IQQU Acne Serum

I have been suffering from enormous amount of acne lately, I have tried the drugstore spot treatments I already own (I use Neutrogena and Clean & Clear), and some of the home remedies I have read about online. These treatments usually work for me, but this time is probably my worst case of acne I've had in years. I decided to turn to Michelle Phan's acne serum from her new beauty line IQQU.

Where to buy: IQQU Beauty International
Price: $33 (I live in USA, the shipping was $8)
Direction: Apply sufficient amount of this treatment evening over clean skin until fully absorbed.
General Rating: It works
Scent: Okay, unless you do not like tea-tree-oil-ish smell.
Related Products: more on IQQU Beauty International
Amount used: been using it semi-consistently for about a week.
THIS PRODUCT WORKS. I think that's all you really need to know. I wouldn't call it a miracle cream, it does take some to see the effect. It does help reducing acne, it doesn't make it disappear right away, but the result after applying is significant. It usually takes a couple of hours to see the difference, to see a clear result would be the next day when you wake up. This product is pretty expensive, but general spot treatments from drugstores cost about $6-$10, and the size of the IQQU bottle is about twice the size of average spot treatment tubes, so it's actually not bad. It definitely worth what it cost, it helped me when no other serums or remedies can, it is definitely an outstanding product. The only problem I really have with it is the dispenser of the bottle, sometimes it takes a couple of pumps to get the serum out, and sometimes the pump will make the serum fly and splat onto something else (across my bathroom), and it usually leaks a bit after pumping, have to be very careful with it. You can always just twist the bottle open to get the serum without using the pump.

Of course, just because there is an effective product around, doesn't mean it will stop acne from spawning upon your face (sometimes somewhere else). I have been living very unhealthily lately, my sleeping schedule is messed up, so is my digestion. I don't know if it has been proven or not, but I think digestion does contribute to activeness of acne, because if your body is not properly...circulated (let's put it in a less gross way), leaving all the gunk in your body, it will try to find some other ways to get out...you get the picture? I believe this is one of the cause of my acne...because after I fixed my digestion problem (took some pills, lots of yogurt and orange juice...for some reasons orange helps my digestion, I don't know about other people) the bumps start to disappear from my forehead...but it did not make all the acne fade away due to...other reasons.

I have been follow Michelle Phan (Ricebunny) through her blog and videos for about almost two years or so now. I loved her tutorials (especially the DIYs) and reviews, I have learned a lot from her in makeup and skin care, she is a awesome guru and a wonderful girl, I believe that she can make a difference in the world.

Avon Moisture Therapy Skin Bump Minimizer

Where to buy: Currently Discontinued (I bought it from eBay)
Price: N/A (I paid $3.99 + $3.00 shipping on eBay)
Direction: Moisturize 2-3 times a day
General Rating: Pretty good
Scent: Not great, but tolerable.
Related Products: N/A
Amount used: Just start using it, about two weeks.
This is probably the best product and the most recent product I have tried, this is also a pretty popular KP treatment. It reduces KP, and minimize the existing bumps, make it generally less noticible. This kind of similar to KP duty, that it is not a very good moisturizer because the lotion stays on the top layer of your skin. I do not know the reason why this product has been discontinued, and I think it is not the first time that it has been taken down. You may be able to find this product on eBay or other sites that still have the stock of it, and be sure to compare prices around.

Aromatherapy Stress Relief Body Lotion- Tranquil Mint

Where to buy: Bath & Body Works
Price: $12-$13 (travel size $5)
Direction: Moisturize once a day
General Rating: It’s somewhat works.
Scent: Strong, some people might not like it.
Related Products: N/A
Amount used: I only used the travel size kind.
This is actually from the same post I read where I found the Vaseline Lotion, the direction the author suggested was once a day, and about 98% of her KP was gone after a week or two. Again, my result was not as great as hers, its effect for me was close to the same as the Vaseline Lotion, right around 15-25% of my KP was gone (actually more like staying the same, just keeping it from growing more back). I didn't use it for long, since I only bought the travel size just to try it, I tried it for about two weeks. This is generally a pretty good lotion, it is kind of watery as well, I think it may be a better treatment to something else (it might be able to keep the mosquito away), but for KP it's not the best.
Oh, smell it before you buy it.

