Basic Daily Skincare Routine

This blog post is to go along with my YouTube video here:

The essentials are this:
No matter whether you do or do not wear makeup, it is important to get into the habit of washing and moisturizing your face every morning and night. 

I personally have acne prone skin that is very sensitive. It is neither dry nor oily but really doesn't like heavy perfumes or harsh chemicals. I tend to get cystic acne the worst, though I do get black heads and white heads too. I'm also very pale and sensitive to sun exposure.

I recommend to really get an idea of what kind of skin you have. Is it drenched in oil at the end of the day? Is it dry and flaky? Are some parts dry and some parts oily? If you have that last one, welcome to "normal/combination" skin like me. Try using a product for at least a solid week steadily before making any judgement on it. That is of course provided you don't have an immediate allergic reaction.

For my skin, I like gentle exfoliating washes. This one has lactic acid in it. I use this daily but you could get by with every other day if your skin isn't very clogged. Or if its hardly clogged at all, I'd only use it once a week. This is what I use right now and what I'm talking about in the video:
https://www.murad.com/product/renewing-cleansing-cream/

For acne breakouts, I am insanely in love with this salicylic acid cleanser. It's not too rough for me, I will use it daily if I'm not using the above wash.
https://www.murad.com/product/adult-acne-cleanser/

And I learned after shooting the video that Murad doesn't make their Sulfur Spot Treatment anymore! I've had it for a long time because a little goes a very long way and you only want to put it on your acne spots. If you use it all over, your skin will absolutely dry out and hate you. But I do see Murad has a Sulfur Mask here (that I have yet to check out):
http://www.ulta.com/acne-complex-clarifying-mask?productId=prod2082346

And I'm currently using EradiKate Acne treatment for problem spots. Which I WILL be reviewing hopefully soon since I've already shot video for that. Here are the details:
https://www.sephora.com/product/eradikate-acne-treatment-P232903

I also mention this is my favorite moisturizer. This stuff is great for acne prone skin because it is not heavy, has no oil, has no fragrance, and absorbs quickly. I sometimes get knock off CVS brand, but the actual Neutrogena brand is slightly,  but noticeably, better by a small increment:
http://www.neutrogena.com/skin/skin-moisturizers/oil-free-moisture-sensitive-skin/6805400.html?cgid=skin-moisturizers#start=16

Product review: Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser

I got this jumbo sample ages ago and due to its size, threw it in my travel bag for use at conventions/the gym. I'm almost all the way through this tube and I can heartily say: I love this stuff. My acne prone, sensitive skin actually feels great when I use this stuff. Since I am using it mostly at conventions, it has to have the ability to do two very important things: 1. Really scrub off all the makeup at the end of the day (hello heavy makeup for costumes!) 2. Not dry out my skin (usually I change makeup for day vs. night and sometimes even more often for a costume change). This stuff is amazingly effective at both.

I've also started to use it when I go to the gym and use the gym shower. Its good at scrubbing off all my oily, sweaty self in preparation for my daily makeup. It keeps the zits at bay, scrubs off my makeup, doesn't over dry, doesn't smell gross and leaves my skin feeling so fresh n so clean. I'm debating throwing down the $30 to get 6.75 oz, but it seems kind of insanely priced. I wish I could just keep getting the smaller travel tubes but I either got this as a sample or part of a kit (couldn't find it even in a kit just now). The product is really great though, so it is very tempting and I highly recommend it.