Skin care is so incredibly important, but I think it gets overlooked by a lot of women. I don’t know about you, but I always find myself splurging on new makeup, but then being stingy when it comes to buying skin care products. I quickly realized that if I wanted to have a beautiful canvas to apply makeup onto, I needed to take better care of my skin, starting with my skin care routine.
If your skin isn’t healthy, your makeup application will not be as smooth and flawless as you would like it to be. All of the beauty gurus I love take amazing care of their skin and that is why their makeup application looks so incredible. It is important to invest in high quality products that have ingredients in them that actually do what they claim to do. I have found a nighttime skin care routine that works super well for me, so if you want me to let you in on my secrets, keep reading!
My Nighttime Skin Care Routine
Products I use:
- Clinique Cleansing Oil
- Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
- Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Pads
- Perricone MD Firming Eye Cream
- Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance
- Mario Badescu Drying Lotion
Step 1:
The first thing I do is pump a few drops of the Clinique Cleansing Oil into my hands. I rub the oil into my dry skin, and it dissolves all the makeup on my face. I rub it into my skin as well as my eyes to remove all of the makeup from my skin and eye area. Once I feel like I have worked the oil into my skin, I rinse my face with warm water. All of the makeup is removed from my face and eyes at this point.
Step 2:
The cleansing oil leaves an oily residue on my face, so I always wash my face with my Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant afterwards. I sprinkle some of the powder into my hand, mix it with water and apply it to my face in circular motions, avoiding the eye area. This face wash is amazing because it is an exfoliator, but it is gentle enough to use daily.
I was struggling with break outs along my jaw line and I had a professional makeup artist suggest this face wash to me. She told me it would help prevent break outs and it has truly helped! This doesn’t have the most pleasant scent, but it does the job and that is all that matters. Once I rinse my face with water, my skin feels silky smooth.
Step 3:
I have never personally gotten a chemical peel before, but I know that after all of the peeling is said and done, the benefits of a peel are absolutely incredible. They leave your face glowing, hydrated, and very refreshed. When I was at Ulta, I saw these face pads that claimed to minimize pores, wrinkles and fine lines. Sign me up for anything of that nature! I liked the idea of getting similar chemical peel benefits from these little pads that you can use at home.
I use these pads 3 times a week. You rub it all over your face, neck, and the top of your hands (random, I know!) and leave it on your skin for 3 minutes. It tingles a bit but it is nothing too intense. After 3 minutes is up, you rinse your face, neck, and hands with water. You are left with brighter, tighter looking skin! After using this product, your face lotion is able to sink into your skin even deeper, and your skin looks and feels so soft and hydrated.
I love using these the night before I fake tan because I feel like my skin is 10x more exfoliated than normal, and my tan looks much more even on my face and neck. These little face pads are seriously amazing! I would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking to really step up their skin care routine.
Step 4:
After my face is completely dry, I dab on my eye cream with my ring finger. I start applying my eye cream to my under eye, and I work my way around my eye up to my brow bone. I have been using this eye cream for a couple of years, and I have already noticed a huge difference in my under eyes. I have less fine lines, and my concealer never looks cakey because this eye cream is super hydrating. I have tried many different eye creams over the years and I keep repurchasing this one.
Step 5:
Next I apply my face cream. This may sound stupid, but I used to use a face cream that was in a jar, but every time my fingers reached in to get the product, I would have so much of the product go underneath my nails and I felt like I was being so wasteful! #FirstWorldProblems.
Anyway, I was determined to find a face cream that was in a bottle that I could squeeze into my hand. I did some research and came across this Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance. I have very dry skin so I wanted to find something that would be hydrating enough for skin type. I am happy to report that it checks all the boxes for me! This bottle of lotion will last me a very long time because you only need to use about a pea size since a little goes a long way, and it comes with 3.4 oz of product!
I don’t know what it is but Dermalogica products are not known for their good scents. This lotion does not have the most pleasant smell at first, but it goes away as soon as it sinks into your skin. Every morning when I wake up, my face still feels so nice and smooth from applying it the night before.
Step 6:
Most of the time, I end my nighttime skin care routine after step 5, unless I have a breakout on my face. I found this Mario Badescu Drying Lotion years ago and I swear by it. Anytime I have a breakout, I dip a Q-tip into this drying lotion, and dab it directly onto my problem area. This stuff will dry out your break out and it seriously works magic while you sleep. It is VERY drying so if you have dry skin like me, use it sparingly.
Once again, this has a very strong odor, so don’t be surprised by that. Whenever I come to bed with a dab of this on my face, my husband says every time without fail “do you have that pink stuff on your face again???” It seems like the products that work the best don’t always smell the best, but I would MUCH rather use products that do the job than use things that smell great and don’t do anything to benefit my skin. Also, I think it is a good sign when these products aren’t super fragrant because it means there aren’t artificial ingredients being added to my products. The more natural the better!
That is the end of my nighttime skin care routine! I have been using these products for awhile and I love each and every one of them for many reasons. My face always feels so clean, exfoliated, and hydrated before bed which is very important to me. I am trying my best to take great care of my skin, and I know this nighttime routine has been helping a lot!
If you have any questions about any of the steps I take or products that I use, please leave me your questions in the comment section below! If there are any must have products in your skin care routine that I am missing out on, let me in on your secrets!
Thanks for stopping by!
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Photo Credit: Lauren Eichar