Keeping Rosacea at Bay! (My Skincare Routine)

Ladies!

So sorry -- it's been long overdue! I've finally come about to share my trick to rosacea "treatment" as well as my day-to-day skincare routine!

First off, let me start by identifying my skin tone/type: I'm of Asian (specifically, Korean) descent and have a light to natural beige skin tone. I have a combination-oily skin type during the spring/summer and a true combination during the fall/winter (oily T-zone, but extremely dry elsewhere). I also have a very common skin condition called rosacea (hereditary in origin). Though I don't suffer from any blatant or acute symptoms - like pustules or a bulbous nose - I have frequent flare-ups of flushed cheeks often accompanied by minor cystic acne and small "skin-bumps". Moreover, the condition makes my skin extremely sensitive to, well, EVERYTHING.

All in all, my skin doesn't love me nor do I love it.

Till recently, I've only used certain Korean mid/high-end skincare products that I found to work on my skin type. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Korea is very well reputed in the beauty industry in creating quality and affordable products.

Unfortunately, I reside in the States where it's difficult to gain access to the products I need when I need them! So I did some research on the web, trying to figure out if there were products made in the US (or elsewhere) that also may work for my sensitive, unruly skin.

Through trial-and-error (and much sorrow on my wallet's end), I finally constructed a daily skincare routine that not only works for my skin type, but also treats my rosacea to a certain extent!

Best of all, I could purchase any of these products whenever I please (unlike my Korean skincare products.. which I still love)!


I'll go in day-to-night order, explaining the product details throughout:

Care Zone "Clarifying Foam Cleanser" by Isa Knox

Alright, so I lied. This is the only product in my routine that I can't repurchase in the States even if I wanted to. It's a mild acne foam facewash that I had my mom buy all the way from Korea. It smells awesome and doesn't contain any strong astringents (which my lovely rosacea harshly acts up to). I honestly don't know which facewash I'll be getting after this product, but that's a worry for later. Fortunately, I'm not too particular about facewash.

 "Lotion Tonique" Toning Lotion for Combo/Oily Skin by Clarins

Toners are a different story. I am very particular in choosing a toner, and rightfully so because I can't use those that contain alcohol. Through trial-and-error, I found that this toner works best for my skin type. After a thorough washing, I put a generous amount of toner on a round cotton pad and wipe my entire face.

Prosacea

After prepping my skin with toner, I relax my irritated rosacea with this miracle gel. This product is the true hail mary to my rosacea woes! It immediately soothes the texture of my skin (significant improvement with the "skin-bumps") and decreases the overall redness of my cheeks, nose, and forehead. I wear the gel both day and night.

 "Be Bright" Gift Set by Origins

Once the gel settles in, I use either of two sets of products - the first set consists of my Origins Mega-Bright serum, followed by Brighter By Nature SPF 35 moisturizer, and GinZing eye cream.

 "Idealist" Even Skintone Illuminator and "DayWear" SPF 15 Creme by Estee Lauder

Whenever I'm not "feeling" the Origins line, I switch it up with my Estee Lauder daycare products. Though I whole-heartedly adore both companies (slight tangent: they're sister brands I believe!), I must say I generally prefer my Origins day wear for two reasons:

1. I prefer the light, more natural scent of the Origins products over the more mature and heavily fragranced Estee Lauder products.
2. Both serums 'brighten' and 'illuminate' to my liking, but the Origins moisturizer is a lot lighter and less oily feeling than the Estee Lauder day creme (to be fair the EL is a "creme", not a regular moisturizer).

 "Span" Tone Correcting Base and "Face it" Primer by The Face Shop

Both of these products are used to prep my face for any type of make up. The correcting base is a green color that helps conceal my 'flushed' complexion and the primer is, well, a primer. I could live without the correcting base, but the primer is much needed on an oil-controlling basis. The primer does consist of silicon (which some people are put off by), but no parabens. And neither products irritate my sensitive skin, despite the heavy floral fragrances (it's a signature scent of The Face Shop).

 Cold Cream "The Cool Classic" by Pond's

After a long day of make up, school, work, and errands, I need a good cleansing as a pick-me-up. Whilst relaxing and watching TV, I'd pop this bad boy open and rub it into my face until the cream turns clear. I then wipe the oil off my face with Kleenex and give it a thorough wash with the Isa Knox facewash.

IMPORTANT: Don't forget to close your pores with ice-cold water!

 My Nightcare Products

After a pat-dry, I repeat my morning routine of toning my face with the Clarins toner and applying Prosacea gel. Once the gel is absorbed, I use the very well known brown miracle-in-a-bottle that is the EL Advanced Night Repair serum. I use the serum with its synchronized Night Repair eye cream. Though I've been using the ANR serum for only 3 months or so, I can already promise by it -- I'd never ever go to bed without this generously slathered on my face. That just cannot and will not happen!

Ultra Facial Cream by Kiehl's

I wait a good 5 to 10 minutes for all the serum and eye cream goodness to settle into my skin. Afterwards, I'd hydrate my skin with this ultra skin-quenching cream by Kiehl's. This is another very well known product, though admittingly some people dislike it for the parabens it contains. I personally feel the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to this cream. Though it can be used for both day and night, it's a bit too heavy for daytime use.

Using all these products on a day-to-day basis proves to work for me.. And honestly I'm glad I finally settled with a routine, especially after all the testing and money-spending I've done in finding the perfect skincare products!

What do you think about my skincare routine for rosacea? I'd love to hear about your skincare routine! Leave comments below :)

Stay beautiful,

xo Karries