Putting face stuff on in the right order

[miccymaccy]

Just turned 40 and trying to up my face game. Confusing myself with what to put on when. Google keeps telling me different things so thought I'd ask the wise birds of MN.
So after washing my face ...

Morning: hyaluronic acid, eye cream, spf30 moisturiser then face oil

Evening: retinol, eye cream, moisturiser then face oil

Sound right?

Hmm. Thinking that the face oil in the morning, after your SPF will dilute the SPF factor. Otherwise not much help, and watching with interest. I have tended to keep my routine simple for the same reason.

That sounds fine to me! The only thing I would say is that your spf should be the final step in the morning so that it can work most effectively. Also some people prefer to put their eye cream on before anything else because that way you get the maximum benefit from what is usually a fairly expensive product. Have you ever read Caroline Hiron’s blog? That’s my go to for information on skincare, she has a cheat sheet on routines which might help you.

That said if it’s working for you I’d carry on, I don’t think you can go too far wrong as long as you start with a clean face and end with moisturiser/oil or an spf if it’s the morning.

Oh thanks I'll read up in her - I used to just wash and moisturise so all a bit new to me but determined to not look like a handbag.

Any eye cream you'd recommend? I'm using No7 at the moment but open to ideas @NotInTheMorning

I would second reading Caroline Hirons, there’s a wealth of information. I think your eye cream should be first each time. SPF is definitely a last step because nice it’s on nothing else can get through to your skin.

I'm using the clinique moisture surge gel one which is really nice but it honestly just depends on what your skin is like, your budget, whether you're prone to puffy eyes etc etc. I'd definitely have a read of Caroline Hiron's blog, and she has a youtube channel too, there are heaps of recommendations. Also just a warning, if you do look at the routine on her cheat sheet it's really useful for getting a sense of what goes where, but it's very "full on" and it's probably not really necessary to be using ten different products every morning and evening (unless you want to of course!)

With your routine:
Morning:
Eye cream
Hyaluronic acid (assume that's a serum not a toner?) If it's a toner, before eye cream!
Oil
Moisturiser
SPF

Evening:
Retinol - wait 20 mins, then
Eye cream
Oil
Moisturiser

Should have said, if you want to up your game, add in another decent serum - something with vitamin c or an all-rounder like Clarins double serum. Also probably a glycolic acid toner on days you aren't using the retinol.

@Haver74 thanks for the tips - what does glycolic acid do? I've added vit c to my morning list

@Haver74 using Clarins double serum at night, would you leave that 20 mins before eye cream too?

It's a great exfoliater and good for general brightness and tone.
Only wait 20 minutes to use anything else after a retinol product. If you're just using serum, use it after your eye cream and then you can add an oil and/or moisturiser as soon as it's sunk in.
If you want to use retinol and the serum, just wait 20 minutes after applying the retinol.
Hope that makes sense!

Sorry, exfoliator not exfoliater!
Pixi glow tonic is good and you can buy a smaller size for £10.

Another question - if you are going on holiday, how many days before would you stop using retinol? Thanks!

I would say, if you've been using it a while and have no irritation, you don't need to stop at all. After all, people who live in hot climates use it!
Just make sure you whack on the SPF 30 or above

If you’re using other things, like a vitamin c cream etc. Then when do you add them in? Is it right that you’d apply the water soluble first then oils after?

I use vit c in the morning only as it shouldn't be used at the same times as a retinol.

You should be using a separate moisturizer and SPF, there's not enough SPF in combined to protect your skin :)

@chocolateneededrn which SPF do you use? Is it ok under make up?