My Morning Skin Care Routine

Hello to all my lovely readers. May I take this opportunity to apologise for my blogging hiatus. Christmas is now well and truly gone, we’re settled back into our daily routine and it’s a brand-new year. It’s a perfect time to start a fresh with some New Year’s resolutions and establishing some healthy new routines.

If you don’t already have a skin care routine, now is the time to start. Whether you’re in your early twenties or late fifties there are products out there for you. Taking care of your skin is so, SO important. I can’t emphasise that enough. I would spend my money on skin care before venturing anywhere near the make-up aisles. What’s the point in splashing out on a designer foundation if your base has been neglected? Invest in your skin first and foremost.

My skin care routine has perhaps been my most highly requested blog. I have tried and loved so many brands and products and, of course, my evening skin care routine is very different from my morning routine. Therefore, I’m going to separate them into two posts starting with my morning routine.

I’ve said this before, I’m not a skin care expert by any means. No-one can educate you on the importance of skin care like Caroline Hirons. She is an absolute genius and her wealth of knowledge alongside her vibrant personality and dry sense of humour is addictive. I love her blog, Instagram and her YouTube channel. Your skin will thank you for heeding her advice with a lot of laughs along the way!

Now for me, I have extremely dry skin. I suffered very badly as a child with Eczema and despite growing out of this largely, I still suffer with tight, uncomfortable skin if I don’t pay attention to it. It’s like a needy child, always there, demanding attention, but it can be kept at bay and behave if it’s given love and attention.

Before I go on, as always the products underlined are linked straight to reputable and trusted websites if you wish to buy. These products are pretty affordable!

So, let’s start with the first step of my morning routine. I cleanse my skin. I have obviously cleansed my skin thoroughly before bed the night before, but it’s still important to cleanse your skin in the morning to rid of any dirt, sweat or product that’s lingering on your skin. The products you layer on top need a clean, fresh base to absorb and do their job! My favourite cleanser is the Clinique take the day off cleansing balm (LINK). It’s wonderful for sensitive skin, its fragrance free and melts into your skin like a dream. It comes in the form of a balm but as soon as your rub it into the skin it turns into a silky oil and breaks down make up and dirt effortlessly. I then get a clean flannel, rinse it under warm water, drain the excess and wipe all over my face until it is clean. Using a flannel not only gives your face a good clean, it also gives a gentle daily exfoliation. Use a fresh one every day and night. I keep a little basket beside my sink and pop them in after use. You can buy packs of five from Primark for a pound so there’s no excuse! I wash them without fabric softener which keeps them fluffy and plump and I pop them in the dryer which also helps maintain their bounciness! I love to stack them all up neatly beside my sink ready to use again.

Now if there is any remaining make-up I take a cotton pad. My favourite ones are the cotton pads (LINK) from boots, they’re so soft. I soak the cotton pad in a micellar water. There is a plethora of these available, but you cannot beat the Garnier micellar water (LINK) both by performance and price point. Micellar water is made up of tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules suspended in soft water. Applying this to the skin on a cotton pad looks and feels just like water. It’s very gentle yet effective at removing make up. I particularly love to remove heavy eye makeup with this.

Now my face is clean and ready for product. My next step is eye cream. I never skip this step. I start off by applying Caffeine Solution 5% from The Ordinary (LINK). This is an insanely cheap oil which works wonders and is frequently sold out due to its popularity. It tightens the under-eye area and provides a healthy dose of caffeine which helps reduce puffiness and dark circles. I then go over the top of this and apply my moisturising eye cream to keep the area hydrated. My favourite for the morning is the Kiehl’s creamy eye treatment with avocado (LINK) It’s as creamy and rich as the name suggests and is a great base for applying concealer on top.

Next, I apply my serum. This next one is life changing. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration but it’s one of those products that once you try it, it’s in your routine for good. It’s a very hyped product in the beauty industry, but it deserves every morsel of that hype! The serum in question is the Indeed Laboratories Hydraluron Serum (LINK). This clever, affordable little product is packed with hyaluronic acid. It’s basically a moisture magnet. This acid is found in the body and maintains a reservoir of water in the top layers of skin. As we age, our ability to produce this decreases dramatically. This serum contains the purest hyaluronic acid which can hold up to 1000 times its own weight in water, meaning that any moisturiser you apply on top is more powerful and effective as it stays there and doesn’t evaporate from the skin. There’s no point in using this serum on its own, its designed to suck up the moisture layered on top, into the skin. It’s like having a big glass of water for the skin in the morning. Don’t use an oil on top, use a rich moisturiser. Look out for the 3 for 2 offers in boots and stock up!

I then layer on my moisturiser. I love the whole Avene extremely rich range. I use a lighter cream in the morning, but I still want a rich, buttery texture. I love the Avene skin rich recovery cream (LINK). It leaves my skin feeling plump and comfortable for the rest of the day, whilst still providing a good base for makeup.

I always apply SPF daily. The sun is the single most ageing thing for your skin. UV rays are the primary cause for wrinkles, sun spots, pigmentation and loss of elasticity. In the summer I wear factor 50 and in the winter, I opt for something a bit less like 25. Yes, I wear SPF all year round. You can still get UV damage in the winter! I once read that the one part of your body that doesn’t tend to wrinkle is your bottom, because it is never exposed to sunlight. Unless you like to do that on holiday of course! No judgement …..just use SPF! You can do this in the form of a cream or spray. I recommend the Body Shop Multi-Protection essence in SPF50 (LINK). You simply won’t believe the high protection factor when you try this. It’s so lightweight and invisible on the skin. It’s a MUST for holiday. Keep your face out of the sun and fake the glow instead! Pixi have come up with an innovative product in their Sun Mist (LINK). It’s a sheer, light spray of SPF which can be worn under or over make up. Absolute genius! So, you can reapply your SPF throughout the day on holiday without disturbing your make up!

Now I tend to go about making breakfast, making the beds, preparing the children’s schoolbags etc after my routine and before I put my make up on. So when it is time to get ready, I apply an oil to my skin. I absolutely LOVE the Kiehl’s daily reviving oil (LINK). Because I have dry skin, this product allows my foundation to sit beautifully on top. It also strengthens the skin’s defences against daily aggressors and keeps it radiant all day. It also smells like oranges, Jaffa Cakes in particular. Yum.

Now you may feel a bit overwhelmed reading this and think that you simply don’t have the time for so many skin care steps, but once you’re in the routine it takes just a couple of minutes from your day. Nor am I telling you that you need to use every single one of these products, this is just what works for me. My routine keeps my skin looking and feeling great and that’s very important to me after an entire childhood of hating my skin and how it looked.

Keep your eyes peeled for my evening skin care routine which is coming soon! I’d love to know what your favourite products are and remember….

‘I regret taking such good care of my skin’ – Said no-one ever.

Love