The Godsend Treatment: Vitamin E Oil for Hormonal Acne and Allergies

Hurray! I found it!!! For many many months, I have been suffering from hormonal breakouts around my mouth and chin area every single month as my period came close and whenever I'd eaten any hormone-laden food, like milk, beef and soy - all my faves...And when it hit, it went quite out of control. 

Prayers granted as I popped into a health food store near my place and came across this booth displaying natural vitamin E oil of different dosages. I bought the one that contains 32,000 IU of vitamin E, originally meant for eliminating stretch marks and scars. But hey, acne and allergies are in a sense inflammation, which could be remedied by the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and repairing properties of natural vitamin E oil. 

I layered the vitamin E oil generously over the affected areas and a little over the good areas, massaged it in and leave it on as a sleeping mask. Believe it or not, it worked wonders overnight! After washing it off the next morning, my skin was tamed, soft and supple. The best part is, the angry pimples are calmed, bumps subsided and I even thought the pimple scars shrank a bit as well! Since then, I repeat this routine every night to replace my facial moisturizer - the very last step. I would still highly recommend you to hydrate your skin as per normal before using the oil. After all, this last step is supposed to lock in the moisture of your well-hydrated skin. That said, I still treat my skin with toner, essence and hydration cream-gel before massaging in this oil. My hormonal acne is pretty much in control these days, with only mild acne which dries up significantly faster and the blemishes diminish significantly faster than ever before...erm alright, since my teenager years. 

The Wonders of Grapes: Caudalie Toning Lotion

I'm again so much into the French pharmacy brands lately. Most of them, if not all, are great for sensitive skin and it is simply difficult to go wrong! I always think seeing the real French women (not celebs or models) on the streets of Paris is an excellent quality assurance of their skincare products. They demonstrate how beauty can come with great skin and minimal makeup. 

Other than Bioderma Cleansing Water, which has been my staple item, I have recently purchased a few items from Avene (see review HERE) which are like dreams for my horrifying skin breakouts. It healed and cleared my skin in less than 2 weeks. 

Another French brand that I'm obsessed with is Caudalie. I have reviewed the Vinoperfect Radiance Serum in the previous entry (HERE). Love it! Their Toning Lotion is also brilliant and quite a good buy indeed (unlike the Radiance Serum which is a bit pricey if it's not discounted). It carries this refreshing scent of green grapes and it's gentle enough for your eye area too. I will usually press the soaked cotton pad over my eyes for a few seconds to rehydrate this delicate area after wash. The amount of hydration it gives is just nice for combination skin like mine. It leaves my relatively dry cheeks soft and supple without making my oily T-zone sticky and shiny. More importantly, I don't have to worry about skin irritation or any sort of allergic reaction at all. It's alcohol-free, paraben-free and cruelty-free. And as with all Caudalie products, it contains this natural antioxidant, grape seed polyphenols, which makes this Toning Lotion hydrating and anti-aging. How nice! Believe it or not, I actually like it over some of my luxury toners. 

Skincare Review for Acne-Prone, Sensitive Skin: Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum Complexion Correcting

I love this serum!!! One of the things I adore is that I can also apply it on my eye area, which allows me to skip my usual eye serum on the nights that I'm super exhausted and just want to get my skin prepped and zzzzzzzzzz. In this sense, it's like a 2-for-1 offer, isn't it?! The best part is, I get what I have paid for. I slept at 4a.m. on several occasions, but still my complexion looked brighter than I had expected the next morning. I realize it also managed to overcome the dullness brought by the strong medicated acne treatment I was using (and which failed to curb the horrible breakout) before purchasing Avene Cleanance Cream-Gel (see review HERE). This is a fantastic news because I now have a serum that can make me look better over my very depressive, blemished days. And since it's hypoallergenic, I can use it during my worst skin breakout with no worries at all. What's more, I think it also speeds up the recovery of my blemishes. My skin has stopped breaking out within days of beginning my new skincare regime with the new Avene purchases (HERE), and the spots are minimizing and fading out at a very desirable pace. It's been less than 2 weeks by now, and with only light makeup, my friends are hardly aware that I had just gone through one of my worst skin breakouts! 

Texture-wise, the Radiance Serum feels a bit sticky when I first apply it on my skin. I usually leave it for a few minutes before applying moisturizer to allow the serum to sink in. You will know when it's ready as it will feel noticeably less sticky. The stickiness actually owes to its hydrating property. Now that the weather is still humid, I only apply it on my blemishes and areas that require brightening, say the apples of my cheeks and my undereyes. But my guess is, I can use it over my entire face when the wintry weather sets in. 

Oh, one last thing. Don't forget that the serum contains a star ingredient, grape seed polyphenols, a natural, highly potent antioxidant that helps delay or slow down the skin aging process that we all detest. In other words, it's an antioxidant, hydrating, and brightening serum. It's great especially for acne-prone, sensitive skin and it's definitely a value-for-money product (even better if it comes in a gift pack!) that you should seriously consider including in your coming beauty haul.