A couple of years ago if you had met me, you’d probably have found me in a full face of makeup; foundation, brows, eye shadow, the whole nine yards and don’t be fooled, your girl can still pull out all the stops with a banging makeup look!😏

As we all know, makeup goes hand in hand with skincare and it really boils down to the basics…cleaning your face twice a day, eating right, exercise, getting enough sleep. Sounds easy, right?

Okay, probably not the exercise bit but honestly though, if you don’t remove your makeup removing makeup before you sleep or overindulge in junk food would you be surprised if your skin breaks out? I doubt it and if you are, well you need to take several seats and have a moment of introspection.

To be fair though, there are certain skin conditions that require special attention and, in such cases, having a dermatologist advise you is the best way to tackle it. I know there are a lot of DIY treatments out there and some may work but if you can afford it and/or save up for it, seek professional help.  A few months before I got married, I had a burst of hormonal acne down the sides of my jaw. After, having a freak out over the state of my face my maid of honor, Edel calmed me down (FYI she was all the way in Aussie when I called her on the verge of tears 😊), I eventually went to see a dermatologist.

Thanks to Dr. Hosea Waweru based at Upper Hill Medical Center who recommended a treatment that involved both oral and topical medication, my skin started clearing up in a couple of weeks, my skin and best believe my makeup on my wedding day was bomb!

Quick tip, if you have medical insurance, check to confirm if you’re covered for skincare issues as well and look up the specialists listed. Most guys don’t check for that, only to realize later that they could have saved some cash instead of paying out of pocket.

Truth be told though, I’m a bit anal about my skincare in that I go beyond the basics to being conscious about what touches my face. I try to avoid touching my face because of transfer of dirt and bacteria as I go about my day, ergo I don’t like people touching my face. The only person who’s managed to do so and get away with it even at my 33 years of age is my mum, when she’s wiping something off my face. On the plus side, I’m past the age where she’ll use saliva, thank goodness. I’d be willing to bet that it’s probably because she’s not sure if she’ll be removing my foundation in the process and she doesn’t want to risk it😂.

I also clean my phone and eyeglasses regularly and that involves pretty much pouring two drops of surgical spirit on a cotton pad such that it’s slightly damp not soaking wet and wiping down as well as changing my pillowcase every three days.

Yes, I know it sounds extreme, but it helps me sleep better at night…sue me 😝.

Since taking care of my skin is extremely important to me, once I find something that works for me, I’ll stick to it but as I’ve gotten older, my skincare needs continue to evolve so I try to pay attention to my skin and give it what it needs. Before I introduce a new product on my face, I’ll research to learn as much as I possibly can about it before I make that investment. Other than being more conscious about what I eat, drink and working out, investing in good skincare products has also helped.

From serums, moisturizers to face masks, here are some of the products that have been working for me…

Cleansing: Vanity Planet Cleansing Brush Ultimate Skin Spa

I first saw this product on Alissa Ashley’s YouTube channel back in 2016 and later, on Shonagh Scott’s channel as well. They are amazing content creators I follow because I love their style or approach in the content they upload.

I took a risk after doing my research and purchased one and had it shipped via MallForAfrica. The Vanity Planet Facial Cleansing Brush Ultimate Skin Spa comes in protective case equipped with 3 Interchangeable face brushes; daily cleansing, exfoliating and a silicone brush for sensitive skin. It’s battery powered with two speeds, a standard and slightly accelerated speed. In my experience, the Duracell triple A batteries work best, and you can use it for a good 3 to 4 months before you need to change them.

I use the Garnier Even and Matte Foam wash when cleansing, lathering it on my face with my palm before going in with the cleansing brush for about a minute then rinse. I like to follow this up with the Garnier Pure Active Intensive 3-in-1 Charcoal, which I use two to three days as a scrub and weekly as a mask.

On days I have a full face of makeup, I tend to do a double cleanse. I’ll use the KTC Almond Oil to breakdown my makeup which I’ll then wipe with a warm towel and remove as much makeup as possible. I’ll follow this up with the Garnier Micellar water on a cotton swab to remove whatever is left and thereafter proceed to cleanse my face as usual

To clean my cleansing brush, I remove my brush head and rinse it separately while I’m in the shower and thereafter drying the handle and base. I also take out the batteries, every couple of weeks and clean the crevices where gunk tends to build up. In as much as they say it is water resistant, I wouldn’t recommend dunking it in water.

The combination of the cleansing brush, cleanser and charcoal scrub works perfectly for me and leaves my skin feeling clean, without stripping my face of the necessary oils.

I haven’t had a need for the exfoliating or silicon brush heads, so I haven’t used those. My only feedback would be if possible, Vanity Planet should allow consumers to select the brushes they want when purchasing to get the most value out of the purchase.

Moisturizing: Serums, eye creams and everything in between

I don’t know about you, but I was brought up to appreciate the importance of taking care of my skin, so it should come as no surprise that I started using serums in my mid-twenties. As always, in my process of consuming content and keeping up with the skincare and makeup community, I came across The Ordinary. I was skeptical at first about trying any of their products mainly because of how technical the product information seemed and the surprisingly affordable price point.

However, after reading up on the products, reviews and arming myself with as much information as possible and having assessed my skincare needs, I settled on their Hyaluronic and Buffet Serum. I got mine from Cocoon Beauty and I believe Bandari Beauty also stocks the same and they have been great in keeping my skin feeling hydrated, evening out my skin tone and giving it that nice healthy glow.

One thing to note though because The Ordinary is ingredient focused, which can be a bit technical you need to understand what products can work well together as well as those meant to be used during the day vs at night.

Another serum I’ve been loving is the Yves Rocher Serum Vegetal ultra-firming serum. I’ve been a huge fan of Yves Rocher products, literally since they set up shop in Kenya so I was , I was happy to find they have a shop in The Netherlands because I wasn’t too keen on trying to finding a new range of products.

Something I love about Yves Rocher is that they offer product sets depending on one’s needs. I have normal skin and my all-time favourites that I love and have used repeatedly are the Elixir Jeunesse detox/anti-pollution and Serum Vegetal ultra-firming sets. Once my serums have been absorbed into the skin, I’ll moisturize with the Serum Vegetal Day/Night Cream, Elixir Jeunesse eye cream and top everything off with the Elixir Jeunesse UVBeauty Shield, which is not a sun protection product but protects against UV radiation and pollution.

Another good tip, in case they don’t have a specific product at the branch or pop up shop you visit, ask them to call any of the other shops…you might get lucky and they’ll allow you to pay for it at the shop you’re at and pick it up the next day.

I know it looks like I put a lot of product on my face but what I love about each of these products is how light they feel and easily absorbed into the skin. This means with or without foundation, my skin doesn’t feel weighed down and still breaths.

A little extra TLC…

Now, no matter how much you take care of your skin, there’ll be days when it looks dull and you need to give it a bit more tender love and care and give it a boost. In my case, I’m currently loving The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution and the good old Garnier Moisture Bomb Sheet Masks.

While you could probably get away with having the sheet mask on for 15 minutes or more, with the peeling solution, you must pay closer attention to how you use it. It is designed with ingredients such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid among others and works an exfoliant to dissolve dead skin on your face as well as push out excess oil, sebum from your skin. Because of the type of ingredients used to formulate this product, it is meant to be used once a week for a maximum of 10 minutes after which you need to rinse off with warm water.

Fair warning, if you’re one who’s put off by the sight of blood or an easily triggered gag reflex, you might not like it as much, because it looks like blood and has a slight medicinal smell to it.

Finally, for spot treatment and trying to keep break outs at bay, I love having tea tree oil in my stash of skincare products. I prefer Desert Essence brand of tea tree oil from Healthy U but since I’m far from home, I decided to give The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil and Night Lotion a try. Of course due to the high concentration of the oil, I don’t use it directly in my skin but instead add a few drops to my toner, which I use after cleansing my skin and use the night lotion when I get breakouts and only on those areas.  

My skin has been responding well to all the products I’ve mentioned, and I hope it stays that way even as spring and summer roll on.

Let me know if you have tried any of the products I’ve mentioned and what your experience was like.

Have a great week! 😊