Sep 21

What's In My Skincare Routine

Diving into the skincare products I'm currently enjoying.

While a lot of the world is getting back into their normal routines, I’m currently keeping quarantined as Portland is still closed for the most part. With all the time I’ve got on my hands, I’ve taken the past few months to understand my skin more to keep my face looking healthy and young with minimal breakouts. I tend to lean more towards the oily side, so my skin is much more prone to breakouts than most. Though it has lessened over time, this is something I’ve struggled with since my teen years and never really learned how to manage it correctly. If you had asked me a year ago, I’d tell you my skincare routine was a basic two-step face wash and daily moisturizer. This isn’t bad necessarily, but I’ve grown to understand the importance of products such as serums, exfoliants, and of course SUNSCREEN. So now that I am learning more about my own skin, I thought I’d share what I am currently using on a daily and why. I assume this routine will be constantly changing with some things being altered and other steps being added, but I’m pretty happy with where I’ve started and am excited to share what is working for me at the moment.

NUORI Vital Foaming Cleanser

I always start off with cleansing my face with a gentle face wash. I love this one as it isn’t overly stripping to the skin and doesn’t make it feel tight or dehydrated when removed. {affiliate link}

Maapilim Balancing Toner

For a deeper cleanse, I like to apply a toner every night. This toner in particular contains AHAs which help remove dead skin cells on the surface level. A toner isn’t necessary but it’s something I enjoy having in my routine.

Krave Beauty Kale-Lalu-yAHA

Every other night, I apply a chemical exfoliant which gets even deeper into the skin and removes excess oil and dead skin cells. This stuff is perfect for those with oily and acne prone skin. If you’ve never used a chemical exfoliant before, I highly recommend this one as it is fairly gentle and only has a slight tingle which is normal.

Maapilim Facial Mud Mask

Usually once a week, I will skip the exfoliant and treat myself to a face mask. I love how my skin feels so refreshed after this one and doesn’t dehydrate my skin like I’ve experienced with other mud masks.

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

This is an active that I have recently learned is a great ingredient for anyone experiencing redness, hyperpigmentation and oiliness. This product in particular has really helped fade away some of my old scarring. I use this once a day, usually in the mornings.

Maapilim Age Defying Face Moisturizer

I’m not too particular when it comes to moisturizers, but I like to apply this one at night as it is a little heavier than what I opt for in the mornings. This is perfect for rehydrating the face after all the nightly treatments.

Baxter of California Oil Free Moisturizer

While at night I can benefit from a heavy moisturizer, I like to use something lighter in the mornings as my face is already naturally oily and doesn’t need a whole lot of hydration to get through the day.

Maapilim Eye Cream

Morning and night, I will add in an eye cream to reduce my dark circles and wrinkles under my eyes. While I usually feel like eye creams don’t tend to work, I have noticed slight improvements in my under-eye area while using this one.

Supergoop! Mattescreen

This is one step in your skincare I have been told to never skip. In the mornings, I like to apply this sunscreen as the last step for optimal protection from the sun. Good sunscreens can be difficult to find as they may be too low on SPF (I recommend 30+), feel sticky, have a white cast, or even make your face shiny and oily. This one has a light matte finish which has really helped my face not get as oily throughout the day and feels as if I’m not even wearing sunscreen.