My Everyday Skincare Routine

Hey people of the internet :). So my blog seems pretty empty at the moment, and I figure a good starting point is probably my skincare routine because it gives you guys a bit of background on my attitude towards my skincare and how my skin tends to act. I have combination/oily skin, so it gets pretty oily in the T-zone, but is either normal or dry everywhere else, it's also annoyingly prone to blackheads and tiny little whiteheads, but I don't get those huge cystic spots very often so that's lucky I guess :). I like to keep my skincare pretty simple, I avoid ridiculously harsh chemicals and anything that'll strip my skin too much and focus on things that'll keep my skin clear and hydrated. So, without further ado, have my skincare routine :).

Nip+Fab Deep Cleansing Fix: As I'm sure you've guessed, I use this as my main cleanser every morning and night. I feel pretty confident saying this is by far the best cleanser I've used so far. It's a very thick, very creamy cleanser, but it really gets the job done. It doesn't give me that dry, tight feeling a lot of cleansers do, but it really makes my skin feel clean and nourished. It has tea tree oil in it, so it helps with any breakouts too. Now, according to the instructions, you can use this as an overnight mask for moisture or as a spot treatment, I haven't tried that yet so I can't really comment, but  you can also use it as a 10 minute mask, which I did about an hour ago and I like it as a mask too. So if you're a fan of multi-use products then that's a plus too. I got this on sale for £5.3 from Boots, usually its £7.95, which is more than I would usually spend on a cleanser, but given it's a bloody good cleanser and you get 300ml so it'll last forever, I'd still say that was a pretty good deal.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water: There's not much I can say about this that won't already have been said, seems like everyone in the beauty section of the internet loves this stuff and I can get why, it's a fantastic makeup remover. It gets everything off, doesn't dry my skin out, and on days when I'm not wearing makeup I'll sometimes use this as my only cleanser... only on really lazy days though... promise :P. It's £3.99 for 400ml and you can get it more or less anywhere that sells Garnier.

Elf Makeup Mist & Set: Right, I know this should technically be considered as a makeup-type product, but I honestly find it does nothing to keep my makeup in place, it takes away the powdery look, but that's really it. So I use this more as a toner after cleansing. It has a whole heap of ingredients that are awesome for moisturising and soothing skin like Aloe, Green Tea, Cucumber and Vitamins A, C and E. I don't normally use toners, they tend not to do very much for me, or they're full of alcohol and just dry everything out, but for something not actually meant to be used as a toner, it works really well as one. My skin just feels much more comfortable when I use this stuff. It's also dirt cheap, you can pick this up for £3.95 on the eyeslipsface UK website :).

Nivea Daily Essentials Light Moisturising Day Cream for Normal/Combo Skin: Again, as I'm sure you can guess, this right here is my day cream. It's pretty standard as far as daytime moisturisers go, it has SPF 15, which is always a good thing, and it has Vitamin E and Lotus Extract. It's light enough to go under makeup without really impacting the staying power, it's very moisturising but it doesn't make my skin feel oily, it's definitely not mattifying, but I don't really like that in a moisturiser so that's all good. Like most of my skincare products, it's also dirt cheap, you can get this for £3.99 for anywhere that sells Nivea stuff :).

Nivea Daily Essentials Regenerating Night Cream: Like the day cream, this one also has Vitamin E and Lotus Extract, however this also has Provitamin B5, to help skin regenerate during the night. I have no idea whether this actually does help to regenerate the skin, but I do love this night cream. I never actually used night creams til I bought this one, I always just figured my day cream would work and it was rather pointless to spend the extra money. Turns out I was wrong, this is a really really thick cream, I barely need anyof this and I can cover my whole face and neck with this stuff. It's not so thick that it makes me break out, but my skin just feels so soft, and so plump the morning after I use this. It's a really good option for a basic, really moisturising night cream, and it's pretty budget friendly too, it's only £4.35 :).

Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream: I'm starting to sense a theme here O_o, Like every other moisturiser in my routine, this is a light, hydrating cream with Vitamin E, this also comes with the every-handy addition of an SPF of 15 so I use this as my morning eye cream. It also claims to reduce the appearance of fine lines, puffiness and dark circles. I don't really get very puffy undereyes, and I don't notice any difference in my dark circles, but it does really help keep the dreaded fine lines at bay, and it doesn't slip so my makeup sits pretty well on top of it. Again, it's pretty cheap, I got this on the Boots website for £2.54.

Simple Kind to Skin Soothing Eye Balm: I only use this eye cream at night, because it doesn't have the SPF I figure that makes sense. Texture wise, this is a lot lighter and thinner than the other, but it feels much more nourishing and has a lot more ingredients. For the most part, the ingredients in this aren't very different from my other skincare stuff, it has Vitamin E and Provitamin B5, but it also has Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter and Bisabolol. There's not really much I can say about this that won't feel like repeating myself, it's rich and moisturising but not heavy and annoying, and it's only £3.99 so yay for that :).

Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Serum: This is the most expensive product I use, it usually costs £14.95, but I got it on sale for £9.97. Essentially, this is a serum with 4% glycolic acid, Aloe Vera and PoreAway (DUN DUN DUUUNNN) which to me sounds like an ingredient you'd find in bathroom cleaner but hey ho. It's supposed to give you a visible reduction in fine lines, wrinkles and pores within two weeks, I've been using this for around a month and I can't really disagree with any of that. I use this before my night cream and I really notice a difference in my skin, it just feels so much smoother. This is the only really exfoliating product I use, I do have the Rio Sonicleanse (pretty much a cheaper version of the Clarisonic) but I'm leaving that out while I use this stuff to avoid any damage. This is a great product and even though, it's more expensive than anything else here, it's still a pretty reasonable price, given that it actually works, on me at least :).

Elf Zit Eraser: Finally we come to the end of this list! This is my main spot treatment type product and is one of my favourite to date. It has a huge amount of acne fighting ingredients like Salicylic Acid, Witch Hazel, Camphor, Tea Tree and Green Tea. I have two ways of using this I'll either use it on specific spots, or I'll use a VERY thin layer (it'll be quite drying if used too liberally) in areas with clumps of spots or blackheads. Like all elf products, it's also really cheap, £3.95 on eyeslipsface.

So, that's my skincare routine, I keep things relatively simple and nourishing, which seems to really work best for me. I'm gonna leave this here, I think I've rambled enough and I hope this was helpful to someone.

Cheers guys :)