To be honest my skin care has always been a bit of an obsession of mine but in recent weeks I feel I have finally got the perfect combination of products that make my skin look how I want it to look. I'm a great believer in the thinking that good skin gives you more confidence than a face full of make up. I can't claim to have massively problematic skin I'd say my main problem is actually redness and large pores rather than any sort of acne. I have Dry-Combination skin, that goes right to either ends of Dry and Combination. In Winter it gets incredibly dry, the cold, central heating and all that are not best friends with my skin. Summer however is a completely different story. My T-Zone can get incredibly oily and shiny through the day. I suffer from the occasional spot, probably a maximum of 5 at a time at its worst. I'm not entirely sure if this is due to the luck of the draw or my commitment to taking care of my skin.
This is my winter routine, I add a couple of things in the summer which I will mention when it comes to it.
Morning:
Clinique Extra Mild Facial Soap
To cleanse and get rid of 'sleep face'
Clinique Clarifying Lotion in Number 2 (the purple one I believe)
To really freshen up my face. Sometimes if my skin is extremely dry or irritated I will skip this step as I find it can bring on more redness, but if not this is an essential. I really notice the difference in the texture of my skin because of this step.
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion/Youth Surge Moisturiser
I adore Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion, of all of the Clinique products I use I would probably recommend this the most but at the moment I'm using the sample of Youth Surge that was in the free Clinique give set thing which I got along with my restocking of the rest of my stuff. It really is brilliant, even for me who doesn't really need an anti aging product at all. I love that it's got an SPF (I'm a pasty thing and my face burns like billio, unlike the rest of me) and that it's a slightly thicker cream which really makes a difference with the weather being so chilly at the moment. Would seriously consider repurchasing something similar to this for next winter, even at over £30 a pop, perhaps Super Defence or Moisture Surge.
Clinique All About Eyes
This came in the sample set I got when I first wanted to try Clinique about 2 years ago (I know, I know I probably should have binned it by now) but I can't bear to get rid of this stuff. I am nearly at the end of the pot. I think the fact that the sample size has lasted me two years shows how little of this stuff you actually need. It makes your under eye area feel like silk, which makes your concealer glide on wonderfully. I'm not sure about it's claims of reducing puffiness and dark circles but i say it's well worth it purely for the moisturising effect around my rather irritable and sensitive eye area. I will be very sad to see this go.
Evening:
Take The Day Off Make Up Remover/Any oil based eye make up remover
I'm a big fan of waterproof eye liners and mascaras which make a good oil based make up remover an essential. I love Take the Day Off, it was another product in my Clinique sample set and I thought it was wonderful then, so I was very pleased to see a mini bottle in my clinique Christmas goody bag. I do have a wonderful drug store dupe in the form of Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover by Boots, at less than £3 a bottle it's much kinder on the pocket than £14 - the cost of a full size of Take the Day Off.
Soap and Glory Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths
I was dubious about the pore shrinking claims of these but after using them for about a month I can say I honestly think they do work. These are the best cleansing wipes I've ever used. They don't make my skin feel stingy at all, just very very clean. They are marginally more expensive than your average packet of wipes (still no where near as ridiculously priced as MAC wipes though) but Soap and Glory skin care is regularly on 3 for 2 in Boots and I take the opportunity then to stock up - they then work out about the same as some of Boot's own brand wipes. And I adore the packaging. Not only for its kitsch designs but also these wipes have a plastic lid thing instead of the usual bit of flimsy bit of plastic with adhesive on the back. This stops your wipes drying out and also stops bits of rubbish getting in if your throw them in a bag. Genius. I do love you Soap and Glory.
Clinique Extra Mild Facial Soap
I'm a double cleanse fan. Do it and I guarantee you'll notice a difference.
Clinique Clarifying Lotion - Number 2
Because I can't stand going to bed without squeaky clean skin.
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion
For some reason I'm not a massive fan of sleeping with a really rich moisturiser on, even when my skin is at it's driest and feels like it could drink any drop of moisture up I hate the greasy feeling of some thick night creams. Perhaps I haven't found the perfect one yet, but my trusty moisturising lotion is doing it for me at the moment.
Clinique All About Eyes
Soothes the skin around tired eyes, especially when bed time isn't as early as I'd like.
Once or Twice a Week
St Ives Apricot Scrub
I prefer the one of these which is more like a cream cleanser with grains in that the normal one which is very gritty. I think the one I like is invigorating or something, it really cleans you skin and scrubs away the nasties but is gentle enough that I have been known to use this as my every morning wake up cleanser, especially in summer when I always wake up feeling a bit more yucky.
Soap and Glory The Fab Pore 15 Minute Facial Peel
Another absolute wonder in the Soap and Glory skincare department, if these two products are anything to go by I'd love to try the whole range at some stage. This really refreshes my skin when it's feeling a bit blah. I've only ever used it as a 15 minute mask, but it can also be used as a 5 minute pick me up type affair. It has tiny blue beads which you massage into the face which release what I can only describe as some magical potion. It leaves my pores squeaky clean and my skin looking glowy. Who wouldn't want that?
Some form of wash/cleanser for oily (and spot prone) skin
This is strictly a summer addition only. For times when my skin gets shiny in the summer I will use a wash aimed at oily skin about every other day to curb it. I find this has to be used with caution on my skin, as there is often a fine line between using it often enough to have an effect on oiliness but using it as little as possible so not to over dry my skin. I have found this is the only way to control it, lotions and potions purely for combination skin doesn't quite cut it at the hottest time of the year so I find this the easiest way. And over drying is quite easy to remedy, especially when the weather is at its hottest.
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