Skin care - I know nothing

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Mid 40s, complete novice at all skin care & personal grooming stuff. Anyone care to talk me through the basics? What small things I could do to improve my skin? I don't get many spots but have large pores and kind of bumpy skin. Dark under eyes and red chin & nose. My routine at moment is basically wash with water when in shower. Cheap cream cleanser to remove make up (wet face with flannel, rub in cleanser, wipe off with flannel). To be honest, I don't always bother to remove make up before bed (told you I was complete novice). I don't wear makeup every day and when I do it's tinted moisturiser (rarely proper foundation). Don't bother to moisturise except for days when I use tinted moisturiser. I'm crap aren't I? Talk to me like I'm a child... What small changes can I make that will give me clearer, brighter skin? Can't spend much and think I need quick and simple if there's any chance of me sticking to it - I know I'm never going to be someone who spends £££ on this stuff or spends a long time every day on it. Thanks!

A nice simple morning skincare routine would be:

1. Cleanser (Cerave does nice ones - available from Boots).
2. Toner. To get rid of any dead skin cells and cleanser. I use one from Elemis.
3. Vitamin C serum - Geek and Gorgeous - available from Amazon. Gives skin a lovely glow and boosts effectiveness of SPF.
4. Hyaluronic acid. I use one from Tan Luxe which includes tanning drops. Hyaluronic acid helps skin to hold more moisture and so plumps it up and reduces appearance of lines.
5. SPF. I don’t bother with moisturiser as the serums are moisturising enough for me. I use a light SPF which is pretty moisturising (Biore Watery Essence SPF 50 available from Superdrug).

The above routine gives me glowy skin with a hint of a tan. I finish with some lip balm and cream blusher. That’s it. I’m mid 40s.

Re large pores, I saw the following product recommended in the weekend Times this week: Stila All About the Blur Stick. It’s good for open pores, shiny t-zone and fine lines apparently. Can be worn without make up or over foundation to give “an in-real-life Instagram effect to your skin”. Oooh.

I would keep the Cleanser you don't need to spend a lot. Just try to commit to doing it every day and moisturise before bed every day.

In the morning you can wash face and then use an Spf.

So those three products daily. I think everything else is an add on.

If you start to enjoy that you could add a Retinol at night and a vit c in morning. But start with basics.

My favourite affordable brand is Inky List or La Roche Posay is often on offer at boots. You really don't need to go super fancy. Consistency in the routine and trial and error to find favourite products are key

Keep it simple to start with.

A good cleanser. If you have bumpy skin I would swap to something that has a mild exfoliant effect (but not with any bits in!). Cerave Smoothing cleanser might work well. Use morning and night.

A moisturiser with SPF. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Use in the am.

Start with these and see how you go. Then you’ll be able to see what else you might need. So if you have dry skin then hyuralonic acid might be worth adding in (in the am). If you are worried about lines then a retinol at night (carefully- build up).

Vitamin C works for some people and not others

Boots value brand cleanser, toner and moisturiser morning and evening. All 3 products cost less than a fiver combined and my skin is really good! No need for anything fancy.

Cleanse, tone, moisturise and SPF are the basics. If you're not someone who needs a lot of moisture then you could look for an SPF that doubles as both in the morning and just use a moisturiser at night.

I think a gentle exfoliating toner would work well for you based on your description. It would brighten the skin and might help with pores a bit.

Glow Recipe Watermelon PHA/AHA toner is really good, enjoyable to use and very gentle. It has a bit of viscosity to it so you don't need cotton pads - just pour a bit in your hands and pat over your face. It's not cheap but you can often get it on offer (bound to be some Black Friday offers) and the full size does last a while.

I also rate MediK8 Press and Glow toner for the same reasons. This is a thinner formula and does require cotton pads to use. Again not cheap but often discounted and lasts a while.

If those are both too expensive I've read that Pixi Glow tonic is a good budget dupe for the above. Currently on offer at Boots for £12 for 200ml. I've not tried this one yet though.

For daily SPFs the Beauty of Joseon SPF is highly rated and very affordable to use regularly. Superdrug stock some of the range now and possibly you'd like some of their other products also.

Byoma is another brand that is well priced and can be bought at Boots. Their cleanser is also supposed to be nice. They have different ranges for different skin types.

In addition to the above whilst it's not strictly skincare I'd consider trying a primer under your foundation products. e.l.f do a good pore blurring primer that is inexpensive. You might find it helps your make up sit better than before and last a bit longer.

Thanks everyone for your advice - I'm off to look into some of the products mentioned. I was really expecting people to be disgusted with me for not properly washing makeup off every night so am really grateful for kind advice! I am determined to find sort myself out and stick to a better routine.

From a dermatologist (I saw on YouTube,) you only need sof during the day and at night cleanse to remove the SPF. That's a minimal skincare regime.

Personally I use a reusable microfibre cloth morning and night to cleanse. Then am balance me bha ( using up a sample) hyaluronic acid with aloe Vera and Lidl moisturiser. If I'm going out I'll use SPF . I'm currently wearing the E45 one.

Evening after cleansing the same serum as the morning, tret from dermatica and Nivea night.

Don't go from doing nothing to full on regime as your skin could react.