thosemomentsofmine

bottle of make p:rem uv suncream by the pool

If you read my morning skincare routine you'll know that I finally had the revelation that suncream is a must - even on cloudy days, and even when you're indoors. I was quite nervous to add a suncream to my face routine because by nature a suncream is naturally quite oily, even the cream versions. The last thing I want my oily, shine-producing, skin to be is as extra as the crab from Moana, especially when wearing makeup.

...let's start with why suncream so important

Well suncream can protect your skin from both UVA and UVB rays.

UVA rays have a longer wave length, and penetrate deep into the skin - which causes ageing.

UVB rays have a shorter wave length, and cause burning on the top of the skin.

There are so many suncreams/sunscreens/oils out there, and not all of them protect against both UVA and UVB rays - but it is becoming more common that they do. I had no idea that my regular go-to sun oil (for my body) protected against both until I was learning about the benefits of sunscreens and decided, on a whim, to check the bottle. For those interested, I use Nivea Sun Protect & Bronze Oil in SPF20 for all over body (not face) cover - it also comes as SPF30.

things to look out for on the bottle...
If a bottle only mentions SPF, then you're only protected from UVB rays. Of course, the higher the SPF, the better the amount of protection, but only against UVB. If you see 'broad spectrum' on the bottle, then you can be sure the suncream/oil covers you from both UVA and UVB rays. But no matter which you opt for, you should always aim to reapply throughout the day... the back of the bottle will tell you how long the protection lasts before you need to give it a top up.

K-beauty suncreams (like the Make P:rem brand) feature another scale. Their suncream products show the SPF number but also feature a 'PA' scale. PA protects against UVA rays, and the more +'s after PA, the stronger the protection. Honestly, K-beauty is so innovative, I'm all for it. Even their suncreams play host to an array of other products that nourish, cleanse, or revitalise the skin, so it's not just a product to protect your skin from the sun but a great addition to your morning skincare routine. They can even protect against other day to day impurities such as infra red and heat damage.

zoomed in photo of a bottle of make p:rem suncream in blue water

photo by thosemomentsofmine

...onto the review

During my research for new skincare products, I came across an amazing video on YouTube by The Beauty Within, where they shared a super detailed review of their favourite suncreams - with different skin types in mind. It's definitely worth a watch. I'm absolutely hooked on their videos, they're so full of science and results!

From their video I narrowed down my options to Avene's Very High Protection Tinted Mineral Fluid - SPF50 (I believe there's also a non-tinted version) and Make P:rem's UV Defense - SPF50 PA++++ - both protect against UVA and UVB rays, and are a big jump up in protection from my usual SPF20. I continued my research on these two products, read lots of reviews, and for my oily skin Make P:rem won. I may very well try Avene's tinted suncream in the future, specifically to wear on non-makeup days, but for now it's Make P:rem all the way.

I've been using the Make P:rem UV Defense cream for about a week now, at the very end of my morning skincare routine, after the moisturiser, and I can honestly say that I'm loving it. A lot. From the first moment I poured it from the bottle onto my hand, I knew that it was the one. It's such a light cream, it's not thick, it's a little fluid - almost like a creamy milk, if that makes sense. There's no scent to it, and whilst there's a small sense of brightening after immediate application - it has no white-cast. A little goes a long way too; I can cover my face with a small dollop.

I was still a liiittle concerned that it, being a suncream, might be oily/shiny on my face, but as I started to apply it I promise you that it had the total opposite effect. My face was matte. It's like it created some sort of magical matte barrier. Like somebody's Korean ancestors had handed it over whilst whispering 'this is for you, congrats on the spf glow up'.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty details; how's it worked with my super oily skin, what's the texture. Well, I can confirm that it is not oily at all. Not one bit. It hasn't clogged my pores, it hasn't caused breakouts (I'm not acne prone anyway), and it definitely hasn't increased sebum production - in fact, I think it's helped to reduce it. I had noticed a slight reduction in sebum production after a couple of months of using niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, vitamin c, and then another reduction a month or so later after adding my new day time moisturiser (you can see all of these products in my morning skincare routine), but I still had a fairly noticeable shine all over my face by the end of the day. On day one of using Make P:rem's UV Defense cream, I noticed that I wasn't seeing such a drastic shine anymore. Truthfully. I'm a week into using it now, and from about midday I can see tiny pools of sebum forming in the pores on my nose, but they're dull and grey - not anywhere near as full and as dark as they used to be. I'm not seeing any shine on my forehead, upper cheeks, or chin.

