Talk to me about your evening skin care routine....

[Izzywhizzy123]

In the morning I cleanse, tone, use moisturiser and under eye cream. Should I be doing the same in the evening?

I'm mid 30s with clear skin, but with 2 young kids and working so I do look tired.

What do you do? And honestly do you notice a difference if you don't do it?

I do notice a difference if I don’t do the following but I’m 50.
I double cleanse with a balm cleanser then Cerave hydrating cleanser.
then face massage with hado labo premium gold HA serum.
Then tretinoin 0.05% all over followed by Weleda Skin food to buffer.
Then seal it all in with avocado oil.
I wake up with plumper skin and negligible creases/fine lines.

I double cleanse with Dermalogica microfoliant and Elemis Collagen pro balm. Retinol serum on damp skin for anti aging and moisturiser. Eye creams Aren’t necessary I’m told. You should be using a spf in the morning.

I definitely notice a difference if I don’t do it. It’s a worthy investment of time. Drink lots of water too.

I double cleanse - Dermalogica pre-cleanse then their special cleansing gel. About 3x per week I’ll use a Dermalogica microfoliant.

Then a serum - biolumin vitamin C (Dermalogica again), followed by a night cream. I’m currently trying the Hada Labo night repair, but I also love the Elemis plumping pillow facial.

I do notice a difference if I don’t do it, and my facialist can always tell!

Yes SPF, I'm so bad at remembering this. I need to make sure it's in my moisturiser or I'll never do it.

Ok so sounds like double cleanse, serum and night cream is the way to go. Goodbye money. Thank you all.

I'd recommend the Caroline Hirons book and the Skincare Freaks group on fb as good places to start on improving your routine

OMG OP! I was just going to post this as I'm 41 and my face used to be so clear and smooth. I never had to wear make up and the Facebook memories are showing how radiant I used to look.

I was going to post the same because I was wondering how I can improve my skin. I have so many little scars and blemishes on my face now even though I mainly drink 2l of water a day and I've improved my diet.

Thanks for posting because some of these suggestions look great

I’m mid fifties and already have wrinkles and tons on sun spots

No make up days, Wash face with warm water, go to bed.

Days with make up, wash face with Superdrug Vit E facial wash.

I always wear SPF in the daytime

You need a separate spf, the amount in moisturiser isn’t enough to be effective. It’s only put in as a marketing tool.

For me, the thought of NOT cleaning my face at night is too awful. I never understand when people have great cleansing routines in the morning but happily get into bed with a face that's filled with make up, pollutants, dust, sweat etc.

Having said that, I just cannot double cleanse. I use a cleansing balm and a hot cloth - the Farmacy one which is ridiculously expensive but I love it.

Then serum - hylaronic acid or Clarins double serum - then moisturiser. Sometimes I use a face oil.

I cleanse - double if I’ve had makeup on.

i’m still looking for my holy grail cleanser so have a big selection! Balms (beauty pie/ evolve), Paula’s choice foaming, cold cream, toleraine, drunk elephant bar.

twice a week I exfoliate/acid tone at this stage.

then I apply eye cream (currently beauty pie).

then serums - Barbara sturm Vit C, beauty pie HLA currently.

then I moisturize (evolve daily renew cream)

umm. I guess I’m in the minority here but I splash my face with water and go to bed. My skin is fine. I’ve never done anything much apart from moisturiser in the morning and high spf in the sun. I look younger than I am (mid 40s).

Early 50's here. Use an oil cleanser - Votary or one made by a local firm that is much cheaper! Then the Ordinary HA serum on a damp face, followed by the Ordinary moisturiser or embryollise lait crème. Finally a facial oil on top.

Used to use a balm cleanser but found as I got older they just aren't moisturising enough and dry my skin out. Can't go near any foaming or wash off cleansers.

