Current Skincare Routine
There will be links to all products at the end of this post. I don’t have any affiliate links nor do I make money from any of this!
Intro
As a way to introduce this blog, I thought I would go ahead and get the basics out of the way. I try to use cruelty free products only, however that was a more recent decision, so I’ve slowly been replenishing items with cruelty free alternatives instead (so when you see the Laneige lip mask mind ur business!!). I use Cruelty Free Kitty as my source for all things cruelty free. I also don’t adhere as strongly when it comes to fragrance (I know I’m sorry). I don’t wear makeup very often, and I definitely don’t wear foundation; I will eventually write a post about why, but this post is about skincare. So I do a lot of things that I don’t think you could get away with if you do wear foundation, because many items I have found do not sit well under foundation (either that or I’m just bad at makeup lol). I would say I usually have normal to dry skin, but recently it’s been pretty acne-prone.
Night Routine
First thing to know, I rarely wash my face. I wash my face probably 3-5 times a week, depending on my shower schedule (I have depression we are lucky I shower this often). So I use micellar water to fill that gap instead, applied with cotton rounds, which I will be replacing with cotton fabric pads once I use up all my rounds. I know that it causes acne for some folks, but I’ve never really had that issue. I use two different kinds from Garnier. At night I use the Aloe and Hyaluronic Acid (HA) one (green bottle). Then, in this order:
The Ordinary (TO) Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3%
The Inkey List Retinol Anti-Aging Serum
TO Moisturizing Factors with HA
Lip mask of some sort
Morning Routine
In the morning I prep with the Vitamin C micellar water (orange bottle) from Garnier. Here is where things get a little… skincare conspiracy theorist. I have three morning routines, and I rotate them. Now, I have kind of heard that this would be considered skin-cycling, but we don’t do trends here, and I came up with this over the course of the past year or so with trial and error.
First Routine- Basic
This first routine is my basic morning routine; I alternate this routine in between the other two. This routine is very hydrating and keeps my face prepared for anything during the day.
TO Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Hydrating Serum (while skin is still wet from micellar water)
Caudalie Vinoperfect Serum
The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA with a few drops of The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Oil Control Serum
Let absorb a little
Coola Original Sunscreen SPF 30 in Cucumber
In between some of these steps I will mist my face with either Caudalie Grape Water Mist, the Tower 28 SOS spray, Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Ultra-Fine mist, or Caudalie Beauty Elixir spray (we like to have fun here)
Second Routine- AHa and BHA Combo
Now you might be thinking, “Actives? In the morning???” but hear me out. I love using actives, but if I only ever used them at night, it would severely limit my ability to consistently use retinol as well, so I do my acids/actives in the morning. Contrary to popular belief, you will not somehow burn your face off the second you see sunlight, while I am not a licensed professional (I’m a financial auditor), I DO use these products everyday, and my face is still here. I’m even extra sensitive to the sun as it is (ginger, derogatory), and I’ve been fine. Your skin doesn’t know whether its morning or night, or maybe it does, I don’t know. That being said, I have adjusted things over time so that my skin is not fried off with these routines.
Here is the AHA/BHA routine:
TO HA serum
Mist with Caudalie Grape Water while still wet
Allow to absorb/dry down a little
Farmacy Honeymoon Glow AHA Resurfacing Night Serum
Mist with Caudalie Grape water again
Apply TO Moisturizer (without niacinamide serum) while still wet
Allow to absorb (I usually go get dressed at this point)
Finish with sunscreen
As you can see, I make sure that my face is well moisturized and hydrated during this process. The Honeymoon Glow serum DOES STING. That’s normal, it’s a 14% concentration, which is very strong for acids. Mist really helps with that, if you’re sensitive. Also note that I specifically use the Grape Water and I don’t use the niacinamide serum. That is because this is already a pretty strong active, so I let it do it’s thing and keep everything else pretty lowkey.
Third routine- AHA focused
TO HA Serum
Mist with Grape Water
TO Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% Exfoliating Serum
Allow to absorb
TO Moisturizer with mist over top
Allow to absorb
Sunscreen
This acid does not sting nearly as much as the Farmacy serum. The Farmacy one is 14% while this one is 10%, so slightly less powerful.
In general, I do the first routine, second routine, first routine, third routine (1-2-1-3) and follow that pattern as best I can remember.
Face Washes
While I don’t wash my face everyday, I usually wash my face on a MWF schedule, and then it’s hit or miss on Saturday and Sunday, but always in the shower (I cannot stand the horror of getting water everywhere outside of the shower). On nights where I wash my face, I forgo the micellar water. Here are the face washes I use, when, and why:
TO Squalane Cleanser- nights, when I’ve worn heavy makeup that day, as part of a double cleanse process
Glossier Milky Jelly- nights, to remove any leftover mascara after removing makeup, as part of a mini double cleanse (since I only apply to eyes) (this is technically my SOs facewash, sorry Drew :) )
Olehenriksen Truth Juice™ Daily Cleanser- usually on Saturday and Sunday mornings
Glossier Cleanser Concentrate- nights, as a neutral cleanser, though I just found out its an AHA cleanser lol, but good for knowing you have removed all your makeup
Glow Recipe Blueberry Bounce Gentle Cleanser- nights, when acne is worse than usual, as this is a salicylic acid cleanser
Youth To The People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser- nights, as a neutral cleanser
Murad Acne Control Clarifying Cleanser- nights, not as often as I used to, but I’m thinking of bringing it back in
When I wash my face, I use a little silicone exfoliating tool from Sephora, simply called the Facial Cleansing Tool. It is super gentle and helps get rid of any dead skin and any makeup that didn’t come off the first time. It also helps keep the face wash nice and lathered and saves my fingers from feeling overstimulated (ND girlies know how showers can be a nightmare). I try to make sure I am rubbing the cleanser into my face for at least a minute (Glossier’s face wash actually instructs this!) and then I will also let the cleanser soak in like a face mask for a few minutes while I wash the rest of my body or shave or something. You know, shower activities.
