Current Skincare Routine

This post was born out of the pure and selfish love for the way my skin looks and feels at the moment. I might have unexpectedly created the perfect mixture of products that suit my skin'needs, which can maybe help some of you, who have had similar skin problems to mine.

Throughout the years, my skin has been playing up every so often, causing me to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. It is normal to dry, so in the winter it would get extremely parched, with dry patches, flaky bits and overall unpleasant tightness and discomfort. Rich creams would soothe and moisturise for a while, but due to their heaviness, along came blackheads, annoying red pimples around my mouth and chin, as well as oily T-zone, leaving me unsatisfied with the way my foundation looked and how much concealer I had to apply to hide the spots. 

Some months it would go away, but then it always came back twice as powerful - even in the summer, which made me very self-conscious.

For the past month and a half however, I have been so happy with my skin, I barely apply foundation anymore and pretty much no concealer is needed - for the first time in years (touch wood), my chin is fully clear, complexion smooth and glowing, always hydrated and plump.

Without further ado, here's a bunch of products I now swear by in achieving dreamy skin.

CLEANSING

For me, it consist of two steps - two, gentle rounds of Garnier micellar water in the evening (sometimes followed by a stronger, refreshing toner if I have worn more foundation that day and feel a bit 'ugh') and one round of subtle Bioliq cleansing gel with an attached face brush in the morning. Scrubbing my face with alcohol-based, strong cleansers each day was never a good solution and I finally get that - soft makeup removal all the way! 

PS: If your skin is senstive and tends to dry out post-cleansing, choose unscented products with no soap in them, and try to avoid getting shampoo on your face when taking a shower - it made a huge difference for me!

EXFOLIATING

Although I am a fan of gentle cleansers, sometimes slightly clogged pores or greasy T-zone calls for some proper exfoliation. I usually reach for my Ziaja micro granule professional exfolliator, max 1-2 times a week, never more! It makes my skin super soft and smooth, gets rid of any dead cells, but also doesn't dry it out to the extreme.

 If you are from the UK, but can somehow get your hands on Ziaja, it's very inexpensive but effective, especially for senstive, irritable skin. 

MOISTURISING

I tend to reach for a lighter moisturiser in the morning, and something heavier to replenish my tired face for the night. My daily cream, for quite some time now, has been Yves Rocher's Hydra Vegetal gel cream - it has a light, makeup-friendly formula, but supplies my skin with enough hydration to get me through the day. In the evening, I opt for the trusty Cetaphil, which heals any 'accidents' that may happen from time to time - it was first prescribed to me by a dermatologist, and it ended up being the only solution that cured my chin spots - it's also fairly cheap,  so I definitely recommend!

 On days when temperature drops below 0 and my skin calls for help, I use macadamia oil - yes, very greasy, but once massaged into the skin, it absorbs pretty well to give you the most glowy and plump face the next morning :)

Have you tried any of these products? Or maybe you have your own recommendations? Let me know!

Kisses,