If you follow me on social media or subscribe to my YouTube channel then you know I generally don’t wear makeup, and when I do I tend to keep it very lightweight because my skincare is important to me. While I’m working on a separate post for my everyday makeup, I did a poll earlier this year on Instagram and a lot of people have requested more information on my skincare routine. I’m certainly not a skincare expert but this seems to be working for me right now so I figured I’d share it with y’all!

I know how a good skin day can make or break a mood, and how important it can be to a person to have clean and clear skin. Here are some simple and easy to follow “rules” that you can keep in your back pocket for a good skincare routine & healthier skin in general:

  • Wash your face every morning & night

  • Apply moisturizer after every wash

  • Use sunscreen daily

  • Clean your makeup brushes every week or 2 weeks

  • Wash your pillow cases every 1-2 weeks

  • Avoid touching your face during the day unless your hands are just washed & clean

Cleansers

 

I’ve experimented with cleansers a lot over the last year and these are my tried-and-true favorites! I had used the “Drunk Elephant Beste™ No. 9 Jelly Cleanser” for a while but was looking to shop around. I wanted to see if the love for Tula was justified so I tried out their ‘5-Piece Essentials Kit’.

My favorites were the cleanser and the day & night cream, so I’ve integrated those into my current routine! I also double cleanse, especially on the days I wear any makeup. Using an oil based cleanser first is a great way to break up makeup and dirt particles to give yourself a deeper clean.

My favorite regular and oil based cleansers are:

Serums and Treatments

 

Like I said before, I am no skincare expert; every decision that you make should be based on your own skin’s needs. Based on my research, the only things that every person needs daily are a cleanser, a moisturizer, and sunscreen. Anything else that you choose should be based on what you’re currently working with. For me, I have combination skin – not super oily, random dry/hyperpigmentation patches, I don’t get acne often but I do have dark spots and acne scarring from what I have gotten. The below products are what kick my skin into high gear and give me a long lasting glow!

  • Elemis Resurfacing Pads – I saw a huge improvement in my acne scarring when I started using this after cleansing
  • AHA/BHA Peeling Solution (AM/PM)- use 1-2 times a week at most, never leaving on for more than 10 minutes, leaves me with a healthy glow
  • Hyaluronic Acid (use AM/PM) – pulls moisture out of the air to keep your skin moisturized & plump
  • Niacinamide (AM) – helps reduce redness
  • Vitamin C Serum (AM) – help heal blemishes, reduce hyperpigmentation, and give your skin a great glow
  • TLC Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum – skip if you’ve done the above peeling solution, resurfaces skin by lifting away dead skin cells to improve skin tone, texture, fine lines, & wrinkles.

Moisturizers and Sunscreen

 

As I mentioned earlier, these two items are ones that every single person should have in their routine, no matter what! I know you may not think you need sunscreen daily, but trust me you do. I live in seattle where its gray and rainy 70% of the year, I still wear sunscreen every day. There’s the obvious factor of minimizing your risk for skin cancer, but wearing sunscreen every day also helps prevent age spots, fine lines, and wrinkles. Depending on your moisturizer of choice, it’s normally beneficial to have a separate sunscreen from your moisturizer to get the best protection.

When looking for a moisturizer the basic rule of thumb is that you should choose it based on your skin type. If you are oily or combination, during the day you’ll want a lighter texture moisturizer. If you tend to have dryer skin, then you’ll want something thicker with potentially more nourishing ingredients. I also add a few self-tanning drops in my moisturizer one or two times a week. I normally do it during the day but the best part of the drop I linked below is that it doesn’t transfer. So if you wanted to do it at night, once your moisturizer sets you don’t have to worry about it getting on your pillow!

My favorite moisturizers & sunscreens are:

Those are all of the skincare products I’m currently using! Obviously as the seasons change, I swap out a few for others just like I do with my haircare routine. Obviously consult a dermatologist if you have any growing skincare concerns or to confirm that you’re routine is what’s best for your skin. I recently went in to verify that what I was doing would in fact give me the best skin possible for my wedding in a year. Do you have a go-to products? Let me know in the comments!