My Super Expensive Skin Care Routine and Is It Worth It?

I received many questions from girls asking about my daily routine and even though it does change from time to time, as I discover new products, or then go back to new ones, here is an update on what am I using at this very moment, and how does it work (for me), I will also repeat myself by saying that I have combination skin type (dry cheeks, oily T-zone), fair skin and I am at my early 30’s.

Morning

So, when I wake up in the morning, I wash my face with any average-priced. facial soap. I used Yves Rocher’s Pure Calmile washing gel (I don’t like it, but got it cheap and felt it would be right to use it up). Alternatively, most mild drug-store facial washes will do, if I am not short on cash, I would use Clinique’s Liquid Soap, extra mild version. I don’t feel that there is a need for an aggressive face wash first thing in the morning, as my face doesn’t get dirty or oily when I sleep. This is why I also wouldn’t use a peeling, or an exfoliating gel right after waking up, as it will only leave my face red and irritated.

Toner. Again, since I don’t see a point in exfoliating or removing traces of makeup after a peaceful night, I use an average toner (with alcohol at summertime and without alcohol at winter). Again, as a price-friendly solution I find Yves Rocher’s products to be ideal, so in the hot days I use Hydra Végétal toner (it’s actually pretty good for the price, but I still wait until it goes on sale!) and during winter I use their micellar water or toner from the 3 Teas series. However, if I know I will be applying foundations afterwards, I always prefer to go with Hydra Végétal toner, for the alcohol reasons (to avoid breakouts). It seems to help in my case. And, this step is followed by a moisturizer.

If I know I will be applying my favorite Dior foundation (Diorskin forever or Diorsnow White Reveal – which are really the best foundations on the world!), I can go light with moisturizing, because these foundations already have skincare and SPF properties in them. However, if I am planning to get away with just a little powder or nothing at all, I would use Clinique Superdefence or Olay Total Effects, both of which are quite heavy for me and come packed with SPF.

My eyes constantly show signs of fatigue, lack of sleep and tiredness, so I have no choice but to use a VERY good eye treatment. I love Christian Dior’s ‘Capture Totale Eyes Essential’ Eye Zone Boosting Super Serum — as a base to get the bags and lines off my way, then after 10-20 minutes I would add an eye cream. My favorite is Yves Rocher’s Cure Solutions (because it masks the undereye dark circles perfectly) but because it has a light green shade with shimmer, it takes a little bit of extra effort to cover it up with makeup afterwards, so alternatively, I tend to use Dior Sculpt concealer, which also gives a wonderful lifting effect, but also masks my dark areas perfectly and make the crowfeet disappear like a magic.

During the day, if I don’t wear a foundation, I will sweep my face with Caudalie micellar water, just to revive my skin, remove excess oil and dirt.

Evening

In the evening, my face needs a throughout cleansing, not only because of the makeup, but also because of the skin oil combined with pollution that accumulated on my skin for many hours. So first I remove my makeup with either Clinique’s “Take The Day Off”, or Lancome bi-facil eye make up remover + Yves Rocher 2-In-1 Anti-Imperfections Toner from their Sebo Spesific line.  I do prefer Clinique’s makeup removers in general, though.

Now, I wash my face with Clinique liquid soap (mild or extra mild) as I feel this is the only face wash that does a very throughout job, even if I do find it a little aggressive and won’t recommend it for dry skin on  a daily basis.

My favourite night toner would always be either Lancome’s Eclat (exfoliating toner) or Clinique Clarifying Lotion #2 (also exfoliating). Both remove dead cells wonderfully, and sweep off any traces of remaining makeup.

Night time is the time when your skin cell regenerate, so you would want to take full advantage of that time frame and use a night serum to address your most actual concerns. I normally use an anti-aging serum by Yves Rocher (Elixir 7.9) or whitening serum from Dior’s Diorsnow “D-NA Reverse”. Although both say they are “treatments” and guarantee long lasting results, I can confidently say that these results last only as long as you keep using the product, and wear off quickly when the bottle is up… I say, if you can afford it — just keep using it and look gorgeous, anyway the only way to secure long lasting results is to go under the knife, so for those who are not eager to do a professional facelift, or want to postpone it as much as possible, I would recommend to invest in a really good night serum. This is more important than a night cream because serum penetrates deeper and has the ability to act on several epidermis levels, correcting even deeper layers of the skin. This is exactly what I do, I invest in a high end serum (D-NA Reverse costs a whooping $200 in my area, and the bottle hardly lasts a month, which is… ouch!!!).

I let the serum sink in and follow by a moisturizer, right now I use Biotherm Skin-Ergetic Night Recovery Cream, which is a super lightweight gel (I use the one for normal / combination skin), melts into the skin immediately and I even re-apply sometimes, or apply a thick layer in the first place… It’s really wonderful (except for the small, which is herbal), and I wake up with pink cheeks in the morning, in my age it’s not very common. Alternatively I may use Clinique’s Continuous Rescue Anti Oxidant Moisturizer — it’s wonderful too, but I get used to Clinique’s products every now and then, and they stop working on me, so I have to switch to something different for a few months.

The Cost?

This routine, even though I didn’t even mention my weekly masks, peelings and treatments, comes down to a lot of money. My total and complete weekly routine goes way beyond $1500, and as you do know me – I always stock up on sale days. Is it worth it though? I have to admit – yes.  Compared to the times when I was trying to get away with just a little bit of soap and moisturizing in the evening, now my skin looks smooth, glowy and healthy, thanks to regular exfoliation and proper treatments. The price can get crazy with all the cleansers, toner, serums, masks, creams, sprays and so on, but the radiant face in the mirror looks so happy that I feel I can’t disappoint it ever again 🙂