What I've been up to!

Hello there! Do you remember me?
Its been a long... long time since I my last post. Honestly, I'm running out of blogging juice. I genuinely lost all creativity for blogging, which is why this post will be about what I've been up to, rather than a beauty product review. If you have any suggestions, ideas or requests, feel free to leave a comment or email me!

So two weeks ago I started a hospitality course. It was quite scary at first (as I don't mingle with new people very well) but luckily I was doing it with another friend of mine. I learnt a lot and totally give props ('take my hat off' as some may say) to those that work in the hospitality field and alike. Do not underestimate a career that you haven't done personally. A few days ago I had placement in a bar and although my only job was to put drinking glasses into the dishwasher and polish glasses, it was genuinely tiring. 

I learnt how to make espressos using a legit coffee machine and other coffee drinks, trying out coffee art for the first time, and my first true insight to cocktails. I'm not a big alcohol drinker mainly because I get affected by alcohol quite quickly (super low alcohol tolerance... which sucks) but learning about alcohol was interesting and very new to me. 

The last drink was an original (?) made by me and my friend, and called it 'strawberries and cream'. It's a good drink for those who are just starting to have alcohol.

Strawberries and Cream
Ingredients
- 15ml simple syrup (50:50 water and sugar)

- 30ml vodka
- 3 strawberries
- 2 teaspoons of cream

- ice

Blend it all together and its done!

Garnish
- strawberry
- white chocolate powder rimming the glass

If you live in Melbourne and want to know more about the course visit koopstes.com.au. It's a government funded course so it's free to do.

Life Update (near death experience?)

Hi guys!

Life update:
Ah, when study takes the lead of your life... Three weeks went by, studying for exams. I've literally been studying non-stop (except for a few days, which I will tell you guys in a moment) at home enclosed in my room. And so I'm officially on break for the next month or so. FREEDOM! I'm starting a hospitality course in a week or so (which will hopefully increase my chances of getting a real job when I get my university degree) and I'm super excited to do it! I will update you guys on how that goes. I mean making proper cafe style coffee and alcoholic drinks, how can that not sound fun?

Now back to the real story as to why I'm writing a life update. Something pretty major (yet not really major) happened a few days ago. It all happened Saturday morning at 8am, was sleeping, as people do, when I was woken by a loud sound of cracking. When I opened my eyes everything in my sight was falling. Literally. I was facing the ceiling when it fell. Completely. In a matter of seconds my room was full of plaster, insulation and years (approximately 18+ years) of dust build up. I was covered in all of it and still covered in my blankets. My face was saved from being smashed from my bed frame (which I've always hated, but now fully appreciate). Being so shocked I was screaming for help. Mum was in the kitchen and dad was getting ready for work. My mum was the first to see what happened to the room and so shocked from what had happened was crying for my dad to save me from the rubble. I got out safely with the help of my dad, fortunately no injuries at all. Not even a scratch. Was a little shaken from the event, but other than that, was completely ok. 

Spent that whole day dealing with the mess; calling SES (state emergency services) to help clean the room, calling the insurance company and waiting for the builder and electrician to come, 1. to make sure that the room will be safe and from causing further damage to the house, and 2. the lights in the house was cut off and needed to be fixed before sunset.

The few days after that was literally spending hours at a time removing the dust from my personal belongings and cleaning the house from all the dust that was spreading.

The cause of this accident: absolutely no idea. 
There was no strong winds, and the roof was completely in tact and no exposed tiles, there was no rain in weeks, and the construction of the roof was done properly. So technically, this was never suppose to happen. All we can do was clean up the mess and hope that insurance can cover the rebuilding of the ceiling.

The main point of all of this:
To be thankful for at least a roof over my head, being safe and sound without any injuries and to be thankful for family. 

Worth the hype? Revlon Colorstay Foundation

Hi guys!

So from the heading, this post is going to be about the Revlon Colorstay foundation. I have to say, that I tried this quite a while back (it was my first every foundation that I've purchased) and I feel like it has changed quite a bit overall. So lets get into it!