Mind. Blown. For somebody who has seriously seriously struggled with oily, shiny skin since youth, this is a total game changer. I'm sure it's a combination of all the products I'm now using, but this suncream really does make a big difference. You can see the instant mattifying effect as you put it on, as well as feeling it. By the end of the day my face isn't feeling as oily or as heavy as it used to; I'm not desperate to scrub it clean every evening. I'm enormously impressed, and will absolutely be re-purchasing for the rest of my life.

bottle of make p:rem uv protection suncream in a sunny blue water

photo by thosemomentsofmine

where to buy Make P:rem..
The most affordable place to buy Make P:rem products seems to be YesStyle (use code ' PERFECTLYC' for a discount), and I opted for the larger bottle - compared to the product's smaller sizes the price for the largest bottle was a much better deal. YesStyle does ship all the way from Korea, so it does take a little while for your product to reach you, but at least you know you're getting it directly from its place of origin. You can also top up your order with a few cheap Korean skin masks to reach the free shipping offer and/or to utilise one of their readily available discount offers/vouchers (which you can also use with my discount code, yay).

...and there we have it. Absolutely my new favourite suncream of all time. Do you have a favourite suncream that you just can't give up? Or any questions about Make P:rem's UV Defence cream? Let me know in the comments.

Claudia xo

. . .

...click on one of the pins below

0 Comments

1 Comments

An evening or night-time routine for me is quite a big deal, as I'd usually just wipe off the makeup and jump into bed, but now I'm spending 20-40 minutes in the bathroom each evening (time depending on any extra exfoliating or mask steps) and I'm loving it. I'm genuinely excited to get my skincare routine done each evening, so much so that I tend to head to the bathroom at around 8.30-9pm every night to take my time with it. It's a bonus to get it done this early too, it means I can relax with a movie or write blog posts or edit photos and not have to worry about skincare products when I'm ready to climb under the covers - and it also gives the products a good length of time to soak in before I bury my face in a pillow.

So why did I decide to start an evening/night-time skincare routine when I'd never ever considered one before? I felt like I needed to start taking more care of my skin, rather than perfecting a make-up look. I always thought that my oily skin would be best if it were covered up with foundation and powder and more powder, but it didn't make the oil go away, and so, at 31, I figured it was time to pay attention to my skin instead and hope this would bring results.

I also totally revamped my morning routine, and if you missed that you can find it here on the blog - but as for my evening routine, these are the products I've settled on...

M I C E L L A R W A T E R
I start my evening routine with a quick miceller water and cotton pad wipe, to remove any excess oils or dirt from the day, or to remove my makeup; and for this I use Garnier's Micellar Water for combination-oily skin. It's super lightweight, and it really does remove everything. Even though it says 'no need to wash off', I always give my face a quick rinse with warm-hot water before moving onto my next step.

[ how I do it ]
...I add a few drops onto a cotton pad, and give my face a gentle once-over to remove any dirt build up from the day. If I'm wearing makeup, I'll have to repeat this step with a second or third cotton pad - depending on the amount of makeup I'm wearing. I always take care not to pull on my face, and always work in upward motions where I can. I then give my face a quick rinse with warm-hot water and move onto the next step.

photo by thosemomentsofmine

O I L C L E A N S E
One or twice a week I'll do an oil cleanse on my t-zone before using my CeraVe cleanser, and this helps to remove any stubborn sebum that's clogging my pores. I always thought that using oil on oily skin would be the wrong choice, but oil attracts oil and so deep-cleansing with an oil helps to lift sebum plugs! You can use an array of oils, but I already had rose hip seed oil in my possession, and so I use this (I'll talk more about this oil later on).

