Acne Update

I realize that I never did a follow up post about how my skin has been doing. So in my last update I was taking Diane-35 as an oral contraceptive to clear my skin, I was using the Eucerin Gentle Cleanser, Dr Brandt Intensolution and Oil Free Hydrator. I have also been using the Aesop Chamomile Blemish Mask twice a week.

Basically this has really worked for me. My skin has cleared up and I am no longer getting cystic acne. I have a couple of blackhead issues and a ton of scars (I'll address that a bit later) but in terms of acne, I'm really happy with the results.

I think that the reason why it worked was the combo of products together. Diane-35 regulated my hormones while the other stuff really worked to calm down the surface of my skin and control oil. I also used Dalacin-T as a topical antibiotic since Benzoyl Peroxide doesn't work on me anymore. The Aesop mask is actually very effectively is calming down the skin and reducing oil. Highly, highly recommended.

I've stopped using Diane-35 after about 4 months because it was giving me very bad dry eye syndrome. Which is actually painful. I now have to use Natural Tears (preservative free) and I've developed sensitivity to contacts, which I don't really mind since I wear glasses most of the time. However, my acne did mostly subside before I stopped taking it.

I now have pretty deep pock mark type acne scars on my cheeks that are also dark in color. I'm not going to do any kind of medical procedure yet since I think its a little too soon and also because the last time I did a chemical peel, my skin died.

So instead I went back to Kens Apothecary in Empire Subang and met with Marznum (the SA who helped me last time and recommended all the Dr Brandt stuff). She suggested that I get the Dr Sebagh Vitamin C powder to lighten my scars. It costs a whopping RM679. which is a bit shit since its only cost 79 pounds on the damn website, which is like half the price. But whatever, nvm, if it doesn't work I can take it back and she'll give me a refund and other products or whatever. So ANYWAY, I'm going to be a doing a review of whether it works later, hopefully it does!

Flavor of my Week: White Oleander

I haven't done a random, non-shopping related blog post for a while so I figure here I go. I also haven't done a Flavor of the Week post so I figured I'd at least title the post to pretend like I was doing one. Let's face it though, I have absolutely no dedication nor discipline when it comes to blogging. Anyway, this past week I've been totally consumed by White Oleander.


On Thursday I stayed up till 1:30am reading it and basically almost passed out at work. It was so worth it. It's such a vivid, visceral book. I think I like it so much because of how beautifully its written. I love the author's word choice and the fact that its also got a very compelling story.

I've also started visiting the following makeup sites - Just a Bowl of Mouldy Fruit and Bubble Garm. I love their whole too much makeup look, it's so British and I like the overall style of their blogs.

I pre-ordered Something Borrowed from The Book Depository. So cheap, its only $5.99 and no shipping charges. I just have to wait like two more weeks and it will get here. I'm so happy I didn't buy it since it comes up to about RM19 and the cheapest I can get it here is RM42. It's the movie tie-in but who cares since its only the cover that's different.

I'm going to make chicken tikka masala for the family tomorrow night. Got the recipe off Eat Live Run. I made the marinade today and my mum helped me modify it a bit, more chili, more ginger. Should be good I'll let you know.

I'm back on Diane 35 for acne. So far so good. No migraines but my eyes are super dry. Irritating side effect.

I also discovered this website, Nail Fiesta, which sells OPI polish at RM33 a bottle. Much cheaper than the RM59 store price. I'm planning on ordering Dulce de Leche next week. Hopefully it's a smooth process and I'll definitely get more.

Acne Adventures

About a month ago, I noticed that my dire skin situation was getting dire-rer. I had no idea why, I was being really good with the whole yoga breathing, eating lots of fruit, using my Shu Uemura balancing oil cleanser... but it was just getting worse. It really sort of died when Priscilla came for a visit - I'm guessing the extreme excitement just pushed it over the edge.

So I was ready to jump back on the whole oral + topical medication bandwagon - my drug of choice lately has been the pill Diane 35 and a combination of benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin.

But then Priscilla was all like - you should try Aesop products, it's awesome, it might work for you, it worked for me...

The thing is my dermatologist is of the opinion that no matter what cleanser/lotion you use, its all going to be the same because you're just the kind of person who gets acne. He doesn't exactly say all these things he just kind of isn't very helpful when I ask for suggestions about products I should be using. The most I've ever got out of him was, you can use Cetaphil if you like. It's a good product. Well thank you FOR NOTHING.

Anyway I decided to check out Kens Apothecary in Empire Subang and the SA there, Marznum was actually incredibly helpful.


She was not too excited about me wanting to get Aesop products because she was all like, it's not for acne! It's just for daily upkeep! You need acne fighting products. So she recommended Dr Brandt's Blemish Control products. Initially I wasn't sold because I mean, look at the guy, he doesn't exactly inspire confidence:

He looks CRAZY.

Anyway she was pretty convincing so I thought that I would try it so I bought the Blemishes No More To Go pack so I could try the whole system.

Since the pack comes with cleansing pads instead of an actual cleanser she suggested that I could try Eucerin's gentle cleanser because Neutrogena, what I was using, was way too "soapy" and that that was bad for acne. Okay... anyway I listened to her and got the Eucerin cleanser.

At this point she'd figured out that I would probably buy anything she recommended so she suggested the Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Mask. Which I also bought.

I started using the cleanser and Dr Brandt system immediately, along with Dalacin-T as a topical treatment. Within a week the intense cystic acne I had going on calmed down considerably. Now I can't say whether this was due to the Dr Brandt system or the Dalacin-T, but I'm willing to bet it's a combination of the two.

With that kind of success I went ahead and bought the full sized bottle of Dr Brandt's Blemishes No More Intensolution and the Oil Free Hydrator.

It's one month later and I'm happy that I made the decision to keep going on with the Dr Brandt products. Everything has really calmed down and its really clearing up. Still I am getting new, smaller spots so last week I also started on Mercilon as an oral treatment. Overall I'm glad that I'm using this stuff, even though it's definitely burning a hole in my pocket. The Aesop Mask is ok, I can't quite figure out if it's awesome or totally useless. It makes my face super matte for about an hour after I use it and then its kind of back to normal. It smells good though!

Dr Brandt stuff is super expensive in Kens Apothecary here so I've started buying the Intensolution from StrawberryNet since it's literally RM70 cheaper which is ridiculous. I haven't figured out where to get the hydrator cheaper but I'm working on it! I also splurged on the Dr Brandt sunscreen from Strawberry Net this week. I should get it next week so I'll do an update then.

Other than that I bought Laura Mercier Gentle Eye Makeup Remover from Kens Apothecary which was just useless - Lancome kicks its ass

and Marznum gave me this sample of Dr Brandt concealer which was also TERRIBLE. It was a terrible ashy gray color and could not conceal anything.

Oh yeah and Marznum told me to stop using Shu Uemura's Cleansing Oil because it clogs pores and guess what? It totally does. So sad. It cost me like RM99. Good thing I didn't buy the big bottle.