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Skin Saviours: How to Banish A Multitude of Skin Sins

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Kate Brinksman
Gabrielle Lee Gabauer
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.

The quest for perfect skin is a long and arduous one. I’ve probably faced all the issues you can have when it comes to problematic skin: dryness, zits, oiliness, a mix of all three; so, it’s safe to say I have searched long and hard for some miracle product to make my skin as clear and smooth as can be. Let me tell you, it’s tough. No single product can do everything, and so many products actually do nothing at all. Luckily, I have tested a multitude of products, and finally found some that really are angels sent from above. So, if your skin is troubling, you read on for some miracle buys. 

Go Zit Free: Zits are the worst. They just are. Acne, under the skin spots, gross pimples – nobody likes them and nobody wants them. Luckily, advances in skin science have led to some pretty revolutionary products, meaning that you don’t need to take any medication to get rid of skin’s ultimate nemesis. Products with salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are particularly beneficial, so look out for those on labels. However, if you don’t have the time to do your own research, the following products are tried and tested wonder workers; so, if you need a quick fix without wanting to try a plethora of products, you’re all sorted.

Boscia’s Luminizing Black Mask: This is the best mask I have ever used in my life, and boy have I tried a facemask or fifty
 As soon as I had taken off the mask my pores had shrunk, my face felt cleansed, and a few hours later my zits were seriously reduced. The next morning, the plethora of zits on my chin had vanished – magic, I’m telling you. Ultimately, the best part of this mask is probably that after 30 minutes you get to peel it off, oh so satisfying. Oh, and another plus? You look terrifying, so you can run around and scare people for thirty minutes – great fun.

Buy it here: https://www.sephora.com/product/luminizing-black-mask-P266800

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay: Without a doubt, one of the best masks out there. Mix the clay powder with equal parts apple cider vinegar and apply it to your face. Whilst it is messy business, it fizzes up like a Harry Potter potion and makes your skin feel all sorts of feelings. Once it’s hardened up, take it off in the shower (see below) and your skin will feel like all of its hardships have disappeared. The next day skin clears up drastically. Plus, for $19 you get a HUGE pot of this stuff, it’s 100% worth it. The only con is that things can get a little messy, so definitely remove it in the shower and use a muslin cloth to get it all off your skin, as it gets dried on there like cement.

Buy it here: https://www.amazon.ca/Aztec-Secret-Indian-Healing-Cleansing/dp/B0014P8L9W

NUFACE Prep-N-Glow Cloths: Little cloths of heaven are the best way to describe these. Just wipe each side over a freshly cleansed face and wake up in the morning to restored skin that is brighter and less troubled. I’d recommend using 2-3 times a week depending on how bad your zits are, if you only get the odd one, then just use once a week to keep bad skin at bay.

Buy them here: https://www.sephora.com/product/prep-n-glow-cloths-P414661?skuId=1892157

For Hydration: We all know too well by now that the Montreal cold can wreak havoc on our skin, including the dreaded dryness. Dry skin is never fun, and once dried out it can be really hard to replenish skin. Luckily, after three years embracing (aka barely coping with) the winters here, I’ve managed to find a few gems out of a whole batch of bad products. I can safely say, tried and tested, these products will restore your skin to it’s dewy, plump nature – dry skin be gone.

Clinique’s Pep-Start Pout Restoring Night Mask: Whilst it says ‘night mask’, this lip treatment can be used whenever and doesn’t look thick on your lips. In fact, it just looks like a clear gloss. My lips can get really chapped during the harsh winter months, and just a couple of uses of this restore them to smooth plumpness. Honestly, just try it.

Buy it here: https://www.sephora.com/product/pep-start-pout-restoring-night-mask-P421954?skuId=1962299&keyword=P421954&country_switch=ca

Boscia Splash Mask: My god this is good. Buy it, just do it. Now. It is so easy to apply, and can be done in the shower or when you’re cleansing your face. Just splash one pump of the stuff into your hands and then pat onto the face. Suddenly, your skin will be restored to bouncy, hydrated perfection. With almost 5-star reviews on Sephora, you know it’s a winner. Plus, it smells amazing, with incredibly relaxing essential oils; therefore, you can justify purchasing it for its stress-reducing qualities –  guilt free.

Buy it here: https://www.sephora.com/product/tsubaki-splash-mask-highly-concentrated-instant-deep-hydration-treatment-P411801

The Golden Rules of Skincare: Some Final Words of Wisdom


  1.  ALWAYS take off your makeup, no matter how blackout you are. I cannot stress this enough. If you sleep in your makeup, you’re inviting a world of stress, spots and grime to your skin. Get it naked before you slumber.
  2.  A routine is important, this gives your skin something to expect, so results will stay consistent. If you use a salicylic acid for a few weeks your skin will get used to it, and keep spots at bay. If you suddenly stop, then start again, it’ll all go haywire and your skin won’t know what to do. Ensue, skin panic
 aka it’ll probably breakout because it’s so unaccustomed to what’s going on.
  3.  Moisturize. This is the golden rule of skincare unless you want to look like an old lady way before your time. The most wonderful thing you could do for your skin is to use an SPF moisturizer in the day to prevent skin damage, free radicals and wrinkles. So please, be wise and do this. This Clinique beauty is perfect for that.  Then, at night, a deeply hydrating moisturizer and an eye cream are what you need. This eye cream changed my life, plus, it has avocado in it so what millennial could refuse, and no, it’s never too early to start using an eye cream. Also, make sure you moisturize your neck, it will preserve your youth far more than you think.  

Images obtained from: 

https://scstylecaster.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/best-minimalist-beauty-products-feat.png

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0742/5785/products/PrepNGlow_3.jpg?v=1504729518

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwijyqjMoLzWAhUm44MKHbcMApcQjBwIBA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fb0%2F92%2Fe0%2Fb092e09a6190eb977c8ff806638f1e34–boscia-luminizing-black-mask-boscia-mask.jpg&psig=AFQjCNEL0TbPdRDLtlCMTlO8yDR4nKHjPQ&ust=1506288638585568 http://rankin.co.uk/beauty/

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Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Gabrielle is a fourth year student at McGill University. She watches a lot (some might say too much TV) and has gotten into screaming matches over movies. In her spare time, she enjoys being utterly self-deprecating. For clever tweets, typically composed by her favorite television writers, follow her twitter. For overly-posed (but pretending not to be) photographs follow her Instagram.