Okay so you might be looking at the products I’m currently using for my evening skincare routine and assessing them to be a tad excessive, but in my defence, they don’t all get used every night! When I took these pictures at the weekend I was extremely happy with my evening routine as I’m still very focused on hydrating my skin as much as possible, and my spots have been minimal for a while – nothing nasty or painful has surfaced for quite some time – which I’m confident is down to my Advanced Nutrition Programme supplements (read about them here) and my theory was backed-up by the fact that I ran out of supplements and within a few days I had a couple of seriously nasty, cystic spots. HOWEVER, there is a chance this is caused by skincare since I introduced a couple of new products, but my gut tells me that isn’t the case. My new stock of pills arrived yesterday so I should know within a few days if my assessment is correct, so I’ll update you shortly.
I’m indulging myself with cleansers at the moment as there are so many to love. I always take my make-up off with the Hydrabio micellar from Bioderma (full review here) as soon as I remember when I got home in the evening as it leaves my skin feeling both clean and hydrated. I’m back on the double-cleansing bandwagon and my initial cleanse involves either the Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter (which I really don’t need to have in my routine but I just can’t help it as it’s soooo lovely to use) or my main cleansing duo which are both from Erno Laszlo; the Phelityl Pre-Cleansing Oil followed by the Anti-Blemish Beta Wash. The cleansing oil is a gorgeously thick almost gel-like oil that smells amazing and melts away make-up brilliantly. Interestingly, you apply the oil then add the cleanser rather than rinsing in between. The Beta Wash surprised me as I expected it to be quite harsh, but it’s actually one of the most gentle spot-fighting washes I’ve ever tried, so it’s great choice for spot-prone skin that’s also sensitive.
The above cleansers are brilliant as none of them strip my skin, but they’re all very effective at leaving my skin extremely clean and ready for treatments. I tried so hard to stay away from my beloved Biologique Recherche P50 but it didn’t last, so I’m now using this every other night followed by my Environ Moisturising Toner. I’m treading carefully as the P50 is extremely potent, but the moisturising toner quickly settles my skin afterwards.
I was obscenely excited when I heard about the arrival of the Skinceuticals Resveratrol BE (read my intro post here) as it sounds amazing, so I couldn’t wait to start trying it. I do think that if any of the products in my skincare are causing me issues with spots then it might be this one since it’s formulated for skin that isn’t spot-prone and it has quite a dense, almost silicone-like consistency, so to err on the side of caution I’m applying it all over my face other than my chin, which is always the area to kick up with products. I’ll start using it all over again when I’ve been back on my supplements for a few days. I follow this with the Trilogy Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ which I’ve been wanting to try for ages; I love the idea of treating my skin with kindness (that sounds horrendously soppy but hopefully you know what I mean) and this oil is gentle yet powerful, so I’m hoping it’ll keep my skin balanced whilst healing my spot scars. Lastly, I finish with the new Nivea Sensitive Night Cream as I found just using an oil on its own isn’t enough for my dehydrated skin. This is a rich cream that really moisturises with a gentle formula that keeps my skin happy. Lastly, spots are getting treated with the Indie Lee Blemish Lotion. This is especially good for pulling spots to the surface and it does so overnight; I’m still undecided on whether it actually reduces surface spots, so I’ll update when I’ve reached a conclusion. As you can see, it’s quite a comprehensive routine with a lot of focus on hydration rather than spot-fighting. I like it, but I’m still a bit anxious about whether it’s causing me more spots, so I need to give it a week or two before making any changes.
*PR Samples
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