Exactly What Skincare I'm Using Right Now

My skin is better at 51 than it was at 31. This might be why.

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My skin is really good right now. 

It’s not that I look particularly young, just that my skin is clear, bright, the texture is pretty good and my pigmentation is under control. I get a bit of rosacea and I have lots of laugh lines but my face feels like the version of me I want to be at this point in my life, being an exceptionally vain woman who recently became a grandmother and like everyone my age (and younger) is trying to reconcile what I see in the mirror with what society tells me a woman ‘should’ look like.

It has not always been this way. I am a 51 year old woman who has not taken especially good care of her skin for the first 48 years but got her shit together during the pandemic because it felt like something I could pretend to have control over while our collective hair was on fire.

Now, I’m the girl who turns first towards the skincare section when I walk into Myer or Mecca or Sephora and it never used to be like that. Makeup was always more fun for me. More instantly gratifying.
Does this mean I’m finally growing up? It’s possible.

And I’m not the only one who has found her interest moving from painting my face to improving its texture.

When I do my Instababbles in the mornings (random chats while getting my face ready for work), I’m asked a lot of questions in the comments about my skincare routine.

So, with the dual disclaimer that it’s always evolving as I try new things plus noting that I tried Botox for the first time last year to soften the ‘elevenses’ between my eyebrows, here’s what I’m using right now.

Before we start: Some of the skincare products I use are spendy. I spend more than the average bear on clothes and beauty, I know. This list is by no means a suggestion that you buy these exact products or use as many skincare products as I do. It’s just what I’m using ATM.
Because cost-of-living etc, I’ve tried to include a savey option as an alternative.

Also: occasionally, I get sent products to try by beauty companies but I only tell you about the ones I then go on to purchase for myself at full price. Glad we cleared all that up. 

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm.

I used to think double cleansing was a bullshit way to make women use more cleanser and maybe it is but what got me over the line was Caroline Hirons’ insistence that cleansing was an underrated step in a skincare routine and that double-cleansing was necessary if you wear sunscreen and makeup and go outside. Since I tick all those boxes, I started using a balm cleanser in the shower at the end of the day and taking it off with a wet flannel because balms and oils can be clingy and leave a residue. A bit of a splash with your hands isn’t enough.
This Clinique balm is a cult product for good reason. It feels delicious going on and it doesn’t leave your skin feeling stripped. It can be hard to find cleansing balms that are cheaper so if you want to do the double cleanse you can ABSOLUTELY use the same cream cleanser twice at night (not necessary to double cleanse in the morning unless you wear sunscreen or makeup to bed and if you do, get your shit together).

SAVEY OPTIONS:

• THE INKEY LIST Oat Cleansing Balm.

• MECCA COSMETICA Mecca-morphosis Purifying Cleansing Balm.

  Tatcha The Rice Wash.

This is my ‘second’ cleanse at night after the balm and the only one I use in the morning. The word ‘rice’ might make you think that it’s grainy, like an exfoliant or that scratchy Apricot scrub we used as teenagers that basically ripped our faces off but oh no. Not this. I can’t describe what it feels like or why it feels so good but I did once say it was like an orgasm on your face. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, admittedly, but given that I never thought I’d feel anything about a cleanser, this was a revelation. It’s exxy and an indulgence. You don’t need it. So long as your cleanser isn’t foamy and doesn’t leave your skin feeling tight or - god forbid - ‘squeaky’.

SAVEY OPTIONS:

• Naturium Fermented Rice Enzyme Cleanser.

• La Roche-Posay Effaclar H Biome Cleanser.

 

Biossance Squalane + Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum.

This sounds a mouthful and honestly, I don’t know what half those words mean. But from what I understand (Leigh Campbell spoke about this on our You Beauty podcast and I trust her implicitly), it’s a chemical exfoliant which means it’s like a non-abrasive version of a deep-clean. This is NOT a daily product. I only use it once a week at night, instead of a retinol. I put a moisturiser over the top before I go to bed and I don’t use it around my eyes - “take it to the tits” though, as Caroline Hirons says. Neck and upper chest.

SAVEY OPTIONS:

• The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA.

• The Inkey List Lactic Acid Face Serum.

Sukin Original Hydrating Mist Toner.

Sukin Original Hydrating Mist Toner.

This is another one of those skincare steps I thought was bullshit and never used to do. I also don’t like the feeling of spraying water on my face. But my skincare gurus all independently said that your skincare (except for retinols which should be put on dry skin) is far more effective on damp skin and this is not only the cheapest mist I’ve used but it’s also the best. You can get it at the chemist and it sprays so evenly and feels so lovely, I can’t begin to tell you.

I use this directly before I apply my serums in the morning.

SAVEY OPTIONS:

• Essano Rosehip Mist Toner.

• The Jojoba Company Jojoba Water Toning Mist.

 

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