Vaseline Total Moisture Conditioning Body Lotion

Where to buy: CVS, drugstore.com (should be able to find it in local drugstores)
Price: $4-$5
Direction: Moisturize 2 times a day (unofficial)
General Rating: Pretty good
Scent: Fairly nice
Related Products: N/A
Amount used: I went through the tube, I am almost done with the bottle.
I found this lotion in the Keratosis Pilaris Community forum, I don't remember who posted about it but she claims that she used it two times a day for two week about 90% of her KP was gone, I decided that I am definitely going to try this lotion. I did what she said to apply twice a day, after 2 weeks...I wouldn't say 90% of my KP is gone, more about 20-30%, which is still good, but same thing as KP duty, it really doesn't improve anymore after the first couple of time using it, and my KP stays about the same after a few of months. The lotion itself is kind of watery, but very moisturizing. This is probably the cheapest lotion that can help reduce KP, it is pretty effective.

DERMAdoctor KP duty

Where to buy: Sephora (you may search around online as well, prices are the same)

Price: $36

Direction: Moisturize 2-3 times a day

General Rating: It’s somewhat works.

Scent: Not great, but tolerable.

Related Products: DERMAdoctor KP duty Body Scrub

Amount used: I went through 1 1/3 tube.

This was the first treatment I tried for KP, after using for a couple of days, my KP was reduced by around 10-20%, I was happy to see that, and I was hoping that it will reduce more later on, but after using it for about 6-7 months, my KP stays the same…it was better than before I started using it, but I want further improvement. Most of the time I use the lotion about two times a day, sometimes three…and there were days I just didn’t feel like putting it on, but it usually happen one or twice in a month. I do not think it’s worth what it cost, because there are lotions that are much cheaper but still capable of achieving the same effect and sometimes better. And the lotion stays upon your skin, it does not get absorbed in. It is suppose to be more effective if you use it with the KP duty Body Scrub, but it also cost around the price, feel free to give it a shot, let me know the result.

Introduction to Keratosis Pilaris

What is Keratosis Pilaris? A curse. A curse of chicken skin that will follow you upon your arms and legs (some people's case, face) starting from your teenage or preteenage years to your 30s and 40s...all of the pretty years basically. It is a common skin condition, 30-40% of the world population suffers from it, mainly women. Of course, everyone's situation would be different, some people's KP maybe mild, and some people...let's just say, they refuse to wear short sleeves. It is different from acne, although it is similar to acne that it becomes worse after you consumed a lot of greasy fried food. There is no cure for Keratosis Pilaris unfortunately, it is completely harmless, just not pleasant to look at. I have suffered from it about 7-8 years, I can no longer stand the sight of it, I have been diligently searching for remedies that will reduce the bumps, scars, and redness the past year. The most commonly used would be body lotions.

These are the lotions I have used:

DERMAdoctor KP duty

Vaseline Total Moisture Conditioning Body Lotion

Aromatherapy Stress Relief Body Lotion- Tranquil Mint

Avon Moisture Therapy Skin Bump Minimizer

More to come, I will continue to search for better products. Result may vary depending on different people's skin types.

*It is also important to switch lotion once in a while because your skin will become immune to it, and it will become less affective*

Switched from Wordpress

I originally started this blog with WordPress, but I decided to switch to Blog Spot instead because there are more beauty based blogs on Blog Spot...at least I know quite a few of them. I will be reposting the entries I already published on WordPress

Like regular beauty/shopping blogs, I will be posting about hauls, reviews, and beauty knowledge. I am not as experienced as many bloggers and gurus, but I will write what I know and what I found out, even if it is common sense!

I hope you enjoy reading my blog. ^_^