Beauty: Skin Care Routine (Face)

Hullo, so I thought I might try something a bit different and do a beauty style blog post - just to see how it goes. I'm a huge fan of beauty vloggers and stuff like this really interests me, so I hope you find it interesting too!

I thought I'd start off with a basic skin care routine - or in other word the daily stuff I put on my face. My routine is pretty much the same morning and night, so this shouldn't be too long.

Firstly, I'll just tell you a little bit about my skin type. I tend to err on the oily side of the skin spectrum and my skin isn't particularly sensitive - so I can do a lot to it. I also have a condition which causes the skin cells on my cheeks (as well as my upper arms and occasionally thighs) to be over reproductive, leaving my with lots of tiny goose pimple bumps on my skin. When I was little, the doctors told me to be extra gentle with my skin and moisturise it lots, but when I turned 10 they changed their minds and told me to scrub it a lot to wear off the skin. Since I've started doing that it's a lot better on my face, but is still pretty bad on my arms. It also makes my skin redder than normal (again this has subsided). Its a pretty common condition (I know a couple of people who have it) and it doesn't really effect me anymore, but when I was little I used to hate it. I'll try to find out the name of it, but you'll know if you have it.

Anyway...

As soon as I get up in the morning I go and get a drink. Now, I know this doesn't really sound like a 'skin care' thing, but I find that when I am hydrated and drinking lots of fluids my skin is generally in a lot better condition - it's got a nicer glow to it, is less greasy and not as prone to spots. Next up, I wash my hands thoroughly - if I'm about to be touching my face I want to make sure I'm not putting loads of germs etc on it that may have accrued on my hands overnight. After that I dampen my face then exfoliate using Clean and Clear's Exfoliating Daily Wash. This comes in 150ml tubes for around £3 (but I tend to buy it on offer - usually 2 for the price of 1 or something similar) and I've seen it in pretty much ever health/beauty store and all the major supermarkets. It's a pretty standard product. I personally really like it because it's got very fine micro-beads in it, so its gentle enough for everyday use but still gets right into the pores to help clear them out.  I probably wouldn't recommend doing this everyday if you have dry or sensitive skin, as although it is gentle it does dry out my skin quite a lot (which is what I want from it, but you may not). If you want an exfoliant which doesn't dry out your skin I'd recommend Olay's Smoothing Face Scrub - I use it when I run out of my other products and I never have to apply moisturiser afterwards.

Once I've rinsed that off, I apply a small amount of Clean and Clear's Blackhead Clearing Cleanser to a cotton pad and rub that in all over my face - focusing on my forehead, nose and chin (aka the 'T-zone'). When I was little I never used to wash my face as I didn't really suffer from acne, however, this has left me with a few black heads on my nose (and I'm very wary of them forming in other places too). Blackheads are a lot harder to get rid of than spots, and this treatment is the only thing which appears to make them less visible. It comes in 200ml bottles and is around £3.50 (but again I buy it when it's on offer). Both these products last a really long time, so I never have to buy them that often. I use this every day, and I rub very vigorously, which leave my skin feeling tights and tingly. I like this sensation, however it can also burn a bit when you apply it. I don't mind this, but if you've got dry or sensitive skin (again) I'd avoid this. 

Both of these products dry out my skin, which is good, however, dry skin causes the skin to think kit needs to produce more oil, which is not what I want at all. To combat this I use Olay Complete Care Daily Fluid for normal/oily skin from their Essentials range. I love this moisturiser. It is so light and soaks into your skin really quickly and easily, so it doesn't leave you with a claggy or greasy feeling at all. Not only that, but it also is SPF 15, so I never bother putting sun cream on my face. I'm naturally quite tan anyway, so this just helps from the harmful UV rays. As it says, its technically a fluid not a moisturiser, which I think is why it is a lot smother and lighter to apply than other products I've used. This is more expensive, around £6 for a 200ml bottle, but as you only need a penny sized amount everyday use it lasts for ever!

On my lips, I use Palmer's Coco Butter Formula Moisturizing Lip Balm. This also has SPF 15 in it, as well as Vitamin E, and it leaves my lips feeling really good - which I need when spring is as rotten as it has been this year! My lips tend to dry out very easily, so I always carry this around with me to re-apply during the day. It doesn't soak in that quickly, but I love rubbing my lips together with it on! It also smells really good, and is totally tasteless. (Its around £2 a tube).

I apply any make-up on top of this. I'll usually wear eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner, mascara and lipstick.

At night, my routine is almost identical. However, before I begin my routine I'll remove my make up first. When I wear foundation this is a little different, but for my daily make up removal I use Simple's Kind to Eyes Nourishing Eye Make-up Remover Cream. This is essentially a gentle moisturiser which I apply to a cotton pad and rub gently on my eyes. It works so much better than all the other make-up removers I've tried, and it never stings or causes my eyes to water. It's also really good for removing waterproof makeup. I'd highly recommend this if you've got sensitive skin, its very gentle and moisturising. It costs around £4 for 100ml, but Sainsbury's normally do really good deals on it (I got 2 for 1 on it). Plus it lasts. I also use this to fix any make-up errors I make, it's got a really fine dispenser, so I just apply a blob to a cotton bud (or Q-tip, which ever you prefer to call it) and wipe of the mistake. Simple! (Pro-tip: If you run out of eye make up remover, you can always use regular moisturiser, but be very careful not to get it in your eye - very stingy!)

So there you go, my daily skin care routine! Let me know if you enjoyed reading this, want more information on any of the products (i.e, links about where to buy them etc), pictures of the products etc! as I said, I really enjoy reading these and writing it was super fun, so I think I'll do a few more of these. If you really don't want to read anymore of these then let me know, and if enough of you object, I might make a separate beauty blog. 

Best Wishes! 

xx

ps. I'm gonna attempt BEDA this month, as well as NaPoWriMo (more of them later), so expect to see an extra lot of me this month!