Current am skincare routine

If there is one area of the beauty world I love, its skincare. I love reading about it, learning about it and most of all trying it!

Here's what products I am currently using in my morning routine-for the record I am 34 (eek) with fair, combination skin.  My main concerns are open pores round my noise, the very occasional cystic spot and holding back the aging process as much as possible!!

I have learned over the years that my face doesn't tolerate cocoa butter and isn't a big fan of products containing lavender and lots of beeswax or shea butter.

I chop and change my skincare, rarely staying loyal to anything-and will discard anything I hate or my skin doesn't seem to like.

At the moment my skin is good and clear-but there are some products in my current routine I love and some I probably wouldn't repurchase.

My morning routine is currently cleanse, hydrating tone, eye gel, serum, hyluronic acid, moisturise before I start slapping on the make up!

Cleanse:  I am currently using the much hyped Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip.  I dampen my hands when I step in the shower, pump the cleanser into them and apply to dry skin before washing off under the shower.  It washes cleanly with no residue.  This cleanser is light and non drying and full of skin pleasing ingredients such as French green clay to draw out impurities and Vitamin C to reduce discolouration and stimulate collagen production.  Sandalwood combats sensitivity, black pepper promotes circulation and jasmine soothes.  It's pricey at £35 but I would repurchase.

Hydrating tone:  I double tone every evening but in the morning I just use a hydrating toner and I am currently using the Melvita Orange Blossom Extraordinary Water.  This toner has a gel like consistency and I swipe it over my skin with a cotton pad.  It's not sticky despite the consistency and dries almost immediately.  I don't feel a huge amount of benefit from using this and it sometimes leaves my skin feeling a bit tight.  Am coming to the end of the bottle and this would be something I would not repuchase.

Eye gel: I am currently using the Ren Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel which is a clear, light gel which feels cooling and soothing.  It claims to brighten and tighten but sadly I don't feel any of those effects-the Estee Lauder Idealist eye cream (which I was using prior to this) is far more brightening.  It does make a good base for make up but again, not something I would repurchase.

Serum 1 and 2: I do like a serum in the morning.  I had used the Hydraluron before and thought it was ok but nothing spectacular. Then one day I was reading Sarah's morning routine and she was using the Peptabright and Hydraluron together-and loving the result.  I had a tube of both in my stash so for the past few weeks I have been applying first the Peptabright (to even skintone, brighten and fade old scars) and then Hydraluron (a shot of hyaluronic acid for your skin for plumpness and hydration).  Whilst I don't think the Peptabright brightens noticeably (I rely on my Chanel Sheer Illuminating Base for that), it does even out the skintone and the Hydraluron is a great compliment to it.  As a result I need less moisturiser and my make up is definitely lasting longer and looking fresher.

Moisturiser: A beauty bloggers fave, I am slowly making my way through a pot of the Origins Ginzing.  And what's not to love?  The perfect moisturisor for summer-light, cool, hydrating-my skin just drinks it up.  Described by Origins as an energy drink for the skin, it is packed with Ginzing and Caffeine.  Something I have noticed-this moisturiser used to have a tint to it-I am sure it did.  The eye cream definitely does.  Now it doesn't has the same slightly metallic-y tint which is better but you don't see as much of an instant brightening effect to the skin as you do with the eye cream.

A great all rounder and great for all ages!  The only downside-it's in a germ attracting tub so personally after 6 months, if I still had any left I would bin it.  Am not a fan of dipping my fingers into anything.

I will follow this up with my evening skincare routine tomorrow!

Do you use any of these products in your am routine?

Updated skincare routine!

I've experimented a lot with skincare this year and am gradually building up a routine that seems to be working.

I really enjoy learning about skincare, the benefit of different ingredients and perils of others.

I would say I have combination skin with the odd blemish and some old scarring.  I also live in a hot and humid country and am constantly in air conditioning.

If you have read my July empties post you'll see I used up a lot of skincare so I have been trialling a new routine for a couple of weeks and so far so good!

Morning routine

The quickest and easiest routine possible!

In the shower I wash my face with the Elemental Herbology Cool and Clear facial cleanser.  It's a low foaming gel that has antibacterial ingredients such as tea tree and lavender but doesn't dry the skin at all.  I wrote more about this cleanser here in my New Additions post.

Once I am out of the shower I spritz my face with the Elemis Soothing Apricot Toner which I really like.  This would fall under the 'hydrating' toner rather than an exfoliating toner.  I spray it on and leave it to absorb whilst I go and make a cup of tea! (for my other half not me, I hate hot drinks)

I then smooth on a 5p size blob of Hydraluron onto my face-I am finding it plumps up my skin leaving it smooth and soft but that initially when I apply it my face feels quite tight until I apply my moisturisor on top.

