2015 Skincare Part One, a Cautionary Tale

Note: I love Maybelline New York products. I think they have the awesome vibrant lipsticks in the market. Their mascaras are amazing. This is a rant on just one product. Unfortunately, this not only didn't work for me but it almost ruined my skin.

I've talked a lot about makeup but I don't think I ever touched on skincare. I admit, I haven't been paying much attention to skincare until recently. I've always had good skin; never had acne (as we all know it... not even during adolescence, truth), toed the line between normal to oily skin, no severe reactions to products and season. So yeah, I've been lucky.

Until I tried the Maybelline Baby Skin primer last month. I'm one of those people who think that face primers are NOT a must-have item. I actually think that it's not necessary. My experience with the Maybelline Baby Skin primer was the final nail on the coffin.

You see, I'm not a fan of matte skin. Or matte anything. I like my skin to look dewy. I read somewhere that using primers can help with that as well as with the staying power of any foundation and/or similar base makeup products. Armed with a $3-off coupon, I decided to try the most readily available primer at the drugstore. From the get-go, I did not like the silicone-y feel of it between my fingers. It's almost too slippery. And the way it dries to a powder-y consistency didn't feel comfortable at all. It was like my skin felt numb. I would rub and I couldn't feel a thing. But I soldiered on and went about with my usual makeup routine. Mind you, I don't wear foundation that often - if, at all - and I'm pretty versed with BB creams. Using an Asian BB cream that I knew worked very well on me, I put it on top of the Baby Skin primer. The icky powder silicone texture made my BB cream application too slimy. Within the first hour, I felt dry patches on my face. Every time I passed by a reflective surface, I thought I looked awful. My base makeup was patchy and my concealers creased and balled up. I felt ugly. When I took my makeup off at the end of the day, I already had the beginnings of rosacea on my cheeks.

However, I didn't attribute these horrible things to the primer yet. I thought the unusual dryness of my skin was just because of the changing seasons. But then I noticed my skin drying up. I use a cleansing oil to remove my makeup so the dryness, I thought was strange. And then like a fool, I decided to give Maybelline Baby Skin another go.

I had a formal party to go to at the end of February and I wanted to practice makeup looks. Plus, I bought a new foundation (my first one in probably 10 years) to use for the occasion. I wanted a smooth base for my makeup plus the foundation said it has a dewy finish. I tolerated the icky feel, used my Beauty Blender to apply my foundation, and I thought it looked great. (L'Oreal True Match Lumi, hallelujah!) But like before, the makeup started breaking down after an hour or so. It started feeling uncomfortable way before that. We went on a late night Walmart run that same night and under the harsh white lights at Walmart, I could see all the lines and patches and dryness on my face. I couldn't even look people in the eye without thinking that they will see the hot mess on my face.

Same story when I took the makeup off. Rosacea was back and unlike the previous one with just rash-like redness, this round had bumps and whiteheads. The next day, I discovered flaky and peeling skin on my face. That was the very first time in my life that I had that skin problem. Needless to say, I panicked. My formal party was about a week from that incident and I had to fix it fast.

Right then and there, I decided never to use Maybelline Baby Skin primer ever again. I looked at my face and man, never have I regretted a purchase this much. I don't wish it to my greatest enemy either. Or to anyone, really.

But on the bright side, I think that unfortunate experience finally pushed me to look more into skincare. My usual routine wasn't helping with the dryness and I had to act fast. So the ever helpful bloggers and vloggers of the Interwebs became my inner tubes as I dived right in. And I finally decided to try the 5357495-step Korean skincare regimen. ;-)  At first, it sounded intimidating with all those steps (12 at the most; I was kidding with the 5357495 figure lol) and products. I thought - and accepted - that it was going to be a bit pricey and time-consuming. But I was desperate. I needed to get rid of the dry skin fast. Making the switch to this crazy, almost obsessive, skincare regimen is one of the best decisions of my life!

If you feel like you need a primer, go ahead and experiment. Personally, I'm not a fan. I used a very light coverage Western BB cream as "primer" to my foundation and it worked so much better than when I used an actual primer. And guess what, it did not break me out. My tube is still in my collection, eating up precious space. Either I toss it once and for all or maybe it might work on other people. But it's definitely not for me. I'm closing my door on primers. I like my skin to feel like skin and not like there's a layer of wax on it.

I've been on my new skincare routine for a couple of weeks and I am loving it. It does require a bit more dedication than my previous routine - if you can call it that. And also, I'm still experimenting with products. Everything is very new and I'm trying not to be overwhelmed with the variety of products available and figuring out what else I can do. I will share with you my routine on another post. May this one be a cautionary tale.