Skin care regime for the utterly clueless

[AwkwardPaws27]

I'm 29 and I don't know what I'm doing re: skin care. I don't feel like a real adult

I've tried a bunch of different things over the years, but never really stuck to a routine. I want to establish a simple but effective routine by the time I turn 30. My goal is to not look like a old boot. I'd love to have skin that looked nice without foundation, mine is dull and flawed.
I get what seem to be hormonal spots mainly on my chin in the run up to my period. My T-zone is a bit oily, but elsewhere is quite dry.

My current approach is superdrug vitamin E day and night cream, la Roche possay cleansing gel wash in the morning, and micellar water to remove makeup at night. Use a vitamin C serum most days (Super Facialist Vitamin C+ Glow Boost Skin serum ) & No.7 primer under foundation.

Any suggestions for a good routine and products? Can spend around £100 on a "fresh start" for my face.

Im not great at this but fwiw...

Drink more water.

Cleansing wipes from pound shop.
Face/eye serum
Day or night moistturiser. After trying lots i like nivea.

I’m waiting for a Korean skincare expert to appear because I’m pretty behind the times. Especially when they start talking about acids and peels and such like.

Watching too! My skin is as you've described OP.ast New Years resolution was to sort my skin out but so far haven't found an answer. Avene is the best stuff I've found so far

Definitely not looking for a 10 step Korean regime, most like "A beginners guide to owning a face"

No need to spend a fortune. Someone on here recommend products from The Ordinary and my skin has been revolutionised (very dry post meno, but they do products for all skin types).

I use the ones below on alternate nights with a Oil of Olay serum in the morning. Skin is clear and fresh.

The Ordinary Lactic Acid

The Ordinary retinol

gobbin I'm intrigued by The Ordinary but a little overwhelmed by the amount of choice. They have a list of suggested combinations, bit I'm not really sure what to go for. The blemish regime sounds very harsh, and I'm not sure if 29 is too young for the anti-ageing routine?

Cleanse. Tone. Moisturise.

That is the basics of what you should do morning and night.

If you wear make up double cleansing at night helps remove everything. I use an oil cleanser.

Day face cream should have SPF.

Once you are comfortable with that you can add all the other oils, fancy serums and acids.

AwkwardPaws "A beginners guide to owning a face"
Hilarious - thank you.

I love Nivea but like you have not really found a routine i get on with. I tried some poundland No6 range and have found it shite (guess i should have known that . Im off into town in a bit so will hit savers and pick up some nivea products. Going to get a face scrub, day cream, night cream and maybe a gel eye mask/eye cream. I don't wear make-up but might treat myself to some BB/CC cream for a bit of colour. I'm so not a girlie girl (good job DH doesn't care)

What type is your skin?
I have dry skin and have found a routine that works for me and my skin is looking much better and brighter.
AM
Cleanse with Glossier cleansing milk (great but I don’t like it to take off make up so only use AM)
Use any old cheapie toner, got a Garnier one on the go at the moment
Moisturise with Nip and Fab light moisutriser and if my skin is feeling dry I’ll also use the Nip and Fab dragon’s blood serum.

PM
Cleanse with Clinique take the day off cleansing oil
Tone and remove dead skin etc with Pixi Glow Tonic, this is too much for my skin daily so only use this every other day. On the days I don’t use this I’ll use any gentle toner
Moistuise with Kiehls Midnight Recovery Concentrate
I tend to use this on its own as it’s bloody amazing but if it’s super dry I’ll also use a moisturiser.

Once a week I’ll do a glycolic scrub and a sheet mask.

It sounds like a lot of work and products when I write it down like that but it’s really simple and my skin looks so much better as a result.
If I were to recommend one product I’d recommend the midnight recovery oil, it’s truly amazing. I’ve noticed such a difference since I started using it. I really want to get their midnight recovery cleansing oil but it’s quite a lot pricier than my current one.
And, of course, if there are days where I CBA the trusty simple facial wipes are close by!

QueenGoblin does toning actually do anything? I stopped doing it years ago as it didn't seem to do anything except make the dry bits drier? Will start again though if needed!

Jeffers3 I'm not really sure, probably combination. I used to think it was oily but I think that was a hangover of teenage skin, and although my T-zone gets a bit oily the rest is dry.
Can I ask why you use a cleansing milk in the AM and oil in the PM?