Morning and evening, Tisserand face wash, exfoliate with a clean, thin muslin face cloth, rub argan oil on face. Under eyes I use Balmonds skin salvation. I'm 53 and until menopause my skin was oily, but now it isn't and I find don't feel the need for face masks which I sometimes used to use pre menopause. I don't wear make up and use sun cream if I'm going to be in the sun for long. I think my skin looks OK for 53.

I don’t cleanse in the morning, your face is clean then. A wash with water is enough. Then HA, vit c, sunscreen plus a bit of tinted moisturiser.

ALWAYS cleanser in the evenings, I ditched double cleansing and my skin is exactly the same. Then rotate: retinol, glycolic, intense moisturiser. Sometimes a night of cicoplast. Eye cream, sometimes a rose hip oil if needed.

Next question then - do you think it's worth spending on higher end skin care? I've used a mixture in my adult life, never really noticed a difference but that was when I was much younger and childless...

Can I ask a stupid question after reading these replies?

Does oil go on after moisturiser? I’ve been doing it before.

Always after

i think some things are worth more money, eg retinol. others , cheap is fine. La Roche posey is great value imo, HA hada labo is cheap and excellent.

@sixfoot thank you!

I don’t think it’s cost so much as ingredients, Estée Lauder is incredibly expensive and I have a relative who has used their skin care and make up religiously but smoked, eaten a very processed diet and never worn a separate sunblock so looks like a handbag anyway.

I do like dermalogica for their masks, eye creams and moisturisers.

My evening routine:

Cleanse (double if wearing makeup) any cleanser I have to hand. It stays on your face 30 seconds then goes down the sink. Currently using Superdrug vitamin E. I really love the N7 balm cleanser in winter. I often use the same one twice.

A couple of nights a week I use Tret. Once a week or so I use an acid toner.

Moisturizer. Again, whatever I've got. Are some of them gorgeous and beautifully perfumed and packaged- yep. Do they do anything different to a £4 Nivea with the same (cheap) ingredients like hyaluronic acid and glycerine? Nope.

Re: oil and night cream- it depends on the texture/consistency of the cream. For most an oil would go over, but something thick and gloopy like Weleda skin food/Nivea blue pot, it would go under the cream.

Vitamin C is fine in the evenings but even better in the morning as it's anti-oxident, anti-pollution and helps an SPF do its job.

Most serums are hyaluronic acid based, so most people won't need a separate HA. People with less dry skin can sometimes get away with a HA and no moisturizer. I think it's Nadine Baggott who does that. (her videos are well worth a watch, particularly the "you only need 5 ingredients" one. At the time I had 23 serums on rotation 🤣 and suddenly realised every single one, from the £3 Superdrug one to the Clarins double was basically the same- good old HA.

I keep hearing beauty experts say the expensive stuff is worth it for serums more than anything - quality of ingredients, I think.

For me, I use a mix. With expensive ones it's often that the experience is better. I have searched and searched for the perfect day cream and tried everything from very spendy to cheap and cheerful. Ultimately, I have realised that in terms of effectiveness, the nivea q10 stuff is actually probably the best. It just doesn't feel or smell as good. I am going back to it on the basis that the rest of my routine makes me feel good, and the nivea works and is cheap.

In fairness, apart from Skinceuticals which seems to have universal love among experts, the only experts I hear saying that ££££ stuff is better also have their own ranges to sell. Barbara Sturm, Paula Begouin etc (though PC isn't that expensive cf to others, it's still expensive for its ingredients)

I wash My face, then apply my dermatica.
twice a week I will wash my face and maybe do a mask depending on what I think I need, and then just use an oil and a moisturiser but only because I still have loads to use up from when I was buying way more than I needed or knew what to do with.
I’ve pared right back now and will continue to use things while I have them but more than likely won’t be repurchasing stuff once it’s gone.

For high quality serums at reasonable prices look at The Ordinary - they really are great.

And yes I always do oil after moisturiser. My skin is ok for my age I think - not masses of wrinkles, though that is also partly genetic, I don't smoke or drink etc