My current skincare routine

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Anyone who knows me well will know that after eating out and holidays, skincare is most definitely where I spend the majority of my earnings. In my opinion, your skin is one of the most important things you can make an investment in, so it’s worth knowing how to protect it and prevent signs of ageing. We’ve had a particularly harsh winter in the UK this year (hello, Storm Ciara and now Dennis!), so read on to see how I’m dealing with the cold winds and protecting my skin with my current winter skincare routine.

To start off, it’s worth saying that no one has exactly the same skin as everyone else. As someone with a dry skin type that’s quite sensitive, I tend to gravitate towards hydrating, creamy products rather than clay masks, which will just strip the skin and are more suitable for oilier complexions.

Before we even get onto the products though, it would be remiss of me not to mention Lion/ne aka my skincare heroes, and the best thing you’ll spend your money on this year. I’ve mentioned Lion/ne on my blog before: in the run up to my wedding, a couple of my colleagues mentioned that they’d gone for skin consultations here. Lion/ne is a skin consultation service run by co-founders Megan and Ksenia - they offer a 1:1 analysis of your lifestyle, skincare regime, and the products that you’re using in a super informal and friendly setting, and afterwards you’ll get a full list of recommended products to use to address your skin concerns (they don’t have an affiliation to any brand, so you can be sure that these are unbiased recommendations that have been trialled by Megan and Ksenia beforehand).

I went for my first Creme de la Creme consultation in August, and was glowing by the time my wedding rolled around in September. I wouldn’t say that my skin was particularly problematic before the consultation, but I did have concerns that I simply didn’t know how to fix: dryness during the change in seasons, a slight oiliness throughout the day, blackheads appearing on my forehead and chin etc…even if you don’t have loads of skin concerns, I’d definitely recommend booking a Lion/ne consultation just so you can understand what skin type you are, and the products usually used to target certain areas.

By the time my follow up appointment came round three months later, my skin was in a totally different place to previously, due to the change in seasons. Based off this most recent consultation, I’ve adjusted my skincare routine to suit the winter months below:

Morning

Step 1: Cleanse - wake up your skin and wash away any impurities and sweat that may have gathered overnight.

As we’re in the colder months, I’m using a hydrating and creamy cleanser in the morning as well as in the evening to give my skin maximum moisture. I love this Kate Somerville Goat Milk Moisturising Cleanser for its gentle texture.

Step 2: Add the antioxidants - renew your skin by adding Vitamin C into your daily routine. This will help to tackle pigmentation, unevenness, and redness.

I use the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum, which I love, and has already lasted me for over six months (at the time of writing). It has a slightly tacky finish, but this isn’t a problem as I follow this immediately with a hydrating serum.

Step 3: Hydrate - moisturise your skin for the day ahead.

If you’ve got dry skin like me, a hydrating serum will be a necessary step in your routine and will keep your skin from ageing. I absolutely love this Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Serum which is purely liquid (as opposed to some other serums which are more gel-like), and which my skin positively drinks up. It’s pricey, but it’s the best I’ve used.

Step 4: Hydrate even further

To lock that all in, I then add Shani Darden’s Daily Oil-Free Moisturiser on top - a small pea-sized amount of this goes a long way, and I simply dab it over my cheeks and forehead, as these are the areas that are the most dehydrated, and tend to oil up throughout the day (a reaction to lack of moisture).

Step 5: Protect - a vital step in anyone’s routine; protect your skin from sun damage.

Even if you live in a city like London (such as me), where we don’t get much sunlight all round the year, it’s still super important to protect your skin against harmful UV rays, and possible sun damage on a daily basis. I used to scoff at this myself, but then I noticed a slight pigmentation appearing around my cheeks last year, and since then, have religiously applied sun protection every day. I love using the Skinceuticals Ultra Facial UV Defense, as it easily soaks in (bearing in mind that I’ve already applied all of the above products to my skin), and doesn’t leave a visible or tacky finish; it’s actually quite mattifying, and great for applying makeup onto.

Evening

Step 1: Cleanse - remove your makeup and let your skin breath.

It’s so important to remove makeup every single day, as this will allow your skin to breathe, and will prevent your pores from getting clogged up. I’ve been using the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm for ages, and have no intention of stopping: it melts onto the skin, and you then run a muslin cloth under hot water and use this to wipe the makeup off your skin.

Step 2: Double cleanse- you can never be too careful…make sure you’ve removed all the makeup with a quick double cleanse.

To absolutely make sure I’ve removed all traces of makeup, I’ll do a double cleanse in the evening using the creamy Kate Somerville Goat Milk Moisturising Cleanser.

Step 3: BHA - best for gently exfoliating the skin and preventing blackheads.

Next, I’ll dab Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting BHA Liquid Exfoliant onto sensitive areas of my face eg. the forehead and cheeks - this super light liquid formula works to dull away dead skin cells and clear up pores (therefore helping to prevent pesky blackheads!).

Step 4: Hydrate

Time to load up the hydrating serum, for which I’ll use my Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Serum.

Step 5: Moisturise

And to lock all the hydration in, I always end with a moisturiser. I’ve been using the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream. To be honest, I probably won’t repurchase this after I’ve finished it, but I’m still going to use it up as it’s a good moisturiser, and wasn’t cheap…as it’s a thick cream, you kind of need to buff it into the skin, as it doesn’t sit well on top of other products.

Extra steps:

3 few times a week I’ll adjust my nighttime routine to allow for a very gentle peel to exfoliate the skin, followed by a hydrating mask (need ALL of the hydration!). Instead of Step 3-5, I’ll use the Dr Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Peel, which is great for sensitive skin. This gently exfoliates away dead skin cells and allows new ones to surface. I’ll then follow this with a hydrating mask - I absolutely love the Exuviance Deep Hydration Treatment. This lightweight mask is incredibly moisturising and simply soaks into the skin - you can leave it on overnight to work its magic, and it doesn’t feel tacky at all. Sometimes I just use this as Step 5 in my routine instead of a normal moisturiser.

Twice a week, I’ve also started to add a very small dose of retinol to my routine to tackle pigmentation and allow new skin cell growth. Instead of Steps 4 and 5, I’ll use the Shani Darden Texture Reform Gentle Resurfacing Serum to tackle any skincare woes such as redness and unevenness. This stuff is pricey but lasts a long time as you’re only using a couple of drops a week…the progress you’ll see with this is slow as it’s not being used daily - I’ll let you know how I continue to get on with it!

I’d love to know if you found this helpful, and if you are looking to address your skin concerns this year. Have you tried any of these products, and what are your skin care hacks?