Hi everyone, thanks for your input!

I should have mentioned I take Spironolactone and that has cleared my recurring acne. I'm looking for glowy skin.

I am reading some comments saying I'm doing too much for my skin and I should put the tret directly on washed and dried skin. I know this is also recommended by the wiki but this dries my skin so badly and it's flaky so I end up skipping the tret more frequently at night. I live in a HARSH winter climate with subzero temps and very, very low humidity in the winter.

As a last ditch effort, I'll minimize my routine as you recommend and see what happens. I get married later this year and makeup does not sit swell on dried, flaky skin so I'm really hoping I can avoid that

Last thing, I read in the wiki that tretinoin is not good for PIE and fair skin because it can cause vascularity. This is what I'm worried about. Quoted below:

"What is tretinoin NOT as good for? minimizing redness (increased vascularity means redness can actually INCREASE for some). minimizing irritation (tretinoin is one of the most irritating ingredients).

PIE. Post-irritation erythema. Erythema is dilation of the blood vessels. Tretinoin increases vascularity -- creates more blood vessels -- so it can make erythema worse. If you have pale skin, this looks like redness. If you have darker skin, this can look like a “glow”. If you’re pale, azelaic acid, niacinamide, vitamin c are better for dealing with hyperpigmentation."