On not scrimping when it comes to skincare.

Okay, I concede. As much as I want to tell you guys that you can get the same results from cheap skicare products as the high end ones, I've learned that investing in high quality, albeit expensive, skincare products does make a difference. I haven't tried many of the high end brands, but from what I have tried, I can say you do get your money's worth when you choose to spend on skincare, especially for the face.

Yes, there are the select few who were blessed with skin so perfect, they can get away with just washing their faces with plain, bar soap (or so they claim). However, the lot of us may need more care than that. I know I do.

I'm lucky I have a skincare benefactor in the form of... drumroll please... MY DAD. Yep, my dad is probably more vain than all us girls in the family. He's the one who keeps lecturing us on always, always using sunscreen everyday (boy, do I get an earful whenever I go to the beach), telling us to follow the three-step skin care routine (cleanse, tone, moisturize), and warning us not to rub or stretch the skin on our faces lest we get wrinkles. It's pretty funny. But what the heck, if he's willing to fund our pursuit of good skin, who's complaining? Haha.

My dad was the one who provided me with Clinique's 3-step skin care system and Super City Block (facial sunscreen). My initial thoughts were, "Whyyyy are you spending so much for this?! We could've used the money for better things!" I honestly didn't see the point. But I used the products anyway.

It wasn't 'til a few months later, as I was sorting old photos, that I noticed how much of a difference there was in the quality of my skin. In the old pictures I had such uneven skin and a lot of tiny blemishes. I'd thought my skin was okay since I didn't break out in splotches of acne or anything. I thought a few bumps were normal. I didn't know it could be much better.

Before

Now

The "before" picture is o-l-d. Like 4 years old. I stole it from Dax's Multiply since I couldn't be bothered to search through the virtual baul in my external hard drive. Haha! I think this was taken a few months before my dad started giving me the Clinique products. Take note: that's a low res photo, and I already had powder foundation on (it's a photo of me doing my makeup, hehe). I shudder to think how it would have looked in HD.o_O The "now" photo was taken a couple of hours ago -- no makeup, freshly cleansed, toned and moisturized face. Excuse the pores, it's a macro shot of my forehead. MACRO. Click the photo to zoom in. That's how much clearer my skin's gotten after a few years of proper skin care. Thank you, Dad!

My dad also gets all these samples of beauty/skincare products (because of his work) and passes them on to us to try. I'm continually amazed that there are products that produce noticeable results overnight or even instantly after application! Examples are the Clinique Turnaround Concentrate and the Laneige Water Sleeping Pack (which I just tried out last night, thus inspiring me to write this, hehe). Of course, they come with pretty hefty price tags, but it's just proof that you get what you pay for.

So yeah, if you have the moolah to spare, invest in your skin care products. If not, at the very least, try to stick with the 3-step, cleanse-tone-moisturize regimen in the morning and evening. Find the best products, within budget, that work for you.

And just so this isn't all about expensive skincare, here's my cheaper version of the 3-step program for the times I run out of my Clinique stuff before Dad replenishes my stocks, hehe:

I didn't take note of how much these cost, but I'm pretty sure none of these is over Php 200.

Disclaimer: We all have different skin, so please remember that what works for me may not work for you.

Wow, this certainly seems to be transforming into a beauty blog. Hahaha. I should start writing about other things. My fixations come in waves and cycles. It's been beauty lately. Now it's shifting to shoes (again). Hahaha.

- Jix.

P.S. I also highly recommend getting a good eye cream. Not sure if it's noticeable to other people but I feel like it makes my eyes look less old and tired. Plus it really improves the texture of the skin around the eyes. My heart sinks a little whenever I run out of the Clinique eye cream samples since those samples are a bit hard to come by.