An Engineer's Beauty Diary

Hello all and welcome back to my blog!  Today's post is going to be everything you need to know if you're looking into buying a Clarisonic. I'm also trying to figure out how to structure all my posts, including reviews since those are what I do most here on the blog. I'm going back to my old style, so if you have any feedback for me, please let me know in a comment. Without further ado, let's get into it! Throughout the years, in my search for a cure to end my acne, I've come across this little device. I read up about how it helped clear some people's skin, making it smooth, soft, and supple. But, I had my doubts. Because on the flip side, there were people going through terrible purging. And I was terrified! If you've ever had acne before, you would know the feeling of finding your skin in a place that is 'good enough' and being too scared to try anything new lest it gets any worse. Contrast that with vacillations to 'Oh, it can...

Hello and welcome back to my blog! Today I have for you three masks that I rotate between during the week depending how my skin is feeling. These will definitely help with flaky, finicky, winter skin! This post will be short and sweet, so let's hop into it! I like to use the Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Baby Facial (review  here ) once a week or if I notice that I have a lot of dry patches/clogged skin. I like to leave this on for 20-25 minutes and then I'll rinse off with a warm washcloth. The Herbivore Blue Tansy Resurfacing Clarity Mask  (review here ) I like to use on more relaxed mornings, like Sundays where I'm not in a rush. I leave this on for 20-25 minutes after cleansing my skin and then I rinse it off with a warm washcloth. If I notice that I have a lot of breakouts/blackheads and I don't want to use the Drunk Elephant Surkari Baby Facial, and I want a quick mask, I'll use the Vichy Mineral Pore Purifying Clay Mask (review  here )...

Hello and welcome back! Today, I've got a post all about my thoughts on Epiduo Forte. Without further ado, let's dive in! (And yes, the products blurred in the background are all the things I use with it - more on this soon.) Q: What is it? A: A prescription topical retinoid cream for acne. Q: Where can I buy it? A:  Rx (Prescription) only. Q: How much does it cost? A:  Depending on if your insurance covers it. Covered - $0, not covered with savings card (from dermatologist or online at epiduoforte.com/savings) - $75 Q: How much do I get in one bottle? A:  Full size: 1 oz / 30 mL  Q: What's the packaging like? A:  This cream comes in an airtight white bottle with a white pump and cap.  Q: Will it suit my skin? A:  This is the stronger version of the regular Epiduo acne cream. This have 0.3% adapalene and 2.5% benzoyl peroxide. Epiduo has 0.1% adapalene and 2.5% benzoyl peroxide. I say all of this because whilst t...

Happy Sunday and welcome back to my blog for Day 12 of Daily Blogging! Today I have for you something other than a review - this will be a post on the products that I regret buying. I will preface this by saying that everyone has different skin, so what may not work for me, could still amazingly work for you. Without further ado, let's get into it! Regret #1: Lush Mask of Magnaminty I don't have a picture of this, because I opened it up the other day and saw that it was moldy. :( So I immediately tossed it out. I bought this a while ago in hopes that it would live up to its hype about how amazing it was for oily, acne prone skin. I used it a few times and noticed that while it left my skin ultra smooth from the physical exfoliation particles, it also broke me out! I noticed that I always had a new breakout the next morning, and since I didn't change anything else in my routines, it was definitely this. Also, the scent of it was unappealing to me as it was almos...

Hi and welcome to Day 9 of Daily Blogging! Thank you all for joining me; today I have a review up on the Vichy Mineral Pore Purifying Clay Mask. Without further ado, let's jump into the review! Q: Where can I buy it? A:  Ulta stores, ulta.com, www.vichyusa.com Q: How much does it cost? A:  $20 USD Q: How much do I get in one bottle/jar? A:  75 mL Q: What's the packaging like? A: The mask is housed in a heavy glass jar with a screw on lid. I make sure to twist it on tightly to prevent the mask from drying out. Q: Will it suit my skin? A: If you have oily/combo, acne prone skin, then yes, this will be perfect for you. It is a clay mask, and it does dry down, so if you already have very dry skin, then this could potentially dry you out even more.  Q: Is the scent going to give me a headache? A:  It shouldn't, but it's on a thin line of being almost too strong. It smells like perfume and you can smell it whe...

Hello lovelies and welcome to Day 6 of daily blogging! Today, I have yet another review for you, on the Tarte Knockout Tingling Treatment. Without further ado, let's get into the review! Q: Where can I buy it? A: Sephora stores, sephora.com, tartecosmetics.com Q: How much does it cost? A:  $39 USD Q: How much do I get in one bottle? A:  5 oz / 150 mL Q: What's the packaging like? A: This is housed in a tall, heavy bottle that feels like glass, with a large, blue plastic screw cap that ensures nothing leaks out.  Q: Will it suit my skin? A: If you have acne prone, oily/combo skin that can tolerate acids, then yes, this is for you. You should especially look into this if you have texture issues and/or acne scarring. If you're sensitive to glycolic acid, no worries as this contains 10% salicylic and lactic acids as well as niacinimide to help soothe the skin. Q: Is the scent going to give me a headache? A: ...

Hello and welcome back to my blog! I know I've been a bit absent since the re-branding, but I'm ready to jump back into blogging with a new blog post coming to you every day, so keep a lookout and check back! I'm also trying out a new style and structure to my posts, so please leave me a comment letting me know if you like this new structure better or if you have any other suggestions! Today, I'll be giving you all a review of the Lush Coalface Cleanser. I found this cleanser about 2 years ago, and I can safely say that it has had quite the hand in changing my skin. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I have very acne prone, sensitive, and oily/combo skin. I've struggled to keep to a skincare routine that would work for me for many years now, but, I've been sticking to this cleanser and despite its appearance, is doing wonders for my skin! Without further ado, let's get into the details! Q: How much does it cost? ...

Hi everyone; I hope you're all doing well. I'm back today with a review of the Urban Decay All Nighter and De-Slick setting sprays. As someone with extremely oily skin, I'm used to my makeup getting greasy and sliding around in a few hours. The caveat with me though, is that I don't like to use setting powders. I have acne, and I've found that lots of setting powers would break me out because there's too much silica or talc in them. One example is the Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder which I've done a review on  here . Thus, I turned to setting sprays in the hopes that it'll cure my oily skin woes. Ulta was having the Urban Decay setting sprays for 40% off for one day only during the holidays so I picked up De-Slick and All Nighter to try out. Here are my thoughts: De-Slick:  This one is aimed for oily skin and claims to control oil and keep the skin matte. Here are the claims on the back of the box: I'm sad to say that this d...