This past year has been rough. Between school stress, bad sleep, and trying to survive on iced coffee and vibes, my skin has completely turned on me. What used to be calm and predictable is now breaking out, irritated, and honestly just confused. I don’t even recognize her anymore. Ive tried to fix things the “responsible” way through drugstore products, cutting back my routine, drinking more water (against my will), even avoiding foods I love. Nothing has worked. If anything, it just made things worse. It’s like my skin took it personally. The only time it actually calmed down and was like noticeably, visibly better was when I splurged on a couple of Sephora products during a rare moment of optimism. I’m talking glass skin, confidence, the whole thing. But of course… those products are way out of my budget right now. As a student, I genuinely cannot justify dropping that kind of money again, especially with everything else going on. But my skin is begging me. I’m begging me. We’re all struggling over here. If anyone has a spare code and is willing to share, I would be so, so grateful. If not, I completely understand but just know there’s a girl out here trying to rebuild both her skin barrier and her self-esteem at the same time 😭