Normal to dry skin
150 Buff
SPF20

First thing I notice. IT HAS A PUMP! Finally after years of many people complaining about the foundation not having a pump, it's finally got it! Yes! When I first applied this to my face, the first thought was 'it's so thin'. The foundation I remember was extremely thick and I remember it having a smell to it (though I don't remember what the smell itself was). I'd say that it's a good medium coverage, while I remember it to be pretty full coverage. I definitely prefer this formula more because you have time to work this into your skin. I would say that it's a natural to slightly matte finish, though I powder all my foundations to prolong the wear. This claims to last 24 hours. The maximum I've worn this is 12-14 hours and it does pretty good. Overall it does stay on the face (doesn't fade) though it does start to show my dry patches after about 8 hours. The colour match is pretty much perfect for me, and I don't notice any oxidation (darkness in colour) throughout the day.

I absolutely love this stuff! This has replaced my holy grail foundation which use to be the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation. I use this pretty much every time I wear make up. Definitely worth the hype. Have you tried this before?

Review: Klara Cosmetics Kiss Proof Lips

Hi guys!

So a while back I was contacted by a company and they asked me if I wanted to try a new product. Of course I said yes, as I am absolutely obsessed with lip products.

It's pretty much a liquid/cream lipstick and applied using a doe foot applicator. It dries to a matte finish. I didn't know what to expect from this product, but what I did find out, blew my mind!

If you can't tell from the last picture this product will last on the lips FOREVER! It just barely smudged with super intense rubbing to the point my hand hurt. The product creates a film over the lips and leaves an extremely matte finish. If you don't like the feeling of a heavy or extremely drying lip product, then this product may not be for you, but in my case, I want a product that will last for as long as possible. Though one down side to this product is that if I have anything moisturising on the lips, it will make the product clump up, so I make sure I have a mirror with me and only apply a tiny bit of lip balm in a dabbing motion (instead of swiping) on top to prevent over-drying of my lips. 

I absolutely love this product as its great for outings when I don't want to worry about how my lips look and instead enjoy my time with those around me. If you want a fuss free lip product that will last all day, then this product is for you to try!

Product empties #8

Hi guys!

I'm trying to use up all of my products, well mainly to have the opportunity to try new products without abandoning my already open/currently using products. So here are my empties for the past month or so.

Etude House Heating Deep Clean Gel
 I bought this quite a while back (maybe I should have thrown this away earlier because it's past its recommended time of use...). Regardless this was a great buy! It removes most of the blackheads and whiteheads on the nose. It does give off a bit of heat when you first apply it, but after about 5 seconds the heating effect goes away. I use this on my brother as well (and he has absolutely the craziest amount of crap on his nose) and while I do this on him, you can literally see all of the crap coming out of the pores. So gross, yet so satisfying! Great product and will definitely repurchase if I ever go back to South Korea.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra

 This is pretty much a moisturiser which is for ultra sensitive skin, as it is free of preservatives, parabens, fragrance, alcohol, colours and lanolin. I bought this during a period where my skin was just crazy to the point where just washing my face with a basic cleanser was irritating my face, and even my Cetaphil moisturiser was not doing justice. This product did wonders for my face! It gave my skin hydration without irritating my face and even now when it's transitioning to winter, I have not had a dry patch on my skin (while I would have dry patches during this season, like no tomorrow...). Great product for everyone to try. Have already repurchased.

Bourjoirs Healthy Mix Correcting Concealer

 I use this mainly to conceal my pigmentation from previous acne. It does a decent job on covering without looking to cakey and isn't too drying on the skin. Out of all of the concealers, I find that this is the closest match to my skin tone, though it is still a little too dark. I haven't found a better concealer to do the job of covering all the stuff I want to cover, so until then I shall continue to purchase this until I find a better product.

St Ives Green Tea Scrub

 One word to describe this product, perfection. It gets rid of all the dead skin on my face leaving it baby butt smooth and doesn't irritate my skin too much. It also contains 1% salicylic acid to prevent acne (though I don't think it actually does anything for my breakouts). It's the most finest scrub I've found so far that's affordable and does the best at exfoliating. Definitely recommend and have already got a backup!