A Few Notes And Comments
Exfoliation: I never exfoliate two days in a row, not because I think it hurts or anything, but because they are pretty powerful acids. While I do a lot to ensure my moisture barrier is taken care of, it does seem like overkill to stack exfoliants like that, especially when I also use retinol every night.
Steps: You might think that these routines have a lot of steps but they really don’t have a lot of products. I find that often, less is more. I used to have a several-active-serums routine, but I started to break out super bad last October (I am STILL recovering) so I had to pull my routine way back, down to basics (retinol at night, Vinoperfect in the morning (I have been using Vinoperfect since I was like 17, so I know it’s safe)). Once I had that worked out, and the acne continued, I added the Farmacy AHA on Wednesdays and Saturdays. After a month with still having acne that WAS moving, but not fast enough for me, I added the TO Lactic Acid on a whim. That’s when I realized I would be sacrificing Retinol Nights, and decided to switch both treatments to morning. I’ve been doing that for about 2 weeks, and am finally seeing results. I still have a pimple here or there crop up, but I went from hard, swollen, painful nodular acne plaguing my chin, to regular pimples. A win is a win I suppose.
Lip Masks: I have the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, which I do really like, but they aren’t cruelty free, so I have been trying others to replace it once it’s gone. I also have the Fresh Sugar lip mask as well, and they are also not cruelty free. So far, the Lawless Forget the Filler lip mask has been a worthy replacement, but it is “plumping” so beware, and you also get much less product for about the same price (Laneige is 0.7oz and Lawless is only 0.28oz, both in the $20-25 range. I’ll also sometimes just use the FAB Beauty lip balm (the one that’s impossible to get out), the SkinFix lip balm (also impossible to get out if it’s too cold), or the classic Glossier Balm Dot Com. YES, I KNOW I could use Aquaphor/Vaseline. And I used to do that too, but I simply don’t want to. It’s boring, and we have a huge tub that we also dip into for tattoos, dry skin patches, you name it; so I’d rather just leave that to body application, not face :)
Eye cream: You might also notice there are no eye creams listed here. We don’t believe in eye cream. It’s a scam. You can literally put all most products (and all of mine!) on your eyelids and under eyes, provided that you are careful not to get them IN your eye. I will say whenever I’m doing a new product, like the AHA and BHA serums, I am very cautious to start, just in case, but I’ve never had any issues. That being said I DO have the Glow Recipe Avocado Retinol eye cream, but it just doesn’t feel strong enough, esp when I’ve been using retinol for almost a year now. It was a great starter retinol though, I think I used up about half. I actually forgot I had it until last week when I found it buried in my organizer (work to be done, always!) and so I have tried to re-incorporate it so I can get it used up.
Hyaluronic Acid: Lastly, there are portions in my routine where I mention to let things absorb. Because I live in a dry climate, and I use a lot of Hyaluronic Acid to counteract that, but sometimes it feels like the HA is stealing the moisture from my skin, instead of the dry, dry air. So I will often pair HA products with a face mist and let them hang out for a second so that the HA can absorb the moisture from the mist, and keep it deposited on my face; instead of stealing from my face and then ???? with it. This definitely works, and my skin is always really well hydrated and moisturized.
Consideration of Actives: There are a few chemicals that are central to my routine:
Hyaluronic Acid (see above)
AHA/BHA- mostly to help with acne control but also helps with keeping skin fresh, pores clear, etc. and entices skin to turn over more often
Resveratrol- helps to support the skin along with retinol, is an antioxidant, and can create a great combo with vitamin c and sunscreen to reduce sun damage and even protect the skin
Retinol- anti-aging, I know that aging is a privilege or whatever but I’m good, I’d rather not look old when I’m old sorry, also helps with hormonal and deeper seeded acne, wrinkles, sun damage, etc
Niacinamide- my acne leaves weird dark spots, so this is to help reduce those
Vitamin C- helps to reduce sun damage (offers itself up to free radicals instead of your skin) and honestly I don’t even know why vitamin c and alternatives are so big, I think they just have a nice vibe
Product Listing
Basic Morning:
Garnier SkinActive Cleansing Micellar Water $10.49
Vinoperfect Radiance Dark Spot Serum Vitamin C Alternative $82
AHA/BHA Morning:
AHA Morning:
Night:
Lip Masks:
Facial Mists:
For fun, here’s a total:
$463.78
Yeesh, I’ve never totaled everything up before. I will say, most of these will last me for a good while, for example, I’ve had the Tower 28 spray for at least 6 months, same with the Glow Recipe mist. The lip masks have lasted me at least a year. The only thing I find myself actually having to repurchase often is the Vinoperfect serum, but even then its once every two or three months. Even with repurchases considered, I don’t think this is outrageous. A facial can cost between $80-200, and those are recommended at least once a month, but every two weeks is better for some products. So being able to give yourself a nice skincare experience at home is well worth it in the long run, to me.
Conclusion
Hopefully this gives you an idea of what type of skincare and products I like to use! Like I said, I’m not some sort of skincare professional, but this is years worth of research, purchases, trial and error, and seeing how things go.