Since I was diagnosed with Rosacea type 2, I have been very precautious about everything I apply on my face, including makeup. Here are some of my favorites:
Concealer: Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Concealer Minimizing the usage of foundation, it glides similarly with the foundation version. Only use this to cover up
Loose Powder: Giorgio Armani Designer Water In Loose Powder Love the cooling effect when applied. Feel and smell luxurious.
Liquid Blush: Hince Liquid Dewy Cheek Blush I love this Korean brand, this blush specifically. It didn’t come out strong, very subtle and love the dewy and healthy finish.
Eyeshadow Stick: Kiko Milano Long Lasting Eyeshadow Stick For lazy girl like me, just apply this one shade and am good to go. Finishes matte but doesn’t look dry.
Contour: Dasique V Cut Blending Shading Perfect for cool tone girlies, not too gray, and definitely not orange
Lips: Heart Percent Dot on Mood Lip Liner Love the shade for lining and filling the whole lips, but not a big an of the cheap packaging
Eyeliner: Dejavu Lasting Fine Cream Eyeliner Hoody Eyes must have! Japanese Eyeliner is the best, no doubt
Mascara: Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes Mascara Asian Eyelashes must have! It curls, it volumize, it separates, no clumps. I love this.
I don’t blame you if you don’t trust these pics above (even I didn’t realize it after I took my own pic), but these happened ONLY in 3 days time.
My PPR (PapuloPustular Rosacea) flared up due to stress, and I quickly switched my skincare routine as minimal as I could.
Luckily, due to EID Holiday here in Indonesia, I didn’t have to go out wearing full face makeup, so I totally skipped makeup on those three days. After cleansing, I only use those products in rotation, plus sunscreen for day.
Niacinamide Serum: 5% is a safe spot, and this Kiehl’s serum is my go-to as it did what it claims (visibly reduce redness). And it only contains 10 ingredients, so it lessen any irritation possibilities.
Azelaic Acid Cream: 20% is strong concentration (bought from local pharmacy), and luckily my skin is able to tolerate it. It will help to kill the bacteria and reduce inflammation. It does give that sting feeling when applied, but it won’t last long so bare with it.
Sunscreen: Even though rosace sufferer are recommended to use physical suncreen, but my cool tone skin couldn’t tolerate the white cast. So I choose this Skin Aqua (specifically the blue bottle ones) because it is a hybrid type which uses a combination of chemical and physical sunscreen UV filters to defend against UV radiation.
Repairing cream: My OG, Cicaplast. The healing and anti-inflammatory properties of Vitamin B5 as one of their ingredients, can help with scarring, wound healing and rosacea.
Hydration: It’s still important to hydrate no matter how, and this Dr G cream is the best so far. It helps to soothe and reduce redness (as claimed), while providing intense hydration
And I thought the redness, and the unfilled bumps on my skin was caused by products’ irritation. NOT!
Sebaceous Hyperplasia is always a thing for me, so I kept on doing electro-cauter to zipped them out. But apparently, making my skin burned is a no-go. It left me with PIE, more damaged blood vessels which obviously looks quite prominent on my fair skin. And thanks to aging process, it will take longer for everything to heal these days.
Instead of electro-cauter which might put more PIE if you have skin conditions like mine, opt for manual extraction in dermatologist’s office. I do recommend to go to hospital instead of beauty clinics, just to be save, and sometimes it’s cheaper, too. I will update more on my skin conditions after I changed a few of my skincare products. Sneak peek: am going back to 5% niacinamide, lower down on my retinol usage and apply physical sunscreen.
Time flies so fast, it is that time of the year again when I will share my best fungal-acne safe skincare that I’ve personally tried this year.
These products are mostly affordable and easy to get here in Jakarta, Indonesia (where I live). Here are my thoughts for each of the products and let me know which one you’ve tried or eager to try as fellow fungal-acne prone skin.
1. NUMBUZIN NO 1 PANTOTHENIC B5 ACTIVE DRYING POWDER Koreans and their skincare innovations. It’s a spot treatment in powder form. Not the type that will dry your pimple instantly, but it did calm down the redness and bumps. Recommended to use at night time only, due to their white cast effect.
2. EQUALBERRY DAILY PEELING SWIMMING POOL TONER One of my game-changer this year! Recommended for those who can’t tolerate Salicylic Acid, due to its’ Protease ingredient. If you have closed comedones, do try this slightly thick toner and see the result.
3. AVEENO FACE CALM + RESTORE TRIPLE OAT SERUM Skin barrier rescuer, recommended by Dr Shereene Idriss. I do apply this after my in the office treatment like laser or any injections and in-between actives. Rich in beta-glucan from oats, which is way better if you can’t tolerate Hyaluronic Acid.
