The close of the last decade brought me more than wistfulness for bygone days. It also gave me some seriously dry skin! And while I’m not sure if it was caused by hormonal changes, good ol’ fashioned skin aging, or something else entirely, I spent most of 2019 actively seeking out skincare products to help counteract the dreaded papery texture that my skin had suddenly become. I’m happy to say that I’ve found some keepers that might just work for you as well!

The clay mask made my already dry skin feel even more dry and tight. It was also very difficult to wash off, so I had to use a damp towel to remove the mask. I later learned that a bentonite clay mask is more apt for use on oily skin, because it’s made from a very absorbent material that is sometimes even used for cat litter. It’s not a bad ingredient, but if you have dry or sensitive skin, there is a better alternative.

As a member of the Grease Girl Group, I have a love-hate relationship with my oily skin. Sebum production helps to keep my skin smooth so I look younger, but it’s unpleasant when my face looks greasy after a few hours! Oil control sheets and powder for touch-ups are must-haves in my makeup bag. With skin care, I tend to stay away from facial oil, and even once tried to remove moisturizer from my routine because some experts claim that moisturizer for oily skin will only make my face oilier.

Are you one for New Year’s resolutions? Some people may be naysayers but I personally believe in the power of a new year for sparking change! Sure, you’ll need to follow through for the next 11 months to achieve success but getting started is almost always the hardest part. If one of your resolutions this year is to achieve your best skin yet this 2020, here are four things you can do to reach that goal.

I have a confession: I enjoy watching blackhead extraction videos. It’s just so satisfying to see them get popped out of pores! It’s a different case, though, when I visit my derma to have this procedure done on myself (don’t DIY - you might cause more damage). It can hurt a lot, and sometimes my nose gets so irritated that I have to stop myself from sneezing on my derma.

As an oily skinned gal, I’m more prone to getting clogs in my skin so I’ve learned to put up with extractions as a necessary evil. But when I heard about the grit method and that many people swore it worked for them, I just had to try it for myself!

I had one of the worst breakouts of my life three years ago. There I was, trying out some high-end, cult favorite skincare and fully expecting to look like Kendall Jenner after 30 days. To my heartbreak, my skin broke out in clumps of tiny, angry, itchy bumps instead! After a few months and trying some similar products, I realized that what I had at the time was actually fungal acne.

Kiehl’s is one of those skincare brands that my skin just seems to love. I’ve tried a few of their cult favorite serums as well as some then new releases), and my experience has been good thus far. Sam also did the Kiehl’s Let Us Change Your Skin Challenge with quite satisfactory results. The brand has been around since 1851, after all, and has many fans worldwide!

Whether you have dry skin or oily skin, applying moisturizer is an essential step of any skincare routine. However, this can be tricky to do in a humid country, as many formulas can feel too heavy and sticky, especially when it’s hot. Gel formulas are a great alternative to the traditional cream formula, but did you know that there’s an even more lightweight option?

Are you a skincare junkie? How many skincare products do you currently have in your stash? I recently took stock of mine and found that I currently have 20 in rotation. It’s a lot more than I’d like, but in my defense, it took some trial and error for me to find the ones I like best. I’m finishing these purchases, then plan to edit down to only keeping my HGs! My downsized shelf will be composed of just 10 key pieces; that may still seem like a lot for some but it’s the routine that works for my oily-acne prone skin type.

We know that skin care is for everyone. But based on stories shared by members of the Project Vanity community, it seems like getting the men in our lives to use skin care is quite a challenge! It's especially difficult to get them to use sunscreen because of common complaints like “it feels sticky” and “it requires too much effort”. 

When I first heard of bakuchiol, I thought it was yet another skincare ingredient slash marketing ploy carefully crafted to draw in the “all-natural” consumer group. A plant extract that acts like retinol without side effects? It sounds too good to be true, and conveniently fits the bill for those looking for “clean” and vegan product alternatives.

I have a confession to make: last year, I started teaching myself to buy less makeup. I unfollowed a lot of cosmetic brands on social media, and stopped consuming makeup content from videos to blogs, and even newsletters. When I see a sale, I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and walk away. I still love makeup and that’s not gonna change, but I needed to stop an unhealthy shopping addiction that had me buying waaaay more than I need. What snapped me back to reality was seeing a drawer full of expired makeup that I hadn’t even used more than thrice. So this 2020, my New Year resolution is to stay committed to #ProjectPan and doing a low buy!

The last year of the last decade saw me having a baby. I knew this meant changes to my lifestyle, and I had to bid goodbye to my tried and tested routines. I cut out a lot of products during my pregnancy, and became conscious about avoiding certain ingredients. After I gave birth, I found myself with drier skin than usual ,and with significantly less time to devote to a skincare regimen.

Face masks are a great way to get bouncy, plump skin in 10 minutes. They’re like the first aid of skin care: affordable, easy to find in most stores, and quick to give your skin that extra TLC when it needs it. If you’re exhausted and your skin needs a pick-me-up, or you need something to make your skin look better ASAP, slap on a face mask! Even celebrities have been known to put on a face mask to get their skin glowing and red carpet-ready. 

Staying in cold, air-conditioned rooms are a respite from the normally hot Philippine weather but it also takes a toll on our skin. Facial mists are great for adding hydration back to our faces but what about the rest of our body? Along with my habit of sanitizing my hands throughout the day, ever so often, hand creams are a staple in my hand care routine. So I was quite surprised that few other people in my circle regularly use this! 

It took me years before I learned how to care for my oily skin. As a teen, I thought that frequently washing my face and using astringents would do the trick of banishing the grease. 15-year-old me had a lot of misconceptions about skin care, and I’m so glad that the internet and sites like Project Vanity made learning about proper skin care much easier! Of course, there’s a lot of misinformation online, too, so it’s important to be careful about which sources to trust and avoid the pitfalls of shady skincare hacks.

Skin care diet, skip-care, the anti-10 step skin care routine - these beauty buzz words basically all mean the same thing. They’re all about going back to the basics and downsizing your skin care regimen and not compromising the image of minimizing pores. I enjoyed the 10 step skin care routine for a good while but I’ll be the first to admit that I found the rules of layering a bit tedious. Do I really need to spend an hour to slap products on my face, or can I do it under 15 minutes and make time for other things that I enjoy?

For many of us, growing up in the Philippines meant growing up believing that white skin is better. If you have fair skin, you were considered maganda, artistahin, and kutis-mayaman. If you were darker-skinned though, what a shame! You would probably told that it’s a pity you were born kayumanggi, and given a number of suggestions on how to whiten skin.   

I’m a big winner in the skin care concern lottery: I have sensitive combination skin. This means that my t-zone (forehead and nose) gets very oily, while my u-zone (cheeks and chin) turn dry and flaky. My pores also love forming comedones, making me more prone to getting enlarged pores and pimples. It has been extra challenging to find skin care products that work for my various issues because my skin can get really reactive, flaring up whenever I come near anything it doesn’t like!

It’s been three years since I founded In Her Element Skincare. In those three years, everybody kept asking me: “Why not makeup? I thought you’d do makeup!” This is understandable because I am a makeup geek and it has always been my first love in this industry, and what got me in to begin with. Skincare though has always been a bit of a challenge for me, because Fact #1 I am lazy when it comes to applying skincare and Fact #2, I’ve always loved expensive brands that’s painful on the wallet to repurchase. So, I thought I’d take it in my own hands to create something that would fit my budget and my needs!