Current Skincare Routine | January 2013

In keeping with my new years resolutions, here is my current skincare regime... yay! I actually have one finally. I've always been quite jealous of you lot who have a religious routine on a night and in the morning, I've never had that and I've really neglected my skin over the last... well forever really. I've dibbled and dabbled in different products but I finally have a concrete regime which I do religiously every single night and every single morning... no matter how tired I am because I figure that my skin is getting better and if I leave my makeup on for just one night my skin might completely rebel and go back to being all blemished and horrible.

So I have two different routines, one for morning, the other for night purely because my skin has different needs at different times of day, at night I need something heavy duty so I know that my make up is all cleansed off properly and night time is when the skin repairs and regenerates so it's the perfect time to pop products on that have all night to do their magic on your skin. 

However, in the morning my skin doesn't crave heavy products because it's had a night of restoration and there shouldn't be much left on my skin, it's sometimes a little oily and that's all that needs to be gotten rid of. 

A.M. Routine

Cleanser - Soap and Glory 'Peaches and Clean' Deep Cleansing Milk (Boots, £6.00)

Moisturiser - Clarins HydraQuench Lotion (Debenhams, £33.50)

I use the lightest possible products for my morning routine because I don't want my face to start off as a greasy canvas for my makeup, it doesn't need any encouragement to produce oil. The S&G Peaches and Clean is quite thin in consistency, smells lovely and gets rid of any excess oil in just one cleanse, it also freshens my face and wakes me up a little bit. I massage into my face, concentrating on my t-zone which is where I'm most oily and wipe off with a clean flannel soaked in warm water. 

I follow with Clarins Hydraquench lotion because it's light enough not to make my skin greasy but heavy enough to satisfy the dryer parts of my face and ensures that makeup doesn't have any dry bits to cling to through the day. The lady at the counter recommended this for me as I said I don't find gel formulas do enough for my skin so this was the next step up without having a full on cream.

P.M. Routine

Cleanser - Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm (Feel Unique, £27.20)

After Cleanse - Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (Liberty London, £38.50*)

Toner - Liz Earle Skin Tonic Spritz (Liz Earle, £13.00)

Exfoliating Toner (Replaces Liz Earle once every 3 nights) - Alpha H Liquid Gold (Look Fantastic, £31.50)

Moisturiser - Clarins Hydraquench Lotion (Debenhams, £33.50)

As I explained, I have a much more extensive routine on a night because that's when my skin does most of its  regenerating, not only that I quite enjoy that bit of pampering just before I got to bed, I love sitting on the bed massaging in EH Cleansing Balm and feeling how clean my skin is when I've completed my routine. 

The Emma Hardie Balm is becoming a real hit in the beauty blogging world, I've given you my first impressions already and I'm still liking it, touch wood it hasn't broken me out or caused any problems and leaves my skin feeling clean yet really hydrated. 

The Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant* is a nice additive to my skincare routine, I've never really heard of using a microfoliant every day but I'm really liking using this because it makes my skin feel so smooth. Basically you wet your hands pour some in your hands to make a paste and massage. What I tend to do is use this when I aren't using the Liquid Gold as I find using the two is a little much and makes my skin a bit prone to stinging and dryness.

The Liz Earle Skin Tonic is such a pleasure to use, I can't really say anything bad about it because it's so easy with the spritzer, smells beautiful and makes my skin feeling lovely. Enough said really, have a look at my full review if you'd like to know a bit more.

An exfoliating toner is a new one to me, Alpha H has been highly recommended by lots of bloggers including skincare wizard Caroline Hirons (the main reason why I bought it). You soak a cotton wool pad in it and sweep across the face, it does cause a bit of tingling but all seems good with my skin so far; you can either use this with or without a moisturiser after, using without is more of an intense treatment as I assume the moisturiser neutralises the acid. This should not be used daily; as Caroline points out it's like a chemical peel.

I use the Hydraquench on a night aswell because I find it's enough, I worry about using heavy creams even at night because I like my skin to be able to breathe, I probably use more of this on a night and concentrate on the sides of my face and my chin where I get most dryness.

Most of these products will be getting a full review in due course but as you can appreciate I'm trying them out properly so I can give you a well informed opinion, because I know that what works for me within the first 2 weeks or so might not do by the end of a month of use. I think it's so important to keep you guys updated because I don't want you buying something 6 months down the line because I said it works when really it might have broken me out 3 weeks down the line!! 

Are any of these products in your current skincare routine?