4. TOCOBO BIFIDA BIOME ESSENCE Another skin barrier strengthening product. If you don’t like snail mucin, this might be an alternative for you. Same slimy texture and effect on skin.
5. CURÉL INTENSIVE MOISTURE FACIAL CREAM A simple moisturizer with ceramide. If you’re applying sandwich technique when using Retinol, find a simple moisturizer like this which does not have Hyaluronic Acid in the ingredients list, which might make the retinol stronger.
6. L’OREAL PARIS REVITALIFT OIL CONTROL REPLUMPING CLEANSING GEL Face cleanser with the right amount of Salicylic Acid. Closed comedones fighter, if you also have sensitive skin, but still want to incorporate Salicylic Acid to your skincare routine, fret not! Use a wash-off product which cleans properly and won’t disrupt the steps after.
7. MEDICUBE COLLAGEN NIGHT WRAPPING MASK Another game changer in my skincare routine, another Korean skincare innovation which practically is a sleeping mask which we can peel in the morning. At first, I thought it was kind of gimmicky, but then I saw my pores kind of shrunk overnight.
8. TULUS PORE-FECTING NIACINAMIDE SERUM So far, it’s the best local brand serum that I’ve tried. My skin could not tolerate Niacinamide above 5%, and this sits just on that percentage.
9. SKIN1004 POREMIZING LIGHT GEL CREAM Himalaya Pink Salt is one of their power ingredients. Not much since it was on almost the bottom of their ingredients list, but fyi, mineral salt is great for acne and eczema-prone skin. And if you live in a hot and humid country like me, you’ll appreciate that it gives a cooling benefit without the tingle.
Sagging here and there. The power of nature and its’ gravity ability. But thanks to all the innovations in the beauty industry, now we all have choices to treat these problems. Disclaimer: I’m not against aging, it’s a privilege to age, but I do feel good if I look in the mirror and see improvements on my appearance. You do you, ok? 1. PEELING
More pros than cons for PEELING treatment: it was one of the quickest treatment, no numbing cream involved, significant result in just one go, no harsh skin flaking. Please don’t do this yourself at home, I was recommended by my derm to use double peel of Salicylic Acid and TCA 20%. This is a monthly treatment, and it won’t break the bank. Make sure you visit a legit beauty clinic.
2. EYELINER EMBROIDERY
A good friend recommended me to do this treatment, when I had a botch botox treatment earlier this year which caused me droopier eyelids. I wish I did this sooner, as EYELINER EMBROIDERY gave me not just the practicality of “I woke up like this” set of eyes, but also that optical illusion of more lifted eyes. The treatment was not painful at all, it felt like a stroke of hard brush and it only took me three days to completely heal (might vary to different eyes). Downtime involving swollen lids (as seen above), but mine was pretty manageable, so I’m very happy with the final result. FYI, I did mine at Anggie Rassly Beauty Studio with the master, Rassty Raswanty.
3. LASH LIFT & LASH TINT
Still talking about eyes, to complement the embroidery, I did Brow Lift, Lash Lift and Lash Tint at the same beauty studio mentioned above. Thankfully, I do have long lashes already (but they were straight before), they desperately need a curl and more color definition in order to stand out. The whole process took about an hour, and I’m glad I did these because they really cut down my morning makeup routine.
4. REJURAN S
Last but definitely not least: REJURAN S. I have to admit, I was skeptical due to the conversations on the internet about the pain of this treatment. Bite the bullet, to be free of acne scars and textured skin. I was doubting between this treatment and laser, but knowing that recovery/down time for this is faster (within 48 hours), I decided to go under the injection. Not just great for superficial acne scars, it also helps to stimulate skin cells to produce collagen. Numbing cream applied pre-treatment, but do expect a bit of pain during subcision. I did mine at AMALA CLINIC, more updates on my skin condition coming soon as I just had this treatment yesterday.
If you’ve been following me, you’d know that I’ve been doing Botox for ages already. Lately, I’ve noticed younger people (way younger than moi) already did it too.
Before you do any treatment for your face, especially the ones that will be injected in your skin, you’d better do your research first. Finding a good doctor and a good clinic, is like finding a soul-mate, not a one-size fits all kind of thing.
Unlike filler, there is no reversal for botox. It can’t be undone. So if there’s a mistake done, especially around the eyes when they’re the most fragile ones, we just have to sit and wait for that botox to wear off by themselves within 3-4 months. And that’s exactly what happened to me.
So, to cut this blog post short, I went to a beauty clinic, which was recommended by my regular dermatologist. Since he recommended his fellow colleague, I assumed that he’s also as good as my dermatologist. Boy, I was wrong.
