My skincare routine

I am an absolute sucker for skincare. I've been a religious user since I was about 16. I'm now 28 so that's a pretty long time!

I don't know how it started. I think I read about the importance of good skincare in a magazine so decided I'd start making an effort. I started wearing daily make-up at the age of 13, and would take it off with a face wipe, but one Christmas I decided to take it up a notch. My first foray into the skincare world was to use the Boots Cucumber range. I used the face wipes, cleanser, toner and moisturiser. I actually really liked it - hydrating, nice smelling and fairly cheap. This range was my staple for a few years until I discovered Clinique and then lots of other brands.

Over the years I've chopped and changed my products, and for the first time in a while I'm happy with the majority of my routine, so thought I'd share it.

I should probably start by explaining about my skin. I have fair, pink under-toned skin that is extremely prone to breakouts. It used to be incredibly oily, although it's starting to dry out a little now I'm a bit older. I still struggle with my t-zone though. Often when my skin is having a 'good day', it's just pretending - lulling me into a false sense of security before my chin erupts again...delightful! For years I thought the answer was to use harsh cleansers and tonics. I would use TCP in liberal amounts all over my face - neat! I remember once, when I was about 22 and had a particularly bad breakout, I was in a job interview and the interviewer actually commented on how she could smell TCP - awkward!!

Now, I steer clear of these types of products and try to use gentler formulas, which surprisingly have cleared my skin up quite a lot.

So let's being...

Morning

1. Cleanser
I like to start the morning by cleansing my face with Cetaphil. It's a really gentle, pH balanced cleaner and I have a massive tub of it, which I keep in the shower. If you've read my September Top 10 post, you will know that Cetaphil is a recent discovery, recommended by a friend.

So I shampoo my hair and then massage Cetaphil all over my face and neck, washing off with my hands, or a flannel if I feel in need of a light exfoliation. I then pat my face dry once I'm out of the shower.

2. Toner
Some people don't feel the need to use toner, but I personally love the feeling of it on my skin as I think it just removes that last little bit of grime, and tightens everything up.

My toner of choice at the moment is the Lancôme Tonique Confort. It's a beautiful pink toner that is super hydrating. It's designed for dry skin so I only use a pea sized amount, but it feels very cooling, and I can still feel it firming up my skin. I like to apply this with a regular sized cotton pad, concentrating on my t-zone first, and then taking the product over my eyes, cheeks and finally my neck and chest.

Once I've applied my toner, I'm done in the bathroom, so head back to my bedroom, where I grab my skincare and beauty box, my 'make-up blanket' (a blanket I put on my lap so I don't get anything on my white bed sheets) and hop back under the covers to work on the rest of my face.

3. Serum
I love, love, love serums. They are SO silky and easy to apply. It's probably my favourite part of my skincare routine! I like to use Vichy Idealia Life Serum, which claims to stop the effects of your lifestyle from showing on your skin. It's a very light, pearlescent pink and smells like peach melba. I use one pump, and pat it all over my face, eyes, neck and chest. I wait a couple of minutes, and then move onto my eyes.

4. Eye Cream
I am obsessed with eye creams, but don't feel like I've found the one for me yet. I've tried all of the usual suspects, but am still waiting to find 'the one'. I've been told finding an eye cream is like finding a wedding dress; once you know, you know!

At the moment I'm using Simple's Regeneration Eye Zone cream every morning. It comes in a small tube with a very fine applicator funnel, which is great as it doesn't distribute too much product. On the whole this eye cream is fine, but I'm not blown away by it. It's cooling but other than that I don't feel it is doing much for me. When I apply it to my finger it kind of slides down towards my palm; it's very strange! The slippery consistency makes it easy to apply but it goes on extremely wet, so I have to sit for a couple more minutes waiting for it to be absorbed. I'm using the tube up, because one of my new year's resolutions was to stop wasting products, but I don't think I'll re-purchase.

5. Moisturiser
The final step in my morning routine is moisturiser. I am currently using the Vichy Idealia moisturiser and I LOVE IT. Vichy's products all contain water from the Vichy Spa in France, and with this product you can really feel it in the formula. It glides on like water and my skin instantly feels refreshed and nourished. The only product that has given me this feeling in the past has been Clinique Moisture Surge, so if you are a fan of that I recommend trying Idealia as an alternative. As with the serum, this product also smells like peach melba, which is beautiful!

And that's it for the morning. Once I've applied my moisturiser I move onto make-up and then hair and an outfit. My morning skincare routine takes around 10 minutes if you add it all together.

Now for the evening...

Evening

1. Make-up remover
The first thing I do when I walk in the door is remove my make-up, because I hate sitting around in it. I like to give my skin time to breathe. To do this I alternate between a micellar water and a face oil, depending on how I'm feeling.

The majority of the time I'll use L'Oreal Paris Micellar Water and a giant cotton pad. It's very inexpensive (I picked one up in Morrison's yesterday for about £2.50 on promotion), and extremely effective. I swipe the cotton pad all over my face and neck first, then concentrate on my eyes and lips. I normally use 2-3 cotton pads depending on how much make-up I've got on.

