They say ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it’, and I try to live my skincare life (as much as possible) by this saying. I’ve luckily been blessed with somewhat okay skin, and in a bid to maintain said skin, I try to limit the amount of products I use on it on a daily basis. It can be a bit tricky though when I’m constantly sent skincare bits to try!

I try not to introduce my skin to new bits frequently, because after about a week my face ends up looking like the overwhelmed Mr Krabs meme, which opens it up to blackheads and the like in order to purge. As the seasons change, I’ll drop certain habits out of my routine (for instance, i rarely use clay face masks in summer – my skin seems to hate it for some reason!) and i’ll use more serums around this time of year to moisturise and hydrate my face.

I came back from Ghana with my skin absolutely FLOURISHING due to all the vitamin D. I took an arsenal of bare-faced selfies obviously, and have been trying to maintain this glow every since coming back.

I thought I’d show you guys my current routine, and the products I’m using at the moment. Not everything I use here may work for you so it’s important that if you are interested in any of the products above, try and get a sample version and test beforehand! Skincare is so subjective, and these are the products I find work for my skin type. For reference, I have combination skin and can hyperpigment very easily. Also please not that these photos were not taken with a potato: I’m currently going through a vintage/grainy arty moment with my photos at the moment LOL.

The eye cream and the serum

The one ingredient that has been consistent throughout my skincare regimen has always been hyaluronic acid. My skin cannot get enough of the stuff, and takes to the acid like a duck to water. I can be quite flexible when it comes to the ingredient and can pretty much use any brand as long as the concentration is quite high. I’m also trying to get onto the whole eye cream thing. I’ll admit that I can be terrible with this step as I always forget, however upon spotting a few lines under my eyes recently, I’ve decided to smarten up.

Dr Roebuck’s True Blue Ultimate Hydrating Serum | £46

Australian-owned brand Dr Roebuck’s is a great premium skincare brand that promises clean, natural products without all the nasty bits, and to fit every lifestyle and every skin type. What I love about the brand is the fact that they are so…minimal. From the ingredients right down to the packaging, each product has been formulated with clean, cruelty-free, fair-trade and vegan ingredients and the hydrating serum is no different. I’ve been using the product for about a month underneath my moisturiser, and I just love how it feels on my skin. The serum is water-based and feels gelatinous to the touch. It feels incredibly light on the skin and my face feels super hydrated thanks to the acid, peptides and CoQ10. It’s pricey, yes, but I’ve always been someone who has invested in skincare, more-so than beauty/makeup products, and this serum absolutely does what it says on the tin so I’m happy!

Dr Roebuck’s Down Under Collagen Boosting Eye Treatment | £35

The day after my 30th birthday, I woke up, went to the mirror and found two of the largest bits of baggage I had ever seen under my eyes. Bear in mind that I had never – up until that morning – experienced bags under my eyes. It was a new sensation for me. I felt for the first time in my life – a bit downtrodden over my skin tbh. I don’t want to come across as a privileged twat, but I was absolutely panicking. From then on, I decided to start using an eye cream because what the hell.

For this, I went back to good old Dr Roebuck’s again and have started using their collagen boosting eye treatment. Now this cream has coconut oil AND caffeine lads – two of my favourite skin ingredients – so I was sold. The eye cream is not only thick but THICC, which makes a nice change to the silicone-type gels I’ve often seen in the past. The cream feels so good against my skin, and I really feel like I’m getting a good hydration treatment with this one. The cream also contains macadamia oil, shea butter and vitamin E, and I keep mine in the fridge to get that lovely cooling feeling under the eyes first thing in the morning.

The serums

Oh I do love a good serum.

I own about 12 in total; each with their own separate uses, but of course do not use them all at once! I find that using serums really tends to boost the moisturisers I use on top, and provides an extra layer of protection and hydration alongside their individual skin properties. The two above are two new serums I’ve been using over the past month and I really wanted to include them because of how quickly they’ve worked for me.

Kiehl’s Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Herbal Concentrate | £38

I was gifted this concentrate by the lovely guys at Kiehl’s and at the time, I wasn’t really sure how to use it because I’m not someone who ever gets blemishes. When I came back from Ghana however, I started to randomly use it in a bid to maintain the clear, glowy complexion I had going and to my surprise, the concentrate really does pack a punch. What this concentrate does, is calm down the effects of blotchiness and feelings of discomfort. Now, I suffer from hayfever and one of the side-effects for me is that the area around my nose feels really rough and blotchy due to the constant tissue-using and blowing-of-the-nose etc etc.

