The Skincare Products That I’ll Never Be Without

Whilst researching for Sunday’s video (it’s a throwback one and I think you’re going to like it), I discovered the depths of old skool VDM reviews that surprisingly featured a lot of products that I still use all these years later. Bizarrely a lot of them are from the skincare genre and are ones that I’ve had in my routine for a solid three years plus. Isn’t that a bit nuts? So to go with today’s vlog that features my current morning and evening skincare routines, I thought I’d highlight the oldies but goodies as my line-up right now skews more to things that I haven’t used for as long.

Just a little disclaimer about my skin. I’d say that I’m normal-ish in terms of greasiness with some dehydration on my cheeks and forehead, with the odd crinkle around my eyes and on my forehead. I’m thankfully *touches wood* pretty lucky on the blemish front, but I do tend to get a couple cropping up around that time of the month and constantly have a colony of blackheads on my chin. Now that’s a nice mental image for ya, isn’t it?

Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover. If I had a penny for every time I’d answered a tweet that asked what I use to remove my waterproof mascara and I replied with this, well I could probably repurchase another bottle of it. I do like the La Roche Posay Respectissime Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover, but sometimes I just love the greasiness of this and actually it’s what I’m using again now because I had a back-up in my drawers. Out of all the skincare items that I’ve repurchased over the years, this is definitely the one that I’ve repurchased the most. Easily. It melts makeup off – be it waterproof of not – and leaves me nice and clean and ready for a cleanse.

OSKIA Renaissance Cleansing Gel. Do I even need to go into this one? I know I’ve been distracted by the Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser (I’m two thirds through my second bottle), but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for this badboy. It’s the OG (I just learnt what OG stands for and now I’m trying to get it into every single thing I write)! The former is still the best when it comes to a facial massage cleansing aid and I still sometimes reach for it particularly when my skin is dehydrated. I see me recruiting this back into my routine for winter.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair. I don’t use this as often as I once used to (back in the day I’d stock up with the super-size travel exclusives whenever I was at the airport), but it’s still a product that I like to have on standby. The reason for that is, is that it’s a great ‘calmer-down’ for my skin whenever it’s feeling irritated, be it blemish-ridden, red or severely dry. It’s one of those formulas that I just know works for me and isn’t going to exacerbate the problem, but instead ease it off. It’s the classic serum that I compare all serums I try against. It’s not the sexiest feeling, but there’s a slight tackiness that gives hydration to my skin and it layers so well with whatever I apply over the top. It’s a gem.

Glossier Priming Moisturiser Rich. Out of all the items mentioned here, this is the newest addition to the crew (April 2017 to be exact), but I’ve just cracked open my second tub of the stuff and I just haven’t felt this strongly about a moisturiser in a really long time. Before moisturiser was the skincare item that I always flitted around with, I just hadn’t found one that I loved and often substituted it anyway for oils or self-tanning lotions. Then this came along and it just feels exactly like what my skin needs right now. It’s hydrating, it’s emollient, I feel like my skin looks positively beaming in the morning, but it’s not heavy nor claggy on the skin. It just feels fresh. I love it so much that I’ve been applying in the AM and the PM too.

Clarins Self Tanning Lotion. I feel like this might be the 1867th mention of this product on my blog because I think I used this from my early, early days of blogging. I always feel a little more comfortable makeup-less if there’s a touch of warmth to my skin and whenever I’ve put on a layer before bed, the next morning I feel like my skin looks healthier and my redness is reduced because I’m a bit more evened out. This never streaks, smells funny or stains anything and instead it’s just like applying any old moisturiser on my skin. It’s so easy and foolproof and I’m easily into double-figures when it comes to repurchasing.

Origins Clear Improvements Mask. You know when you’re hormonal and each time you look in the mirror you discover a brand new pulsating pimple that’s cropped and you don’t quite know where to turn? This is where I head. I remember using this back in my early blogging days because the price-point of it is fairly reasonable compared to others on the market. These days I find it too stripping to use all over, but it’s pretty great for targeting specific areas. Save yourself the pennies and screw the weird rubberised peel-off masks that do absolutely nothing for blemishes and blackheads, and pick up this instead.

Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask. I picked this up during a Sephora trip when I was in New York for NYE back in 2014, which makes me think that I really should retire this tub and pick up another *shudders*. Whenever my chin is feeling lumpy and bumpy and particularly blackhead-ridden, this is what I reach for. I rinse it off after about 10 minutes and my skin feels baby smooth underneath that I can stop touching it (and the blackhead cycle continues). Being a sensitive soul, this does leave my face a little red so I tend to use it in the evenings, but it’s such a good prep product. I whip this out whenever I need to up my radiance game, which is at least two times a week because otherwise I have the lustre of a yogurt lid.

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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