Essence Studio Nails Ultra Strong Nail Hardener

 I needed a base coat to, 1. prevent my nails from being stained by nail polish, and 2. make my nails stronger. For those that wear nail polish on a regular basis, you know how damaging it is on the nails. I've been suffering with extremely brittle nails to the point where they were splitting and not breaking, and had the texture like a really hard of beef jurkey (yea that's pretty bad). Ever since using this, I have not had that problem! and this was pretty cheap (under $4). I like this better than the Sally Hansen one (the one in the green bottle) because this actually does the job. Though one problem I found was that this thickens up and dries up in the bottle really quickly, despite that, I used pretty much all of it! Will repurchase!

Clinique Anti-blemish Solutions Cleansing Foam
 I believe this is my second bottle, though I don't believe I mentioned this in previous empties. I wanted to use a product that had a pump which creates the foam, instead of creating the foam yourself. And I found that my skin isn't so irritated when I used this. I've been seeing that people have been saying that there is no point in using a salicylic acid face wash as it doesn't have time to do it's job, though I find this product to prevent some acne from coming up. If you have mild acne and need a new face wash, try this one out! Have already repurchased.

Worth the hype? Bioderma Crealine H2O

Hi guys!
 I feel like I say this a lot, but again, I'm sorry I've been neglecting this blog. I'm currently in 3rd year of my degree and it's stressing me out like crazy. Just the other week I had three assignments due in one day. But anyway, this isn't about my degree, this post is going to be about the infamous Bioderma Crealine H2O. This is talked about by pretty much all of the bloggers and youtubers out there, and there is such hype on this product. Initially I was thinking 'how can some water looking solution be so great for removing make-up?'. I decided to buy this and give it a try.

As you can see from the pictures, the product itself literally looks like water. It doesn't have a scent to it either, but when I first used this product... I became speechless...

Within one swipe on my face, it removed most of the make up on the area I used it on. I go over my face twice with a cotton pad and it removes pretty much all of my make up ( and I feel like I put a relatively thick layer of foundation and concealer), though I only use this on my face, not my eyes so I'm not sure how it removes eye make up though I have heard that it removes all eye make up. I don't find my face feels irritated and doesn't break me out, which occurs often for me as my skin gets easily irritated with excessive rubbing. And it doesn't make my skin feel stripped away with moisture.

I was really sceptical with this product, but I'm totally hooked. If you haven't tried this, go and buy this immediately! 

Worth the hype? Revlon Balm stains

Hi guys!

So I'm starting this series 'Worth the hype?'. Being interested in beauty products, there are lots of things that are talked about and praised by youtubers and bloggers. Some worth talking about, and others that are not. This series is going to be about just that. My opinion on the many hyped up products. So to start off, the infamous Revlon balm thingos. Yes I can't be bothered to call them by their full name as it's super long and quite a tongue twister. 

Top two: Colorburst Matte Balm 

Bottom two: Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain

245 Audacious

240 Striking

001 Honey

010 Darling

Top to bottom: Audacious, Striking, Honey, Darling

Out of the two ranges, I absolutely love the matte balms! Their super pigmented, last longer than a normal lipstick, and I find that the pointed tip allows better precision when applying it on your lips. The balm stains do stain the lips but they don't last as long as had hoped; a good 4-5 hours and the colour is pretty much gone after that, though they do last even after eating and drinking. They all have the minty scent which I really like.

There really isn't anything that I don't like about them (maybe except the price, though Australia always has it worse off when it comes to beauty products). They are a great product for those that are just getting into make-up or those that just love make-up. Some of my friends that aren't really into make-up have these and use it regularly. 

Have you tried these before? Which are you r favourite colours?

Product Empties #7

Hi guys!

Here is another post about my products I have used up! I always have the mindset to use my products up to try new things, but for some reason it takes me forever for me to finish things up.

The Body Shop Moringa Shower Gel

 This is quite a floral scent. It was quite overwhelming at first but it's quite refreshing on days when you feel gruggy and not well. I've bought a new shower product, though not this scent.

Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion Water Resistant in Brown/Black

 I honestly don't know why I got this product. I don't find there is much difference with this and the original Lash Blast. But it is a good mascara for when you just want your lashes to look slightly thicker and darker. Will not re-purchase.

Aquamoist Whitening Cream

 Over time I feel like this did slightly lighten my scars, though not a miracle worker. It's more of a gel rather than a cream, so it's great for oily skin. Though one caution, use as little as possible. I found that if I used too much, my skin would feel sticky and would take a really long time to absorb the product. Still on the hunt for the best whitening product.

