What I put on my skin day in, day out…

Hiya!

Hope everyone’s coping with our friend (more like enemy, but friend sounds better right?) ‘rona at the moment still? Things seem to be looking up don’t they! Slowly but surely, but lets keep positive.

Sooooo, I thought it was about time I told you what products I am currently (lovingly) using on my face at the moment. I’ll be honest, this was a post I was kind of putting off as I knew I’d have to admit to actually how extreme my skincare routine can be at times. Don’t get me wrong though, it works for me (most of the time!) and I am 100% one of those (some may say, sad) people who looks forward to my morning and evening facial ritual (unless I have just got in the door at 3am after a night out, then it’s a slightly different story…), nevertheless I probably wouldn’t have this blog if I didn’t enjoy skincare, so you know, here we are haha.

Firstly, can I please start off by saying, one thing that works for someone may not work for everyone! So please, please, please don’t go and buy everything I have recommended here if you already have a different product that works perfectly fine for you and like they say; If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it! This post will hopefully be just here for a bit of inspo’ shall we say, if you need it. Also, (sorry a tad boring here but…) I should point out here that nothing in this post is sponsored by any of the brands, all the products are genuinely all used and loved by me day in, day out, just to clear that up early on…

(If you haven’t already, check out my Skin, skin, skin post, it might make this make a bit more sense, especially with regards to what my skin is like! If not, I’ll try not to be too offended…).

Sooo, here we go…

What I do in the mornings –

Alexa, play ‘How do you like your eggs in the morning’ …

1. Cleanse … (Once I’ve actually decide to move from my bed that is really, far too comfy) … I always use my all time fave – Ren Evercalm Gentle cleansing milk, £22. This is specifically designed for sensitive skin (which I don’t necessarily have all the time), but it‘s lovely and creamy and makes my skin feel amazingly calm and moisturised (but not greasy/shiny), it’s also actually great at healing and calming breakouts (even though its not actually designed specifically for that). I dampen my face, slather it on and then rinse off with a muslin cloth (these are complete game changers by the way, just remember to stick in the wash every now and then!). I definitely won’t be changing from this anytime soon, that’s for sure!

2. Serums 1.0 … I am always absolutely loving my all time fave – The ordinary Niacinamide 10% and Zinc 1%, £5. This has been a staple for me for about the last 2 years (I think, time flys when you’re having fun eh!). First of all, it works wonders for blemish prone skin and secondly, look at that price! ‘Niacinamide’ is also known as ’Vitamin B3’, it’s great for anti-ageing and also great at declogging those pesky pores, all whilst keeping your skin calm. An all round good egg. (Please note though- like any declogging amazingness, it may cause a slight ‘purge’ at first, this is where the skin can break out initially due to everything coming to the surface, so perseverance is key people!). Love it!

3. Serums 2.0 … Here comes a new favourite of mine – The Inkey list 15% Vitamin C and EGF (in English, it apparently means, ‘Epidermal growth factor’), £14.99. I mean, you cannot go wrong with a vitamin C product can you? For those of you who don’t know, vitamin C is a great anti-ager, brightener and evener, an all round great and essential product in my eyes. This is also the highest strength for this price, I have found on the market, amazing! Please don’t forget your SPF though when using any vitamin C, Retinol, acids etc.

4. Moisturise … This one brings me back to my good old trusty REN Evercalm range – Ren Evercalm global protection day cream, £36. This has been a firm fave for a while now too, much like the cleanser I find it really lightweight, yet so hydrating and calming. For me this doesn’t make me shiny throughout the day either (but then I can be on the dry side at times). Moisturisers I find are a hard nut to crack, but if you have similar skin to me, trust me it works wonders, especially in winter. Also, REN as a brand are very eco-friendly which is an amazing added bonus.

5. SPF … And last but by no means least, (and actually probably the most important), SPF. My favourite is – La Roche Posay Anthelios Anti-imperfections 50+ corrective gel-cream (try not to say that in a french accent, dare you!) £20. If you were to take anything from this post, please incorporate an SPF of some kind into you regime (if your not already of course), It’s so important. This one I love as it’s mattifying, stays put and is specifically created for blemish prone skin. I use this all year round, yes you do well and truly end up with what I like to call ‘The factor 50 face’ all year round (by that I don’t mean it leaves a white cast, just that you don’t tan at all, so be prepared to incorporate a bit of bronzer when the weather warms. Don’t say I didn’t warn you haha!), But we’ll all be wrinkle-less when we’re older, bonus!

So that’s that for mornings! One thing I would say, make sure you let your morning skincare settle for a good 5 minutes (if you can) before applying makeup, you’ll find it will go on nicer!

Let’s move onto evenings now… By the way, if you’ve made is this far, you may as well carry on, don’t give up on me now… ;).

Alexa, play ‘Beautiful day, by U2’ …

1. Pre-cleanse/eye makeup remove … For this (I mean when I make an effort and put eye makeup on that is…) I use the cult classic of what is – Garnier Micellar water (the pink one!), £5.99. Do I even need to elaborate on what this is? Go on then… This is basically a water, but well with a difference. It’s gets makeup off easily and quickly and leaves you all set for a deeper cleanse. It’s a classic for a reason, love it! Little tip – If you do have blemish prone skin though, please beware of using this on it’s own as a cleanser. It will work for some people but the chemicals in it can aggravate breakouts (I used to use this after the gym on it’s own and found it made my skin worse, maybe just me, but maybe worth the noting!), However, it’s great if you then follow with a cleanser!