I use the Ordinary. It’s improved my skin so much! You can email them, I sent a photo of my skin and filled out the questionnaire.
I also recommend double cleansing (evening) and using a toner. At the moment I am using Liz Earle Toner, however, Pixi Glow has amazing reviews so this will be my next purchase

Oh, and a good facial sunscreen. My Nivea one acts as a primer too (and I tend to end up oily on the t zone). Sunscreen EVERY DAY! Especially when adding active ingredients onto your skin, a lot of them can make the skin even more succeptible to sun damage!

Use a cream or oil cleanser and never use any foaming cleansing products on the face (as the agent that causes foaming strips and dries out the skin causing excessive oil production).
Always wash or rinse the face with tepid water never hot water as this has a drying effect on the skin. Alternatively some products can be removed with a damp flannel or cloth.
Never turn the face directly to the shower head when you’re showering, the flow is too powerful and the temperature typically is too warm.
Use a toning fluid after cleansing. Ideally one with an acid in it (don’t be alarmed as the ph of the skin is acidic - the so called acid mantle’) the acid will rebalance your skin. Examples are glycolic acid, salicylic acid and lactic acid. Aim for a strength of around 4 or 5%.
Avoid mineral oils and soap on the face, as both clog pores.
Avoid mineral based make up for the same reason.
Good Things and Bee Good are both nice fairly inexpensive brands.

Ok, so Kiehl's Midnight Recovery cleansing oil, Pixie Glow toner, Kiehl's MR Oil are all looking good... I'm guessing that the Midnight Recovery is only for at night? What about in the morning?

Walkersjalapeno what Nivea sunscreen are you using? Is that on top of a moisturiser?

Liz Earle is great. Cleanse and polish (muslin cloths get your face really clean), spray on toner (smells amazing and stops the ‘tight’ feeling I get after a good cleanse), then her superskin moisturiser with neroli really makes a difference.

I use her night time superskin oil as well. It smells really lovely and makes my face so glowy by the morning.

You can get trial sizes of everything before you commit to paying for the full size stuff.

Seconding the liz Earle
Was lucky to get cleanse tone and moisturise fir Xmas and already I can see a difference . It’s about half of ur budget
I have also used in the past / Elemis cleansing oil , take the day ofeyemakeup remover and liked both

The only reason I use the milk in the morning and the oil in the evening is that I prefer the milk but it’s rubbish for taking eye make up off. I’m looking for a better oil cleanser than the Clinique one which I don’t really rate. No7 used to do an amazing one but they discontinued it

Also if you wanted to try the Kiehl’s products before splashing out, go to a counter and they’ll give you a few samples.

jeffers Elemis oil was really good if ur looking for one ,

Jeffers3 I love Dermalogica Pre-Cleanse. Feels expensive but lasts AGES! smells amazing, great at removing makeup etc. Lush!

I use Paula’s Choice - there is only a handful of products to choose from and their website has both a simple and more complex skincare routine listed.
In the morning I do:

1. cleanse face in the shower (not picky about cleanser, currently Lancôme as it was gifted)
2. PC toner
3. PC serum
4. PC spf moisturiser Then follow with makeup if I’m wearing any that day

In the PM I use:

1. Clinique take the day off balm to remove makeup
2. cleanser
3. PC toner
4. PC exfoliator (I use a liquid one with 2% salicylic acid, it’s completely transformed my skin)
5. night cream (currently Trilogy, smells fab)

Ive got no time for other acids, masks, etc so just stick to this - maybe once kids are bigger I’ll expand on the number of products but since following this routine my skin feels much better, even remained relatively calm during pregnancy.

Ooo ok Liz Earle looks nice... I like the idea of something I can repeat twice a day rather than two separate regimes, IYSWIM, to establish a good habit. Do you think they could advise the best type for my skin if I go to a beauty counter?

I use NIVEA SUN UV Face Suncream SPF 50, Shine Control, 50ml. I apply after moisturiser.
I also use Superfacialist vitamin C oil cleanser.
I used to use Liz Earle skincare regime, but although it was ok, it never helped my hormonal spots and I also felt I needed a bit “more”- hence the Ordinary oils.

Awkward , yes check at the liz Earle counter , they should be happy to advise .