I thought I had blackheads along my nose and t-zone, but after swapping from my bar of soap to a CeraVe cleanser (more about this in my morning routine), I realised that my pores were clearing each time I washed my face. As this was totally new to me, I did a little research and came across an amazing video from The Golden Rx on YouTube, and realised that what I had were sebum plugs... little strands of sebum getting stuck together and sitting in my pores. These can eventually oxidise and become blackheads if you're not regularly cleansing. Do have a peek at The Golden Rx's video, she recommends ideal oil choices for different skin types.

[ what does it do ]
Cleansing with an oil helps to remove any dirt from the day or makeup, but I use oil to deeply cleanse my skin and lift sebum plugs and excess sebum/oils from my skin. Oil attracts oil, and so as you gently massage the oil into your skin, you'll feel the sebum plugs having lifted - they feel almost gritty. If you take a peek at them, they're fine little black strands of sebum, almost like hairs. I was absolutely amazed when I first tried this! I genuinely didn't expect it to work, but I am completely converted.

[ how I do it ]
I only do this step once to twice a week, so that I don't begin to irritate my skin. I've also found this works best when you've opened your pores, so I'll add some boiled water to my sink, throw a towel over my head, and steam my pores for 3-5 minutes. I'll then pat my face dry with a towel, add a couple of drops of my oil of choice to my hand, and massage it into all of my problem areas - for me this is my nose, my inner cheeks just along my nose, my chin, and my forehead. I don't have any sebum plugs along my forehead or chin, but these are areas that get can become particularly oily for me, so I give those areas a little oil cleanse too. I generally massage the oil into my nose area for 15 minutes to really bring those sebum plugs up. Pop some music on and have a little 15 minute relaxation moment! I then wash it off with my cleanser in the next step.

C L E A N S E R

CeraVe's gel foaming cleanser for normal to oily skin is now my cleanser of choice, and as it foams it helps to remove any oil from your oil deep cleanse, or just cleanses your face as normal if you haven't used an oil. I usually only use my hands and warm-hot water, but if I'm feeling like an extra deep cleanse then I'll pick up my facial brush. It has super fine bristles on one side, and silicone tips on the other. The one I use is fairly small and simple, you can find it here, but there are others that pulsate or rotate. It just helps to clear extra dead skin and dirt away from your face, and I maybe use it once to twice a week.

[ how I do it ]

...I wet my face with warm-hot water, then use a pea-sized amount of the CeraVe gel cleanser (a little goes a long way!). I gently rub it into/around my face for at least 60-70 seconds, then wash it off (again, no heavy rubbing) with warm-hot water. If I've done an oil cleanse, I may do a quick second wash around my t-zone just to make sure I really have washed the oils away. I then pat my face dry, and move onto the next step.

photo by thosemomentsofmine

F A C E M A S K
I don't have any in my possession right now, I have a few on order from YesStyle that should shortly arrive with my Korean SPF, but this is where I would apply a face mask in my evening routine. I personally don't think I need to currently use one every evening, so I'll probably only add this step in once a week, on an evening where I've done a deep cleanse.

N I A C I N A M I D E

I have a pretty oily face, with ample amounts of extra sebum, and so I thought I would give Niacinamide a go from the point of view that it's said to control sebum production. I opted for The Ordinary's Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% - it's a budget friendly option, and during my research on Niacinamide I found that so many people recommended The Ordinary's version. It's said to take a good 7-10 weeks to show any signs of change, and I genuinely am seeing a reduction in sebum around my face. My nose however is still a pretty oily zone, but the pores are definitely minimising, and other areas that once shone with oil (my forehead, temples, chin, inner cheeks) are now looking fairly matte throughout the day. I do think this is helped by the combination of products I'm using, but I absolutely wouldn't skip the Niacinamide step, it really has made a difference!

I use it in the evening, every evening, as I don't feel the need for it during the day thanks to my day time moisturiser (you can read about this in my am routine), but would probably add it to my morning routine when wearing makeup for big days out/events/parties - any occasion where I really do want my makeup to last, just for that extra sebum control.

[ what does it do ]

Niacinamide's most popular function is that it regulates sebum production, and in turn helps to minimise the look of your pores. As it helps to regulate sebum, and has some anti-inflammatory properties, it would therefore also help to prevent acne. Niacinamide also helps to combat fine lines and hyperpigmentation, and helps to repair and soothe your skin barrier. It's a pretty great product!

