I’m all about a skincare routine that works…
I love a good, straightforward skincare routine as much as I love a go-to daily makeup routine. I like products that work, keep my dry skin hydrated, keep my oily skin at bay, and clear up any nasty redness and acne scarring – as well as battling blemishes! Not much to ask for right? I mix up my makeup and my skincare constantly but at the moment I have a pretty solid selection of skincare products that are really working for me. I haven’t done an updated skincare routine in a while so here’s what I’m currently using…
Makeup Removal
I wear makeup most days, I hate leaving the house without it on so unless I’m ill or having a chill day at home, then I will basically always have it on. Even if it’s just a bit of concealer and mascara! Because of this, I like to ensure my face gets really well cleansed so that I can avoid any nasty breakouts as my skin is quite acne-prone. The best product I’ve found for completely removing my makeup before I go in with any of my cleansers are the Magnitone Wipe Out Cloths, all you have to do is soak them in hot water and then you can literally wipe every last trace of makeup away with the cloth and nothing else. They are amazing! I used to cleanse my makeup off with a cleanser every night, but I was coming out of the shower with traces of makeup still on my face (quiteeeee a lot actually) and I never ever have that issue anymore as, lemme tell ya – these cloths are a game changer. You get two in a pack and they last a few nights before they need throwing in the wash, I generally just throw them in the machine with my load of clothes every few days and I’m sorted. They don’t always come out like new but they just get thrown back in the bathroom and used to cleanse again so that doesn’t bother me.
Double Cleanse
Once all of my makeup is gone, I use two cleansers, heard of the famous double cleanse? It’s definitely a thing and it really works at helping keep my breakouts away. My favourite cleanser at the moment is the Elemis Rose Cleansing Balm, it smells dreamy, it feels dreamy… what’s not to love? It melts into my skin and leaves it feeling so healthy and fresh – and soft! I just can’t get enough, honestly. It melts makeup away like a dream too (which I found out when I couldn’t find my magnitone cloth!) so if you tend to use a cleanser to remove your makeup then this is the one. For my second cleanse, I’ve been mainly using the Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Foaming Face Wash, I’m a big fan of cleansers that foam as I love the soapy feeling. Just me? Always makes it feel like it’s more of a soap that’s actually cleaning your skin… maybe I’m weird. Anyway, the boots TT&WH range is super duper cheap and it’s incredible for oily/combination skin like mine, I’ve just repurchased a load of products from this range as it’s one of those brands that most people can afford and it just works.
Exfoliate
I don’t exfoliate every evening but I like to make sure I do it every few days as it keeps dead skin cells at bay and leaves my skin feeling and looking nice and healthy. I have three on rotation at the moment as I love them all for different reasons. The first one is the Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub which is new to my stash, and is quite harsh on the skin. I’m going to save this for times when my skin is in serious need of it just because it is quite harsh. The second one is the Elemis Gentle Rose Exfoliator that’s much more gentle on my sensitive skin and is perfect for daily use if you feel like you need it. It’s gorgeously scented and it leaves my skin feeling so smooth and fresh. The third and final one is the Klairs Gentle Black Sugar Facial Polish which I’ve been using the most over the past few weeks. This one is kind of in between the other two in terms of how gentle it is, you add water to it before massaging it into your skin so you can sort of determine how harsh you want it to be which I think is fab. It aids in the removal of dead skin as well as blackheads and I’ve noticed such a difference in my skin (the look & the feel!) since adding it to my routine so I think it has a firm place in my skincare stash for the time being.
Toning
After I’ve showered, my go-to routine is to grab a couple of cotton pads and go in with two products. The first one I use is the Bioderma Sensitive Micellar Water – I swear by this stuff and it’s just incredible at removing makeup including eye makeup and it doesn’t sting or irritate my skin or my eyes in the slightest. If I’m not showering on an evening, I’ll use this to remove my makeup with, but otherwise I just use it as a ‘quick go over’ after my double cleanse to ensure all traces of my foundation and mascara have been removed. The second product I go in with after this is the Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Toning Lotion, I love how this calms my skin down and it’s got a lot of properties in it that are amazing for oily skin so it’s always been a favourite of mine!
Oil/Serum
I generally don’t use an oil AND a serum at once, but I’ll alternate between the two. My most used oil at the moment is the Sunday Riley UFO Oil, I’ve never seen such a big difference in my skin from an oil before than I have this little hero. I suffer with a lot of acne scarring and redness on my cheeks and chin area and this is honestly amazing for helping to clear it up, I noticed such a difference after the first time I used it. For a serum, I’m loving the Super Facialist Salicylic Acid Clear & Correct Serum which I’ve owned for a while and love how much it helps battle breakouts as well as contributing to clearing them up. It’s one of the more affordable serum offerings on the market and it’s one of the few that I actually notice a difference with!
Moisturiser
For Moisturiser I again, alternate between a few different ones but my two most used (and almost empty) products are the Origins GinZing Energy Boosting Gel Moisturiser and the Clinique Moisture Surge 72 Hour Hydrator. The Origins GinZing moisturiser is just bloody amazing, I will 100% be repurchasing this. I bought mine in a little Origins set at Christmas time to try out the brand for the first time and I’m absolutely sold. It’s hydrating yet doesn’t accentuate my oiliness, and it melts into my skin without leaving it oily in the slightest. I can wear this without any matte primer and go hours without oily skin – what even is this wizardry?! The Clinique Moisture Surge is what I always opt for on dryer days/winter evenings just for that added extra hydration. I have the gel one on the go at the moment but I think I prefer the cream one as it melts into my skin a bit nicer – but both work wonders!
Eye Cream
I don’t own many eye creams in all honesty, once I get one, I tend to use it up and then get another rather than having loads on rotation. I guess it’s because I don’t get sent them by brands as much as other skincare products! The one I’ve been using religiously for the past couple of months is the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream which again, I got in the little gift set at Christmas time. This is only a teeny tiny 5ml pot and it’s lasted me ages, how good is that?! I haven’t got much left of it now as I really have just used it daily. I find it’s incredible for brightening up my under eye area as well as giving it the boost of hydration that it needs and I have no issues with dark circles even though I haven’t been sleeping very well lately… so, need I say more? This is definitely another Origins product that I will be repurchasing shortly!
So those are the skincare gems that I’m absolutely loooooving at the mo, it changes so much but some of these will forever be repurchases as they are all brilliant and work wonders for my skin. What are your current skincare heroes?
~ This post contains products that were gifted to me. ~