Left: A week after Botox Right: Mastering The Eyelid Tape
My main objective was to lift my eyes, but since I was to worried to do thread lift, the doctor recommended to do botox instead. He injected 100Units (not just around the eyes but also on my chin and jaws area). No problem on chin and jaws, but a week later I’ve noticed that my eyes looks droopier, and it was hard to open my eyes as their original state. Not just looking droopy, but they also feels heavy. I used to have my natural double eyelids, but since my eyelids dropped, they’re gone. Never had this experience before with my previous doctor, and I don’t want to judge the doctor, but I will not go back to him for sure! FYI, his clinic is located in South Jakarta and on prestigious area, not cheap for sure, but that apparently didn’t guaranteed anything.
I did my research, and turn out when the toxin is injected, it can travel to unintended areas. In some cases, this can caused droopy eyelids, exactly what happened to yours truly. Also, a slight miscalculation, like making the injection too low in the forehead muscle, can cause eyelid drooping.
I went to ophthalmologists and was prescribed eyedrops that was originally made for glaucoma patient. It didn’t help much for me, though. So I guess, maybe I should do Blepharoplasty and remove those eyelids fat. Not for Aesthetics’ purposes only, but I felt like my aging eyes need it desperately.
While waiting for the toxin to wear off naturally, and it feels like ages, I’ve been doing eyelids tape and trying the Japanese eyelids pen. Been trying a couple of locally produced eyelids tape, and the one that worked the most named Floramore. See pics above to see how they helped my droopy eyelids when placed correctly (and let me tell you, applying eyelid tape are such a fuss).
Wish me well, folks. I will update you on my eyelids journey, hopefully the toxin wears off earlier and I can do my blepharoplasty soonest.
As the title said, a quick update on life and such.
On hiatus because I do work full time now, so even though I might have my weekends, but I’ll be too tired to write anything. But here I am, on a Sunday evening, thinking “I already paid for this site, and it has been on automatic renewal, so WTH”.
Long story short, I’ve been trying a lot of new skincare products and treatments as well (you can see the latest updates on my IG (@shintarosvita) and TikTok (@skinetijen). But one product stood out from the rest. VT REEDLE SHOT.
I decided to purchase the 300, just because I think my skin can tolerate it. The higher the numbers (I believe they have until 1000 now), the more prickly it’ll feel on the skin. So, I do recommend if you never tried any skin procedures at skin clinics and have low pain tolerance, do not start with 300, but opt for lower numbers like 50 or 100.
If you’ve been following me long enough, you’d probably know that I have a problematic skin textures, and I still do until today, considering I’ve tried this and that. This product claims to mimic the Micro Needling Treatment, without having to poke our skin with the tool.
So, it sort of awaken our skin plus exfoliation, to make the skin ready to absorb more goodness from the next steps of our skincare routine. Obviously, apply this on dry and clean skin at the very first step of PM routine. Then continue with serum and moisturizer. Mine is the 300, so I use it every 3 days, making it twice a week. My days are Wednesday and Saturday.
First Impression: IT PRICKLES! But a good feeling kinda prickles, because it supposed to help our skin. The weirdest thing: that prickly feeling will last as long as I rub the skin with other products afterwards. I could still feel the prickles when my skin touched the pillow when sleeping, and when I cleansed them in the morning with cotton pads and micellar water. But, when left alone with no rubbing involved, I didn’t feel anything. Weird but true, that’s why I kinda enjoy using it. I am thinking to buy the 100 version, so I can apply everyday. I had my experiences with Cica aka Centella Asiatica before in my skincare journey, but this product didn’t break me out like the other skincare products containing Cica. Maybe because they claimed that this is a non-comedogenic product and been clinically tested as well. And it didn’t trigger my fungal-acne too!
Those are my before-after using this product for about two weeks. I do have scars, not just pores, so they are impossible to remove. But, I do felt my skin become softer when I touch them and I rarely get breakouts nowadays. And if I do, they’ll heal faster. If you see my after pictures, my skin look like they’re blushing healthily.
Final verdict: I will try to finish the whole bottle before I decide to give the other versions a try. But I do love the prickly sensation (it’s not tingling like most reviews said).
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA SCREENSHOTS: OLIVE YOUNG GLOBAL
Still dealing with my Cauter scars from last year’s treatment (see the post here)
Past one month after the treatment when I wrote this post, check out the improvement on my Cauter scars.
These are skincare products that I’ve been using to help with the scars after they completely dried. Products arranged by step by step, and FYI they’re all Fungal-Acne Safe.
GARNIER PURE ACTIVE MICELLAR CLEANSING WATER FOR OILY & ACNE PRONE SKINS: acts as first cleanser to wipe away all left over products and natural oil produced at night.
SAFI HYDRATING WATER CLEANSER: my new found with super affordable price, with satisfying foam when applied.
