Newbie that needs help!

[80sjunkie]

I have noticed in the last year that my pores are starting to get bigger and I suspect it is because I am not great at taking care of my skin. I need a new routine stat.

Current routine
-Moisturize with whatever I have on hand, right now it is BB face base.
- bareminerals powder and laura mercier pink sparkle (I think my pores started changing when I started wearing this blush but I can't be sure).

Sometimes I use my clairsonic, other times I just use witch hazel to remove makeup at night. I don't always moisturize after that. Am I stuck with my new pores? What products do you love that might work for me?

More info:
Skin is normal to slightly dry, I don't really break out except for an acne cyst on my chin every few months come period time.

[mfluder]

My general understanding of this is while pore size doesn't really change, your pores appear different when they collect stuff/gunk up (sorry, words are failing of me).

So my recommendation is two part - exfoliate physically to help remove extra skin cells that collect in the pores (clarisonic) and look at items intended to "draw" out stuff from your pores. A clay mask is good - also, what helps me clear out pores (though I also have constant black head congestion, I spend my time minimizing it lol) is a salicylic acid.

Don't over due it it though. Incorporate things slowly, not all at once.

And are you using your BB face base to moisturize at night? I know its a moisturizer, but I'd really recommend sleeping in it, its still makeup.

Lastly, a reason you may feel like your pores changed with the blush is that certain powders (and especially sparkles/glitter/shimmer) can really bring attention to pores and make them look bigger. (Not that there is anything wrong with these items, I like shimmer/sparkle

[nsl]

Big ditto to mfluder's comment about certain highlighter products making pores appear larger. I can't use a lot of MAC's skinfinishes for that reason. I'd try to find a similarly colored blush without any sparkle or shimmer and see how you feel about your look before you go investing in a bunch of expensive skincare.

[80sjunkie]

Thanks mfluder. I will definitely look into a clay mask. What kind of salicylic acid product do you use?
No I wasn't sleeping in the BB face base. I don't always moisturize at night. Did you mean I should not use it at night?

nsl, good point about the Mac makeup... I do sometimes use their liquid foundation.

[Kore]

I made the mistake of going nuts buying Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks a couple years ago, and ended up buying, like, 6 of them in a month. I never realized I have big-ish pores on my cheeks til I used a shimmer product They totally emphasize my pores in a bad way.

[80sjunkie]

Nov 12, 2012 14:52:31 GMT -5 Kore said:

I made the mistake of going nuts buying Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks a couple years ago, and ended up buying, like, 6 of them in a month. I never realized I have big-ish pores on my cheeks til I used a shimmer product They totally emphasize my pores in a bad way.

I realized that it might have just been a coincidence but if other ppl have the same experience then maybe that's it.