My (Affordable) Day and Night Skincare Routine

I'm such an advocate for good skincare. It's so important to take care of the skin and I've always thought that a good skincare routine is crucial to any one person's regime. If you're going to spend a decent amount of time and money on anything in your life, I highly recommend making that thing skincare. It's an investment. Trust me.

There are so many products out there, and it can all be very overwhelming. What works for one person is not likely to work for another. This routine is what works for me. It may seem like a lot to some, but I've had such pain-in-the-ass skin my whole life. My combination oily/flaky-dry, sensitive, intolerant skin (try saying that three times fast) requires so much effort to remain manageable, it's ridiculous. I've done so much research over my years and have finally found a combination that works well enough for me to be happy in the skin I'm in.

In my research, I've also discovered that you don't necessarily need to spend millions of dollars on skincare to have it be effective. There are products out there that cost a small fortune that do work absolute wonders (Sunday Riley, I'm looking at you), yes, but I'm here to inform you that there are definitely cost-effective options out there. You just have to be patient, do the research and have an idea of what does and doesn't work for you and your skin.

Below you'll find my, for the most part, affordable day and night skincare routines. I would say that my routines are definitely geared more towards dry to normal skin types. If you happen to fall in to that category, too, perhaps there are a few things here that could possibly benefit you.

Day:
I rinse my face with only lukewarm water, no product, first thing in the morning, and as soon as the skin has been patted dry, I swipe Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Nourishing Facial Water over my face with a cotton pad. It acts as a wonderful toner for dry skin, balancing pH and improving texture. It's also full of nutrients and gently cleanses the skin a little, too. On mornings when my skin's feeling particularly blegh, I reach for AVON's Clearskin Blackhead Eliminating Daily Astringent instead. I know how damn harsh alcohol-based astringents are, so I try to use it sparingly, but this honestly does THE BEST job of cleaning deep in to the pores and refreshing the skin. I follow immediately with Benefit's It's Potent! Eye Cream, which is definitely the most expensive item in my routine. I've been trying out various drugstore offerings, but I've found nothing that matches this in terms of moisturizing my dry lids and filling fine lines. As eyes are so delicate and show the first signs of ageing so to me, it's worth the spend.

I allow my eye cream to sink in for a minute before combining a glob of my ever favourite Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel and two drops of Trilogy's Antioxidant+ Rosehip Oil together in my palm and slathering the mixture all over my face, which absorbs deep down in to my skin. Once that has absorbed, I put a light layer of The Body Shop's Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream for Dry Skin all over and follow with a dab of La Roche Posay's Toleriane Riche on the lower half of my face, focusing mostly on the front of my cheeks, my chin and my nose. My forehead tends to get oily during the day and I find Toleriane Riche to be too much for that particular part of my face.

Once all of my moisturisers are soaked in nicely, I finally smear a layer of SPF (always apply SPF) all over my face before going in with my make-up. I've been obsessing over Benefit's Dream Screen for almost a year now because IT'S MATTIFYING (!!!) and I find the consistency to be very much like a primer, which is great for saving time and money on products.

Night:
My favourite way to remove make-up these days is with a super nourishing combination of The Body Shop's Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter and Nuxe's Cleansing Milk*. I like to go in first with The Body Shop, focusing mostly on my face, rubbing it in with my fingers. Then I use one pump of Nuxe on a cotton ball on my eyes and use a clean tissue to wipe away any excess product and make-up. These two products have been amazing on my dry skin. Next I jump in to the shower and wash my face with QV's Gentle Cleanser, which can also be used on the eyes. This is the only cleanser I've tried that doesn't leave my skin feeling tight. It's ever so gentle, but still manages to break through makeup and grit.

If I'm feeling fancy, or my skin is feeling particularly congested, I'll treat myself to a face mask after my shower. I have so many different masks that I go between, but I'll usually reach for LUSH's Mask of Magnaminty, especially around 'the monthlies', as it works wonders to de-clog my pores. Once I've rinsed and towelled off, my routine is almost identical to my morning one. I swipe a little Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Nourishing Facial Water over my face to be sure that all traces of make-up and oil from my make-up removers are gone, since my cleanser is so gentle. I then follow with Benefit's It's Potent! Eye Cream and allow to sink in for a minute while I get in to my pyjamas. Once I'm dressed, I use four drops of AVON's Nutra Effects Miracle Glow Lightweight Facial Oil over my face - a drop on each cheek, one on my forehead and one on my chin and massage in with my fingers. Once that's absorbed, I once again smear a decent amount of Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel all over, followed by a light layer of The Body Shop's Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream for Dry Skin. 

After all that, I go about my night and when it's time for bed, I slather a layer of The Body Shop's Oils of Life Intensely Revitalising Sleeping Cream, which I consider to be a face mask that sinks in (therefore, not sticking to your pillow), all over my face which does a whollllleeee lot of good to your skin while you sleep. If my lips are particularly flaky, I'll rub a small amount of LUSH's Bubblegum Lip Scrub over them before finally applying a layer of Bite Beauty's Agave Lip Mask to my lips, which is so softening and so hydrating (my lips become super dry overnight if I skip this step), and it's off to beddy byes.

Phew! As I said, this may seem like a lot, but at the end of the day, I'm so very happy with the look and feel of my skin, and I attribute that solely to my skincare routine. Remember, although this is what has worked for me personally, everybody's skin has different needs. I do hope that this post has helped you in some way or another, though.

As always, this post has not been sponsored in any way, meaning that none of the items mentioned have been sent to me, endorsed or paid for by anyone other than me, myself and I. This post does, however, contain affiliate links. Feel free to find and purchase the products mentioned elsewhere if you don't get down like that. :)

I will always disclose such information with an asterisk (*) for full disclosure to my readers.