LA ROCHE-POSAY SEROZINC: acts as toner mist, wait to dry and move on to next product.
KIEHL’S CLEARLY CORRECTIVE DARK SPOT SOLUTION: new HG of mine, vitamin C serum that didn’t break me out.
VICHY MINERAL 89: you are definitely missing out if you haven’t tried this Hyaluronic Acid (HA) serum.
KIEHL’S ULTRA FACIAL OIL-FREE GEL CREAM: love the feel and texture of this non HA moisturizer, I do recommend to find moisturizer without HA, if you’ve already used one in serum step.
SKIN AQUA UV SUPER MOISTURE GEL SPF 50+ PA++++: one of my HG sunscreen that never caused any breakout on my skin, and didn’t leave any marks (great for under makeup).
Every one of us is different, so does our skin. Some might love Hyaluronic Acid as their trustable and effective hydrating ingredient on their skincare, but some might not.
No worries, there are more than one hydrating ingredients on the market, if your skin can’t tolerate Hyaluronic Acid (HA). Currently most popular in Indonesia is Ceramides. Everything with ceramides on it will sell like hotcakes. There are also other hydrating ingredients such as Beta Glucan, Squalane, and Glycerin.
Thankfully, I am not allergic to HA, and I also live in a country with high humidity in the air (making skin unvulnerable). But vice versa, if you are allergic to HA and live (or traveling) in a colder climate with low humidity, let’s find other options available on the market. Please note that they’re also free from ingredients which might trigger Fungal-Acne (based on incidecoder), since my skin is prone to FA.
Great texture for oily skin: Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream You are definitely missing out if you haven’t tried this. It looks like a gel in the jar, but it gives a satin feel on skin when applied. Glycerin is number two on the ingredient list, making it an awesome hydrator.
Not available yet in Indonesia: La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Fluide Great for sensitive skin (so safe, even babies can use this!), as it only contains 10 ingredients, with Glycerin as the hero. I can’t wait until this will be widely available on Indonesia’s market.
Most expensive: Chanel La Solution 10 It has two hydrating ingredients on their top five ingredients, Squalane and Glycerin. Thus the name, it only contains 10 ingredients, making it good for sensitive skin. If you have the budget to splurge, this moisturizer is worth every pump.
Online favorite: Krave Oat So Simple Water Cream Also not available in Indonesia, but easily purchased on market place. Less than 10 ingredients, this moisturizer have Squalane as hydrator. This moisturizer melt like water when applied, perfect to use in hot and humid weather. Pictured here is the old packaging that I’ve purchased and emptied already, I believe they renew the label last year.
PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA & SCREEN SHOTS FROM INCIDECODER.COM
FYI, I had this on and off relationship with vitamin C serum. It’s not easy to find one that won’t cause breakouts, especially if it contains Ascorbic Acid. But, this comes in the right timing, when I was dealing with Cauter wounds (please scroll down for before-after pics). And I believe the older I get, the harder and slower it is for my skin to heal from any wounds.
For those who avoid Ascorbic Acid, I do recommend you to try this as dark spots treatment. But if your skin can tolerate Ascorbic Acid, go ahead and use this as an anti-oxidant serum for morning routine. However, one very important thing that you have to remember when you use this serum, make sure you are using gentle facial cleanser and toner with no actives (read the ingredients carefully). It does contain vitamin C and Salicylic Acid already, so it’s best to keep your skin well hydrated pre-this serum. And if your skin can tolerate vitamin C, you can layer this with Hyaluronic Acid Serum.
Texture-wise: it is clear, watery with a subtle fresh scent (I believe it comes from White Birch & Peony extracts and Lavender oil from the ingredients’ list, so the scent is definitely not a synthetic fragrance). No worries, it won’t linger around, the scent only last while you’re applying. It glides evenly, it doesn’t clump under makeup and (seriously) works well with other Kiehl’s product: Ultra Facial Oil-Free Gel Cream (try them both and you can thank me later).
Unlike most vitamin C that will oxidize over time, this serum has a highly stable formula, even though the bottle is clear and exposed to light easily. It didn’t sting or give any warm sensation when applied, and it’s lightweight. This is the type of serum that won’t disappear on skin, you’ll feel it’s there, but it’s not oily nor heavily sticky. If you see my bottle is a limited edition this year, from “Made By Radio”. The only con is it doesn’t have stopper, so use it carefully. I believe because as a brand, Kiehl’s does have a mission to minimize plastic waste.
Please note that you won’t see immediate results, you have to be patient when using it, especially if the dark spots were there for the longest time already, or if you have mature skin. Give it time, using it twice a day as recommended, pair it with hydrating products, and you’ll see the difference.
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