Sometimes, I just can't be bothered to use a cotton pad. Do you ever have that? Days where skincare is just too much effort and you would sleep in your make-up if you didn't have epic-wrinkle fear?! It happens to me about once a week, but because I am unreasonably paranoid about the repercussions of sleeping with make-up on I have a back-up removal system which is even quicker and easier than using micellar water. On days like this I reach for my L'Oreal Paris Skin Perfection Cleansing Oil. This stuff is amazing. Again, it's inexpensive (about £5 I think) and very easy to work with. I had heard face oils were the new buzz product so really wanted to try one, and the most popular seemed to be the Shu Uemura. But a friend of mine told me that she found the L'Oreal Paris version to be better, so I thought I'd give it a go. And I can't fault it. I just wipe it all over my dry skin, paying particular attention to my eyes, follow with a quick rub of warm water to turn the product milky, and then wash off. I have a tendency to get it in my eyes, which really stings, but other than that, I find the oil really simple and quick.

2. Cleanser
I'm not going to lie, sometimes I skip cleanser and just use a flannel and water. It's terrible, but true!

When I am using cleanser, I'll either use my Cetaphil again, or I'll reach for my Trilogy Cream Cleanser if I want something a bit more luxe. It has a medicated smell and is really gentle. I got it from a Heat Magazine event ages ago and it's still going strong, so is definitely worth the investment, as it's a bit pricey (£22.50 for 200ml on the Trilogy website). My skin feels incredibly soft after using it so I'd definitely re-purchase this.

3. Toner
I use the same toner in the evening as in the morning so once again reach for my Lancôme Tonique Confort and apply in the same way with a small cotton pad. I have a 400ml bottle and it has lasted MONTHS! Seriously! I got it at the end of December 2012 and there's still an inch of product left!

I'm done in the bathroom now, so run up to my bedroom to finish off.

4. Intensive Face Cream
I've been using La Roche Posay Redermic R for about 2 weeks and am in love with it! It contains retinol, which is a really strong anti-ageing ingredient, so I was a bit worried that it would cause a negative reaction, but it hasn't at all. I don't really have wrinkles yet, so maybe using this is a bit premature, but it has really brightened my complexion. I've received comments on how good my skin looks recently and that's the only real change I've made, so I'm crediting Redermic R!

I apply a blob slightly larger than a pea all over my face, concentrating on my eyes, forehead and around the mouth. Once I've distributed the product all over, I'll pat it in so that I'm not dragging my skin.

5. Eye Cream
I was using the Simple Regeneration Eye Zone in the evening, but it really didn't feel strong enough, so I went hunting around in my skincare drawer and came across a sample that I got at the Inside Soap Awards last year. It's a Murad Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture for Eyes tester pot and I LOVE it.

The formula is thick and creamy which is perfect for an eye cream. I like to pat it into my eyes, which doesn't take that long considering the consistency. I'd never heard of Murad so was looking on their website and it turns out that this is a daytime eye cream! Oh well! It's so moisturising that I'm happy to use it in the evening, and even though it's £57 I think I'll buy a full-sized version once my tester has run out.

6. Night Cream
I am currently using the Nivea Daily Essentials Regenerating Night Cream, and I have to say I'm not really a fan. I think it's designed for people with dry skin as I find it quite oily. I like the clean, Nivea smell, but on the whole don't think this is the night cream for me at this stage in my life. However, if you have dry skin check it out because it is very nourishing. I pat a very small amount into my face, neck and chest, avoiding my nose.

7. Blemish Control
I have a couple of things that I do to control my blemish-prone skin. If I have a couple of spots I'll use my Witch Naturally Clear Blemish Stick. It's a gel formula and just helps to dry out the spot overnight. If I'm suffering from a particularly bad breakout however, I like to do an Aspirin mask. Basically I dissolve 5-6 aspirin in a little warm water to make a paste. I then smear this over the affected areas (or my whole face if I feel in need of a bit of skin TLC), and wait for 15-20 mins. I then wash it off with water and pat my face dry with a towel. The aspirin mask really works for me - it takes down spots, and reduces redness as it's an anti-inflammatory. I would recommend that anyone wanting to try an aspirin mask reads up on it first, as I don't know if there are any side effects etc, but it definitely works for me.

Weekly

I like to exfoliate my face once a week as part of my wider pampering session, which I normally do on a Sunday. To do this I'll use one of two products depending on how clear my skin is.

If I'm having a good skin week I'll use my Soap and Glory Scrub Your Nose In It. This little beauty is amazing at clearing my pores and making my skin feel fresh and clean. It can be used in 2 ways, as a normal scrub, or as a 2-minute mask. I like using it as a mask so apply it in the shower, leave it on whilst I wash my hair and exfoliate my body etc, then scrub my face and wash it off. My skin is bright and plump after using this so it's my ultimate go-to!

Sometimes, when my skin is particularly bad I'll use something a bit gentler in the form of Normaderm Exfoliating Gel Scrub. This Vichy product contains 0.5% salicylic acid so still removes impurities, but is not overly abrasive on my skin. Again, I'll use this in the shower, rubbing it all over my face and neck before washing off and patting my skin dry.

So that's it for my skincare routine. As I said I'm pretty happy with most of my products, but am always open to trying new things. Let me know what your skincare routine is, and what products you recommend I try.

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Much love

～X～