How to look like a million bux(without actually spending a million bucks) pt 1

Hi all.. first of all i want to say i'm sorry

sorry for neglecting this blog...

i know that some of you have been waiting for  a new post and i haven't been diligent enough to regularly update my blog....

i know that i said that i'll write something about childhood paraphernalias that brings back memories...

but i think that i'll go in a different direction... because that topic doesn't really inspire me anymore

instead i'll talk about beauty products that i am currently using and that i've found to be working for me.....

as most people know.. i'm a new mother... my son is currently 9 months old... and since i moved to indo 2 years ago... i haven't been working..... so yes.. money is a lil tight right now....
however since i'm extremely vain(yes i admit it ok??) and i'm a hardcore product junkie.. i've been switching from having expensive salon treatments, using expensive lotions(such as crabtree), expensive face moisturizers... to budget friendly drugstore products... or even generic brands of ointments...

anything to save money and to let me get by without looking unkempt...i thought the tips that i give will be of help to some of you who are in the same situation as me....and if i can help anyone look fabulous... then i'm happy :)

1) moisturizer...

i truly saved a lot of money when i switched from expensive brand name mosturizers such as estee lauder....my sister uses hydra bright moisturizer which works well for her...
however at 600 K a jar(which only last 1-2 months) with twice daily application(1.7 ounces)... this isn't really the best buy for stretching out your dollar(or rupiah in that case)

the current moisturizer that i'm using is actually a combination of 3 products...

1)qv cream.....

qv cream is also prescribed to my son when he had eczema... but my hubby bought 100 ml of it.. and when my son's skin healed... it was just lying around there.... so i decided to use it on my face.. and guess what... i liked it.... i have an extremely dry face.... so it works really well for me.....i don't know how much it cost... but i'm pretty sure it is extremely cheap... as chemistwarehouse sells a tube for $12.99 (500 grams)

2)the second cream i am using.. is an AHA moisturizer.. probably can be found in any skincare clinic... my skin was really really dry and flaky after having a baby...i don't know why... and it was extremely sensitive too.... but after a using AHA moisturizer (8% exactly) it started to "eat up" all the dry scaly skins, and seems to make other mosturizers sink in easier....

AHA is short for alpha hydroxy acid...... it works on "eating up" dry skin by dissolving GAG (glycoaminoglycans).. what is GAG? gag is the "glue" that holds skin cells together....

and if you dissolve that glue .. the dead skin in the epidermis will have an easier time sloughing off..
revealing the "new" baby skin underneath.....

i do not use my AHA everyday... as it can be irritating.. instead i use it on the second day.... i buy mine from a skincare clinic that doesn't have a lot of bells in a whistles.. in fact the place kinda looks like a dump... but as long it's a doctor that perscribed it.. and there's a BPOM number(kinda like fda) it should be save..... ... mine cost 170k (about 20 bucks) it last 3-4 months since i'm not using it everyday

3) since i'm 28 now...i know i needed a product with retinol.... (vitamin a derivative) but i refuse to buy drugstore brand creams that claim they have retinol in them... because the concentration is so small( the minimum amount of % of retinol you should look for is .25%).. that it would not have a great effect of skin....

optimally, has a life of about 28 days... (since it was born in the innner layer of skin, called the dermis) and then it travels outward... as it ages.. to the outer skin you can touch)

as we grow old... the time it takes for skin to mature slows done...it takes longer than 28 days....so what happens? skin sags.. it becomes dull.....

the retinol helps make the skin renewal process,, so you keep having new "baby" skin....
overtime.. it also helps produces more collagen in skin, so it becomes tighter....

retinol is.. THE BEST proven anti aging ingredient.... it's been scientifically proven over and over again ...to help hold off the aging process.....

so when i started to shop around for retinol cream... i looked at sephora... and i gasped at their prices

any moisturizer/serum with retinol in them all cost over $50 dollars


for example this wonderful cream by peter thomas roth

Retinol Fusion AM Moisturizer SPF 30, $78 dollars

 i knew i had to find a cheaper alternative.... so i asked my friend... who is a doctor...

she told me to buy a generic ointment called "vitacid" which cost about 35 k(4 dollars) for 30 grams...it comes in 3 different concentration of retinoid acid....

.025% .05% and .1%.....

i started off with the lowest concentration, because retinol can be extremely harsh on skin and cause a skin reaction.....

i bought the 30 gram tube a month ago.. and it isn't even halfway finished yet..

TIP: i also use this on my stretch marks as retinol also helps with the appearance of stretch marks....there is actually a scientific study that proves 1% retinol helps reduce the appearance of fresh stretch marks... i read it somewhere but i forgot where....

anyways... i rotate these 3 moisturizers every night...

so if

day 1  i use qv

day 2 i use aha

day 3 i use vitacid

*note.. i ALWAYS use qv during the daytime.. as AHA and retinol can make skin more sensitive to the sun.......

2)sunscreen...

ok i admit it... i do splurge on my sunscreen....

sunscreen is the most IMPORTANT anti aging product you can have... why?

90% of aging is caused by the sun.... 10% is intrinsic... that's right./ no matter how healthy you eat.. how much you exercise, how much serum you slather on your face....if you love to tan like then you'll still end up with burnt// damaged.. skin

UV rays not only increase melanin production, but it also destroys collagen...and if you do it overtime... imagine how much damage it can do to your skin...

the best sunscreen i have ever tried and used... (and i refuse to use anything else on my face)

shiseido sunscreen...

i love love love love love love love this sunscreen.. i love it so much i had wanted to write to shiseido proclaiming my love for this suncreen... 

i buy the 100 ml for 50 dollars in the duty free shop......

i love the texture of it.. it isn't greasy  AT ALL or clogging and it's very runny(not thick).....

i always buy the SPF 50 because i believe anything less isn't protective enough....

don't buy the one for face only... because it is more expensive...

but the one that says for "face and body" .... 

100 ml last a long time... maybe 6 months(granted i don't use it when i don't go out)... and my room is super dark... ( i cover the windows with dark paper)...

anyways i'm going to end my post with this....as i don't like having a post that's too long....

but don't worry .. i'm not done yet... i'm going to go into detail about every product that i use...

starting from cleanser.... toner, serum, body lotion.... etc....

allright...

have a nice day readers

todeloo

xoxo