Perfume Samples: DKNY Be Delicious Flower Blossom Intense and Intense, Issey Miyake L'eau D'issey and L'eau D'issey Pour Homme

 I love all of the DKNY Be Delicious perfumes, and still debating which one to get a full size of. I got these while getting a wedding gift a while back. These were a limited edition product (I think) as they the scent is the same, but more intense. 

 The Issey Miyake perfumes I got in a Priceline gift from one of the packs. I actually prefer the Homme (which is meant for men) but I still wouldn't purchase the full size. They don't have a distinct scent like other perfumes and kind of reminds me of old people...

Priceline 40% off Cosmetics Haul

Hi guys!
If you live in Australia, you know that Priceline had a massive 40% cosmetics on the 11th and 12th of this month. There were a few things I 'needed' so I took the advantage of the deal and bought a few things.

Australis Make-up Finishing Spritz
Revlon Colorstay Make-up Foundation in 150 Buff for Normal to Dry skin
Essie Good to Go Top Coat
Bourjois 123 CC Eye Cream in 51
Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer in 501 Stellar
Loreal Nude Magique BB Powder

If you guys have tried any of these products, tell me below if you like them or not.

Featured writer: The big debate- With or without makeup

Hi guys!
With my blog slowly growing, I thought of trying something new. Once in a while I will have little posts/articles on thoughts on make-up as well as some reviews. This article was provided by Sarah Taylor. 
Let's start!

--

Bare-faced beauty or magnificent in make-up … Everyone has their own style and the debate over which is best continues to rage. While some girls struggle to leave the house without applying their war paint, others find it difficult to remember to put it on.

Dare to bare

The secret is perhaps to adopt a flexible approach towards make-up. Going bare-faced out into the world can be liberating and even models aren’t afraid to expose un-painted skin to the world. For proof, just look at Megan Gale.

Her recent instagram pics were a hit with viewers who responded well to her natural beauty and the confidence she showed by displaying the photos to the world.

Image courtesy of The Daily Mail online: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/03/05/article-0-1C11D36500000578-23_634x635.jpg

Wonderful war-paint

Of course, that’s not to suggest that there is no place for make-up in today’s society. The confidence which make-up can give girls of all ages is well known and there’s no harm in applying make-up to spruce things up when heading out for a night on the town or a special event.

The secret is to use make-up tastefully. Here we look over a few common make-up products and key ways to apply them. Remember, you should update your make-up supply regularly to ensure you’re not using old products which may not give the desired effects. However you choose to pay for them – cash, debit card or American Express credit card – is up to you, just make sure you budget for them and look out for deals on high quality products that will deliver good results.

Eye liner: common questions here are about whether to apply to the top lid only or both the top and bottom lid. Experiment with what looks best for your eye shape and also experiment with the thickness of the line. Most people prefer a thinner, more subtle line but you may find that a thick and bold look works for you. If you want to add something a little different then flick the ends out to create a stunning cat’s eye effect.

Mascara: like eyeliner, there is common debate about the best way to apply mascara. Common opinion dictates that you should apply mascara to both the top and bottom lashes – only covering the top lashes can actually cause your eyes to look smaller.

The amount you apply will also vary on personal preference but you should avoid being too heavy-handed in order to avoid the dreaded ‘spider eye’ syndrome. There are many different products on the market too so make sure you do your research. You should also spare a thought for colour. Although bright and glittered options are available, and can look stunning when co-ordinated with your outfit, the main options you’ll have are between brown and black. Brown works better for fairer skin and should be combined with brown mascara for a seamless look.

Blusher: a secret weapon for any woman’s handbag, the important thing here is to avoid over applications. Too much blusher can have disastrous consequences so it’s important that you use sparingly. Make sure you work the blusher up along your cheek bone to enhance definition and blend with an appropriate brush.

Recently Purchased - Sneak peak of one of my biggest (korean) adventures

I've gotten back into the Make-up scene! At the moment I'm really into foundations (as you can see...) and with so many that I already have, I still want more! So if you have any recommendations for any good high end and drugstore foundations, please tell me! And also if anyone has any good recommendations for a good opaque white/almost white polish, please do leave a comment as I'm looking for a good white polish.