I’ve been using this to calm down the area around my nose and it’s been working a treat tbh. I don’t use it every day mind, only when my nose is feeling a bit rough, or at the end of a long, makeup-wearing week.

Antipodes Blessing Anti-Pollution Serum | £34.99

You guys know I LOVE Antipodes – in fact, I think they may be one of my all time favourite skincare brands. Blessing is the latest product to come from the New Zealand based natural skincare brand. Four drops of this anti-pollution serum is all you need, and is used as a barrier between the gross air and your skin. This is an oil-based serum (that smells AMAZING due to the Vinanza grape and white jasmine), so I use my hyaluronic serum underneath this, and then a moisturiser on top. My skin feels protected without feeling too heavy, or oily at all.

The face wash and the spritz

DHC Face Wash Powder | £10.50

I love DHC. They make one of – if not the BEST – oil cleansers of ALL TIME.

all. TIME.

ALL……TIME.

This is a daily cleansing powder that you use with water to turn into a paste, and it’s one of those products that does what it says on the tin. The cleanser contains exfoliating protease enzymes, which helps dissolve dull skin cells as well as honey and lavender, which helps soften skin. My face feels thoroughly and deeply cleansed each time, and my skin feels SQUEAKY clean. I’m not surprised to be honest, as DHC have a long history of creating amazing bits of skincare, and I cannot wait to try out more products in their collection!

B.Hydrated Hyaluronic Acid Facial Spritz

Unfortunately I cannot seem to find the online link for this so you may have to pop into your local Superdrug store, but as you can see, it’s a hyaluronic acid so it’s okay by me! I’ve literally been using this for four days and it’s beautifully refreshing. As you’ll find out below, I actually use two facial sprays. One when I’m wearing makeup and one when I’m barefaced. This one is the one I wear when I have makeup on as it seems to reset my makeup and give it a hydrating glow. I’ve been using it for about 4 days already and it’s pretty wonderful.

The mask and the moisturiser

Dr Roebuck’s Byron 2 in 1 Mask and Scrub | £25

Oh snap, here we go again with Dr Roebuck’s! Australians and New Zealanders really know how to do natural skincare well don’t they?? Please take all my monies. We love a time-saving, versatile product that targets clogged pores, gently removes dead skin cells and lifts away impurities using biodegradable, eco-friendly jojoba beads!

The peppermint oil is anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial and regulates oil production, which help keeps clogged pores at bay, while the Kaolin helps absorb excess oil, toxins and water without drying out my skin. I prefer to use this in the evenings on warm days as a bit of a skin to detoxify my skin, and this is a great product for those who have oily/combination skin. I put it on and leave it for 10 minutes, then scrub it off in the shower.

Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream | £37

I’m using this cream at the moment as it’s exceptionally light and feels amazing on my skin. The cream works well with my serums and doesn’t bog my skin down. It also hydrates skin all day as it features Active HydraMesh Technology, which infuses skin with 48 hours of hydration. I’ll be honest in saying that I may not pay £37 for this again as I think I could probably get a cream that could do the same thing for perhaps £10 cheaper or more, but it’s definitely has that luxurious feel that makes my skin feel soft.

The face mist and the sunscreen

Herbivore Rose & Hibiscus Coconut Water | From £14

So I had never heard of this brand before last week if I’m being completely honest, and it was Demi who told me how great this brand was – not only because of their products but because of their great charitable contributions, in which they donate a portion of their profits to organisations and charities. Herbivore have beautiful looking products – I’m a sucker for minimal, clinical looking packaging and if you are too, definitely check the brand out.

This is the face mist that I use without makeup as I found that when I did use it on top of makeup, my face would get very sticky and clammy. Without makeup however, my face feels wonderful and very cool. The formula only contains natural ingredients and no synthetic nasties at all. The coconut water forms the base of the mist, with high levels of amino acids and lauric acid, while rose water steam distilled from thousands of petals per ounce adds hydration. The formula also contains malic and citric acid, as well as hibiscus flower extract which gently exfoliates away dead skin cells for a more even skin tone, while encouraging elasticity and firmness.

Kiehl’s Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Sunscreen | £38

A non-greasy sunscreen that doesn’t leave a white cast on dark skin? Sign me up! The sunscreen is a moisturiser in its own right, and contains vitamin E, and works to condition and hydrate my skin. I tend to use this with my moisturiser and in general, it’s a really good sunscreen!

 

So that’s it! These are the products that I’ll mostly be using until around October or so. Are there any products on this list you use too?

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