my current skincare routine

For a long time I didn’t care much about my skincare. I washed my face in the shower with whatever was on sale at the grocery store when I needed to buy more and I tried to treat the acne that I did have with harsh OXY pads that just made my skin more oily.

It wasn’t until the past few years that I started caring about how I was taking care of my skin and it is amazing to see how my skin has improved and become more clear over this time. I can even tell the difference when I travel and don’t take everything with me as I found myself breaking out and my skin not as nice as when I am at home.

As I have mentioned multiple times on this blog, I am working to make all the products that I use cruelty free and I have been very successful with this in terms of my makeup collection, but skincare has proven to be a little bit harder (and don’t get me started on hair, that is a whole other post). My latest switch in this past week has been with my micellar water and with that I believe that I have curated a routine that works for me and my skin and is good to the animals as well.

One brand that you will see a lot through this is Lush. Lush has been one of my favourite brands for both bath products and skin care for years which was wonderful as I have been taking control of my collection and realizing that many of the products I had were already cruelty free. The saddest thing that I will have to say goodbye to when I run out of it is a set of 6 face masks that I have loved. While there are many other masks out there that I know I can switch to, I loved having a multitude of different types to chose from based on how I and my face were feeling on any given day.
Morning Routine

My morning routine starts with toner, which I use with my h omemade cotton rounds that I wrote about last week. I use the Lush Tea Tree Toner and this is a product that I have been using as long as I can remember. It both refreshes my face and makes my face feel much cleaner and ready to start the day.
Next I move on to Serum, which is also a long standing Lush product, Grease Lightning. I focus this on my problem areas, which for me is my chin and forehead, but generally run a bit of this all over my entire face.
After this I move into some form of eye cream or hydrating cream for under my eyes. Though I am still young, I think it is important to take care of the delicate skin that is under my eyes. I am currently using a mini version of the Milk Cooling Water which fits perfectly in the space under my eyes and makes me feel refreshed and hydrated.
Lastly is moisturizer. Now as someone who has had oily skin since I became I teenager I used to not think that I needed to use moisturizer. In reality my skin needed that moisture and now I have much fewer issues with oil as my face doesn’t feel the need to compensate for my dehydrated skin. I am currently using First Aid Beauty’s Ultra Repair Cream which seemed way too thick at first, but has turned out to work perfectly.

Nighttime Routine

My nighttime routine is very similar to my morning routine with just a few added products at the beginning to take off my makeup. I currently don’t feel the need to have a different toner, serum, and moisturizer in the morning and night.

I start each night by removing my makeup. For years I used makeup wipes for this and I now cringe to think about how many wipes I threw away, plus I feel like they never worked perfectly. I now use Ultrabland from Lush which is a cream cleanser. I take a little bit of this in my hand and gently rub all over my face, including my eye area. When I take my hands away I end up looking a bit raccoon like with the black marks around my eyes, but it removes everything wonderfully. I then take a warm damp washcloth and remove everything left behind.
As good as any makeup remover is, there is usually a little bit left behind which is where Micellar Water comes in. I find that this is a great gentle way to remove anything left on my skin. I am just finishing up my non cruelty free bottle of Garnier micellar water and then will be switching to the Yes To version.

Two/Three Times Per Week

I have never been a huge fan of actually washing my face in the sink as I found that due to my height I found myself making a huge mess of the bathroom sink that I didn’t want to have to clean up every day which I why I do my main face wash in the shower. I am currently using the Alba Botanical Pineapple Enzyme Wash that both smells really good and makes my face feel really clean.
I love face masks and I will usually always have one on when I am in the bath, but I do them at other times as well when my face is feeling in need of a little TLC. I love all of the Lush face masks that I have used so far, but my current one is the Mask of Magnaminty which makes my face feel nice and fresh and smells like mint which is really nice. This is a bit of a heavier mask though, so I am on the hunt for a lighter gel mask to replace my non-cruelty free favourites when I run out.

As we head into spring and summer my routine won’t change much, but I am looking for a great lightweight and cruelty free sunscreen to add to my routine. I am extremely pale and need a good sunscreen, but I want to avoid some of the harsh chemicals that are in most sunscreens. If you have any that you love (and that aren’t too expensive) I would love to hear about them.

At 24 years of age I am really happy with my skin and the products that I am putting on them. My face is nowhere near as oily as it used to be and the few minutes that I spend at the beginning and end of each day doing my skincare is both relaxing and rewarding.

What are you favourite skincare products? What do I need to check out?