Current Skincare Routine

That's it. I confess. I have spent the better part of my teenage years with my head buried in the sand when it comes to skincare. In my ignorance, all I needed was some sort of makeup remover, water, and a moisturiser. I was a mole, myopically digging my way around the skincare world, not knowing what would be good for my skin, what my skin needed, heck, not even what my skin type is.

This year, however, a stroke of luck at a Boxing Day 2012 sale at John Lewis opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of skincare, and it transformed the way I think about beauty entirely. I have seen the light. A duo of Clarins's Cleansing Milk with Alpine Herbs and Toning Lotion with Camomile was half price in the sale, and I snapped it up, thinking that it could not possibly make my skin react worse than it did with the Clinique 3-step System. Lo and behold, this combination was incredibly gentle on my very sensitive, dry skin, and the experience was so wonderful that I stuck to the cleansing regime. Before long, I was enamoured with toners and ditched the make-up removing wipes, and was excited to explore what other products I could try out once I was done with the Clarins combo. 

With the help of a few blogs along the way, notably those of Anna and Caroline Hirons, I am slowly but surely adding worthwhile things to my skincare arsenal. My cleansing habits have changed since my it-stings-real-bad-so-it-must-be-working days, and I take my skin's well-being much more seriously.

So without further ado, here is my current cleansing lineup.

Starring:

Clarins Extra-Comfort Cleansing Cream: My cleansing hero. This does not dry my skin out at all. I slather this on and massage my face for a few minutes, really working the product in to take off any makeup and dirt. This is followed by a (clean) hot damp flannel, used to wipe off all the cream. This sounds really gross, but I love seeing all the grime come off onto the white flannel. The perks of using flannel cloths in your cleansing routine have been covered extensively by Ms Hirons - they offer an initial exfoliating step without being too abrasive, amongst other advantages. Some people may find the smell of this Cleansing Cream unpleasant, but it reminds me of my childhood spent at a French school, where the female teachers smelled of all the Clarins products under the sun (I'm pretty sure the Eau Dynamisante was a particular favourite).

Bioderma Créaline (or Sensibio) H2O Micellar Solution: I've had many a conversation with female friends about how we ever survived without Bioderma's Créaline. When I first tried it, I was awestruck. Going from make-up removing wipes that required me to actually pinch my eyelashes to get mascara off to THIS... Oh baby. Finally something that stopped me equating make-up removal with potential face/eye rashes. I don't usually use this all over my face; I reserve it for taking off my eye makeup right before or right after the Clarins Cleansing Cream. Just place a few drops of this on a cotton pad, hold it over the eye area and press lightly for about 10-15 seconds (I gently massage it over my eyes), and sweep everything off from underneath in a Nike-swoosh motion, starting from the inner corner of your eye. You don't believe in magic? You will after you've tried Bioderma.

Aveda Botanical Kinetics Exfoliant: I never really liked the feeling of those 'micro-bead' exfoliants, and they never did anything for my skin. As much as I'd try to picture a cross-section of my skin with ground apricot kernel bits digging out the stuff clogging my pores and dead skin, it was all in vain. This is where liquid exfoliants come in. This Aveda product is the newest addition to my skincare routine. It is very gentle, does not make the skin tingle uncomfortably, and it rids the skin of dead cells. At £17, it's an affordable way to wean yourself off those beady, bitty scrubs.

Clarins Toning Lotion with Camomile: The product that started my skincare routine revolution. Layered on top of the Aveda Exfoliant, this toner calms everything down after the pH-altering processes of cleansing and exfoliating. This product is formulated specially for normal to dry skin. Strictly no stinging with this one, it feels almost as though you're dabbing iced camomile tea on your face, and it feels heavenly. 

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream: I'm still searching for the perfect moisturiser, but sometimes I wonder whether I really need to when I have this one. It does the job well: it is unscented, it hydrates well, and it is affordable. I've been using this for years, and have always repurchased it. Maybe I should adhere to that old saying - If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask: I purchased this back in February before taking a flight home to Hong Kong. I was only going back for five days, meaning I was not going to leave it up to time for my skin to recover from the effects of that lovely compressed and recycled air. I needed something to avoid those dry skin patches cropping up on my face, pronto. I put this on after cleansing on the plane, and left it on for the better part of the 11-hour flight. Just before landing in Hong Kong, I noticed my skin had literally soaked up the mask, and I wiped off what little was left with Bioderma, moisturised, and I was ready to face the day on the other side of the world. Back down here on solid ground, I use this mask twice to three times a week. I apply it liberally on my face before I go to sleep (post-cleanse and moisturising), tie my hair in a loose but high ponytail to keep the hair out of my face, and trust that in the morning my skin will look incredible.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir: This was added to my routine around the same time that I introduced the Aveda exfoliant. I have heard so much about this product, with pretty much every blogger singing its praises. When I first tried it, I realised I probably should have skipped either the exfoliant or the toner step, as my skin started to tingle, and quite alarmingly. It did not result in any dry or irritated patches, though, so I gave it another go, omitting the exfoliant. My skin pepped up quite spectacularly after application, and it felt much better than the first time I used it. The only thing I dislike about it is the smell - it's slightly too herbal for my liking.

Along the way, I will undoubtedly introduce new things into my routine as I run out of certain items. I'll be sure to document the new arrivals and how I get on with them on here. If anyone has any products to recommend, or has tried any of the above products, I'd love to hear from you please! I'd say I'm only just embarking on this skincare discovery (it's been 6 months), and have really seen a difference in my skin since I've started taking better care of it. Some might get the impression that this whole process is too costly and too time-consuming, but your skin will thank you in however-many-years' time. Besides, in the words of the legendary Shu Uemura, "beautiful make-up starts with beautiful skin".