My Summer Skincare Routine

I feel like I've got my skincare pretty much down at the moment, so I thought now was a good time to share an updated routine; generally speaking, my skin is super-oily but still dehydrated (yes, that's a thing) and prone to blemishes. I get a lot of blackheads on my nose and chin, as well as a few on my forehead - the areas where I get oiliest. I also used to get quite a lot of spots, usually having anything from one to fifteen or so active spots at any one time; at the moment I never have more than a couple at once and they're generally at a certain time of the month, so that's a huge improvement. So, let's have a look at what's working for me!

Morning
I like to keep things simple in the morning, so generally I just cleanse with my beloved Super Facialist by Úna Brennan Salicylic Acid Purifying Cleansing Wash; it's a right mouthful of a product name but it works so so well for my skin. I'm on my second tube now which says a lot, as I can't remember when I last repurchased a cleanser! I literally massage this into my face with dampened hands, then splash off with cool water and pat dry.
In terms of moisturising, I've been loving The Hero Project's Hyasoft, which I was lucky enough to win a tube of; this non-sticky gel absorbs super-quickly into my skin, delivering a dose of Hyaluronic Acid to help with dehydration. I really notice a difference in how plump and healthy my skin looks after using this. I follow this up with a tiny bit of Amie's Morning Light Hydrating Daily Moisturiser*, which is a lovely light no-frills moisturiser. A dab of Balance Me's Tinted Wonder Eye Cream on my eye areas, gently tapped in with my ring fingers, and I'm done.

Evening
I always start by removing my make-up - I'm currently using Garnier's Micellar Oil-Infused Cleansing Water, which smells beautiful, and is gentle enough to use even on my eyes. I then go in with my Organic Surge Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser for my first cleanse; I massage this in for around a minute, making sure to really work it into my skin, before polishing off with a flannel wrung out in hand-hot water. I use a clean flannel each day to prevent bacteria from building up. For my second cleanse, I use the Úna Brennan Cleansing Wash again, simply massaging into my skin and splashing off. At this point I might use one of the treatments mentioned below, before moving onto the next steps...

I dab a little bit of Merumaya's Concentrated Spot Treatment or Tea Tree Oil onto any active spots; this can sting a tiny bit on any broken skin, but both work really well to calm blemishes down overnight, massively reducing their size and redness. I give that a couple of minutes to dry before applying Hyasoft again, followed by my current night-time moisturiser. At the moment I'm using a Skin Chemists Bee Venom Moisturiser which I won a while ago; I've only been using this a couple of weeks, but so far I really like it, and find it leaves my skin feeling really nice and soft. It's quite pricey and I'm not sure I could justify buying it myself, but while I've got it I'm enjoying using it! A dab of the non-tinted version of Balance Me's Wonder Eye Cream, a slick of Carmex, and that's it for the night.

Treatments
Twice a week, I spritz COSRX's AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner onto a cotton pad and apply all over my face; I wasn't sure about this at first and it took a bit of experimentation to figure out how it works best for my skin, but used just a couple of times a week I find it helps my skin to look smoother, clearer and brighter.
Once a week I use Nip + Fab's Glycolic Fix Scrub after cleansing; I usually massage this in gently with damp hands, all over my face, and let it sit a couple for a couple of minutes before rinsing off. I love that this is a double-duty dose of exfoliation, with both the manual scrub particles and the chemical action from the 3% Glycolic Acid.
If my skin is looking dull, I'll massage in a couple of drops of Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin Drops after cleansing and before any moisturisers etc. This contains Vitamin C to brighten up the skin, but I found that using it too often seemed to break me out, so I stick to once or twice per week.
If I have any dry patches (it happens occasionally, even though my skin is oily, due to my eczema), I'll massage in a little bit of facial oil - at the moment, I'm loving this Oilixia Brilliance Facial Oil which I won a couple of months ago, but other favourites include the Boots Botanics Facial Oil, which is a fab budget option, and the Merumaya Everything Everywhere Beauty Oil.

Masks
I tend to use a mask two or three times per week, depending on what my skin needs; usually one night per week I'll replace my moisturiser with the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask, which works beautifully to deliver really intensive (fancy that!) moisturisation, whilst smelling bloomin' gorgeous too! Other mask favourites include the Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask for a super-deep cleanse; TurBliss Bioactive Peat Mask For Problem Skin* to cleanse and calm (but only if I don't have to go out straight afterwards!); and Balance Me Radiance Face Mask to, as the name suggests, add radiance as well as smooth the skin. I usually use my masks in the morning as I don't start work til later, so I've got plenty of time to potter about with my face covered in goo.

And I think that's it! I know it looks like a lot written out like this, but it actually only takes me about five minutes in the morning (a little longer if I use a mask, obviously!) and about ten minutes in the evening. Have you tried any of these products? What are your summer skincare must-haves?

xo
[*Product provided for consideration.]
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