Products that Saved my Skin

I naturally have dry/normal skin. Trips and airplanes tend to make it worse for me. When I went to Hawaii at the end of September, I developed flaky dry skin. my dry skin tends to be fixed pretty easily, but Hawaii made it horrible. By the end of the trip, I didn't even want to wear foundation because of the dryness. The plane ride home was horrible. I felt disgusting and my skin was like the Sahara. When I got home, the patchiness didn't go away. After a few days of hating my skin, I decided to follow a regimen of products that miraculously turned my skin around. My skin is better off than it was before!

Following this routine diligently my skin was back to its polished self within a few days.

First of all, I had to slough away the dry skin layer. I had bought this Foaming Skin Polish by Yu-Be ($18) a while ago, but never really needed to use it. Apparently, Yu-Be sells the top selling skincare cream in Japan.

Sephora says that :

Yu-Be Foaming Skin Polish is an advanced purifying, exfoliating prep-step to boost the effectiveness of your skincare routine. Rice bran and walnut shell powder slough away debris and dead skin cells while glycerin and camphor soothe and moisturize. The results are silky-smooth and touchable.

I used this out of sheer desperation because I normally don't exfoliate my skin since I usually don't need to. This stuff is miracle in a bottle. After only the FIRST time I used it, my face was so smooth. I've read reviews on it and apparently it exfoliates so well it can reduce acne also. I also bought one for my boyfriend after using this myself, and I can not stress this enough: Read the instructions. Be careful not to apply directly to your face and scrub, the rice bran is very harsh. You have to put a small amount in your hand, and add a generous amount of water and rub your hands together to make a rich lather. I learned this the hard way. After getting it right however, the scrub was very smooth on my face. I use this about 3-4 times a week. 

After I exfoliate my face and before I go to bed, I use Peter Thomas Roth's Mega Rich Intensive Anti-Aging Cellular Creme ($110 for 3.2 oz, 1.7 oz for $85 on Sephora). I have the bigger size which is 3.2 ounces. And no, I did not pay $110 for this. Oprah had a deal awhile back cutting the cost to $25 so I bought one for me and my mom. When I first received it, I couldn't stand using it. It has a really strange scent, but after getting used to it, it doesn't bother me. This is a really deep moisturizer. A little goes a long way. It's a bit heavier than the moisturizers I usually use, but it's been great at tackling my dry skin. I wake up with soft smooth skin. 

Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion ($24) is hands-down my all-time favorite moisturizer. It's probably one of the most popular ones, there's a reason for that. I use it as my daily day-time moisturizer. I smooth it on all over my face before applying my foundation. It's scentless, light, and quenches your dry skin. I've been using this since about my sophomore year of high school and I haven't used any other day lotion since. Pure love. 

Note: This is not a product I use often. I don't actually ever have break outs, but ever once in awhile when I get stressed out I'll get a small spot. I used to use Clinique's emergency gel lotion, but I ran out and couldn't find any at the time. Imagine the shock I encountered when I couldn't find it at any of my local Nordies or Macy's. I was at Target one day and stumbled upon Soap & Glory's Dr.Spot. It was on clearance for about $8 or so. I figured I'd give it a try since I hadn't had an acne spot treatment available in awhile. Surprise, surprise, it worked! I dab it on when a spot appears (night and morning) and it's usually gone within two days. I can't vouch if it'll work for everyone, but it's worked for me and my very minor spots =). 


I'm very satisfied with my skin now, aside from freckles and slight discoloration (but THAT'S another story). 

What are YOUR holy grail/miracle skin products?