Example Routines

If you follow my Instagram feed, chances are you have already seen many of my daily routines. But I wanted to write a longer post about several example routines and why I use the products in them. I’m including both AM and PM routines as well as routines from before and after I had issues with my moisture barrier, in part to show you how my routine changes based on what my skin is doing and how much time I have.

To be fair, many of my routines are longer than most people’s, in part because I like putting stuff on my face. You don’t need a long routine, but you should think about what your skin needs and apply products that fulfill those needs.

Before issues with my moisture barrier:

Winter Weekday AM:

This was a typical weekday morning routine for me.

Cleanse:

• SW Basics Cleansing Oil (used on cotton pad)
• Su:m27 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick (Used in shower. It has a low ph and doesn’t strip my face or make it tight.)

Hydrate:

• Cosrx BHA Natural Returning A-Sol (Put on directly out of the shower so my face doesn’t have time to dry out. This has propolis, so it’s more hydrating than an active like a regular BHA.)
• Missha Time Revolution FTE (The most watery essence, filled with fermented ingredients to give skin a “glow.”)
• Klairs Supple Preparation toner (Prep the skin for what’s to come, this soothes and calms any redness while balancing my skins ph.)
• Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Essence (Hydrates, soothes, is generally awesome.)

Targeted skin issue:

• Holy Snails Shark Sauce (lightens PIH/scars and evens skin tone)

Moisturize:

• Cosrx Honey Ceramide Eye Cream
• Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra Moisturizing Lotion with Birchsap (Light layer of moisture without being greasy)
• Belif Aqua Bomb (A thicker layer of moisture to lock in the earlier hydrating ingredients and absorbs quickly, which means it sits well under makeup.)

Sunscreen:

• Shiseido Senka Anti-Aging Sunscreen

Total time post-shower: since I slap things on to dry while I do other “getting ready” things like blow drying my hair or getting dressed, it’s hard to accurately say. If I sat down to do just this, maybe 10 minutes, and then a 15 minute wait time after my sunscreen before I put on my makeup.

Winter PM:

Cleanse:

•  illi Total Aging Care Cleansing oil (Smells amazing, emulsifies like a dream, and washes off easily.  Works to clean off all of my makeup quickly and easily and cleans pores better than any other cleansing oil or balm I’ve tried).
• Cosrx Low Ph Good Morning Cleanser (I like to use this before I’m going to use any actives. It’s also a pretty strong foaming cleanser, so I know it will take off any trace of makeup that the illi may have missed.)

Actives:

• Cosrx AHA/BHA Clarifying Toner (Lowers my ph suitable to where it needs to be for my actives to work. Don’t use otherwise because it’s rather drying and I have no need for my ph to be that low.)
• Cosrx AHA 7 Whitehead Power Liquid (I used this twice a week. It stung my skin when I applied it. WHY DID I KEEP USING IT?! Anyway, this was to exfoliate my face. [It worked a little TOO well.] I waited 20 minutes before moving on to hydration.)

Hydrate:

• Missha Time Revolution FTE (same as above)
• Klairs Supple Preparation Toner –x2 thin layers (When I have more time, like at night, I like to layer the hydration as much as I can.)
• Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence (What’s that famous Harry Potter quote? Oh yeah. “Always.”)
• Banila Co. Miss Flower & Mr Honey Hydrogel (Dedicated 15-20 minutes of chill time while this hydrogel help push all of the previous stuff into my skin.)

Targeted Skin Issue:

• Nothing here because the AHA was targeting the issues I wanted

Moisturize:

• Cosrx Oil-Free Ultra-Moisturizing Lotion (moisturize because, you know, my skin felt dry)
• Banila Co. it Radiant Brightening eye cream
• Banila Co.  Miss Flower & Mr Honey cream (Use this mainly at night because it’s rather thick and wouldn’t sit well under makeup. But it helps me wake up to glowing, plump, moisturized skin.)

Occlusive: 

• Mizon Snail Wrinkle Care sleeping pack (Normally my Miss F and Mr H are enough, but according to my notes, my skin felt extra dry, so I really want to lock in that moisture! [duh! My skin was over exfoliated. That’s why it felt so dry!])

Total time: Uhh…awhile. I take my time with my night time routines because I think it’s fun. I do other things, like watch tv or read on my Kindle while I do it, but generally, it takes about an hour or so, especially with the AHA wait time and sheet mask time.

After issues with my moisture barrier

Winter Weekend AM:

This is an exceptionally long routine; I almost never use a sheet mask in the morning. That’s why I made clear that this routine is for the winter and on a weekend.

Cleanse:

• SW Basics Cleansing Oil (used on cotton pad)
• Su:m27 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick (in shower)

Hydrate:

Post moisture barrier breakdown, it was really important for me to have light, hydrating layers that I would then lock in at the end of the routine.