The Face Shop - Rice Water Bright Massage Cream

Bobbi Brown - Skin Foundation SPF 15 in Warm Ivory

Loreal - True Match Foundation in D1W1 Golden Ivory

Loreal - False Lash Butterfly Wings Mascara

John Frieda - Frizz-Ease extra Strength Formula Hair Serum

Essie Nail Polish - Waltz

Smashbox - Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Liner in Bare

For those who are in love with anything Korean, here's a sneak peak  of one of the most exciting adventures in I've been yet! To be continued in about 2-3 weeks ^_^

Product Empties #6

The Body Shop Born Lippy Plum Lip Balm

 This is a great lip balm for moisture and a hint of colour, and it smells great too! Great for days when you want colour on your lips but don't want anything heavy or drying on your lips like a lip stick. Have already repurchased.

Indeed Laboratories Hydraluron

 This product definitely lives up to the hype. It's great as a first step to your skincare routine as it locks in the moisture from the products you follow up with it. Great for super dry skins and during winter. Will repurchase when winter comes.

Etude House Aloe Moistfull Soothing Eye Cream (sample)
 It's quite a basic moisturiser. I found this to be quite artificially fragranced for something that's from aloe. It's not the best moisture I've tried, but it isn't bad either. I mainly used this on my dry spots on my face. Will not purchase.

Etude House Collagen Moistfull Firming Eye Cream
 I did a review here. It's quite a basic eye cream, and would recommend this for those that want a really basic eye cream or for those that are just adding eye creams to their routine. I didn't notice any firming around the eye area and it didn't really do anything when my eye area were extremely dry. Will not repurchase.

Laneige Balancing Emulsion Moisture - for dry to normal skin
 I have quite dry skin and this is great when layering with outer products. My friend tried this as she needed a quick moisture fix and she quite liked this, and she's the person who has pretty perfect skin and doesn't have a complex skin routine. Definitely recommend this, and I will probably go back to this when I use all of my other products.

Make-up Clean up!

So with the New year with us, I thought it was about time to clean out my old and unusable make-up and nail polish. You know those products that you keep that you want to make it work, and so you leave it in your collection thinking that you will use it one day, I'm doing a favour for myself by throwing these products away (so I can make room for the make-up I want to buy in the future).

Make-up
Innoxa Summer Matte Collection Lipstick in Nude
Maybelline Colorburst Lipstick in 025 Pink Please
Physicians Formula Magic Mosaic Multicolored Custom Face Bronzer in Warm Beige/Light Brozer
  I bought this when Priceline had a 40% off Make-up sale, and I'm glad I bought it during that time because this was an utter disappointment. This comes up orange on me and after a few uses, it leaves a weird film on the product so that you need to scrap off the top layer in order to use the product. Will not repurchase.
Max Factor Vibrant Curve Effect Lip Gloss in 05 Bubbly
  I got this as a sample from a while back and it was time for me to throw this away. I got this maybe... 4 years ago and it has expired and smells old. It never used it as I'm not a fan of glosses, and will not purchase.
Maybelline Super Stay 24 Concealer in Cream and Ivory
  I got this in two colours because the colours are either very yellow based or very pink based. This does stay on the face for quite some time, but I wouldn't buy this again only because it was quite drying on the face, and with dry skin, it can make the skin look cakey.
Revlon Colorstay Mineral Blush in 030 Roseberry
Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 120 Classic Ivory
  I wanted to try this foundation because of its good reviews, but I got this in the wrong colour as it was way too dark for me. I might go out and buy it again, but we shall see...
Rimmel London Eye Shadow Trio (not sure of the name but it had a matte black, shimmery grey and a shimmery white shade)
  This was my firsts ever eye shadow I bought way back when, for my year 11 formal. I'm throwing this away because I don't want to use old eye shadows that might get my eye infected! and I probably won't buy this again because it's not the best of quality.

Nail Polish
The Face Shop Lovely Me:ex in PP401, OR205 and GR501
The Face Shop Nail Colour in PP406
Light Colour Nail Enamel (from Daiso) in 143 and 150
Revlon Nail Enamel in Timeless
  This is my favourite colour of all time. I had about 1/3 of the bottle left, it started to dry up, and I dropped it once while I was using the polish (and it went everywhere). So it's been used well, will absolutely repurchase.
Essence Me & My Ice Cream Nail Polish in 02 Always in my Mint and 04 Icylicious
  I Hate the formula of these. I've only used these a maximum of 5 times and they've already dried up. Although the colours are very pretty and cute, I won't repurchase.