2. First cleanse … This is a step I have only recently started doing (although if you don’t cleanse at all, please feel free to only start with one first haha) but since doing this my skin has come on leaps and bounds. It brings me back to, you guessed it – REN! Although slightly different, I use the REN Evercalm cleansing gel, £22 first. I do the same as my morning cleanse, wet my face, rub all over and then rinse with a muslin cloth. Again a lovely, soothing product and being for sensitive skin, it doesn’t irritate at all! It also gets all that grime off that has built up on your skin throughout the day, easy peasy’ly.

3. Second cleanse … I like to think of this one as, the deepest one of the 2 (/3 if you use a makeup remover first), it’s almost like you’ve removed everything from the surface and now you can get to the core! For this I go back to my fave, which is of course – REN Evercalm cleansing milk, £22. I won’t bore you with all the details on this again, because quite frankly that would be pointless, right? (so please refer back to my morning cleanse for more details if need be, if you are reading this backwards. I won’t judge haha…). But to put it bluntly, it’s just a lovely, calming cleanser.

With my evening cleanse I like to use my cleansing device, which brings me onto my next point…

4. My Foreo … Firstly, I’ll point out that this is by no means essential, but nevertheless I do love mine. It’s definitely an investment and I really do believe you see results over time, but I still don’t 100% know if it’s really worth the price tag. I have the Foreo Luna mini 2, £99, I treated myself about a year ago. I only use this in the evening, as I like to really go for it in the evenings (as you can probably tell) and I found using it both morning and night was a little bit much. I have to say though, I love how it’s silicone; which means it’s super hygienic and very, very easy to keep clean. Overall, I do really like it, especially if you love a squeaky clean face and have the odd £99 to spare…

5. Retinol … My new favourite part of my skincare routine , I’ll be honest- I have only been using retinol for about a month now, but I am officially converted! I use – Pixi Retinol tonic, £18. For those of you aren’t familiar with this miraculous ingredient, Retinol is also known as ‘Vitamin A’ and can come in lots of different strengths, please, please, please start gradually (I have made this mistake before), retinol resurfaces the skin and speeds up cell renewal and if you start too strong it will make you look like the inside of orange peel temporarily (okay maybe a tad extreme, but it can be incredibly drying if you don’t approach slowly!). Anyway, it’s a true hero when it comes to blemishes and anti-ageing (basically the two biggest skin concerns), but similar to Niacinamide, please persevere; it can cause a initial purge and will take time to see results, but it will be worth the wait, trust me. Okay, I do still get the odd spot (hormones are a bitch) but this clears them a lot quicker. This is a really calming formula and a great starter. Just like always, remember that SPF in the day! (Oh and they do a small bottle (pictured below) so you can try it first without breaking the bank, bonus eh!). Can you tell I like it?

6. Night time serum … This one also gets me excited. This seems to be one of the best blemish treatments I have found. Drumroll please… The Inkey list C50 Blemish night treatment, £12.99. This is a combination of Vitamin C, salicylic acid and an abundance of other skin loving ingredients which target the bacteria which causes breakouts, all whilst calming the skin. I don’t think there’s a complete overnight spot clearing treatment which is magic, but this is close. Okay, it doesn’t literally clear them overnight straight away, it takes a few days, but due to the Vitamin C it helps clear the scar afterwards too a lot quicker than normal, so it’s an amazing all rounder in my eyes! Oh and I do sometimes break the rules – I sometimes use in the mornings too when needed (as it’s that good) and it’s fine, but shh don’t tell anyone!

7. Face oil … Okay, bare with me here… I know it‘s contradicting if you’re oily and blemish prone, but the right face oil really can work wonders. I use Clarins Lotus treatment face oil, £35. It’s specifically made for oily skins and strangely enough I find it makes you less oily, I know it’s weird but trust me! An oil is great at night as yes it does make you rather ‘glowy’ shall we say, but by the morning it turns into a good ‘glowy’ and helps to seal all of the products underneath into place, ready for the bout of shut eye ahead. Also, this smells ah-ma-zing and is said that it can help you sleep (I’m not one to judge that though as I’m dead to the world as soon as I hit the pillow regardless of what products I use, but its worth a try right?). It’s a tad pricy this one, but definitely worth it in my eyes as a little goes a long way!

So there we have it, that is my skincare routine. There are a couple of additions which I don’t use all the time and only use when needed but seeing as this post is already pretty long, I’ll do you all a favour and save for another time. You’re welcome.

Can I also take a moment to say, well done and thank you for getting to here, this was a lengthy one I know, so congrats, I hope it was somewhat interesting!

All of the above is far from just ‘the essentials’ shall we say and if you don’t have a solid routine (YET!), please like I have said above; please don’t overload your skin all at once, use the retinol advice for example and introduce products slowly. Otherwise, say a product irritates your skin, how are you going to know which one it is? Anyway, I hope the above has been useful, for say at least one thing haha. Also, remember at the end of the day we only ever get one skin so why not look after it!

One last little word of wisdom; If your skin is going through a rough patch, firstly, remember it won’t be like that forever and trust me, it really isn’t as bad as you think. Secondly, treat yourself and buy yourself a new product, whether it’s one of mine above or something else, it could turn out to be your new fave, you never know!

Anyway, take care & look after yourself.

Lots of love, Ella x