• Cosrx Natural BHA Returning A-Sol (soothing propolis and natural BHAs helps with acne)
• Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence (The fermented ingredients help with brightening. I finished the Missha Time Revolution FTE and this took its place.)
• Klairs Supple Prepration Toner (soothes my irritated skin. This was, and still is, an indispensable part of my routine.)
• Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence (Hyaluronic acid is a humectant that attracts water and keeps it in the skin. Very important with dehydrated skin that has trouble retaining moisture.)
• Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence (Snail mucin soothes and helps to repair skin. It also has antimicrobial agents, which was important when my barrier was weak because there was potential for bad bacteria to infiltrate.)
• Banila co Miss Flower & Mr Honey Toner (A lovely fatty toner that hydrates, and it also has niacinamide, an important ingredient that helps to repair the moisture barrier.)
• Mediheal N.M.F Aquaring mask (LOVE this mask—so hydrating and soothing. Highly recommend!)

Targeted Skin Issue:

• Holy Snails Shark Sauce (Niacinamide–helping brighten while repairing the barrier.)
• Mizon Snail Repair Intensive Ampoule (The more snail, the better. Layers and layers of snail to soothe and protect!)

Moisturize:

• Lanoliné Manuka Honey Intensive Eye serum (Under eye skin needs love, too!)
• Stratia Liquid Gold (The LOVE of my life and one of the best products that helped to repair my moisture barrier. Included fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides. Love it.)
• A’pieu Pure Medic Provitamin B5 Purity Lotion (Also full of ceramides and is very soothing. It’s a great lotion.)

Occlusive:

• Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream mixed with a few drops of Blossom Jeju 100% Pure Camellia Dry Oil (The oil helps to act as an occlusive layer in the cream, sealing in everything before. But because it’s a dry oil, it’s not oily: it absorbs nicely. The Klairs cream also contains ceramides. I’m sure you’re sensing a theme here.)

Finish up with Banila co Miss Flower & Mr Honey Hand Cream–for the decadent scent of it all

Total time: This took…over an hour. But I planned it that way. Like I’ve said, I enjoy patting things on my face, especially when my face needs pampering.

Winter Weekday AM:

This is a more typical routine that I would do during the week before work.

Cleanse:

• SW Basics Cleansing Oil (used on cotton pad)
• Su:m27 Miracle Rose Cleansing Stick (in shower)

Hydrate:

You’ll see a lot of repeats here.

• Cosrx Natural BHA Returning A-Sol
• Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence
• Klairs Supple Prepration Toner
• Cosrx Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence
• Cosrx Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence
• Miss Flower & Mr Honey Essence Oil (Thick and luxurious, this really keeps my face soft throughout the day. The honey–especially layered with the snail–helps to repair and soothe my irritated skin.)

Moisturize:

• Stratia Liquid Gold (Absorbs quickly and goes well under makeup and sunscreen.)
• Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Cream (The perfect morning cream.)

Sunscreen:

• Shiseido Senka Anti-Aging Sunscreen (Moisturizing and absorbs quickly. Doesn’t leave a white cast.)

Total time: in total, this takes about 7-10 minutes after washing my face. After applying the sunscreen, I have a 15 minute wait time until I put on my makeup.

PM:

All that hydrating goodness!

Cleanse:

•  illi Total Aging Care Cleansing oil
• Cosrx Low Ph Good Morning Cleanser

Hydrating:

• Hada Labo Gokujyun Lotion (A Japanese toner that contains several types of hyaluronic acid. It’s super hydrating and a great way to start my routine. I usually do 2-3 layers. This is a new product for me.)
• Cosrx Galactomyces 95 Whitening Power Essence
• Klairs Supple Prepration Toner
• Leaders 7 Wonders Amazonian Acai Anti-Pollution Mask (An excellent biocellulose mask that fits amazingly. I love the Leaders masks.)

Targeted Skin Issue:

• Shark Sauce
• Lanoliné Manuka Honey Serum (For under eye area. This is a new product for me. Not sure how well it’s working.)

Moisturizer:

• Stratia Liquid Gold

Occlusive:

• Blossom Jeju 100% Pure Camellia Dry Oil
• Tony Moly Banana Sleeping Pack (Not only this is adorable, but it smells like banana Laffy Taffy. I love it. It’s a great sleeping pack!)

Total time: This took about 45 minutes with the sheet mask.

 

As you can see, I do have some standard products in my routine (the Cosrx Galactomyces essence, Klairs toner and the Cosrx Snail essence). I rotate around these depending on what my skin needs.

As you probably noticed, the actives dropped out from my routine after my moisture barrier fell apart, but after about 4 weeks, I did start adding in some more actives, albeit different ones. I’ve been using the Stratia Soft Touch AHA, which is a different type of AHA than the Cosrx one. I’ll be doing a post on it soon.

Your routine should be dependent on your skin and what it needs. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how I use my skincare wardrobe on a day-to-day basis.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!