The Zinc helps to support your skin structure and barrier by encouraging collagen and elastin production - so all the plumping, hydrating things we naturally begin to lose with age.

[ how I do it ]

...after cleansing and rinsing off with warm water, I pat my face dry with a towel. As my pores are somewhat open from the warm-hot water, I immediately apply the Niacinamide. I gently rub it around my face, then pat the excess into my skin. I leave it to soak in for a few moments before moving onto my next step - I find the Niacinamide soaks into my skin very quickly, and a little definitely goes a long way.

photo by thosemomentsofmine

M O I S T U R I S E R

Past-me would absolutely never consider wearing a moisturiser to bed, unless my forehead was particularly dry in the colder winter months, but having realised that a moisturiser's main purpose is to seal all of your products in and protect your skin from free radicals, I now add this to my routine every night. I don't use the same moisturiser that I wear in the day time, I use a heavier cream. For my evening routine I use Nivea Soft. It's not too heavy, but you know it's there, and it does soak very well into the skin, my face laps it up. It does have a heavier feeling to it than I'd want in the day time, and this is why I use it as a part of my evening routine. I've always loved Nivea Soft, it's great for sensitive, dry, and dehydrated skin; it really does help to hydrate and lock in the moisture. I always use it on the backs of my hands in winter.

[ how I do it ]

...after letting my niacinamide serum soak in, I pat the Nivea Soft moisturiser into my face and neck. Easy!

photos by thosemomentsofmine

R O S E H I P S E E D O I L

I know that you're 'supposed' to use oils before your moisturiser, but I tried that and really didn't like the way it sat on my skin. I even combined it with my moisturiser as I was adding them to my face, but again I didn't feel like either really soaked in. For me personally, I feel that my moisturiser is lighter than the rose hip seed oil, and so this is the order I apply them! My evening moisturiser soaks in so well that it doesn't block the rose hip seed oil from working and soaking into your skin. I use The Ordrinary's Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil, and I'm absolutely loving it. As it's already in my routine, right for my skin, and pretty affordable, I also use it for those deep oil cleanses that I mentioned at the start of my evening routine.

[ what does it do ]

Rose hip seed oil does so many things, it's a real power oil. Firstly it's a naturally rich in vitamins c and e, as well as the fatty acids that you skin needs to repair itself and stay strong. Rose hip oil is also a natural, non-irritating (though please always patch test), retinol. With all of it's fabulous properties it's great for brightening skin, resolving hyperpigmentation, reducing signs of ageing, reducing fine lines and wrinkles... honestly, it does a whole host of things. I've noticed that it soothes any irritations, and it definitely has vastly reduced the redness I have around my cheeks, it's also reversed a darker area that I had around one of my temples. It can also help to protect against the sun, but as it's such a heavy oil I use it in the evening, and if you use a suncream during the day you really don't need to double up.

[ how I do it ]
...a little goes a long way with The Ordinary's version. I add a few drops to my forehead and cheeks, then gently pat the oil into my skin and around my face. I don't put it on my nose, as I'd rather the niacinamide monopolised that area, but I do make sure it covers the rest of my face and my neck. I do let it soak in for a while before I head to bed, rather than rubbing it all off on my pillow.

photo by thosemomentsofmine

...and that's my evening routine!
What does your morning routine look like?! Let me know which products you're using, I'd love to check them out.

Claudia xo

. . .

...click one of the pins below

1 Comments

I've spent a lot of time looking into K-beauty and skincare products over the last few months, and I've really honed in on my skincare routine - in fact, it's changed completely, for both AM and PM. I have a whole new selection of incredible, budget-friendly products adorning my bathroom!

From a young age my mum taught me to just use hot water and a gentle bar of soap, then close my pores with cold water, dry my face, and carry on with my day. My dad on the other hand demanded that I use an out of date, ancient, bottle of a bright blue Clearasil cleanser and some cotton wool. My dad's method destroyed my teenage skin, and I of course had reactions to the out of date cleanser. My skin became so sensitive thanks to the irritation, so I threw that in the bin and took my mum's advice - and that's genuinely the skincare routine I've kept up for years and years and years.

