Beginners Guide to Skincare

​For this post I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants. There's no agenda, no notes like I usually do. I don't feel like it will be super long. I just have seen a lot of questions about skincare, skincare routines, not to mention we are flooded with products. A lot of people get overwhelmed and if you follow my snap it's easy to get overwhelmed by what I do because I have a lot of steps both morning and night. Plus, I review a lot of skincare on here as well. So it's hard to tell sometimes what might benefit you.

​The point of this is to tell you that I wasn't always this in depth with my skincare. There's nothing wrong with learning about skincare and progressing as you go. You don't have to jump in the deep end at first, you can take your time. There are things I used to use that now I cringe about because my taste has changed when it comes to what my skin likes and also I feel different about certain products because I pay attention to ingredients more these days. Basically what I want to accomplish is telling you that it's ok to have a "bare minimum" routine and it's ok to go at your own pace. It's also fine to seek out a professional, just as it's fine to do your own research. 

So here's my thoughts on skincare:

Cleanse the skin properly. Meaning take off all your makeup and then go in with a cleanser. You don't necessarily need to use a special cleaning device. You can use a warm, soft, washcloth and it may work just fine for you. Wash cloths, face towels, etc tend to be a type of exfoliation anyway.

Immediately after cleanser you'll want to: I would suggest a toner. The Glycolic Toning Solution from The Ordinary is really nice but the OG Clinique Lotion (liquid) is still once of my faves. If you don't use a toner then go in with either you're Vitamin C (in the AM) if you're using one  and then straight to your moisturizer and spf. 

Vitamin C especially a good one, (see previous post) is going to do wonders for your skin. It'll treat, it'll brighten, it'll buff, it'll help with pigmentation, and also it's going to make the skin radiant. You should really consider this option. The change in your skin will be fast and you won't regret it assuming you use a good one that gives results.

Now if you are still unsure of what products to use and where, then keep it simple with the cleanser and then moisturizer. I use a lot of treatments in my skincare. including AHA, Retinol, Vitamin C, Antioxidants, etc. and THEN moisturizer to lock all that in. So what I'm saying is while you're figuring it out, at least be cleansing properly and then moisturizing the skin, also using SPF, with a good one. Good doesn't necessarily mean expensive, by the way. 

Trust me something is better than nothing so while you're figuring it out and doing your research: Cleanse, Moisturize, SPF (and hopefully Vitamin C). Then my advice would be to really do a lot of reading, getting some samples (Sephora has promo samples all the time you can also ask for samples in store) and adding in one product at a time. I like this because it doesn't overwhelm the skin. Plus if your skin reacts to it in an allergic type way, you'll automatically know what it is and can stop using it, return it, whatever. 

Acids or AHA/BHA's are a huge thing right now, you don't have to jump right in. As I said earlier the Ordinary Glycolic Toning Solution is really good, very inexpensive, it's 7% Glycolic Acid and that's kinda mild in my opinion. It's a liquid so just apply with a cotton pad. You can find it at DECIEM and Beautylish. Same goes for other harsher products like Retinol. You don't have to have it all or jump right in, you can get there at your own pace as long as your doing something. 

My mother has good skin in my opinion and it was due to washing her face properly, moisturizer morning and night, and SPF always. That is still her routine actually. 

So I just wanted to drop this note to tell you don't get sucked in by the hype, if you want to "pamper" get a mask be it clay, or a sheet mask (Miss Spa is my fave, it's hydrogel). Maybe possibly try a sleeping mask or facial. Korres carries sleeping facials that often go on sale and Sephora has $4 sleeping masks that I hear great things about but I've not tried them properly yet.

That's it, feel free to talk to me about it as well if you want my opinion. Hit me up on Twitter loveand_mascara, or Instagram @lovemascara. I often explain a lot about ingredients and my routines that are ever changing on Snap as well which is @loveandmascara.