Heart to Heart: My acne story

Hi guys!
First of all Happy New years! I hope you all have had a great start to the new year. It's the perfect to start over, and be the best version of you! For me? I celebrated the new year alone at home as the rest of my family members went out to the city to see the fireworks, which I didn't really fancy. Instead I laid back on my bed with my laptop and a glass of iced coffee to keep me awake.

So first of all, this post will be my story and my ongoing battle with this horrible thing called acne. It affects many guys and girls at pretty much all ages. I'm here to be honest with you guys as much as I can and maybe help you in some way. Just a warning, this will probably be a long post.

Where it all started...
I first knew about pimples and acne from others around me having it. This was during the holidays just before my new life in high school (middle school for you Americans) and I was about 12 then. And so I started getting small bumps all over my forehead. Like your typical pimple with a proper head (maybe TMI). Alot of my friends started getting pimples which was fine, but I slowly noticed that I got more than all of my friends, and my mindset slowly became very blue on my self esteem. So this gave me a new look, a side fringe to cover all of my spots. At this point, I pretty much knew nothing about pimples, where it came from and what I could do about it to stop it from happening. After a few months, they where getting worse. They started to become larger and the horrible habit of picking on them created scarring. With the concern of my parents and others around me, I started using Proactive. The good old Proactive which is used my many acne sufferers and seen on TV lots. I did notice a small reduction on pimples and the severity of them, but after about 6-8 months of use, there were no effects.

After about 2 years or so, I noticed that pimples were no longer coming up on my forehead, instead I noticed little bumps on the sides of my jaw, like little peas. And these, now I find out that they were the under-the-surface acne. I still had no knowledge of pimples and the science to it, and my young mind thought that if I tried to squeeze them they will come to the surface, that they will go away. And boy, was I wrong. Instead I just created horrible bleeding and scars all along my jaw. And what was worse, was my school was a make-up free school, which meant that I could not cover my skin. And this was the most depressing point in my life. I didn't go to the toilets to avoid mirrors, and when I did go I wouldn't look at my reflection. And at home, everytime I would look at my face, I would think to myself 'I'm a complete monster'. I would avoid any eye contact with anyone. And what made my self esteem worse, was the fact that pretty much all of my friends where in that minority of only getting the occasional pimple, and I was the only one that was suffering from severe acne.

This continued until when I was about year 10 (16 years old), where I told myself 'This can't go on!'. And so I went to my local doctor for a remedy. At this point I was thinking 'this decision will heal my skin and get of acne forever! goodbye pimples forever!'. But again... I was wrong. I was prescribed a topical treatment, which was a 10% Benzyl Peroxide cream. I used this for a while, but there were side affects to this. With constant use, it literally burned my skin. Some days, I went to school with red, flaky skin which was super sensitive. Then I started to use less of the cream, less often and went to Benzyl Peroxide face wash. I didn't notice any difference with my skin, but I continued use until I finished the bottle. 

By the last year of my high school year, I did notice my severity of acne calming and I still remember the day where I went to a wedding in the middle of the year, and I didn't have to have any acne cream on my face. I did still had spots, but they were very minor, and I didn't have this less of spots since the first time I suffered from acne. And so I thought, yes! This horrible thing is slowing down and is going away! But again I was wrong.

The first year of university came. With the stress, and the exposure of smokers in the city made my skin explode in pimples. And I'm not even joking. Pimples came from all directions and was all over my skin, and also in places I never got pimples, such as my chin, nose, in between my brows and under my nose. There was not a surface of my skin that didn't have a pimple and it was honestly painful to touch. And my self esteem went plummeting down again. I still couldn't look at people and I couldn't look up to show my face. With shopping centres around me while I go to classes, I bought more make-up and tried to cover my face with it. But this didn't cover what I wanted. Some of the scars covered, but the bumps were still visible. This continued for 1 whole year.

