Skincare Routine of the Day

[l8totheparty]

This is a place to share your skincare routine of the day!  Whether it be daytime routine or nighttime routine, I know you have one.  From simple to complex, expensive to inexpensive products: show and tell! If you are anything like me, your skincare routine changes daily. Skincare isn't as showy as makeup, but it is the quiet work horse of our daily lives.

You might want to include with your post: your skin type, skin concerns (& the weather where you are).

⭐ Sometimes if all you can do is your skincare, that is enough.

[haleyvvvv]

@itsfi I have used the biossance one. It is VERY gentle, but works. It just took me a long time to notice any effects, but after like a few weeks, my skin definitely was smoother. My go to low dose one is the Sunday Rile Luna, but it is a retinol not bakuchiol. I was going to switch to either the Biosssance or the OH (or even the Herbivore, I have some trial sizes), but now Luna is back in Canada, so I will likely just keep using that if the new formulation is like the old one.

[itsfi]

@haleyvvvv, that's great if you can get Sunday Riley Luna in Canada again. If your skin can handle retinol, that's probably the way to go. I read that bakuchiol is an alternative for those who are sensitive to retinol (like I am and so I'm grateful for bakuchiol product), but that it's not a perfect substitute for it in terms of performance. 

[haleyvvvv]

Aaah, I wasn't sure if it was a dose of retinol or a retinol issue in general. I hope you find a new HG bakuchiol, @itsfi!!

[itsfi]

Thank you @haleyvvvv! Me too. I have another bottle of the Herbivore Bakuchiol that I am using sparingly. 😉 I’m finding I like Bakuchiol products in serum form so that’s been a good takeaway from testing products; but I’m still interested in trying The Inkey List Bakuchiol moisturizer and will put that into the mix after I’ve gone through the OH serum and sleeping cream. 

[PenelopeBT]

I love the jelly type cleanser theme you have going on! Jelly textured products feel so nice on the skin. My favorite jelly cleanser is the belif Aqua Bomb Hydrating Jelly Cleanser 5.41 oz/ 160 mL. <333

[itsfi]

@PenelopeBT, I love the belif jelly cleanser! 💙💚 It is such a gentle, but effective and supremely refreshing cleanser - love that it doesn’t make my skin feel tight or stripped of moisture. It also makes a great morning cleanser! That one will definitely be a part of my routine once summer rolls around and the weather warms up. 

[MaddyJ8]

My under 5 minute AM routine and my... much longer PM routine lol. I just started trying a little sample cleanser from Clinique that my mom gave me and I really like it!

CLINIQUE Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser 5 oz/ 150 mL

The Original MakeUp Eraser The Original MakeUp Eraser® Makeup Remover Cloth Pink

FOREO - LUNA™ play plus

[haleyvvvv]

Yay for a streamlined routine, @MaddyJ8!! What's that honey product??

[MaddyJ8]

Thanks @haleyvvvv  It's just this cream for eczema. It's called "eczema honey". I use it on my itchiest areas (eyelids, nose, and neck) every day to keep the spots from getting too dry and itchy. It's helped with my sensitive skin a lot. Do you have sensitive skin too?

[haleyvvvv]

A bit, yeah, my skin can be sensitive. I also just like honey products so was curious. Thanks!! @MaddyJ8 

[MaddyJ8]

Oh perf! Well, it smells just like honey, very sweet!

[ather]

@MaddyJ8  I agree I like a quick and easy routine as well!!! 

[itsfi]

Quick and easy morning routines are great @MaddyJ8! 👍🏼 I really like a lot of the products in the La Roche Posay Toleriane line - gentle but effective! 💙🤍  

[WinglessOne]

As promised, here’s what my typical skincare routine looks like these days. I haven’t updated my spreadsheet yet, though that would’ve been quicker and easier than taking all these photos. 😄 

Typical mornings

Products used in clockwise order, starting with lip scrub (which is an optional item).

AM details: 

Spoiler

Lip scrub doesn’t get used daily, as I don’t want to over-exfoliate my lips. But when it does happen, I apply it at the sink after brushing my teeth and then wash it off in the shower. 

Cleanser happens in the shower, which is where I keep that Paula’s Choice Optimal Results cream cleanser. I’ve started swapping in The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm every few days, applying it at the sink and letting it sit as a mask during my shower before rinsing it off. 

Toner is the Cosrx cica toner because I’m still testing this product. But normally, my toner step is e.l.f. Hydrating Water Essence which I’ve kept in my AM routine during my Cosrx test. The e.l.f. essence is my daily morning dose of niacinamide, plus my skin loves it as a hydrating treatment. 

Glossier Bubblewrap is my daily hydrating + antioxidants lip serum. I still don’t use it anywhere else on my face, and it’s still not moisturizing enough to use as a solo lip care product—so I still top it with Aquaphor. And shoot, I just noticed I left Supergoop Acai Fusion SPF lip balm out of the photo. 🤦‍♀️ Oops. 