Finally I smooth on the Elemental Herbology Moisture Milk which I reviewed recently here.  This is a very light summer moisturiser but packed with antioxidents.

Evening routine

This looks like a long winded routine but in reality takes less than 5 minutes in total. 

Step 1:  I remove my eye makeup with the Garnier Soothing 2 in 1 make up remover.  This bi-phase remover is amazing and one of my holy grail products.  I go through a bottle a month and bulk buy when I am in the UK.  I am down to my last bottle so glad I am coming home in September!

Step 2:  I then apply the Elemis Pro Collagen cleansing balm to dry skin and massage into my skin.  It has a thick honey texture that is easy to spread round the face.  To me it doesn't have a very discernible smell and the Emma Hardie balm felt more luxurious.  My biggest bugbear about this cleanser is its not 100% effective at removing make-up and a second cleanse is a must.  It's also very stingy around the eyes.  I remove it with a hot, squeezed out flannel.  This cleanser does contain beeswax and shea-I was sure I was allergic to them but with a bit of trial and error I seem to be able to tolerate them.  I don't however think I would repurchase this-I love using cleansing balms in the evening but to me the Ren, Emma Hardie and Rodial versions are all better than this one.

Step 3:  Whilst my skin is still damp I then apply the Alpha H Triple Action cleanser.  This is a clear non foaming gel that feels really refreshing on the skin and would also be a good morning cleanser.  It can also be used to remove eye make up and doesn't sting.  Double cleansing has become a must for me if I wear make-up and SPF.  Once I rinse that off (with the same flannel I use for the balm followed by a splash of water) I dry my skin.

Step 4:  Any mascara residue that remains I remove with a quick swipe of Bioderma under my eyes.  I prefer to use Simple eye make up remover but I just finished a bottle and this bottle of Bioderma has a broken lid so I can't travel with it.  My skin won't tolerate Bioderma as a cleanser as I find it drying after a couple of days use and it leaves my skin red and blotchy.  When I see girls who have dry skin using Bioderma I am always dying to say the Bioderma could be making it worse-but don't because I am not an expert, I just know it makes my skin dry.

Step 5:  I spritz a cotton pad with this Avene water spray to dampen it and then apply the La Roche Posay Effaclar exfoliating toner to the damp pad.  This just waters down the toner a little bit if you find exfoliating toners a little harsh.  Exfoliating toners kick your skin into action and are important for skin cell renewal.   Exfoliating toners will contain acids and will exfoliate your skin without the need for granule based exfoliants which can be harsh on the skin.  They should tingle when you apply them to your skin.  Ren, Clarins and Biologique Recherche all make good exfoliating toners.  I have noticed that scars have faded since using this toner.  Now I have been using it for a few weeks I no longer need to use the Avene to water it down but each time I use a new exfoliating toner I will start with this method for a few days.

Step 6:  I spray my face with the Elemis Soothing Apricot Toner.  A hydrating toner will contain ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerin and aloe vera.  The primary purpose is to keep your skin hydrated and plumped.

Step 7:  I apply Rapidlash to the base of my lashes.  I had falsies applied recently and they really damaged my lashes and I am finding that Rapidlash is helping to rebuild them.  I have reviewed this before here.

Step 8:  I apply Eyeslix under my eyes.  I haven't noticed much difference since using this eye cream but I have stuck with it. It's light and easily absorbed but can leave a bit of residue behind which is why I use it in the evenings.  Caroline Hirons describes this as 'every eye cream you ever bought, with added peptides'.  Peptides are apparently an anti aging powerhouse but it can take 4-12 weeks to see the benefit of use.  I've been using this eye cream since the middle of May and it's almost finished.

Step 9:  The final step in my current routine, I apply this balance Me radiance facial oil...I recently reviewed this here

There are other things I could incorporate like a serum or anti aging cream but I am very much a fan of the slowly slowly approach when building up a routine, so that I can identify and eliminate anything my skin doesn't like.  I will probably soon try a retinoid cream and I have an Origins Night A Mins in my stash.

The weekly pamper

Twice a week I apply a face mask-one mid week for radiance or hydration and one at the weekend for de-congesting which is usually clay based.  I love love love the Ren Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask and the Aesop Chamomile concentrate anti blemish mask but at the moment I am trying out the Caudalie Vinoperfect enzymatic peel mask and the Origins Clear Improvement which is an old favourite.

I also use a lip scrub weekly and my absolute favourite is from Sara Happ.