As second year was approaching, I just couldn't take it any more. I told my doctor I wanted to try something else. And this was my introduction to an antibiotic. In January that year I started taking Minocyline after my meals. And I did notice a slow decrease in pimples and the severity. But after 6 months, I was still getting pimples, and I was still depressed. And in November of 2013, I started taking the pill. Yes the controversial pill. Within 2 weeks of using it, I didn't notice a difference in my skin, but man was I angry. The smallest things pissed me off and I was always angry. 

It is now January 2014, and it's been almost 2 months since I started the pill. I have noticed a dramatic difference, and I haven't had such smooth skin in years. I can honestly say, the decision to go on the pill has been the best decision I've ever made, and I regret not doing it earlier. As of today, I do still have very minor bumps, but for once in many years, the number of pimples is enough to be counted on one hand and I haven't been able to do this in literally years. 

I think that one of the most depressing stages of my acne life was about 2 years ago. I don't see my relatives much, so whenever there is  family gathering, I would be happy to see them, but instead of hearing 'Hi, how have you been?', it was 'Hi, oh gosh what's wrong with your skin? Are you washing your face? Have you been to the doctors?'. Whenever I heard this I would just ignore it and walk away, and even thinking about it as I write this makes me mad. I still hear it to this day, but I know that my skin has changed for the better, but what they see is the scars from all of my suffering. I can honestly say during the last few years of suffering from acne, I DID NOT HAVE OILY SKIN. I've heard from everywhere and from everyone, that your skin gets oily and you need to use products that are catered for oily skin, and you should wash you face twice day, and all of this crap. But I can honestly say my skin was dry, at least on the surface. My skin would get dry, flaky and all of the things that come with dry skin. I haven't heard anyone experiencing this, but I guess it's just because everyones skin is different. I used products for dry skin, and people kept telling me' ' you're doing the wrong thing, it's only going to make it worse'. And I knew they were wrong because when I deprived my skin from moisture, my skin would only get drier (my skin felt extremely tight when I was my face even just with water) and I got more pimples. And I knew that the only person that knew the most about my skin was myself. Don't trust what others say, and 'listen' to your skin.

So what was the main cause of my acne? GENETICS, thanks to my mum and dad who BOTH had sever acne while growing up, they passed that gene to me. Thanks mum and dad. 

So what now?
I'm still going to continue with taking the pill, but the one thing I'm worried about now is that once I'm off it, the acne comes back in full force. I still yet to be able to go out in public without make-up, but I am now comfortable enough with just BB cream. I do have deep, dark scarring which will take months to heal, but I'm just glad that I don't have any indents in my skin, which some people can get when suffering from acne. Although I'm not fully happy with my skin, right now, I'm just happy that I've seen some sort of progress. To be honest, it makes me furious when I hear people in real life as well as online saying that they suffer acne, yet they only get enough pimples that they can count with even two hands. Whenever I think about when I really suffered with acne, I would just cry to myself, to even wish I was in there shoes. I still am quite depressed with my skin even though my skin has improved dramatically, because the scars on my face are a reminder that this war hasn't finished. 

The best advice for someone suffering from acne?
-Go to your doctor as soon as you see a change in your breakouts and discuss the options you have. 
-Don't listen to people around you who 1. probably don't know what your going through and 2. Don't know how your skin reacts to different conditions. 
-Remember and take note of how your skin reacts to different conditions and try to change those factors that may be a factor in creating pimples. This can be anything from make-up, skincare, the environment, diet and exercise. 
-Understand that sometimes, it's not the products that you use. What I mean by this, is that the product in your skincare or make-up, or whatever topical you put on your face can be the thing that's causing pimples, but it may also be the best routine you can ever have and it won't create pimples, but it won't get rid of them either. Sometimes it's just your hormones.
-Do your research. The one thing I regret not doing was research. Understanding how they come about, how to deal with them, and most importantly what type of pimple your getting and where your getting them can play a big determinant to how to deal with them.
- Don't pick! No matter what you do, don't pick! or even touch your face!

I know I will probably suffer from acne for the rest of my life. To be honest, even writing this post is nerve racking. I've been thinking about taking note of my story ever since I started this blog, but I decided to do this to record my story, and help anyone that is suffering from sever acne like I have, even if I help one person I would be forever thankful.