Vitamin C is always one of these: 

Farmacy’s is my favorite, but TIL’s is no slouch.
About Glow Maker: 

Spoiler

After testing Maelove Glow Maker for several weeks, I’ve decided to stop using it. I’m now certain it’s the source of some recent irritation, especially on my forehead. That’s too bad because it had so much potential! It contains 15% l-ascorbic acid + lots of great antioxidants, for a surprisingly low price. But it also contains tangerine peel extract, which is probably tangerine peel oil. Even as the only essential oil present, it was too irritating for my face. 

NIOD Fractionated Eye Contour Concentrate is something I’ve talked about a few times already. I use this eye serum each morning and night. 

Herbivore Emerald CBD Oil is applied to my undereyes, brow bones, and areas of redness/inflammation. As temps warm up, I don’t need to apply this to my whole face each day anymore. But I still like to put it on my dry zones. 

The green owl jar holds Youth to the People Superfood Moisturizer. I always transfer this moisturizer to this reusable airless vacuum pump jar, because clear glass jars are a terrible vessel for Superfood’s light and air sensitive antioxidants.

Sunscreen is most often one of these:  

Coola Sun Silk Drops is my favorite winter sunscreen; it’s a bit much for my oily zone in warm weather.

Not pictured: I am not a morning masker, but once in a while I’ll use a wash-off mask in the shower. I’m trying to incorporate 5-10 minute sheet masks into a few mornings a week, but it’s not an easy (for me) habit to start. 😄 

Typical nights 

Products used in clockwise order, starting with Hydralight cleanser.

PM details: 

Spoiler

Cleanser is still Paula’s Choice Hydralight. Occasionally I’ll swap in a BHA or charcoal cleanser. 

Toner is currently the Cosrx cica toner. 

Aquaphor is still my PM lip balm of choice. 

Exfoliant is one or more of these: 

These get used 1-3 times a week.
Sometimes I layer the FAB and PC exfoliants on the same night. I often layer at least one of them with retinol. And though I’ve included The Ordinary peel, I still haven’t used it. 😄 I will! Eventually! 

Retinol is one of these: 

I’m glad I bought minis of DE and SD to try instead of full sizes.
About these serums: 

Spoiler

I’m not very impressed by the Shani Darden retinol so far, but I still haven’t ramped up usage of it to every other night. That’s how frequently I use The Inkey List Retinol. (I’ve been alternating a few nights of TIL with the Shani Darden serum.) The SD serum’s not bad, and my method of testing isn’t fair since I’m alternating it with another retinol serum instead of using just the SD serum for a month or 2. But comparing SD and TIL, where TIL is supposedly lower strength than SD, I seem to be getting equal results from these serums, so... 🤷‍♀️ 

Also, I’ve used Drunk Elephant A-Passioni 3 times now. I included B-Hydra only because it came with the A-Passioni mini and DE advises mixing the 2 before application. I did that the first night of testing and I think that diluted the retinol serum considerably. The second night, I left out B-Hydra and had none of the retinization reaction I expected, what with all the talk of how strong A-Passioni’s supposed to be. Hmm. 

NIOD Fractionated Eye Contour Concentrate is used each night. 

Spot treatment is always Paula’s Choice BHA 9 these days. Sometimes I double down (or triple down, if I applied BHA 9 over the 2% BHA exfoliant) with an acne patch—either Peace Out Acne Dots or Tosowoong Cica Repair patches. I gave up on Blume Meltdown: not only does it contain some problematic essential oils, it’d probably be more effective for me to just apply tea tree oil. And for skin in general, BHA will always beat any essential oil for acne treatment. (Yes, I realize some folks can’t use BHA, particularly those with aspirin allergy. I also realize benzoyl peroxide is a very effective acne treatment—but I can’t use it because I have BP allergy.) 

Hydration treatment is one of these: 

I always move Buffet to this airless vacuum pump bottle.
The Ordinary Buffet is a longtime favorite for peptides + hyaluronic acid. The Laneige toner is a very recent addition I’m liking so far. YTTP Adaptogen Mist and e.l.f. Hydrating Water Essence are 2 more favorites. 

Mask time is one of hundreds of sheet masks and/or a handful of wash-off masks in my mask collection and yeah, I’m not photographing them all. 😄 I placed masks after hydration treatments because I love to use a sheet mask after applying hyaluronic acid, which helps my skin soak up all the mask’s serum. But this really depends on the mask. If the mask contains an exfoliant, I’ll wear it after my toner or exfoliate step. (For instance, I might use a sheet mask containing sugar maple—a natural source of AHA—after applying my leave-on BHA exfoliant.) Ditto for masks containing lots of retinol or vitamin C. 

