January 13, 2020

My Skincare Routine

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Ahh, it’s been a while hasn’t it! I miss my blog, I miss writing, I miss sharing things on here without the scrunity that YouTube and social media bring. So I’m going to try and make an effort to write at least one post a week. Whether it’s something to do with the kids or parenting, beauty or fashion related, or just general life chat and musings, I will try my best!

I get asked a lot about my skin and my skincare routine over on Instagram, so thought it would be useful to share what I do and what products my skin seems to like and reacts best to. Please note my skincare regime is more intense than my make up one! Don’t want you guys thinking I spend hours on skincare and makeup. I spend about 10 mins in the morning on skincare and 5 minutes on makeup. And then maybe 10-15 mins at night on my skincare routine, longer if I’m doing a mask or scrub.

Bit of background for you. I suffered massively with my skin when I was younger. Lots and lots of breakouts, unmanagable oil and using harsh products left me with quite a bit of scarring. I ended up on Roaccutane at one point and it really was the only thing that got my breakouts under control and pretty much stopped them completely (please note, it is a last resort drug that has to be prescribed and monitored by dermatologists, usually at a hospital).

My skin has been pretty good since I’ve had the kids, and have not been on any hormonal contraception. I get the odd spot or two in the run up to my time of the month but apart from that I’m relatively happy with it. Just need to sort out those pores that seem to keep enlarging. Oh, and the post 30 wrinkles which are making more of an appearance haha.

So, this is my usual daily skin routine.

In the morning I obviously don’t have any make up to take off so I just give my skin a good cleanse before my shower.

At the moment I’m using the Ceravae Smoothing Cleanser in the morning and the Tropic Smoothing Cleanser or Glossier Milk Jelly Cleanser at night.

The CeraVae Smoothing Cleanser* was SUCH a find! I got it online but they sell it in Superdrug and it’s budget friendly – £8-12. It’s made such a difference to my skin. It’s a clear gel cleanser, with no real scent to it, and it lathers up really well with a bit of water. I love it because it’s really smoothed out my skin and has made it rather glowy!

I was introduced to the Tropic Smoothing Cleanser £16 by my bestie Jess and love the smell and consistency of it. It smells so good and has a cream type texture to it, which feels super luxurious when you rub it into your skin. I like using it more at night because it feels a bit heavier and I have more time to work it in and rinse it off with a lovely warm bamboo cloth.

I love the consistency of the Milk Jelly Cleanser. It’s hard to describe but it melts into your skin and provides it with all sorts of goodness to get it nicely cleansed. It’s £15, which is a good price for what it is. It lasts for ages, because you don’t need to use that much, and it is a really effective cleanser. It was my usual morning cleanser until I discovered the CereVae one.

Another cleanser I really rate is the OSKIA Renaissance Cleansing Gel*. It’s pricey, at £33, but it lasts ages and is dreamy. It’s really good for combination skin, like mine, and balances it out well. I love the smell too. Or the Caroline Hirons Double Cleanser – again a bit pricier at £. It has two sections – a hard oil to use first to get make up off and then a cleanser. I do really like it, and it makes my skin feel really soft and clean but the oil doesn’t fully take my mascara off (at night). Have to use my Face Halo pads for that..

Once I’ve had my shower I use a day cream and then a primer before doing my make up. The day creams I use at the moment are the Origins Matte Moisturiser with Willowherb* (prettiest packaging) £27 or Nivea Q10 Power Day Cream (previously worked with Nivea on two campiagns for this product) £11, it just depends on what my skin needs. The Origins one is lighter that the Nivea one so I tend to use it in hot weather when my skin needs less moisture. And the Nivea one is great on days where I need that little bit of exta moisture, or my skin is drying out from cold weather.

Primer wise, I like the Smashbox ones. They’re all really good but my two faves would be the Photo Finish Primerizer or the Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Primer. Both work really well with combination skin, sit well on your skin and help your make up last throughout the day.

I also pop on a bit of eye cream. At the moment it’s my Nivea Q10 Anti Wrinkle + Energy Eye Cream £12.99 but I also like the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Cream* – £46 – and the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream* (super light and sinks in really well) – £33.50.

At night, I take my make up with a Face Halo pad. I discovered these a couple months back and love them. They easily and quickly take off every single trace of my make up. Even mascara. And I wear a lot of that.

I cleanse my skin using one of the cleansers mentioned before, so my skin is squeaky clean. And then I use Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting Liquid Exfoliant* – £28 – which works really well to reduce pores! Glossier’s Solution – £19 – is really good at improving skin texture too.

Next I pop a serum on. I love the Glossier Superglow serum – £24 – but want to try their new Futuredew serum asap! It sounds dreamy. I also really like the Tropic Super Greens Nutrient Boost – £42. It smells super vegetable-y, which takes a bit of getting used to, but it leaves my skin looking much healthier, brighter and happier.

Then I massage in my night cream – either Origins High Potency Night-a-Mins Oil Free Resurfacing Cream* – £32 – or Nivea Q10 Power Night Cream – £12.99. Again, the Origins one is more of a gel/cream consistency and smells lovely, and the Nivea one is a denser cream which feels more enriching.

Weekly, I love a good scrub and a mask. I tend to do them on different days. So I use a scrub once I’ve taken my make up off and cleansed my skin at night, let my skin breathe for a bit and then pop some serum and a night cream on when I go to bed.

The scrub I’m using at the moment is the Oskia Micro Exfoliating Balm* – £52 (but I got it with 25% off and it lasts ages!!). It seems to have the perfect balance between deep cleansing my skin but also protecting it from drying out. It gets rid of dead skin cells so that your skin is able to soak up serums and moisturisers better.

And I could probably have a whole cupboard dedicated to face masks but here are a few that I really like: