Do you find skincare works?

[onlychildhamster]

I used to follow a very strict skincare routine- double cleanse, clay mask, hado labo lotion, facial oil, serum (superdrug), sunscreen (day time), moisturizer (night). Treatment products when needed- tea tree oil, AHA/BHA products if i had a hormonal spot. I used a fairly sheer bb cream and believed that prioritizing skincare over makeup was the way to go.

This changed over lockdown. I became lazy with my routine. And lockdown boredom meant I ordered a few expensive base products online- makeup for ever, skin 79 bb cream, milk makeup bronzer, charlotte tilbury bronze and glow mini, chanel baume essential multi glow stick. And when lockdown lifted, I even bought an embarrassingly expensive Suqqu foundation (£68! but I got a free lipstick with my purchase) cos I was so happy to be able to go to a makeup counter and have my face done.

And the crazy thing is- my skin looks exactly the same as it did without the skincare! I still wash my face and use a mask in the bath, slap on some sunscreen when the sun is shining, moisturize with lotion, facial oil, serum and moisturizer if my skin feels dry but I hardly use skincare now. In fact, I look better now because the expensive makeup is actually quite good and the colours are nicer.

I used to be a huge proponent of 'look after your skin and you can get away with cheap makeup' but I am not so sure now. Maybe its because I am in my 20s. Would I see the (negative) effects in later life? I used to be an avid follower of Caroline Hirons but I am not so sure now...

I’m guessing age is a big factor! I’ve always had very clear skin but hitting 40 soon and it takes a bit more time to look as nice, it’s still very clear and even but if I’m tired it really flipping shows!! Best thing you can do in 20s is be very strict with sunscreen and good sleep as I think that’s the stuff that shows up later ugh

You don't need all that expensive skin care in your 20's just a good cleansing and moisturising regime. And sun cream.

I'm in my 50's and look younger and have been using expensive skincare for the last 6 years. It does make a huge difference to the look of my skin. I don't have wrinkles yet but I will now my collagen will start to disappear. I think the lack of wrinkles is genetic more than anything.

I wore foundation pretty much every day of my life with spf in it which I think has helped enormously. I didn't wear a separate spf but obviously I do now that I'm more aware I should.

I started my skincare regime all those years ago due to Caroline Hirons advice and cheat sheets. It's dont follow her now as I don't want to be lured into buying super expensive unnecessary products. But now know what products do what and what works for my skin.

In your 20s you can get away with no, or very little make up.

Cleanse your skin, apply moisturiser then sunscreen. I've tried different moisturisers and I'm not convinced that the expensive ones are worth it.

Get plenty of sleep, don't drink excessively and don't smoke. Eat healthily.

Look after your teeth

It’s not only your skincare.
It’s what you eat, stress, environment, sleeping habits etc.

Also I think an overload of products is going to do your skin more harm then good.

My skin care ritual:
Morning : face wash + lotion + milk lotion + sunscreen

Night : double cleanse with oil cleanser then foam face wash. Then all in 1 cream or a sheet mask. Sometimes a peeling or a mud mask.

@KirstenBlest I don't drink or smoke. Have a sweet tooth so teeth are not great, I do go to the dentist to fix my teeth though! I do know sugar is bad for my skin.

I think I am addicted to makeup because I had my makeup done for my wedding and I was amazed at how I looked. Also watch a lot of Korean/Chinese dramas and the actresses look so lovely (and they wear a lot of makeup!).

Spf doesn't have an immediate effect

But you will be oh so glad of wearing it when you're older...

No, most of them are not particularly effective. I pared my routine right back and it's improved my skin. The things that are effective for me are double cleansing (products are not hugely relevant; tried all sorts) and a basic morning moisturiser, Vit C serum at night. Sunscreen is a good idea. Loads and loads of cack slapped on just overloads your skin I reckon.

I am mid 40s and have used high end skincare since I was 21yo. I've spent a fortune. It has made my skin better overall but my skin was always good, so I definitely didn't need it as I thought I needed it at the time. Cleaner, moisturiser and sunscreen is all I probably needed.

If you like Korean style make up

Dewy skin often trough cushion foundation
Place blush on the apple of your cheek rather then on the cheek bones
Straight powdery eyebrows that look very soft, often in a lighter shade
Shiny / glittery brown or orange eyeshadow on the eyes with barely there eyeliner
Natural looking mascara or fake lashes
Watery tints or lip stains in red, pink or orange-ey

Missha and Etude House are good and affordable brands. I like Hope Girl eyeshadows too.

I use high end skincare (Bamford) and have done for some time( I’m old so feel I need it)
The other night I was having a sort through and found 2 x SK11 face masks that I’d bought ages ago. They’re individually sealed and are a pappery mask that you apply and leave for 15 mins. You then squeeze the mask to get all of the liquid out and apply this to your skin. Did this last thing at night. Next morning, wow…..it’s a game changer
Glowy skin and looked years younger

@LaBellina I do use cushion foundation (laneige) for top ups! Used to use missha and etude house for bb cream, but I prefer skin79. I mix it with a few dots of suqqu and a few pats of makeup forever powder foundation. I used to try to do dewy skin but it doesn't look very good on me so now I just make sure my base matches my skin and then apply cream highlighter and blush on the apples of my cheeks, contour my jawline.