When it all goes wrong

Finally if I do suffer from breakouts I revert back to the wonder product that is Alpha H Liquid Gold.  I absolutely love this product and you can read about the amazing effects on my skin here.  If I am using Alpha Gold I use it straight after cleaning and I do not tone or use an oil-I literally apply it to my skin and leave it as an overnight treatment.  Finally sometimes I find just a good dab of tea tree oil will zap a spot-I like the Body Shop one.

Do you use any of these products or have any recommendations for me?

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The new additions

I've been using a few new things in my everyday routine over the past week so I thought I'd do a mini 'first impressions' post of them.

Elemental Herbology Cool and Clear facial cleanser

I've been using this low foaming gel cleanser in the shower in the mornings and it's really nice.  I've been using an Elemental Herbology moisturiser in the mornings for a couple of months so this seems nice compliment. 

I don't think this would be heavy duty enough as an evening cleanser to remove all my make-up but as a light cleanse in the morning it's perfect. 

It contains lavender and tea tree oil to purify and bisamol to soothe.  It also contains green tea to protect against environmental damage.  Aimed more towards acne prone/combination skin this cleanser is easy to use, washes off easily with no residue and isn't drying.  I just follow up with spritz of my Elemis hydrating toner.

Trish McEvoy Thickening Mascara

When I first started using this I didn't rate it at all but it is growing on my slowly!!  This mascara was really pushed on me by the sales girl at Trish McEvoy in Bloomingdales in NYC and sounded right up my street-I like thick, black, dramatic lashes and she said this would do exactly that.

This mascara doesn't deliver that result to be honest.  It delivers nice fluttery separated lashes as you can see above.  It has an unusual 'goldfish' shaped brush (do you see what I mean??) that is really easy to apply and get to the smaller lashes in the corners.  It's a very very dry formula, especially compared to the last mascara I used which was Chanel Le Volume De Chanel which I reviewed here.  It doesn't flake or smudge AT ALL during the day-I haven't had to use my Anastasia Lash Genius waterproof top coat.  It doesn't clump and you can build it up but to get the effect above that is a good 3-4 coats so it's no YSL Faux Cils.  But it's ok for work everyday.  For evening I'll probably put something more dramatic on.  I probably wouldn't repurchase this though.

Mac Studio Sculpt foundation

I'll be honest I am really struggling with this foundation!  When I first apply it it looks great.  I love the finish (it's medium heavy coverage) and it feels so light on the skin.  I find I have to apply it with a foundation brush then blend any excess lightly with fingers to get the best finish.  It dries really quickly to a semi matte finish which I love.  I then set with a light dusting of powder.  When I first started using it I was using the Nars pore refining primer underneath which is oil free (as is I think the foundation) and within a couple of hours the foundation was settling into tiny tiny pores on my forehead and my nose.  It looks awful and nothing can be done to correct it without making it even worse.  I had the same problem with Laura Mercier Silk Creme.  My friend Jamie suggested I try the Smashbox Photofinish primer (which luckily I had a sample of) and it's better but still not perfect.  If I try to touch up during the day the powder just settles into pores and looks absolutely cakey.  What am I doing wrong?  Any suggestions?

Smashbox Photo Finish

As mentioned above I had a sample of the Smashbox Photo Finish primer and I tried it to see if the Studio Sculpt foundation would sit better on it.  I have used this before-I love the feel of this on the skin even though I know its full of silicon and that's why my skin feels so silky!  But it does a fab job at mattifying and blurring the skin before applying foundation.  I am really enjoying using it-your skin really does feel like velvet.  This is also an oil free primer but Smashbox do a whole range of primers to suit everyone.  It's definitely one of their best products.

Hydraluron

I have finally jumped on this bandwagon!!  The Mac foundation was making my skin look like it was dry and dehydrated so I decided to try this apparent miracle worker in my skincare routine to see if it would plump out the skin.  I apply it directly before my moisturisor-you only need a pea sized amount of this clear gel/serum, don't use too much or it goes tacky on the skin and can cause your foundation to pill or bobble.

Hydraluron is a moisture boosting product and it's the moisture levels in the skin that make it look smooth, plumped and youthful.  Over time our natural moisture levels decrease and dehydration leads to aging.

Hyaluronic acid is the super moisture booster-it can hold 1000 times it's own weight in water and is found in abundance in young skin.

I have to say I am really liking it!  Both this and the Smashbox primer has improved the finish of the foundation and I think I am a Hydraluron convert!!  In the US I bought a much more expensive version of this from Trish McEvoy so am expecting even better results from that one.  I can see this being a permanent addition to my routine and is perfect for anyone with dehydrated skin, who lives in a hot and humid climate or is in and out of air conditioning.  This would be great for men too-especially after shaving which dries out the skin.

Have you used any of my recent additions?  What do you think??

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