Moisturizers & oils are one or more of these: 

YTTP Superfood is in the owl jar.
The small bottle of amber oil is a DS of the Flora + Bast “serum,” which is really 100% CBD oil. I’m loving it so far, as well as The Inkey List Vitamin B, C, & E Moisturizer. 

Lip masks are something I don’t typically need nightly once temps warm up, but I’ll still occasionally use Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask or Tatcha Kissu. 

 Occasional additions/substitutions

Forgot to include the Cosrx cica ampule.

Details: 

Spoiler

Makeup remover only happens when I’m, um, wearing makeup. Yes, I still use this with those reusable bamboo rounds I bought years ago. 🙂 

Cosrx slime juice is still taking some getting used to. Snail mucin contains various peptides which do most of their work behind the scenes, not center stage—meaning, results usually aren’t immediately visible. So I have to keep using this stuff for at least another couple months before I pass final judgment on the efficacy of snail slime. 

DDG Ferulic + Retinol eye serum has been a favorite for at least a year now. On nights I don’t use a full face retinol serum under my eyes, I apply this serum. And I occasionally use this serum all over my face because it contains so much good stuff. 

e.l.f. Nourishing Facial Oil is what I reach for whenever my eyelids are flaky dry. Sometimes I use it under my eyes instead of a CBD oil. 

The dragonfruit Sephora exfoliating lip balm is my favorite variety of these balms. In fact, it’s the only one I like. Sometimes I use this instead of my usual ColourPop Lippie Scrub in the morning. And if I need a lip scrub at night, I reach for this one. 

Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide Booster was a GWP from PC direct. I don’t use it often, but on days/nights I don’t use e.l.f. Hydrating Water Essence, I use this booster. It’s very watery and completely scentless. I can use it alone as a serum or mix it into another skincare product. 

Not pictured: Cosrx Centella Blemish Ampule, which I’ve started using each day or night. My skin’s responding well to it so far: it’s good at calming inflammation. 

Bad reaction recovery 

I also do cold compresses, which I can’t really photograph well. 😄

Details: 

Spoiler

Bad reactions include increased redness, swelling, hives, lots of flaking/peeling, and burning/itching. 

For everything except flaking/peeling, I start with an antihistamine and cold compress. I like The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm as a gentle soothing cleanser, sometimes followed by a very simply formulated cica serum/mask or CBD oil (depending on how irritated my skin is). Swelling, burning/itching, and hives usually require hydrocortisone cream; I like Aveeno’s. To moisturize, I use either Aquaphor Ointment, Skinfix 911 Ointment, or my daily body lotion (Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion). 

Flaking/peeling gets treated as a broken skin barrier: I use Aquaphor Ointment on those parts of my face, to act as a replacement moisture barrier while my skin heals. I don’t use any chemical or physical exfoliant on this type of bad reaction; contrary to popular belief, that’d only worsen the situation. Exfoliants remove dead skin cells. Your skin barrier is made of dead skin cells. A broken barrier has already lost too many skin cells; trying to remove more of them does no good in this scenario. This is also why you shouldn’t over-exfoliate in general. 

[emaisgr8]

@WinglessOne  love your breakdown!

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @emaisgr8 ! 

[haleyvvvv]

I always love seeing your skincare routines, @WinglessOne!! So much information here 🤩💖, thank you for compiling it all!! You've definitely contributed to my interest in Paula's Choice, that Niacinamide booster looks great.

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @haleyvvvv ! ☺️ It’s a labor of love, so I’m glad someone finds it helpful! 

If you try some Paula’s Choice products, I hope they work well for you! The niacinamide booster contains other good stuff, including a vitamin C derivative (ascorbyl glucoside), ubiquinone, and a few other antioxidants, plus skin soothers. The only potential drawback is the booster’s texture: it’s VERY watery, which isn’t a bad thing as long as you’re used to working with very watery serums. It quickly soaks into skin, including the palm of your hand, so you have to work fast with it. If it was priced lower, it’d always be on my restock list. 

[jen81]

@WinglessOne I love the Paulas Choice Optimal Results hydrating cleanser. The Inkey Oat Cleansing Balm sounds nice!

[WinglessOne]

@jen81  The INKEY List Oat Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm 5 oz/ 150 mL is a good multitasker: morning wash, soothing mask, and first step in a nighttime double cleanse. It’ll definitely be a repurchase for me. 

And yes, that Paula’s Choice cream cleanser is fantastic! It’s exactly what my combo skin needs in the morning: just enough cleansing action for my oily zone and eye area (my eyes usually water overnight, so I wake up with salt-crusted outer and inner corners), but gentle and hydrating enough to not strip my dry zones. 👍 

[Samtian]

@WinglessOne Bad reaction recovery, that's genius.