My Skincare Routine (Winter 2013)

Hi Lovelies,

I hope that everyone is having a great week. 

I've been low on blogging time over the last 6 days, so I've just been writing this post in my spare minutes here and there. I've already changed some of my routine but I still wanted to post this!!

I hope that you enjoy reading it!

Recently I was tagged to do the "Skincare Tag" (which you can read about here) and it got me thinking that I've never really talked about my skincare routine. You see in my favourites posts and product reviews what products I'm using and loving, but I haven't talked about what steps I do and what steps I miss.

I've labelled this as my winter routine as it's the routine that I've been using over the last month or two. I'm about to run out of a couple of the products and introduce new products, so I thought that it would be great to showcase what skincare products have got me through winter.

My Daily Routine

In The Morning...

Cleanse

I ALWAYS clean my skin twice a day and I like do a gentle cleanse in the morning. I've been using (and loving) my *Pevonia Sensitive Skin Cleanser. It's such a beautiful cleanser for people with sensitive skin but who also suffer from congestion and blemishes. It contains chamomile, calendula and safflower oil to calm my skin and also treat my decongested skin. 

It's a creamy formula and is so soft and gentle on my skin. Because it's a cream formula, it was perfect for winter as it felt hydrating on my skin. Prior to using that, I was using a gel cleanser. I was using the DMK Deep Pore Pure Cleanser, and I was really impressed with it. 

Both of these cleansers are on the pricier side ($66.50 for the Pevonia full size version and $67.50 for the DMK cleanser), but I've seen such a difference in my skin from both of these that I would prefer to spend more knowing that the cleanser is making a difference. 

As we are getting into the warmer weather now, I normally change my cleanser to a gel formula, so I'm unsure If I should repurchase the Pevonia Senstive Skin Cleanser or instead try their Combination Skin Cleanser as my skin is a bit more oilier in the summertime. 

Tone

After cleansing I ALWAYS tone. I started my skincare in the 90s as a teen and it was ingrained into me to cleanse-tone-moisturise. It's a step I love and never miss out on it.

I always have 2 different toners on rotation at all times. I adore a mist or spray toner (especially in summer) and a lotion toner, that's applied with a cotton pad is easy and relaxing to use.

Over winter I've been using 2 different spray toners. The *Uriage Thermal Water Spray has overtaken my love of the Avene Thermal Spring Water. I find it mists onto the skin beautifully and my skin always feels hydrated after I've used it. It contains minerals and trace elements and moisturises the skin for up to 3 hours. It's great for red skin, nappy rashes, sunburn and rashes. I like to keep mine in the fridge for a blast of cool water onto my skin.

I also really love the *Racinne Ultimate Aqua Blanc Tonic which is a spray that feels hydrating. It contains aloe vera, so it's so soft and calming on my skin. 

For the lotion I love to use *Pevonia Sensitive Skin Lotion. Honestly, this product really surprised me. 85% of the time I'll use a mist as a toner, but since receiving this, I use this 90% of the time!! It contains aloe and chamomile and has no alcohol. The full size costs $66.50 for 200mls. While it's expensive, there's just something amazing about this toner that makes the price tag justifiable.  

Serum

A serum is one of the most important parts of my skincare. I have 2 different serums that I use. At the moment my main two are the *Pevonia Soothing Propolis Concentrate and the L'Oreal Youth Code Luminosity Extraordinary Serum. 

I first apply the Pevonia serum. It's an antibacterial serum that helps to decongest my skin. It also heals and calms my skin with lavender. I apply it first because it's the more expensive serum out of the 2, and I want to make sure it's applied onto the skin without having to try and push past layers of skincare. I apply 2-3 drops onto my face, neck and chest. 

It's a really beautiful serum. While it's on the pricer side, $118 for 30mls, I only need 2-3 drops so this will last quite a while. I've also found that since I started using this, I've noticed my skin hasn't been as red as it was before using this.  

My skin still is on the pink side, but it's a bit more patchy now rather than being pink all over my face. Every week that I use this I see less pink and more white parts of my face. 

I let that sink in for a minute then apply the L'Oreal serum. This one is a great budget serum that really delivers results. It helps to correct dark spots and help even skintone. Whenever I've used this, my skin always looks radiant and glowing. This is either my 4th or 5th bottle, so you know that it's a great product. 

Moisturiser

I'm a big believer that each season you need to change your skincare. It may be as simple as changing your gel cleanser to a cream cleanser, or applying a couple of drops of rosehip or argan oil into your moisturiser to make it more hydrating. 

I like to have 2 options for a facial moisturiser. One heavier and one lighter. The heavier one that I'm using is the *Racinne Ultimate Aqua Blanc Brightening Cream. While it feels heavier when I scoop up some from the tub, once I start rubbing it into my skin it absorbs so quickly and easily.

I love that even though it's more moisturising, it never feels heavy or leaves my skin feeling oily. It contains snow lotus callus extract and deep sea pearl essence. It's high in rich minerals and helps cell regeneration. It helps to brighten your skin, and reduces dark spots. 

I use this more at night and my skin always feels so soft after using this. I wake up with healthy looking and feeling skin. For a while my hubby was using this, so I gave him something else to use, and have tried to hide this from him. It's so good that I don't want to share it!

I love the look of the packaging. It looks so much more luxe than it's price tag. For only $50 (for 50gms), it's an amazing moisturiser.

The other moisturiser that I'm using is the *Pevonia Sensitive Skin Cream. It feels lighter on my skin, so it's perfect for daytime and will be a fantastic spring/summer moisturiser. 

This wonder moisturiser does so much. It helps to protect and repair skin that's damaged from environmental damage, it calms my red skin and is also antibacterial. 

