Skincare 101. Before Fighting The Battle

Dear readers,

HELLO.
I AM SORRY I AM A HUGE SLACKER. My sincere apology.
(especially to the crowd that's introduced to the blog by my friend Daphne, who is over at http://www.subgenreofadream.com/! She is a superwoman when it comes to giving birth to amazing blogposts, while I just basically......procrastinate my whole life thoroughly *nervous giggles*)

Yes, I am back here! *wave*
And this very first post dedicated to skincare is for all the boys and girls out there that try so hard finding the right skincare routine, or having the idea for getting to know how to take care of your skin but don't know where to start : THIS IS FOR YOU.

I started my relationship with skincare products when I was in high school.
My beautiful, in-her-50s(sorry mom)-but-look-like-40s mother introduced me, along with all the knowledge and experience about taking care of her skin, to skincare. (thank you, mama)
I am now 22 and after spending roughly 6 years in a relationship with skincare, I can now finally say it's been quite steady and I enjoy its company. It has helped me to fight off some of my skin concerns.

But I know how hard and frustrating and terrifying it is to start applying skincare products on your face or body, not knowing why it is not solving your problem. Trust me, I have been there, just trust me on that.
I can write 63572 posts about skincare and the battle with my skin problem I have fought for years if this continues any longer (wait I take that back), so let's start off with some GENERAL IDEAS ABOUT SKINCARE, shall we?


#1. Nobody's perfect. REALLY.

Have you ever wondered, just HOW, how do those people on television, instagram, or any other social media wonderlands, look so flawless?
No acne, no scars, no annoying-little-bumps-sneakily-hiding-under-the-skin-and-never-leave?

HOW DO THEY DO IT????

Well, in fact, they do not succeed in being 'perfect', but in hiding them all.
Make-up (loads) helps. Filter helps. Light helps. Crappy cameras with bad resolution help(we all know it. confession time guys)

Don't be tricked!
No one is perfect, NOBODY HAS PERFECT SKIN. (well if you do you may close this window now)((wait come back tell us your secrets!))

Everyone has pores, scars, more or less of the imperfection mentioned we want to ged rid of.
We have acne and pimples caused by weather conditions, pressure, hormones, and gosh so much more other reasons.
What we should notice, however, is that why some people don't need much make-up or even without it to 'present' good skin condition. The fact is simply that some people have better 'base'. That is, their skin condition is more steady and better. 
This is why starting taking care of your skin is very important! 

#2. Know yourself. Study the case.(namely, WHAT IS YOUR SKIN TYPE?)

Now this is serious business.
I know it is very, very hard to look into the mirror, stare at your bare face and study it. Cuz you may see every little pimple, stubborn scar, you name it! (wrong exciting tone)
But only if you know what kind of soldier you are, what battle you are fighting, where your enemies locate, can you win this atrocious battle! 

                                                (my dark circles look hideous......)

so, do that ^ and answer this question: WHAT IS YOUR SKIN TYPE?

Here I provide you my so very simple summary of the excellent skin type chart made by the famous beauty website, Paula's Choice (http://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/combination-skin/_/what-is-my-skin-type), adding a bit of my personal opinion, for you to unveil the mystery:

Oily:  after cleansing, skin has excess oil shortly, like in 2 hrs (which is my case, sads) 
Dry: most areas appear dry, flaky, matte or feel tight
Combination: well, simply some dry and oily areas combined
Sensitive: redness with/without bumps (not pimples, but as irritation of some ingredients or conditions)
Acne and blemish prone: breakouts around hormone cycles, and more breakoutsssssss.

However, there's one term when it's skincare related that I have never really come to realisation is: NORMAL. 
WHAT IS NORMAL. Tell me, universe.
well my argument is, the definition of normal skin is vague. 
We all have normal skin, don't we?
It's only that we ALL have different skin problem to solve :3
(It's like trying to tell the people who are not in Sherlock fandom that I am normal after shouting to the screen when watching Season 3 the whole time. sorry, off the topic...)


So, yeah, there you go.
Start studying your face!
What is your skin like after cleansing? Does it get oily quickly?
After the whole day of work or school, how is the condition of your skin? 
Does your skin easily get redness even if you rub it gently?(<-sensitive skin alert)

Do your research! NOW!

I had serious acne prone skin problem in my teens due to common roller-coaster hormone experience(thank god it's over now) and now in my 20s, my skin type is more oily, combination and very, very, very sensitive (I'm allergic to TONS of things! so, my SENSITIVE SKIN TYPE PEOPLE OUT THERE, I GOT YOUR BACK); therefore, I choose the skincare products with much care. My skin is just very hard to take care of. What can I say? So much to learn and share!


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Phew. It is tiring to be diligent.....
But I'm very happy to share some of my ideas with you about this favourite beauty field of mine! And more ideas have popped out, so stay tuned! :D



If you have any comments or questions, drop them below or send me an email: sharingisbelieving.annie@gmail.com

They will be very much welcomed!

And I am also on 
instagram: sharingisbelieving 
twitter: @annieshares

Follow me if you wanna keep in touch :D
Finally, thank you for your patience and I hope I can improve some details of this blog as soon as possible. I need to be a better person than a procrastinator this year!

Laters guys!

Cheers x
Annie