As I got older I started trying moisturisers and foundations, but kept my 'cleansing' routine the same.

...fast forward to the present day.

My face is oily. It always has been. My pores are visible, and often seeping with sebum (naturally produced oils). Mmm, lovely. It means that when I wear makeup, I get super shiny all day every day. Over the last 10 or so years I've thought it was my makeup letting my oily skin down, and whilst I finally found the perfect foundation and powders to wear, my face still got oily. I'd constantly have to pat off the excess shine, or top up the translucent powder. I'm all for a matte look.

This year I turned 31, and I thought 'hmm, maybe I should look more closely at my skin'. I have no idea what prompted this. I genuinely think that coming across more and more beautiful female faces on social media really swayed me to look at K-beauty, especially as these perfect-skinned beauties were recommending an array of products. I didn't jump straight into buying every product that anybody recommended, but decided to take my time to watch and read endless reviews for products that targeted my skin type. I also watched endless videos from gurus who included the science factor in their reviews, and then again I took the time to research the products they featured. I was also gifted an hyaluronic acid with vitamin c serum to share on @perfectlyclaudia, and I was so impressed after just one use that I looked into all of its properties. Honestly, the science of skincare immediately intrigued me!

So, after much much research, I revamped my entire skincare routine. We are in the middle of a pandemic, and I am self-employed, so these products had to be great but also budget friendly. Here are the daytime products I've settled on...

C L E A N S E R

I now start my morning routine with a cleanser, and I use CeraVe's gel foaming cleanser for normal to oily skin.

I used to think that my good ol' trusty bar of soap was keeping the oils at bay because every time I used it my face would feel tight and super clean... but it turns out that this 'tight' and overly-clean feeling was probably playing a part in causing excess sebum, so I knew it was time to try something new.

I'll be honest - after the initial wash with CeraVe's gel cleanser I didn't think much of it, I didn't feel super clean like my trusty bar of soap made me feel, but I persevered and a couple of days later I noticed a difference. My pores were clearing up every morning, with the night's sebum production being removed. My face didn't come away with that 'tight' feeling, but was still deeply cleansed. I haven't touched that bar of soap since.

[ how I do it ]

...after brushing my teeth I rinse my face with warm-hot water (no heavy rubbing), then use a pea-sized amount of the CeraVe gel cleanser (a little goes a long way!). I gently rub it into/around my face for at least 60-70 seconds, then wash it off (again, no heavy rubbing) with warm-hot water. I pat my face dry, and move onto the next step.

photo by thosemomentsofmine

H Y A L U R O N I C A C I D

In February I was gifted a Hyaluronic Acid with Vitamin C serum from Mila Simone and immediately fell in love. Before this product touched my skin I'd never thought about real skincare, and this product changed things. It gave my skin that hit of hydration that it needed after many years of soap abuse, and left my skin feeling plumper and looking brighter. After a few weeks of use I noticed that it was helping to shrink my pores - truth! My pores have always been fairly large and sebum-filled, now they're tiny pin-pricks (though still visible thanks to the sebum production), but they are genuinely so much better. I was so amazed that I bothered my friends with this miraculous revelation almost every day (sorry!). I do feel the reduction in pore size is down the combination of products that I now use, but this serum was the only skincare product (other than moisturiser) I was using for a few weeks, and I could absolutely see a change.

[ what does it do ]

Hyaluronic Acid naturally attracts moisture from the air to your skin, which helps to keep your skin hydrated and plump. Because of this, it's also said to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles, smoothing your skin with that extra hydration. This is great for dry skin, for combo skin, and for dehydrated skin.

Vitamin C is a bit more of a genius product, and therefore it can be a lot more costly. It can help to resolve discoloration and hyper-pigmentation, reduce acne and inflammation, improve collagen production, protect from uv damage and environmental stresses (free radicals)... it's said to do so much good for your skin!