I've been really impressed with this moisturiser and will be sad to finish the trial size product.  

Eyecream

I'm a bit of a strange one when it comes to eye creams. Depending on the skin around my eye area, I'll either use one or two eye products.

If I have puffy eyes, I like to apply the *L'Occitane Angelica Eye Roll-On. It's has a rollerball applicator, that's so calming on the skin and gives immediate results. 

If I'm finding that my skin is looking aged in the morning then I'll also apply the *Pevonia C Evolutive Eye Gel. I have fine lines around my eyes, so this helps to soften and firm my wrinkles. I'm about to turn 29 at the end of the month and am trying to really focus on my eyes to limit any further damage to the area. I changed my glasses earlier this year to have transitional lenses, so when I'm outside my eyes are protected from the sun.

It contains hyaluronic acid, which is such a great ingredient for moisturising deeply (read about it here). It's a light gel formula so I don't have to worry about those awful milia popping up around my eyes.  

Sunscreen

I normally have a couple of sunscreens that I rotate, but recently I've been using only one product. The *Lancome UV Expert BB Complete sunscreen. I was sent the version that's overseas that has SPF 50 (it's only available in SPF30 here in Australia).

It's an amazing product and I'll be purchasing it once I've finished this one. I use it as my sunscreen and primer. It's soft and sinks in easily. It also has a slight tint that helps to even out my skintone. I only use this in the morning.

I've previously reviewed this here. 

At Night...

My night time skincare is very similar to my daytime skincare. 

The only exception is that I do a double cleanse at night and I don't use a sunscreen. 

Oil Cleanser

I'm a HUGE lover of cleansing oils. They're fantastic at giving your skin a deep clean without drying out your skin or being harsh.

I use the *Dr LeWinn's 4 Fusion Cleansing Oil. I love this oil cleanser so much. It helps to gently remove my make up and is so easy to use. It has a gorgeous scent, and is in a big 200ml bottle. I've had this for quite a while and still haven't finished it. I have a back up bottle that I bought for when I finally finish it.

I've previously reviewed it here. 

Sometimes...

While I follow a structured routine of cleanse-tone-serum-moisturise-sunscreen, I also have other products that I use. These products are using mostly when I feel like it, not on set days. 

Micellar Water

I love the ease of a micellar water for those nights when I'm too tired to wash my face. I try not to use them often (a maximum of 2 nights per week) and I prefer them over facial wipes. I find that they're softer and don't make my skin become red, unlike facial wipes.

I have 3 different ones that I use (which sounds crazy as I reread that out loud!). Of course I can't mention micellar water without *Bioderma Crealine H20 being mentioned. Other micellar waters available that I have are the Avene Micellar Lotion and *Guinot Instant Cleansing Water.

I have a post coming very soon about the micellar waters that I use, as I find that they all differ slightly!

Electric Cleansing Brush

I normally will use my *Olay Advanced Cleansing System the morning after using a micellar water. Because a micellar water isn't like a proper cleanser, I like to make sure that I use this to make sure that every bit of make up and grease is gone the next day. 

Because I keep this outside of my shower, I do sometimes forget to use this on a daily basis. But each time I use it I fall in love with it again. 

I've previously reviewed it here. 

Face Oil

I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS!!!

Move over rosehip oil, argan oil will be on everyone's faces (and wishlist). My hubby picked this up from Sephora when he was in the US for work, and I wish now that I had gotten him to pick up a suitcase of these!

I use this Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil either as a moisturiser after I've a micellar water, or I apply two or three drops into my moisturiser when it's a cold day and I've got the heater on. 

This isn't going to be the easiest thing to repurchase, but recently Swisse released an argan oil so I'll pick that up when I have run out of this. Otherwise another face oil that's on my wishlist is the Pevonia Aromatherapy Face Oil (for sensitive skin). It helps to calm sensitive and irritated skin, but also has anti stress aromatherapy benefits. 

Exfoliant

While I've used Biore products since I was a teen, this is a new addition. This *Biore Blemish Clearing Scrub contains salicylic acid to help fight off new or existing blemishes. I like to rub this into my skin and then leave it on for 30-60 seconds to let the salicylic acid do its thing.

I love that the scrub particles are in a gel, so I never feel as though this is too rough or harsh on my skin. 

This version also has the most beautiful scent. It's really uplifting and is a mandarin mint scent. 

I just use this when I feel like my skin needs it. Some weeks I may only use a scrub once, while other times I feel like my skin needs to be exfoliated 2 or even 3 times.

Hyaluronic Acid

Now this is something that I wish that I used more often, but I sometimes just forget to apply it.

Whenever I use a hyaluronic acid lotion, my skin looks and feels better. I love the *Indeed Laboratories Hydraluron Moisture Booster. It not only makes my skin feel good, but it's quite inexpensive, and lasts for a couple of months. 

I've previously reviewed it here.

I also love the *DMK Solar Damage Gel. 

And those were the skincare items that brought me from winter to spring. 

I did have quite a few products over the last 2-3 months that were sent to me, and as you can see I really do put them through their paces and have a LOT of time testing them out. I normally try to test things out for at least a month before reviewing them (unless it's a first impressions review). 

The Pevonia cleanser, toner and moisturiser that are in the post are actually apart of a set. 

This starter kit is a fantastic way of trying out the range, without having to get all full size products. They have many more starter and travel kits here. 

What's the one skincare product that you can't live without?
XO

Find out more about...

Pevonia... here
DMK... here
Uriage... here
Racinne... here
L'Occitane... here
Lancome... here
Dr LeWinn's... here
Bioderma... here
Guinot...here
Biore...here
Indeed Laboratories... here

*I was kindly sent these for consideration. All thoughts and views are completely my own, and are always 100% honest. See my disclosure policy here.

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