Hello loves! A few of you have requested that I do a very basic, educational skincare post and I must admit it is something I have probably looked over by mistake! I sometimes don’t stop down to think that everyone is very different and while skincare is so fascinating to me, other people may not take the time to learn about it the way that I personally do. I watch a log of YouTube videos, read articles, blog posts, and product reviews online and really take the time to learn about ingredients, procedures, etc! But, not everyone else is doing this and that is perfectly fine! This gives me a great opportunity to share what I know with you all! 🙂
I of course don’t know it all, and I’m actually in the process of starting a series that can really help educate us all more (details about this coming soon, but I’m super excited! 😉 ) So, here are my basic tips and recommendations for the regimen everyone should aim to adopt:
Morning Skincare:
Cleanser: To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of deep cleaning your face in the morning unless you’ve applied some particularly intense products the night before. You wash your face at night, then sleep, so why would it really be dirty enough to wash again already in the morning? It’s not! Sometimes washing too much can damage the skin too and dry it out, causing your skin to produce excess oil! So, in the morning I prefer to either just splash my face with water or use a quick swipe of micellar water (click here to learn about these & read reviews of some I’ve tried).
Serum: Serums are usually thin, gel-like textured products that really pack in the skincare ingredients that can help you fix or prevent certain skin concerns. I recommend using a serum in the morning to target whatever your main skincare concern is (wrinkles, discoloration, acne, etc). In the morning you should make sure the serum you use is NOT one that is affected by sunlight since you will be out and about during the day! Save your retinols, glycolic acids, salicylic acids & others that make you more sensitive to the sun for applying AT NIGHT! Serums should always be applied to clean skin and BEFORE you moisturize. Shop serums by skin concern here!
Moisturizer (with SPF!!): You should always use a moisturizer day and night to keep your skin hydrated. During the day you need one with AT LEAST SPF 15, but I recommend 30 or even higher if you have paler skin. Even if you don’t think you’ll see much sunlight that day, you should still use SPF religiously. This will help your skin to stay youthful long-term and prevent premature aging, fine lines, wrinkles, discoloration, etc! Don’t be afraid of moisturizing even if you have oily skin! If you have dry skin you can also use a facial oil underneath or in conjunction with our moisturizer for some extra hydration. Shop moisturizers by skin type or concern here!
Nighttime Skincare:
Cleanser: If I have heavy makeup on, I will usually first use a micellar water all over my face and eyes, then follow up with another face wash (shop face washes by skin type or concern here!) or exfoliator (shop face washes by skin type or concern here!) Definitely make sure ALL of your makeup comes off before you lay down for bed- never go to sleep without a clean face! If you’re feeling super lazy some makeup remover wipes can do a decent enough job to get by on occasion (shop face washes by skin type or concern here!)
Serum: Similar to the morning, you should use a serum to address your personal skincare concerns. Night is the time to use your acid-based products that you shouldn’t be using during the daytime! Since I have some sunspots, I like to use glycolic acid and Vitamin C serums at night!
Moisturizer: Your night cream doesn’t need to contain SPF and can be a bit thicker than your day cream since it will have 8 hours (because sleep is vital to good skin and we all get the recommended amount of sleep right! 😉 ) to absorb into your skin. Feel free to use a facial oil under your nighttime moisturizer too if you have dry patches of skin! Shop night creams by skin type or concern here!
Eye Cream: I think that even if you don’t have undereye concerns, you should still be using an eye cream nightly to ensure that you don’t develop eye wrinkles, undereye puffiness, and/or dark undereye circles. There are plenty of great drugstore eye creams available, shop affordable eye creams here!
Masks: I LOVE a good face mask to address certain skin concerns and just pamper my face overall! There are few different kinds, and personally I can get down with them all! I love a good sheet mask for quick, no-mess relaxation and skin care. I’m also a big fan of applying liquid/cream masks with a flat foundation brush! Shop my sheet masks here! <3 Shop my favorite liquid masks here!
I hope this post has been helpful for you all! Feel free to leave me a comment (I love hearing from you! 🙂 ) if you have any follow up questions, want personal recommendations, etc! xoxo, Nicole