[ how I do it ]

...after cleansing and rinsing off with warm water, I pat my face with a towel to remove most of the water, then lightly apply the hyaluronic acid serum onto slightly damp skin. I gently rub it around my face, then pat the excess into my skin. I leave it to soak in for a few moments before moving onto my next step - but this serum soaks in very quickly.

mila simone hyaluronic acid and vitamin c serum

photo by thosemomentsofmine

M O I S T U R I S E R

I used to only ever wear moisturiser under my makeup, or on colder non-makeup days in winter when my forehead would be drier - I was clearly clueless, I know! I can feel your eyes rolling. For a long long time I felt that moisturiser was adding to my shine and was unnecessary for oily skin, so I used it sparingly.

Until very recently I was using Nivea Soft as my daily moisturiser. Changing my moisturiser was the final alteration in my skincare revamp. As I'd completely overhauled both my morning and evening routine, and was seeing great results, I felt like the Nivea moisturiser was too heavy for daytime use. After a few weeks of research I decided to try Ole Henriksen Counter Balance Oil Control Hydrator (not to be confused with their toner). Ole Henriksen has a whole product range for oil control, but it's also fairly pricey, and so I'll only be using this moisturiser and only during the day.

I wanted to be sure that my hunch about my Nivea moisturiser not being right for daytime wear was right, and so I did a half and half face test, with my original Nivea moisturiser on one half of my face, and the new Ole Henriksen moisturiser on the other half. By the end of the day there wasn't any difference in oil production/shine, but on initial use I could definitely see that the Ole Henriksen was far more matte. It also felt far lighter ALL day long, and had an amazing peppermint scent.

After using the Ole Henriksen moisturiser for a couple of weeks now, I can confirm that it does matify the skin! Whilst there is a very slight product shine in the light, it doesn't look oily or super shiny around the face, forehead, cheeks, chin like my face used to with the Nivea Soft. My nose however is still pretty oily. I'm hoping this will eventually regulate over time, especially with the products I'm using in my evening skincare routine (it'll be on the blog shortly).

[ what does it do ]

The Ole Henriksen Counter Balance Oil Control Hydrator is said to hydrate, control oil, mattify, and reduce the appearance of pores. It's also noncomedogenic (unlikely to block pores and cause acne). It's created with a fusion of green botanicals, giving the moisturiser antiseptic properties. It also contains natural AHA's and BHA's, to help lift dead skin and keep the pores clear. It also contains Niacinamide, which helps to control sebum production.

[ how I do it ]

...after letting my hyaluronic acid soak in, I pat the Ole Henriksen moisturiser into my face, and finish up with my Nivea moisturiser on my neck. Easy!

ole henriksen counter balance oil control hydrator

photos by thosemomentsofmine

S U N C R E A M

I've rarely used sunscream over the years, bad bad bad bad! I use a tan enhancing sunscreen oil that protects from UVA and UVB rays when I'm sunbathing, but never thought to wear a suncream on my face every day, especially not indoors. Whilst doing all of my skincare research I realised how important a good suncream is to a skincare routine, and that you absolutely need to protect from both UVA and UVB rays.

UVA rays have a longer wave length, and penetrate deep into the skin - which causes ageing.

UVB rays have a shorter wave length, and causes burning on the top of the skin.

K-beauty is so innovative, and it's all about the suncream. If you're not wearing it, then all your other skincare steps can be rendered useless. This panicked me a little, not because I needed to be using it, but because suncream is oily, right?! Even the creams feel oily, and are totally white. Not what you want with oily, olive skin. Clearly clueless again. I found a couple of options that would work well with my skin, and opted for Make P:rem's UV Defence. Make P:rem is a Korean brand, and this suncream is supposedly quite a milky texture, with no white cast, and works well for oily skin. There are ample reviews on the product from women with oily skin who swear by this suncream.

I ordered the largest bottle from YesStyle in late May, and it's just arrived from Korea. Yay! I'm quite excited to start adding it to my morning routine. There are smaller bottles available, but price wise the larger bottle made sense. If you also want to buy from YesStyle, grab a discount with my discount code ' PERFECTLYC '.

[ what does it do ]

It's SPF 50+ PA++++ - which means it's the highest form of UV protection, and protects your skin against both UVA and UVB rays. It also protects from infra red and heat. The natural botanical ingredients in this suncream also soothe and moisturise the skin, as well as helping to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Bonus!