Visit My Skincare Journey Part 1 to see how I first started.
How My Skincare Journey And Experience Evolved
While exploring the best acne treatments for my skin problem, I started getting into skincare as a whole (also started looking more into makeup products to cover those pesky blemishes and imperfections!), that is really how my skincare journey and experience started expanding. I began testing out cleansers, toners, and moisturizers for combination/oily skin. This included brands from Clinique, Dr. Brandt, Juicy Beauty, Murad and more. I think a really good starter kit for problem skin would be the Murad Acne Control 30-Day Trial Kit or the Clinique Acne Solutions Clinical Clearing Kit (if you join their Smart Rewards program, you can get 15% off your purchase).
At the beginning stages of my skincare journey, I bought products individually rather than a pre-made kit as there were certain products I wanted to use more than others, had better reviews compared to their counterparts, or I just really didn’t want or need to use so many products at the same time. I really liked the Murad Clarifying Toner and the Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying Toner so I bought full size for these items as well as the Murad Clarifying Face Wash. The two toner brands had such a fresh and clean feeling, like it really got under my skin deep to get rid of impurities. But if I had to choose one, I’d go for Murad as it left my skin feeling more of a “rejuvenated fresh” and they are a medical-grade over-the-counter skincare line that was created by a doctor.
How I Pick & Choose My Skincare Products
I have to say that I have never used an entire product line (at least not at the same time). I always pick and choose different skincare products after doing lots of research from different brands and mix and match the best solution to use on myself. It may not be the absolute best idea as skincare brands always say it’s better to use their products as a system, but it’s a habit I’ve continued since I started my skincare journey and it’s worked for me. Another reason is that a lot of times I use certain products up before the other and I rarely repurchase the same item so I can try something else out. From there, I can decide what’s worth buying again in the future once I’ve done all my trials. This also helps me make better recommendations to my friends, family, and clients as I’m usually the guinea pig in testing products out.
Choosing my favourite skincare products came with trial and error, continual testing and sampling of different brands and products, learning through talking to others and at cosmetics and beauty trainings I had to attend for work, and a lot of patience and money spent! Luckily with my skin, I’m able to make a conclusion on a skincare or makeup product after a couple uses whether it works for me or not or if I even like it, so I think I probably tried more beauty products than most people.
My Beauty And Skincare Work Experience
Now this is where my beauty and skincare journey and experience really got hands-on. I’ve had to learn and increase my knowledge on hair, makeup, and skincare products and tools in order to succeed at my job.
The Beauty Supply Outlet
The same year I embarked on my search for an acne solution for my persistent breakouts, I got my first beauty-related job at The Beauty Supply Outlet. Although this company specializes in hair products and tools as well as some body care products, it gave me a taste of learning about ingredients, knowing what solutions solves certain problems, offering multiple options for clients to choose from and educating them in order to make the best final decision on what to purchase.
The fun part was when I got to take products home to try out so I can get first-hand experience and make knowledgeable recommendations to clients. Because the BSO is a store that caters to salon professionals and is a on the higher end compared to your regular shampoos and conditioners at Wal-Mart, it got me understanding why the prices are higher and why certain ingredients are not good to have in your hair and skin. This is also why I prefer to use salon-grade or higher end beauty and hair products in general, because I know the amount of research and sourcing they need to do in order to get the best ingredients possible while reducing the amount of negative ingredients such as sulfate, parabens, mineral oils, etc. used.
Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutique
My next job in the beauty world was at Shoppers Drug Mart’s Beauty Boutique. I managed and sold prestige brands like Benefit Cosmetics, Clarins, Dior, Shiseido, Smashbox, Guerlain, and more. This job also brought me the opportunity to work as a demo for Shiseido to showcase their products at this time. I have to say it was so fun testing the products out – seeing weekly beauty and fragrance releases, going to trainings by these cosmetics companies and getting free full-sized gratis goodies to use. This is probably where I learned the most as it was super helpful to have these big name company reps come in and have one-on-one trainings.
