Thursday, March 06, 2014

and now you know what I look like without mascara

before :: after

Apparently, I am a very late bloomer. This is evidenced by my adolescent acne at age 34. I'm really not sure why, but my skin has been worse this year than any other. It has been very discouraging.

On a whim, I ordered a two week trial of Paula's Choice Clear. (Thank you Grace Patton for recommending it.) I took a before photo (right after working out, mind you) just in case there were significant improvements. And I think there were! I used to have a big, red, rough breakout spot on my right cheek at all times. It's still a bit red, but it is fading significantly. And the roughness and breakouts are gone. My skin has never been so soft, actually. I live in the dry desert, and have always had dry skin, but I don't have that problem anymore.

I  have been using the products for more than a month now, and I have continued to see fewer red spots. If a blemish does appear, it clears up quickly. Every time I wash my face I am amazed at how much better my skin looks and feels.

I don't want to sound like an infomercial. And I am not in any way affiliated with the Paula's Choice company, I have just been really impressed with their products and thought you might like to know.

*I notice improvement when I cut back on my sugar intake, as well (which sort of kills me a little bit). Just fyi.

10 comments:

  1. You are not alone! My skin was so terrible last year I finally went to the dermatologist for the first time in my life. That helped a lot. You skin looks lovely now, will have to check the products out. I know if I improved my diet it would help, but I am just not in that place right now. In fact, last year for lent I gave up sugar, but I just couldn't bring myself to do sugar again this year. I love treats.

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  2. You are such a natural beauty!

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  3. Wow, I thought I was alone. Turned 34 and my face has been a wreck. I'll have to check out the products you are using.

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  4. It's nice to hear from people who you trust about a product rather than an info commercial so don't worry!
    If the problem comes back or you notice the product not working anymore, I was exactly your age when I thought my skin was getting worse. Nothing helped! It turned out to be Rosacea which is simple to control. It usually manifests itself in the mid-30's. Just keep that tucked away in the back of your mind.
    p.s. You are beautiful!

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  5. I think you're pretty either way.
    I am going to be 50 this year and had my first pimples - just a couple occasionally, but I was horrified. I also still have completely normal periods that go along with them - I believe I'm going to be 80 and still like this, LOL.

    Linda

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  6. i use velocity from Mary kay, i was wasting a lot of money trying to find something in the store that worked and that has helped me a lot, even Eric (but don't tell:) But guess what, they stopped making it!!! the 2 days that followed my not using it, i broke out and had ruff skin. so maybe i'll look into that stuff. BTW: it took me a while to see what I was looking for because both pictures where so pretty.

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  7. I could write a book about acne. The fun thing about having it now (I'm 27) is that it's coupled with wrinkles. Life isn't fair, right? I'm so glad you found a product that works for you. I've used Paula's Choice shampoo and like that quite a bit. I've only heard great things about her skincare items. But, I'll echo a few posters above, I think you are beautiful. Seriously!

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  8. i will just throw this out there since it changed my life--look up "the oil cleansing method." i also had skin problems later in life and my face was very oily. so to imagine cleaning your skin with only a mixture of olive oil and castor oil seemed ridiculous. but it has been MAGICAL. the castor oil draws out impurities after steaming your face with a warm towel. then you just wipe off excess oil and your face doesn't even need lotion afterwards. and my skin is no longer oily. i just don't like all the chemicals in face products and this only has 2 ingredients. plus, it's super cheap! i can't imagine not discovering this little secret, so maybe it can help someone.

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  9. So, I am 35 and my face looks very similar to yours. But mines not acne, it is Rosacea. You might want to look into it. Rosacea can look like pimples, but it's not. Good luck! I feel your pain. I had beautiful skin all during high school and in my twenties. I turned 30 and it was all down hill from there.

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  10. I wonder if you have rosacea as well. I thought I had bad acne when I was pregnant with my 2nd at age 30, but it turned out to be rosacea. What you are describing sounds more like that. Might want to see your GP. I use an antibiotic cream on my face once a day and it helps. If it starts getting bad, I take a round of oral antibiotics. I've only had to do that twice in the last 8 years.

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