Olay Regenerist Luminous Brightening Cream Cleanser review. #skincare

God bless pregnancy hormones. They can be natural relief for depression and anxiety but with that comes a new set of possible symptoms, including breakouts.

My skin was perfect before pregnancy. I hardly ever got a zit. But the breakouts I experience now that I'm preggers look more like a heat rash, on my face, along my forehead and below my jawline on either side. It's not terribly noticeable, but to me and my Virgo moon, all I can think is "FIX IT!"

I used to like a tight, taut feeling after cleansing but since my skin texture has changed, I'm totally averse to that. I've needed a more gentle cleanser, one that controls oil but doesn't totally strip it.

Lilac Ghosts blogged about switching to cream cleansers for combo skin which brought me to an aha moment! I rushed out to the market and scoured the skincare aisle for an affordable cream cleanser to try out. Eventually, I settled on Olay Regenerist Luminous Brightening Cream Cleanser. What a mouthful. I purchased it from the grocer for $10 but then stopped into the drugstore and it was marked down to $5! Score!

My obsession with skincare is rooted in the fact that I love anything that touts a BRIGHTENING effect. I want my skin to appear lit from within and also want to feel comfortable skipping concealer some days. So, finding a brightening cream cleanser was implicitly a homerun for me. But is Olay's good?

Good news - for the price, this version by Olay does it. I tried it out for two weeks. What I love about it is:

• It's invigorating. Especially on dull mornings, I buff my face with the Olay cleanser and the scent and tingling sensation totally wake me up. I look fresh. I feel fresh.
• I swear I notice a difference in hyperpigmentation - my skintone has cleared up a bit.
• As implied, the scrubbies or polishing "micro-beads" leave a clean feel but don't overdry.

For the price, it doesn't get much better.

In short, if you have combo/unpredictable skin - try a cream cleanser!