I also do shimmery brown cream eyeshadow (beauty pie) and liquid pen eyeliner. Eyebrow gel.

The absolute thing only thing that makes any kind of difference to my skin is what time of the month it is.

No, I've come to the conclusion actually a great big con. I have over the years tried various amazing creams and my skin sometimes looks a bit better and sometimes not...regardless of what I'm doing to it or if I'm using expensive products or bog standard Nivea.
I think you can probably maintain what you have by looking after it iyswim, but ultimately I've come to the conclusion that it's mainly down to genes. My dmum had great skin, my dsis has great skin (and does FUCK ALL for it, including constantly being out in the sun with no SPF), my ddad had thin, papery wrinkly skin and that's what I've got too, regardless of what I do.

I don't think general skincare has much effect in the longterm- except for SPF. A moisturiser does just that- moisturises your skin. A clay mask will temporarily pull oil and sebum from your pores. If your skin is red and chapped then Vaseline will help it.

Some products make skin look brighter- BHA, AHA, retinol etc.
Some can fade brown marks- hydroquinone etc. nothing can stop you ageing or reverse it.

@HopeForTheBestExpectTheWorst Interesting, i have come to the same conclusion re skincare. oil cleansing is great for eye makeup removal, but you can get cheap oil cleansers- my go to is a cheap one from germany that costs 2 euros plus. I guess sunscreen is important too but you can get really nice ones that aren't sticky for £10. And i like acne treatments with salicylic acid/tea tree oil but those aren't really expensive either.

my MIL has amazing skin, no wrinkles despite being nearly 60. As far as I know, she only seems to use weleda skin food. She eats healthy, no processed foods and vegetarian. My mum also looks young (could pass for 35 when she is nearly 60), but she is the opposite in a way, lives in a tropical country and never wears sunscreen (but to be fair, spends most of her time indoors) and only eats in restaurants/hawker centres (but tends to favour rice and vegetables). So it is probably genetics- but one thing they both have in common is that they both exercise and don't drink or smoke.

So on another note, does everyone think expensive base makeup is worth it?

I do use cheap products but find that a few of the expensive makeup I bought is quite nice? Does everyone think they are worth the £££? The colours seem to be nicer and I find that they last longer.

The sugars going to bite you on the arse at menopause.

You mentioned Suqqu, very nice products but very pricey indeed.

I do think that some expensive base makeup products can be better. Yves Saint Laurent and Dior have very good foundations on a level that you won’t find in drugstore products. I do like L’Oréal though, the quality is very decent.

I'm mixed on this. Yes I do think you can hve amazing skin and do very little. Really your skin just needs to be cleaned and hydrated. So just washing it and moisturising is enough. But there's so much evidence now about the importance of sunscreen. You probably won't see the effects of this for many years but the plumper your skin the younger it will look.

For me, I love the sensory experience of skincare products so I enjoy doing my routine. If i didnt I would just use any old moisturiser I think.

I think it makes a difference, but not necessarily the product. I recently had a lot of cryotherapy, skin damage that was burnt off. Many on my body, sadly also quite a lot on my face. I didn't do any normal facial routine for 2 days, then continued as best I could past the burns and blisters. After 4 or 5 days all of the burnt areas on my face had healed well, much much faster than the rest of my body which hadn't had the same attention. I was just using plain old Vaseline as instructed, hence me now thinking are the more expensive products really worth it. I applied to my face way more often (every time I thought about it tbh) but not my arms, legs and areas that weren't as easy to get to. I did find it really interesting how the different areas healed differently.

No. Expensive skin care is a massive con imo. I used to use more expensive brands (though not lots of products - nothing like your routine!). I now use No7, Max Factor etc for make-up and Aldi skin care. No difference. There are plenty of reviews by those in the know which say that, for example, Aldi Caviar moisturiser is virtually the same as Créme de la Mer. The only thing that makes a real difference is sleep, water, diet, exercise.

Oh and genes, obvs.

@lazylinguist I never used super expensive moisturizer either. The best I have found is weleda skin food which isn't Aldi prices but still 'drugstore'. My facial oil is a german one which is 3-4 euros (My MIL buys it for me when she is in germany), superdrug serum is £3.50. I use biore sunscreen. I like the ordinary 30% aha and bha solution as a spot treatment too and its £6.30. The most expensive part of my routine is hado labo lotion;it used to be £10 but now ranges from £12-17 depending on the source.

So for me, its not as much the cost as the feeling i needed to use all these products every single day.

And of course if you use these products everyday, the cost does add up!

Oh ok, well I use: a Liz Earle dupe cleansing balm (followed by soap and water!), a serum (only recently added this), and a day or night moisturiser - all these from Aldi. Then drugstore brand foundation, concealer, blusher stick, face powder and lip balm or sometimes lipstick. That's it. I rarely wear eye make-up as it makes my eyes water.