My Current Skincare Routine: Morning & Evening

In my early-mid 20's I decided I should start taking care of my skin. That meant that I would wash my makeup off every night and moisturize. I was nailing it. In my late 20's was when I started worrying about aging skin. I started protecting my skin from the sun (ciao tanning beds!) and invested in a nicer moisturizer.

Now that I'm 34 I'm starting to think that my attempts at taking care of my skin were on the pathetic side. It's not that my skin looks awful or anything but thanks to social media and YouTube I know what other people use on their skin and my routine was amateur in comparison. I just started really committing to eye cream this year and I definitely know I'm really late to that party. I just never knew which one to buy and I'm admittedly not the best at remembering (or wanting) to spend a lot of time pampering myself. If you don't believe me just take a look at my nails, they will make you sad. I also have my makeup routine down to a 3 minute routine... 5 minutes if I'm feeling fancy.

My skin when I was pregnant made me really rethink my whole skin care routine. My goodness was it dry. I honestly felt like the life had been sucked out of me through my skin and any time I attempted to wear any sort of face makeup it was gone after a few hours. I'm honestly convinced my skin sucked my makeup in through my pores as an attempt to hydrate.

Over those 9 months I really had to figure out new ways to moisturize without causing my face to breakout and I can finally say I'm really happy with my current skin care routine. It's simple and leaves my skin feeling hydrated and full of life.

Cleansing: I switched up my regular face wash for a cleansing oil which I use in the morning and evening. I discovered this clinique cleansing oil and after reading some great reviews I decided to give it a try. Right away I noticed a huge difference in how my skin felt right after washing. Normally my skin would feel extremely dry and I would need to moisturize immediately but that tight sensation was gone after washing with the oil. If you have dry skin I highly recommend giving a cleansing oil a whirl. I wash my face using hot water to try to open up and clear out my pores. In the morning, after washing with hot water, I follow up with cold water to try to close those pores back up before I apply makeup. I also think this helps make me look more awake. In the evening I skip the cold water step and allow my skin to really absorb my serum and moisturizer.

 I just started (and I mean just started, I've used it twice) using the Clinique charcoal cleansing gel in the mornings instead of the cleansing oil because I received a sample but I can't give an opinion yet. It claims to pull impurities out of the pores so we will see how that goes.

Eye Cream: I was recommended this Keihl's eye cream because it helps brighten dark undereye circles. Obviously it won't eliminate them but the vitamin C helps brighten and I will take any help I can get.I haven't been using it for too long so I can't say it's the best eye cream out there but I like what I'm seeing so far!

Serum: As I mentioned in my recent favourites video, I am in love with the Sunday Riley Good Genes Serum. I've definitely noticed my skin looks brighter and more even. It's on the pricier side so right now I'm using it every morning and every second evening. 

Evening Moisturizer: While I use the same cleansing oil, eye cream and serum in the morning and in the evening, I switch up my moisturizers. I started incorporating this Origins Drink-Up Intensive mask into my nighttime skincare regimine as an attempt to save that horribly dry pregnancy skin I spoke about earlier. It honestly saved my skin. I still apply it every evening as a moisturizer and in the morning my skin is super hydrated.

Morning Moisturizer: In the morning I use the clinique moisture surge gel-cream to give my skin a boost of moisture. It's been my favourite for a while now and I even mentioned it in a recent post about favourite products. I love how it makes my skin feel and while normally I have to switch to a thicker moisturizer when the weather gets cooler, combined with the origins mask in the evenings, I haven't had to stop using it yet.

I definitely don't have perfect skin and thanks to all of the filters available out there I've actually become really critical about how it looks. I am someone who compares myself to everyone (it's a curse) so when I see flawless skin on snapchat and I can't tell if a filter is being used I start to beat myself up. Oh social media, how I love and hate you.

With that said, I have been really happy with how my skin has been looking using this combination of products. Even though I really love these products, I am always open to trying new ones so let me know what your favourites are! I love hearing about other people's ride or die skincare products! I'm especially open to hearing what your favourite eye creams and winter moisturizers are.