Idiots guide to skincare?

[Cantthinkofanoriginalname1]

I don't have a clue!
I've never been taught about skin care, my mum never used moisturiser or toner etc and tbh I've never really had a problem with my skin. I've been lucky and always looked younger than my years but suddenly in the last couple of years I've aged drastically. My skin looks and feels dull and clogged so I just buy any exfoliating face wash that's on offer and Olay moisturiser.
I've just been reading a thread about people's amazing recommendations and came across retinol/retinoids,glycolic,vit a and vit c and none of it makes sense! I googled The Ordinary as that featured a lot but just got confused with all the variations. How do I know which one to buy? What order do you use all these oils and serums? Do you really need all these products? And most importantly do they REALLY work?
I don't have a lot of time or money, could anyone help with a simple guide to a basic skincare routine with a brief explanation of whats what,why I need it and how and when to use it? TIA

The most basic routing is cleanse and moisturise, with suncream in the morning. Because you haven’t used anything before I would start with this before you build up to something like The Ordinary. If your skin seems congested then an evening cleanse with a hot (warm) cloth to provide some gentle exfoliation will help.

Product-wise it depends on your concerns, your skin type and your budget. There are some great options out there eg. Superdrug’s own brands are always good value and they have everything from basic vitamin e products to hot cloth cleansers etc as well as glycolic toners for more advanced.

Personally I’ve found a lot of advice and recommendations from a Reddit board called Skincare Addiction. I also follow Dr Dray on YouTube, she’s an American dermatologist who’s fairly upfront about what’s worth buying and what’s a waste of money. The other website that’s good is Caroline Hirons who has ‘cheat sheets’ which cover everything from basic routines to aging and acne.