There, I was able to really know what I liked and didn’t like in terms of skincare and makeup products and where I (95%) decided to draw the line on drugstore brands after knowing what goes into the products they sell. A very good skincare alternative and my top choices to these prestige brands I mentioned that are available at Shoppers Drug Mart and won’t break the bank, are beautyRx brands such as Vichy, Avene, and La Roche Posay. They do decades of research, their products are mostly made in France, and they implement a lot of natural and exclusive ingredients into their skincare products – and they work! If you look into their history and testimonials, you’ll see that they really solve intense problem skin like eczema, rosacea, etc.
The Hudson’s Bay Cosmetics Department
Then I went on to work at The Hudson’s Bay cosmetics department, specifically at their prestige/luxury skincare counter overseeing multiple skincare brands like Rodial, 3LAB, Skyn Iceland, and other skincare lines that are no longer being sold there. The company reps would visit often to see how their products were selling, provide in-depth training as well as incentives, and literally give you all their attention when you need their assistance. I also worked closely with Biotherm as their counter was connected to mine and had to occasionally manage them when no one was working.
As it was a pretty large cosmetics department, I was able to talk with my colleagues and try even more products out at Lancome, Estee Lauder, Chanel, Dior, Philosophy, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Nars, and Guerlain. I would say working at a cosmetics department as opposed to each individual brand’s store allows you to get a quick glimpse of how each brand works when it comes to their company values and mission, their competitive advantage and selling techniques, as well as gives you the opportunity to try more skincare and makeup brands and products out. Although when it comes to moving up in the beauty world, I think it does help to be focused on one brand and continue to make connections within the company and grow with them – if you’re willing to move slowly.
You Always Have To Know Someone
It’s a very competitive industry with little open roles to fill and you almost always have to know someone to move up. (I applied to Benefit Cosmetics’ head office for a marketing position a couple years later and although I didn’t get an interview due to the high amount of applicants, the marketing manager unbeknownst to me, passed my resume on to her friend who owned a chocolate factory where I actually got a marketing job. The never-ending chocolate supply was a huge bonus – still, you had to know someone).
While I had some contacts in the beauty industry, most of them want you to start at sales and/or their head office is located in a different country. With my contact at Shiseido from my Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Boutique days, it was still challenging. I wanted to work at Shiseido’s head office so I can also use my business degree, but they told me they wanted me to start from the Shiseido cosmetic counters again and work closely with their products before moving up the corporate ladder. I said no because I didn’t want all my years of experience “at the counter” to go to waste and have to start over again. Maybe if I was persistent, tried harder and used different ways to get a foot in the door it might have worked out, but I don’t regret the route I went.
After My “Beauty World” Era
I went on to the corporate world, hoping to use my degree and work in a field that I studied and worked my ass off for in university. It took a couple years with multiple job and industry changes but I got there. Still, my love for skincare and makeup has never faded and it just doesn’t feel quite right (or that happy) in the corporate world.
Throughout the years, I kept researching while trying more and more skincare and makeup products and brands. Every time my friends or family would see my collection and backstock of skincare products in my room, they’d say it looks like a store. (I mean, it helped that when I worked at previous jobs I was able to get discounts and stock up on my favourite products.) There was no comment on my makeup as I had stored them in drawers and they were not on display :).
Through my beauty and skincare journey and experience over the past decade of trying hundreds of products out and having that knowledge unrecorded has been a shame. And this little voice that’s getting louder in the back of my mind telling me to start this blog (and consistently this time) is not going away. Also, with the growing amount of beauty companies and new products coming out every year, I need to start documenting my experience before I forget it at all! It’s also gotten to the point where I want to try every product as soon as they launch – especially in the past couple years with emerging cosmetics companies like Fenty Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, Jaclyn Cosmetics, Rare Beauty and others.
I want to try it all! But I guess there’s only so much makeup you can put on, skincare products you can apply in one day, or products that you can have in backstock before they go bad. It’s definitely a journey and I would love if you follow me as we experience it all together as we grow and learn as individuals and as a beauty community.
Read about My Skincare Journey Part 3 to see how my skin changed and what I’m doing with my skincare today!