I’ve been taking care of my skin since I was about 10… my mother drilled it in to me. And while I detested the monthly facial appointments (blackhead extraction is TORTURE), I’m grateful for the skincare habits I’ve developed.

This post contains affiliate links.

In the mornings, I DON’T WASH MY FACE! I do wet it and use a cotton pad/ball with toner to dry prep my skin for the day, but I don’t cleanse, tone, exfoliate, serum all that jazz. In fact, I used to. When I stopped, I noticed a HUGE difference. Washing your face in the morning can strip your skin of natural lipids that it produces overnight, which can make your skin more susceptible to irritation. So here’s what I do for skin care in the morning.

Wash with water- just to wake you up and get those sleepies, eye crusties, whatever you call it-out.

Dry with toner and a cotton ball or round- the toner I use also doubles as a skin prep for makeup so it does double duty!

Moisturize- this moisturizer has 35 SPF so I use it in the morning. I tried using the Sugargoop tinted moisturizer, but while it was nice it is so expensive!

For makeup, I just use this CC cream, do my brows and apply lip tint. Then I’m good to go!

---

I have this little patch of red and irritated skin right under my eye and when I really washed my face everyday it got even more irritated so I switched to doing my nightly routine every other day. In fact, washing your face too often can disrupt your skin’s microbiome and aggravate skin conditions like perioral dermatitis or sensitive skin. The spot seems to be doing a lot better so I’ll keep this schedule.

My nighttime skin care routine looks like this:

Cleanse
Get rid of daily buildup- dirt, dead skin etc. It is great to use CLEAN hands to wash your face, but I use the PMD wand because it was #gifted. I’m using this cleanser right now and it smells just like a spa. I’ve linked other options below.

Toner
This Thayers Toner is by far my favorite! What I do is I wash my face in the morning with just water to get the sleepies out of my eyes then dab this on with a cotton ball or just my hands. This face toner helps reduce the look of pores, balance oily skin, helps maintain the skin’s moisture barrier therefore improving skin texture over time.

BONUS: it works great as a cleanser for nails pre-manicure.

Serum
I looooove the hyaluronic serum from The Ordinary. Pretty much every product I’ve tried has worked with my skin and their products don’t cost an arm and a leg! I’m currently using the hyaluronic serum for extra hydration. #dryskinproblems.

I just got this Ole Henriksen vitamin c and collagen serum from FabFitFun and I like it so far! I’ll report back when I’ve used it for longer.

Moisturize
The First Aid moisturizer is my go to, but right now I’m using the Tula moisturizing cream. Not only does it hydrate the skin, it locks in all the nutrients from the other products you used prior to this. I’ve shared more picks below.

See/shop all my skin care and beauty faves here:

Most of my favorite skincare products were introduced to me via FabFitFun! I can send FREE (shipping rates still apply) starter boxes to 5 people! Each Starter Box, valued at over $125, comes with 2-3 full-size, premium products, which offers you a perfect sneak peek of the real deal! Comment or DM me on Insta!