Morning skin care should be lighter, quicker and fresher than the evening routine. Evenings are a time for cleansing balms, muslin cloths, face masks and rich moisturisers whereas mornings are all about waking up your skin with a gentle cleanser.
I’ve been using La Roche Posay Physiological Cleansing Gel since last July for my morning cleanse. I only use the tiniest pea sized amount and emulsify with cool water on my face, it has a gentle yet refreshing scent not dissimilar to lemonade and leaves skin revitialized and soft. Recently I’ve been trying a sample of Elemental Herbology’s Cool and Clear cleanser which is so fresh and lovely. It does a wonderful job of cleansing the skin without that harsh squeeky clean feeling- ideal for a morning cleanse
Next up on the routine is a few sprays of Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner to really ensure that my sleepy eyes are well and truly awake and inject some moisture and tone the skin. I love using this toner as it is so quick- no cotton discs necessary, just spray and go and it sinks into the skin rapidly leaving wonderful supple and hydrated skin!
A product I have been loving for the last five months is Indeed Lab’s Hydraluron. It’s a sort of serum that sinks into the skin within nanoseconds that is packed full of hylaronic acid which helps keep the skin moisturised and makes it easier for your skin to absorb moisture effectively. This is ideal to use in the mornings to compensate for a gel cleanser and it also gets rid of any dry patches which is ideal pre-makeup application.Soon after Hydraluron I use La Roche Posay’s Effaclar Duo all over (again only a pea sized amount) to even out any breakouts or ward off potential ones- I love the smell of this product, so refreshing. I then finish off with a mattifying moisturiser to prep my skin for makeup, I love using Dr Nick Lowe’s Oil Control Moisturiser as it contains a small amount of salicylic acid so it really helps keep potential breakouts at bay, however I don’t love that it’s in a jar, it feels a little unhygeinic to me. I also find that this gets quite drying on my drier cheek area so I tend to use this all over the face only in the summer months and just on my t-zone in the winter. However, recently I received a free sample of Elemis’ Fresh Skin Mattifying Moisturiser in a magazine and have been lapping the stuff up, it is hydrating enough for my cheeks whilst keeping my t-zone shine free- result. REN’s t-zone balancing day time fluid is also great but again a little drying on my cheeks, so best just to keep it on the t-zone. I’m currently on the hunt for an oil controling moisturiser with SPF, potentially Murad? Will keep you posted, however SPF in my moisturiser isn’t a necessity for me as all my foundations and tinted moisturisers have SPF in them
This little routine is really very quick, probably takes me a maximum of 5 minutes start to finish, as I’m quite efficient when it comes to morning skincare- I just wont skimp!