When I wrote my post on beach beauty last week, I realized that I hadn’t done a skincare update in quite a while. My routines have changed a bit since my last skincare post, so I thought it was time for a new post with all of my current favorites.

My skin tends to be a bit tempermental – it’s definitely on the sensitive side, and tends to be reactive. I’ve learned to read ingredient lists carefully, so I know if there’s anything that will irritate my skin. I don’t change things up very often, either – my skin likes a routine! So I tend to stick with products that I know WORK – things that are effective and won’t irritate my skin.

I’d say that my routines are medium complicated – I don’t have a 12 step routine, but it’s a little more than just cleanser and moisturizer. I feel like I’m at a really good place with my skin right now. I do use two prescription acne creams (in the morning and at night), but the rest is all trial and error of finding the right products – all of which I’m sharing with you today!

Daytime Moisturizer // Exfoliating Solution // Nighttime Moisturizer // Gel Cleanser

Vitamin C Serum // Spot Treatment // Night Exfoliating Serum // Toner // Micellar Water

I’m going to split this post up into the skincare products I use in the morning and those I use in the evenings. Some will repeat in both sections, but I think this is the clearest way to do this.

Morning Skincare

I have oily skin, so I always wash my face in the morning. I use a gentle, gel-based cleanser – I want something that’s effective, but won’t overly strip my skin. It’s nothing super fancy, but since your face wash gets rinsed off your face after a minute or two anyway, I don’t find much of a point in going all out with my cleanser.

I follow up my cleanser with a gentle toner (no alcohol or witch hazel or anything remotely irritating). It helps add a little moisture to my face, and some skin-nourishing anti-aging ingredients, without being too heavy for my skin. Next up is a liquid exfoliant, which has been huge in keeping my acne under control. Of everything in my morning routine, I think this has made the biggest difference in my skin. It’s gentle enough that it can be used daily, but it’s actually really effective. For both the toner and the exfoliant, I use a cotton round to apply them, but if you’re more coordinated you could definitely just pour them onto your hands and then pat them on your skin.

I top that all off with my go-to lightweight moisturizer and sunscreen. I put this on every day, rain or shine – even on overcast days you can get a sunburn. This one is super lightweight and liquid-y, which is perfect for me. If you’re someone with dry skin, this may not be enough moisture for you, but for me it’s perfect.

I keep things pretty simple in the morning because I don’t want to overload my skin with too many products; it gets oily enough all on its own. This is just the right amount of things for me to keep my skin happy and prepped for makeup without being too much.

Evening Skincare

I go a little bit heavier at night, because I don’t have to worry about makeup not sitting well on too many layers of skincare – and because some ingredients are best used overnight because of photosensitivity when exposed to the sun.

I use a micellar water to remove my makeup and cleanse my skin at night. It’s a little challenging for me to wash my face at the sink, strength and mobility wise, so by the end of the day when my body is physically tired, it’s just too much. This micellar water is really, really great at getting off all of the makeup and grease and oil and dirt from the day. And then just to be sure everything is completely gone, I follow it up again with the same toner as in the morning.

In the evening, I still use an exfoliant, but I use a different one – this gel from Drunk Elephant. I like that it’s a combination of BHA and AHA, so it exfoliates both deep into the pores of the skin and on the surface, too. This is a little stronger than my morning exfoliant, so if your skin is sensitive to these kinds of products, I suggest that you start slowly – maybe every other day or every few days.

After that, it’s time for my vitamin C serum. I love this serum so much that I have a whole post about it. It goes on smoothly, it doesn’t stain my fingers orange, and it’s packaged in an way that makes sure it retains its efficacy (vitamin C is super sensitive to light and air and can lose its effectiveness quickly when it’s exposed to either of them). I really, really love this product, and it’s by far the best vitamin C that I’ve ever used.

The final step for me at nighttime is this lightweight, gel-cream moisturizer. I love the packaging of this so much – they found a way to keep it airtight (again, so the ingredients remain effective), but made it easy to dispense and use. From an accessibility perspective, I love it because of how easy it is to dispense! The texture of the product itself is great, too – it’s not too thick at all and adds just the right amount of moisture for me. It’s the perfect topper to all of the other products that come before it.

One more product that I use occasionally – this spot treatment is really great on stubborn acne or stubborn dark spots. I only use a tiny amount when I do use it, and I make sure to follow it with moisturizer, too. It’s strong, but it works!

That’s it – that’s all of the products that I use in one day. I’m really happy with where my skin is at right now, and I think these routines are a big part of that.

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