Hello my friends!
I’m back with another Let’s Talk blog post, today we will be exploring my high school skincare routine. Throughout my teens, I never paid much attention to skincare besides cleanser and moisturiser. I didn’t know much about it and I didn’t have a lot of money to splurge on products at Sephora or Mecca. During my teens I would frequent supermarkets and pharmacies to purchase my skincare. I read some reviews here and there and that’s how I made my purchases. I also went off recommendations from friends…which let’s say…wasn’t the best decision.
So let’s take a step back in time…
Cleanser
Starting with the Nivea Gentle Cleansing Wash Cream, I remember telling my mum to buy this for me from Coles because it was on sale.
I don’t think it even did much and there were beads in the products which we all know now isn’t great for your skin nor the environment. In terms of formula, it wasn’t bad, it was a cream-based cleanser but I just don’t think it was anything special. For someone who didn’t have a lot of money, I kind of just looked at the more affordable options at Coles/Woolies.
Would I still use this as an adult? Noooo.
Next up we have the Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser, I remember buying this when I started reading up on different cleanser types.
I think I bought this when I started my first job, and of course I got it on sale. The formula wasn’t bad, it was very gentle and I enjoyed trying out a foaming cleanser. I feel like this was one of the better cleansers that I tried in my teens.
Would I still use this as an adult? Sorry but it’s a no…I try to steer clear of products from this brand.
Ok we’ve got another foaming cleanser on our hands, this time it’s the Johnson’s Clean & Clear Foaming Face Wash.
God, I remember buying this in a trial pack that came with a moisturiser and toner haha. I think I enjoyed using this (and the rest of the trial pack) at the time. Once again, it was purchased during my time at my first job.
Would I still use this as an adult? Nope. Clean and Clear may have been all the rage 10 years ago but I think we’ve all grown and expanded our skincare knowledge haha.
Thinking back, I used a lot of pretty stripping cleansers. I thought my skin was crazy oily, but really, it was likely to be the result of using the wrong products, which led to producing an excess amount of oil. If I could go back in time, I’d definitely switch to a more hydrating cleanser haha.
Toner
This one’s going to make everyone cringe, but once an old friend recommended me witch hazel as a toner and you know what, I bought it based off their recommendation. I think this is another place where I went wrong resulting in my skin reacting. I used this very well-known T.n.Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Toner which claimed to help with things like smoothing pores, but really, I think it just dried the crap out of my skin.
So much regret but we live and learn. Another thing is I wasn’t sure how to use this when I bought it lol, I didn’t realise it was best applied with a cotton pad, but gladly I soon discovered this haha.
Would I still use this as an adult? I wouldn’t touch it with a ten metre pole.
I used another toner that was similar to this one, I think it was from Etude House. My friend gave me a small size as part of a birthday gift and I had no idea how to use it haha. Honestly it had my pouring it on my hands over the sink and trying to apply it to my face hahaha.
Moisturiser
Another Neutrogena product I used was the Oil-free Moisture Combination Skin Facial Moisturiser – I didn’t even have combo skin lol.
I picked this up from a discount chemist because I needed a new moisturiser at the time and I just went with this one. I remember half way through using it that I just stopped. I didn’t like this and it wasn’t moisturising enough for my skin. Eventually I binned it as I left it unused for a long time.
Would I still use this as an adult? It’s a no from me.
Now I did use a moisturiser with some SPF, though it was very minimal and definitely not enough coverage for those sunny days walking from the bus stop to school and going home in the afternoon with the sun shining on my face. The Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturiser SPF 15 was actually pretty good!
I don’t remember how I got into this one but I really liked it. The texture was really nice and it didn’t pill. It also had a nice subtle scent to it.
Would I still use this as an adult? Nope because it has minimal SPF coverage, but I really did enjoy the formula of this one. Hopefully one day they’ll do a SPF 30 one.
Scrubs
Back when beaded scrubs were all the range, I too fell victim to this. Let’s start with the lesser known one, keeping in with the Aveeno theme, I branched out onto the Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Scrub.
I actually quite liked this one as well. It was super gentle and I did notice my skin tone improving. For context, I was pretty tanned when I was younger (pale as a ghost as an adult though), but looking back at photos, my skin was still pretty glowy. I think it’s because of the soybean seed extract from this and their moisturiser.
Would I still use this as an adult? No because of the beads and because I prefer chemical exfoliants these days.
Now onto the dreaded St Ives Blemish Control Scrub Apricot, well I used this and pretty much the rest of the range…I remember when this was THE scrub and thinking back, it definitely was pretty harsh on the skin.
The little particles were way too harsh and I remember scrubbing the crap out of my skin (I had acne so I thought this would help, don’t worry I’m cringing too).
Would I still use this as an adult? Nope, definitely not for the face but I’ve heard it works well for the body…however, it’s still a no from me.
Next in the line up we have the St Ives Blackhead Clearing Green Tea Face Scrub.
I remember trying out the rest of the range since I used the one above. I was eager to try this because of the green tea. This was pretty rough on the skin as well – no surprise there. I used to mix some of it with water to “dilute” it and then use it on my face lol.
Would I still use this as an adult? Nope.
I’ve also used the St Ives Radiant Skin Pink Lemon & Mandarin Orange Face Scrub because why not.
I think this one was alright, it wasn’t as bad as the other two (though still not great for the skin), but I feel like I enjoyed this one a bit more.
Would I still use this as an adult? Adult me doesn’t like any strong citrusy scents in my skincare, so hard pass.
Last of the brand is the St Ives Gentle Smoothing Oatmeal Face Scrub & Mask.
Ok now this one I actually enjoyed it because you could use it as a scrub or a mask. I felt it helped make my skin softer and I enjoyed the pampering feeling from using a wash off mask. Plus it had oats in it and it was different from their other scrubs.
Would I still use this as an adult? Unlikely. I’ve lived and learned and honestly, I’m a bit lazy with wash off masks these days.
So there you go, we’ve cringed together on my past skincare errors, thank god I’m more educated on skincare these days + I have more money to splurge a little on different brands. Honestly, we all live and learn from our mistakes. I feel like my skin has definitely been affected by using the incorrect products from my teen years, but I feel like we’re slowly getting better. I’ve had cystic acne and my skin is a bit better now but I still get breakouts, redness, scarring, etc. but that’s all perfectly normal and apart of life! No one is airbrushed and poreless in real life – don’t forget that!
Thanks for joining me on this post, I’m curious to know what skincare you used in your teens? Let me know in the comments!
With love,
VQP. usu BEAUTY