How many skincare products do you use?

[GingerbreadBaubles]

I just counted mine
2 cleansers
Toner
Acid toner
Serum
Moisturiser am
Moisturiser pm
Liquid gold
Plus a mask twice a week...

I cannot be the only one to have so many products?!

Every day:

Cleanser - Elemis Rehydrating Rose cream cleanser splashed off, twice

Moisturiser - Nivea blue pot

SPF / base - Maybelline BB cream (SPF30), OR Boots Soltan Baby SPF50 and Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation on top if I'm going to be outside all day.

Evening is same but without the SPF. I want to add acid toning now I'm not pregnant any more. And I want to try the body shop camomile cleansing oil. And a facial oil for night. And a lighter basic moisturiser for summer daytime use, I need the Nivea in the winter but could probably use something lighter from now. I like Avene Hydrance Riche.

I used to be obsessed with exfoliation (manual not chemical) but my skin is loads better since I started leaving it be, weirdly - not as congested. But still I think it would benefit from it so going to introduce a gentle acid toner.

Good grief, and I thought I had a "habit"!

On a daily basis at the mo I use:

Eye make up remover
Micellar water
Cleanser in morning in shower
One of two balm/cream cleansers at night
Hydrating toner
Hyaluronic serum (am and pm)
Facial oil some nights instead of serum
AM and PM moisturisers
SPF cream

And weekly:

Exfoliating toner
Deep cleansing/hydrating/AHA mask

In my cupboard I have (at the last count) 6 more cleansers, 4 facial oils, 3 toners, god knows how many moisturisers....

Love skincare so much am wondering whether I should get into it as a career!

Yeah wips I used to have that kind of smug attitude about my skin

I joined the quiche too. So:

2 cleansers.
2 acid toners.
1 hydrating toner.
Day moisturiser.
Facial oil.
Spf.
Serum.

I use them all, every day.

Eye make up remover - Simple
Make up remover wipes - Dermalogica precleanse
Make up remover - Dermalogica
Toner - Clinique clarifying lotion
Moisturiser - Dermalogica dynamic skin recovery
Face wash + sonic brush for in shower - Clinique
Every other day I use a Dermalogica daily exfoliater
I also use a Christian Dior body lotion every day too.
Gosh, it's quite a lot when you write it down!

And do all these products actually do anything for your skin?
Sorry I'm do sceptic all but my dsis and DM have all sorts of skin issues, because in my view they have put too much stuff on their skin over the years.
OTOH I use absolutely minimal stuff and my skin is fine.

Ok I'll admit it. I'm too lazy a cow to do this stuff but I think it's paying off

Smug ? That's not very nice. Sorry, I was just being honest. And it was a genuine question.

It's improved my skin vastly since I started using more products

I feel so much better after reading your replies, I was starting to think I was the only one! My skin has never looked better..thank you Mrs Hirons!

Wow, I'm amazed at some of these lists!

I use:
soap and water (twice a day)
rosehip oil (night)
serum (morning)
once every few weeks or so I'll use a face mask or exfoliate, but I seem to find that my skin looks better the less I fiddle with it.

I do take an enormous assortment of supplements though, including:
multivitamins
ferrous sulphate (pescetarian, so often short of iron in my diet)
cod liver oil
evening primrose oil
extra strength vitamin C
manuka honey, if I'm feeling under the weather

It makes a difference to my face (fine lines are reduced thanks to better hydration, pigmentation is reduced thanks to antioxidants, sunscreen and retinal and my skin is brighter and less congested thanks to AHA/BHAs) but what works for me, might not work for you.

My skin is pretty 'normal' with a tendency to dehydration and the odd 'monthly' zit

Current routine is (face, neck and chest)

A.M.

1. Balm cleanser (Clinique take the day off) - removed with Pai muslin and hand hot water
2. LRP Serozinc toner - sprayed onto cotton pad and swept over face (zinc based toner good for oily skin and helps keeps breakouts under control)
3. Vichy Aqualia Thermal serum - a couple of pumps does whole area. Great for dehydration lines (+LRP effaclar AI treatment on blemishes if I have any)
4. LRP HydraPhase intense UV Riche - a couple of pumps does whole area.

P.M.

1. Balm cleanser (Clinique take the day off) - removed with Pai muslin and hand hot water
2. LRP Serozinc toner - sprayed onto cotton pad and swept over face
3. EVERY OTHER/3rd NIGHT Alpha H Liquid Gold Intense Night Serum - 2 pumps again
4. Sarah Chapman Skinesis Age Repair serum - thin layer
5. Clinique moisture surge overnight mask

once a week

liquid gold liquid (skip stages 3,4 & 5) or Clarins Exfoliating toner (in place of stage 3)

I have a shedload of other brand of products that I rotate every now and again or if I need something extra or different (because my skin is being weird and I need to be gentler or target something different) but the routine above is my standard routine.

None of the above takes very long. In fact, my dental routine probably takes longer than my skincare routine, though that is also fairly 'step intensive' as I feel that my teeth are as much a part of my beauty routine as my skin.

Retinol

Thank you, iPad

Btw, I know it makes a difference to y skin because my skin looks worse if I stop using my routine or I notice (negative) changes if I remove stages.

brace yourselves:
3 facial moisturisers for am on rotation,
2 facial moisturisers for pm,
4 body lotions with different sents depending on my mood & plan for the day,
1 toner that is getting less and less use,
2 body and facial oils used sparingly,
1 cold cream cleanser,
2 facial scrubs,
1 face wash gel,
1 cream wash,
1 face mask

Plus, the routine is just nice to do. Relaxing, they smell nice and they make my skin feel more comfortable. I like faffing about with nice lotions and potions and treat it as a bit of a hobby so I'm not hugely bothered if the effect is largely that of a placebo. The fact that I do see positive differences is rather a bonus, tbh.

How do you all justify the time you spend putting stuff on your faces?
Life's too short, surely or am I missing something?

How do I justify the time?

Why do I need to justify it? It takes 10 mins at either end of the day. Should I be spending that doing vital humitarian aid work instead?

Bloody hell.
I wipe off my makeup with Tesco value wipes.
I wash my face with plain water and slap on a bit of Olay day cream every morning.
I'm 50 and I have great skin; I hardly ever wear foundation.
I eat well, I don't smoke and i don't drink very much. I'm fair so I stay out of the sun.
I think these things are far more important than a load of overpriced nonsense products.

I can't be arsed to put the stuff on in the first place, far less remove it

jane, if you don't fancy it, don't do it. Spend the time doing something else, by all means, but in reality it isn't time consuming. My children, partner, household, social and working lives don't suffer as a result of my spending 20mins a day in the bathroom.

Water only ever passes my face when I'm in the shower

Of course I meant humanitarian in my earlier post, too. My iPad likes to make me look like a twat.

Squeezy, I'd sooner spend the extra 20 minutes in bed.