My Skincare Tips & Routine - Part 1

I'm a skin care fanatic! I never thought anything could top my love for makeup but over the past few years I've become obsessed with skin care.

When I turned 25 a year ago I seriously upped my game when it came to looking after my skin. I've discovered that the most important thing to consider is what will work for your skin, not your best friend's skin, your mum's skin or Victoria Beckham's skin, it really is an individual thing. Buying a £50 miracle moisturiser that Mrs Beckham swears by, may result in a total waste of money if it isn't compatible with you. For a start she has acne prone skin so if your skin's dry it's going to have the complete opposite effect on you... You get the idea :)

So firstly and most importantly, determine your skin type! This is crucial to maintaining healthy skin. At the moment my skin is normal - combination. Which means for the most part my skin isn't overly oily or overly dry but I can become oily in my T zone towards the end of the day. I'm also prone to break outs on my chin and forehead. This isn't the case all year round, I develop dry patches in the winter so I tend to change my routine as the weather becomes colder and harsher on my skin. You can determine your skin type by taking this quiz.

The second thing to think about when choosing your skin care products is how sensitive your skin is. My body is much more sensitive than my face, I have to use extremely gentle products on my legs and arms otherwise my skin becomes itchy and I end up with dry patches and redness, but my face is slightly more tolerable. This said, I still try to stay away from harsh chemicals or parabens and as a personal preference I don't like heavily perfumed products on my face, in fact I'd much prefer to use things with no scent at all. To be honest, natural products are going to be better for any type of skin so whether you're sensitive or not I'd suggest sticking to products with the least amount of ingredients to try and prevent adverse reactions.

In all honesty it's all about trial and error! You just need to try new things and see what works for your skin, but do make sure you give yourself a decent amount of time to try a product. It can take 3 months for a product to start giving you the results you want so don't lose hope if your new cleanser isn't making a difference after a week, persistence is key. Also, don't freak out if you have sudden break outs when you begin using something new, as long as your face isn't having a painful or harsh reaction, normal breakouts can be par for the course, it's what's known as purging and normally your skin will clear up after a couple of weeks. Think 'getting worse before it gets better'.

I could ramble on and on about this subject! I really am fascinated with skincare and I love learning about the science behind it, but to save boring you I'll list my key points below and then I'll tell you about my morning skin routine (I'll be writing another post on my evening routine as this will be way too long if I include it all!)

Important things to remember when it comes to skin care

- Determine your skin type & choose products suited to your skin.
- Try to keep it natural, check the ingredients and avoid parabens or other harsh chemicals to be on the safe side.
- Persist for 3 months when trying out a new product, even if you have a breakout!
- Start incorporating anti-ageing products in your early to mid 20s, the earlier 

the better.
- Always wear spf! This is so important. You should protect your face all year round, as the sun is the biggest cause of ageing.
- Don't use makeup wipes as the only method of cleansing your face. They only remove makeup from the skin's surface, leaving your pores blocked. If you want to use them then use an exfoliater or cleanser as well.

Now onto my skin care routine!

I have a slightly different way of doing things in the morning and the evening. Everything I use and when I use it is a result of numerous trial and error scenarios over the years. I'm finally happy with my morning routine but I will say that what works for me, may not work for you. Even if you have a similar skin type to me, you may not see the same results so just a little disclaimer there :) you can read a thorough description on each product by clicking the product's name. 

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser

I like to use something gentle to cleanse my face in the morning. Mainly because I don't want to irritate my skin before applying makeup for the day and this is a simple, gentle gel cleanser. It doesn't lather, so if you prefer that then this might not be for you, but it has no scent and it cleans away any excess oil or dirt (yuck) that's accumulated over night. I love this because unlike a lot of cleansers, it doesn't dry out my skin. I like to have a bit of moisture there before I apply any other products.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir

I use this as a toner in the morning, it has a gorgeous menthol scent and it really wakes my skin up. I spray it on my face to refresh my skin before moisturising. I actually got this in a beauty box but I'd like to purchase the full size when this runs out.

Estée Lauder Advance Night Repair Eye

A bit of a cult product, this is loved by women of all skin types and it really is an amazing eye cream. This is the only ant- ageing product I use in the morning (I focus on anti-ageing at night), but I use this twice a day and apply a tiny amount under my eye by patting it gently into my skin. This is super pricey at £37 per 15ml but I got this as a Christmas present and I still have over half left 5 months later! So a full jar will probably last the best part of a year. It smooths the skin under my eyes and prevents lines which are my biggest fear!

Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre

If I could marry this cream and have lots of babies with it I would (slightly weird!) but seriously I'm in love with this and I'll continue to use it all year round forever and ever! Or until something even better comes along :) it's a total cult product, makeup artists all over the world swear by it as the perfect base for makeup and I completely agree. I use this as my moisturiser and it applies beautifully and sinks into the skin quickly, which is important in the morning as I don't have time to wait for half an hour before putting on my foundation. It provides the right amount of hydration and it preps my skin so well I don't need to use a primer. This wonder product is for all skin types and it's reasonably priced at £18.50 so I recommend this to everyone!

Green People's Sun Lotion spf15

I normally use a foundation with spf in it, I like to go with something like spf25 or 30 on my face. But if, for some reason I'm going without foundation or I'm going to be sitting in the sun etc then I'll use a standard spf product like Green People's Sun Lotion. This is only an spf15 and admittedly it's meant as a sun lotion for the body, but I like to use it on my face because it's not overly greasy (it sinks in quickly) and yet it provides the protection I need plus it's scent free!

So there you have it, not that many products really but I don't like to overload my face with too many things in the day time, I save that for the evening. If you want to see what products I use before bed time then check back next week for Part 2 :)

I'm certainly no skin care expert, but if you have any questions then leave them in the comments and ill try my best to help you out!