Rosehip Oil and Retinol. A little Tale about my Face.

Some lovely people have reached out to me on Instagram about my Rosehip Oil article that was published a couple of years ago on xoVain. They told me that they enjoyed my writing, and that turned out to be enough impetus for me to bust out this little blog post.

Sadly, xoVain is no more and I regret not writing more articles for them. But truth be told, I am no beauty or wellness expert. I am still six kilos heavier than I would like to be, I can’t get rid of hairline pimples, and I’m still using mascara that my mum gave me three years ago. It makes my eyes itch, but not badly enough for me to throw it out. 

However these nice people told me that my writing made them laugh. And if there is one thing that delights me more than making people laugh, it’s those youtube videos of dogs dressed as people. (Go watch. I’ll wait).

So buried underneath the hot mess that is my life is my undying devotion to Rosehip Oil. No matter how crap my day is, I know that if I can wash my face and rub rosehip oil into it, things will be okay. Everything about it is comforting to me. From the way it smells to its luxurious consistency - it’s basically my way of feeling like a fancy bitch in 2017.

My skincare routine changes a lot because I keep getting reminded by the media that after a woman turns 30 she’s basically hot garbage and should go kill herself. So I tend to buy new creams and serums in the hope that I can achieve the kind of skin elasticity only rivalled by a twelve-year-old Chinese gymnast. But amongst all the overpriced jars of gloop the only thing that has drastically changed my skin is retinol. I started using Paula’s Choice 1% retinol about 1.5 years ago because on the website it told me that it could deal with pimples AND wrinkles. My exact two problems - I was starting to look like a wise teenager. So with the anti-pimples and wrinkles promise I swear I never handed my money over so quickly in my life. 

The first few weeks there was nothing....and then BAM! I got ugly. In fact, they (as in…the internet) call this phase the ‘Retinol Uglies’. My skin got very patchy, red, and over sensitive to sun, sweat…and basically life. But I stuck with it because a 30mL bottle of that sweet, sweet goop is €59 and it’s going to take a lot more than scaly skin to get me to abandon a product that costs more than my weekly groceries (see: three-year old mascara). Luckily the time I was experimenting with it I had Rosehip Oil in my arsenal, so I would rub it into my skin after the retinol had absorbed and that gave me a measure of relief.

Sure enough, a couple of months later I noticed my skin wasn’t so oily and some fine lines around my eyes weren’t so deep. I got fewer pimples and the ones I did diminished pretty quickly. I was hooked. But like Gwyneth Paltrow’s diet, retinol is EXPENSIVE. Until I discovered The Ordinary’s 1%
Retinol solution, which apparently boasts the same active ingredients but is like  10% OF THE PRICE. I have ordered 30mL of that stuff for €6.50 and I can’t wait to see if this is a cheap and viable alternative to Paula’s Choice.

So other than Retinol and Rosehip oil, the only other stuff I use on my face is whatever moisturizer I can find (I’ve been known to use hand moisturizer in a pinch) and an SPF30 if it’s crazy sunny and I’m planning to be outside for a while. Probably I should be more vigilant about sun protection. Probably I should stop wearing leggings as pants and call my parents more.  

In any case that’s where I’m at with beauty right now. I will post up my experience with The Ordinary’s retinol and let you know if it’s comparable to Paula’s Choice. In the meantime, thank you lovely people who told me they liked my writing. I’m going to try and stick to this with some kind of regularity, but if I stall, please feel free to slide on back into my inbox like a drunken ex on new years.

Lots of hugs! x