Paula's Choice Skincare Review

 So before I began my fitness journey earlier this year, I had always been blessed with fairly good skin. A few hormonal pimples here and there but never anything major. This all changed when I started working out regularly and really reached a peak when I was running three times a week in the Charleston heat. For those of you who don't know, Charleston's low during the summer months is typically 75 degrees and most days we experience over 90 degree weather with 85% humidity or higher. This all lead to a very sweaty Cate and I began to struggle with acne for the fist time. 

A sweaty run selfie

Before this, I typically focused on gentle, hydrating products and was not very consistent with a routine. I now needed to find something that would actually work on my sensitive, dry skin to clean up acne but not leave me with a cracked, red face. I am still fine tuning my routine, but a combination of products I have found have been the Paula's Choice CLEAR line. I was introduced to Paula's Choice in college at a Teen Vogue even and had never head of the brand before. I had good results with their Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant and decided to give the brand another try when looking for something to help. 

Paula's Choice Extra Strength CLEAR

I initially purchased the Paula's Choice CLEAR Regular Strength travel kit to give the products a try and see if my sensitive skin could handle it. I used these consistently for about a month and saw good results but still have flare ups due to hormones. When it came time to repurchase I decided to order the full size extra strength Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution and the Daily Skin Clearing Treatment. I found that you could get the same price from Amazon or their own website but ordered from the website because of an introductory discount. 

My skin today with no makeup and no filter (& a cute pup)

I can honestly say these two products have made a huge difference in my skin. I have less active breakouts and my skin looks visibly clearer. The extra strength does increase the dryness in my skin unlike the regular strength so I do have to compensate with richer creams and face masks for that. I plan on writing follow up posts on my Jan Marini cleanser and which creams/face-masks I use when I feel like I can give good reviews on those. If you are also struggling with acne and don't know where to start I'd definitely recommend the Paula's Choice CLEAR line!