Beauty Without Fuss

Tuesday 31 August 2010

My Current Skin Care Routine

I've tried a lot of skincare this year - and I'll bring you some reviews of some of those brands soon, but I thought it would be nice to talk about what I'm using at the moment, as I'm really happy with it, and my skin is about as good as it's been in the last few years, so I thought people might like to know about it!

First of all, the Clarisonic.  I swear, this has been the single biggest difference I've made to my skin this year.  I, like many people, initially thought it was a bit of a gimmick, after all, it's essentially a giant toothbrush for your face!  But the difference it's made to my skin is amazing.  It's dealt with my troublesome forehead dry patch that I've been plagued with for years, and I've been able to use less product, and need to rely less on heavy foundations as a result.  Truly, the Clarisonic is a habit-changer, and I'm glad it's appeared in my life.  I use mine twice a day, and it's one of those products that you can really tell the difference if you've skipped a day.



A couple of months ago, I bought a collection of Alpha H products from QVC (it contains cleanser, moisturiser, eye cream, liquid gold and a mask - it's the five piece smoothing collection on this page here) and these have formed the basis of my routine ever since.  In particular, I'm a big fan of the balancing cleanser and the Liquid Gold itself.

In the morning, I use the Balancing Cleanser - alongside the Clarisonic, and I find it cooling and refreshing on my skin. I'm not, ordinarily, a fan of cream cleansers, but this doesn't leave any residue, and leaves my skin feeling clean and smooth.  There's no real scent to it, and I've had no breakouts whatsoever since I bought it. I have a massive 200ml tube which has lasted me two months so far and I estimate I'm about half way down it so far. However, I do not double cleanse, I find that on my (sensitive, and temperamental) skin, double cleansing is just a recipe for dryness and redness, personally.

I follow this with the Alpha H Age Delay Lip and Eye cream, and then I've been following it with Murad Active Radiance serum, which provides a massive vitamin C boost for the skin, and helps repair sun damage.  I like that is absorbs quickly, and it gives my skin a little tingle in the mornings when I use it.  I follow that with either Murad Sheer Lustre Day Moisture (SPF 15), if I'm planning to wear foundation that day, it's a nice, very light lotion that leaves my skin with a nice sheeny glow and provides a great base for some of the foundations I've been trialling recently. There's a golden sheen to it in the tube, which just adds a little radiance to my skin, and I like it a great deal.

If it's a day where I just want a tinted moisturiser, then I'll break out my tried and trusted Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturising Balm in Light-to-medium. I love this product, and have been using it for at least five years now, it's pigmented enough to even out your skintone, but it's also, let's face it, a damn fine moisturiser. It's also one of the nicest smelling cosmetic products I own, I love the stuff, and this must be my fifth or even sixth jar now, it's a summer staple.

In the evenings, I once again cleanse with the Balancing Cleanser (or, if it's an OTT makeup day, I use Nude Cleansing Oil), again with the eyecream, and then follow with the  Alpha H Liquid Gold.  Initially, I thought this was a toner, but it's actually a glycolic acid-based treatment that gently helps to resurface your skin overnight.  I love this stuff, it's one of very few products where you can actually see the difference in your skin the morning after.  Your skin will just glow, and you'll look like you had at least ten hours sleep.  My only issue with this product is that you have to apply it to cotton wool, and it turns out that I really don't like applying things with cotton wool.  Yes, I'm a bit odd.  It's fine, I'm used to it.

It's not really recommended that you use Liquid Gold every night (you'll resurface yourself into oblivion if you do!) so on aternate nights, I use the Rejuvenating Cream as a night treatment.  Meant for daily use on mature skins, this is a little too rich for me to use all the time, but I find every other night as a boost to the Liquid Gold, it's perfect as a night cream.

This has been a very long post for what is actually a pretty simple routine!  I'm currently swapping in a couple of new products (changing the night cream, and the serum, basically), for review purposes but this is what I've been using for the last couple of months, and I've loved it.  What's your current routine, and what wonder products have you found and enjoyed recently?

The Fine Print: Some of the products mentioned in this post were provided by PR for review purposes.  Others I bought.  It doesn't matter which is which.  I like what I like, and it matters not in the slightest under those circumstances how I came by the product.  So there, how's about them apples?
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5 comments

  1. I love hearing about what other people use! Its like looking on to their bathroom shelf.

    I use a lot of Dermalogica and different bits and pieces.

    Dermalogica Dermal Clay cleanser morning and night. Daily Microfoliant only in the morning. I love this. Feels like my face has been polished. Followed by a creamy L'Oreal toner (don't remember the name). Then Oil Control Lotion for daytime.

    At night I start with Shu Uemura Cleanising Oil to remove make up and moisturise with Dermalogica Active moist.

    For masks, either Dermalogica's Skin Refining mask or Chanel's Purifying mask. Whatever my hand gets to first.

    For eyecream, I'm currently loving Origins GinZing eye cream, but I'm on the look out for something else.

    I'm dying to try out Alpha H....heard so many good things, so won't be long till I get my hands on those babies :-) oh and the Clarasonic! All on the list.

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  2. I like to keep things simple and this is what's working for me at the moment. Dove cleanser with The Body Shop facial buffer in the morning, followed by L'oreal UV Perfect XL. Same cleanser at night then Avene Cleanance K. Every couple of days a massage/clean with grapeseed oil.

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  3. This is a fantastic post! As I mentioned to you on twitter, I just watched the AlphaH QVC programme I recorded ages ago (I blame those pesky kids ;) ) and my interest has been piqued! The products sound absolutely amazing, I'm particularly interested in the Liquid Gold. The Murad Lustre Day Moisturiser sounds right up my street too. If my skin has a glow I really think it makes foundation application so much easier. I shall definitely looking in to these more!
    Jane x

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  4. We are thrilled to hear that you are loving your Clarisonic. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. We couldn't do it without your support. If you ever have questions please let us know. Find us on Twitter @Clarisonic or via email info@clarisonic.com. We're here to help. Happy Cleansing!

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  5. man. mine is way simple. sometimes clarisonic in the morning with the gentle cleanser, then vaishaly spf lotion (and sometimes avene spf 50 if im outside). if no clarisonic then just a cleansing wipe and go.

    nighttime i clarisonic and then use vaishaly oil

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