Hello and welcome back to Skincare Sunday. Today I’m giving you a how to guide to layering your skincare for maximum effect. Below, the steps that I’m listing will follow after your cleanser. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know how I feel about facial cleansers. My belief is that facial cleansers do not have to cost a lot to be effective. In my opinion, I’d spend money on treatments such as serums and moisturizers. You can read my post on items to save money on here: https://beautybylmarie.com/2020/07/09/save-your-coin-beauty-products-that-you-dont-need-to-splurge-on/
In the Morning
After cleansing your face in the AM, you should apply your skincare in this order:
- Toner
- Serum
- Eye Cream
- Spot Treatment or Essence
- Moisturizer
- SUNSCREEN
Tone
The use of toner is one thing some people either love or don’t bother with. My personal preference is to use a toner to reset my pH and deep clean my pores. As an aside, using toner with a cotton ball will really show me if I got all of my makeup off with my cleanser. Essentially, a good toner works to restore the balance to your skin and it helps prepare the skin for the next products.
Treat
Next up are your serums, and personally my favorite products to use. Serums are the magical treatments that can contain vitamins and certain acids that treat specific skin concerns. As a general rule, I apply my serums while my skin is still a little damp, this helps with the product absorbing a little better.
Check out this post for more: https://beautybylmarie.com/2020/12/13/face-serum-the-secret-weapon-in-your-skincare-routine/
Honestly, eye creams are something that I love and use. However, they’re not for everyone and that’s totally fine. The reason I use an eye cream is because it helps reduce the look of my fine lines and gives me extra moisture before I apply my makeup.
Next in line are the essences or spot treatments, either can be used here depending on your needs. Personally, I use an essence in my morning routine to help prep my skin for makeup. An essence can feel and look like a toner, but they have more concentrated ingredients. As an example, the Fenty Fat Water Toner can be used as an essence because of it’s thicker consistency and the ingredients are used to specifically treat the skin. My personal favorite essence is from Peach & Lily or the E.L.F. hydrating coconut mist.
Hydrate and Protect
Finally we have the last steps of hydration and protection. In this step, I use my every day moisturizer by Bliss, it’s lightweight but penetrates the skin nicely. Adding moisturizer to your routine after you add the serums acts as sealant, its sealing in all of the goodness from the serums and essences. Lastly, I add my sunscreen, not only for moisture but for protection. Sunscreen is the major key in helping reduce dark spots, protect from harmful UV rays and assist with hyper-pigmentation.
Nighttime Routine
Honestly, my nighttime routine doesn’t differ much from my morning routine. In the evening is when I add my treatments such as retinol, or hydrating masks as these are the products that restore my skin. If you’ve ever used a night cream, you’ll notice that they are much thicker than daytime moisturizers. They’re made to penetrate and protect the skin while it goes through the natural restoration process while you sleep. As a tip, using your hydrating facial masks at night not only gives your skin extra protection, but you’re not layering on makeup or other things. So, the ingredients have a chance to really work and the difference in your skin in the AM is noticeable over time. Currently, I’m really into Manuka honey masks and the Youth to the People Superberry Hydrate & Glow Dream
Hopefully this little guide will help you with learning how to properly layer your skincare. Even though we all use different products based on our skin type, the order in which they are used doesn’t vary much. As usual, let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll be happy to help. Leave a comment below and share this post with your fellow skincare lovers.
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XOXO- Lydia Marie
