensive skincare product I owned *weeps for my pocket* however it acts as a “protector” for my face, preventing any clogging of pores and also heals my “wounds” after painful extractions. 

My facialist has also been very upfront about the fact that it cannot prevent the formations of comedones 100% which is why I still have extractions. BUT! My comedones was reduced by nearly 90% after I used the gel which makes me very happy :D :D It’s been 3 months and the bottle is still 50% full, that’s a $11 monthly investment, pretty cheap yes? 

Next up is my BB cream collection. I’ve been using BB cream since 2007 (when I start to know more about makeup). My very first bb cream was from Etude House because I got tricked by its nice packaging. Turns out that BB cream wasn’t suitable for me as the shade was too light, it felt too oily bleh. 

After several years of BB usage I am ‘enlightened’

Fact 1: It does not heal or make your pimples smaller

Or at least it didn’t helped with mine. I was always in denial thinking that it helped somehow, but it didn’t. Pretty soon, I didn’t expect much from bb cream except that the coverage is superb and the sunscreen/sunblock factor did really work! Moisturizer+sunblock effects+ good coverage were really the reasons for purchasing BB creams.

Fact 2: It causes the formation of closed comedones (clogging)

At least it does for me. At the forehead especially. My first facial was so painful thanks to these clogs. I tried the bb cream again without the comedone gel and these clogs came back :( Since I have the comedone gel now, I didn’t have to stop using my bb cream yippee! 

Cher’s Top Five BB cream

No. 1 Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF42: Love it for its thick coverage and the high SPF factor. Used this while I was in Australia during summer and I didn’t get the classic “sunglasses” mark because of the sunblock effect! It is less watery in nature, so making it pretty easy to control how much to use. Usually I use 2 pumps. There’s so many Missha BB cream in my Top 5 list because it has my shade! #23

No. 2 Missha Oriental Mei Si BB Cream SPF27: Can’t really remember how much is the SPF, anyway I reckon that amount is enough to protect me from my daily journey to work. Coverage-wise is less ideal than No. 1 but definitely okay for daily use. As it contains herbs, the BB cream smells nice too.

No 3. Freshel BB Cream SPF 32: No idea what it contains (it’s in Japanese) but its oil control is jjang! I usually reserved this for beach outings because my face still feel smooth (non-sticky) despite being in the sun for long hours, sweating while playing games. The only problem is that the BB cream is more orangey o_0 

No 4. TheFaceShop Waterproof BB Cream SPF50: Not available in Singapore! I got this because of the SPF factor and the fact that it doesn’t leave me with a sticky tint seconds after application. Problem: Too watery for my liking

No 5. Missha M Signature BB Cream SPF 27: Was debating whether to get this or No. 1 . Don’t really fancy this because it’s too watery, but coverage seems decent.  

Besides BB creams, I recently got hooked on using foundations and mineral powders. Previously I hated foundations because everyone’s using them and some people looked like they have 10 layers of foundations on their face, it looks fake and I always feel the urge to slap the powder from their faces. 

After getting the Majorica powder for $8 during the Shiseido sale, well, it made me realise that it is up to the person to control how much foundations to use (a bit late I know :X).

I also got myself ELF Mineral Powder in Warm during 50% sale period so it cost me around US$2.50 before shipping. I used to be a collector of mineral powders, especially when places like Everydaymineral.com sells samples cheap. Pretty soon I got sick of it because the samples jars are too small or they come in sachets and also the fact that there’s so many different shades, how the heck do I know which to try ? Decided to try ELF this time because of the sales (of course lah!) and also it is the retail size so it’s bigger. And the verdict?

Not sure if you can see it clearly, but my hand look smoother after ELF mineral application, more so than Majorica. More importantly my hand doesn’t have that ‘powdery’ feel, so mineral powder feels more natural! 

With all that said, it’s important to cleanse your face properly after makeup, after all having ugly pimples makes makeup a chore.