I feel like I was writing about skincare and make-up yesterday, but in fact it’s been over 8 months … which explains the slight change-up in my routines. I still get lots of questions about this on a regular basis, so this is probably a good time for an update. Before we start, you can revisit my previous skincare post (January 2017) here, or my old make-up routine (May 2015) here.

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Skincare

I am at an age now when make-up can only do so much to help me on my quest to satisfy my vanity; proper skincare (and rest, diet, and genetics, but that’s a whole other story) matters a heck of a lot more. The bare minimum I would recommend to anyone in my late-30s shoes is: retin-A, sunscreen, and a basic moisturizer. If you wear make-up, you will also need a cleanser of some sort. If you have prescription coverage, this basic regimen can be relatively inexpensive, and you’ll be set. But if, like me, you want to delve a little deeper into the skincare world, well … read on.

There are a lot of great, free resources out there if you are starting this journey without much prior knowledge. This blog is definitely not one of them, but I recommend forums like r/skincareaddiction and r/asianbeauty. They are a mine of information, which should guide you to selecting the products that work best for your skin and budget.

So let’s talk about mine for a moment. As I’ve mentioned before, my skin is relatively low maintenance. My main issues are fine lines, dryness, uneven tone (with a tendency to pinkness), and the occasional bit of acne. As for my budget … well, I am cheap. I have paid for some expensive procedures (like microblading) in the past, but I am generally reluctant to spend a lot of money on skincare or make-up products. Luckily, these days, that is not a barrier to getting your hands on great products.

As my previous post indicated, when I started to get interested in skincare, I used a lot of Asian products; they are inexpensive and effective. The downside, for me, was getting them. They are readily available on Amazon, for the most part, but I found the shipping times to be wildly unpredictable. After waiting for months on end for products to arrive, I gave up. Around the same time I was getting frustrated with that, I discovered The Ordinary line of skincare — and never looked back. These products are even cheaper, and I can usually get them within 2 weeks of ordering them online. And they work great!

I have ended up with a substantial collection of their products — at under $10 per bottle, it’s easy to go a little nuts — which I use depending on what my skin feels like it needs at any given time. My loose schedule looks something like this:

Morning: Argireline or Niacinamide + Azelaic acid + CeraVe or CosRx Advanced Snail Mucin + sunscreen

I still use the Biore Watery Essence sunscreen, as I have an bottle of the old formulation left. The last time I purchased a back-up on Amazon, I think I ended up with the new formulation. When the time comes, I will try it and see if I like it. If I don’t, I may try this Shiseido sunscreen next. A quick note: I feel like I need to add a moisturizer directly under the sunscreen, otherwise my make-up really dries out over the course of the day. I should also mention that I wait a minute or so in between applying each product so that it’s not one big goopy mess. I probably should wait longer, but I haven’t got time for that in the morning.

Speaking of moisturizers, CeraVe is my go-to. I bought a huge tub of it months and months ago, and it is not even half empty. It gets the job done very well.

Evening: oil cleanser THEN retin-A + rose hip oil + CeraVe (x 3 per week) OR Lactic Acid or CosRx Sol A solution + Hyaluronic Acid or Vitamin C + rose hip oil + CeraVe (rest of the week)

My oil cleanser is this Softymo Speedy Cleanser. I buy it from T&T, a local Asian supermarket. It’s not cheap ($18/bottle) but it works like a dream; sadly, I can’t find it cheaper elsewhere locally, and I don’t like to take my chances with international shipping because I go through my bottles fairly quickly (4-6 weeks). I will say that, post-cleansing, I stretch out my routine over an hour or so; while I read or Netflix, I go through the sequence, allowing each product to dry fully on my face before applying the next. Sometimes, I throw on a Tony Moly mask into the mix.

When I get a zit, I usually dab it with either a teeny tiny bit of retin-A or some CosRx Sol A solution before bed, and it’s usually either entirely gone or substantially reduced in size by the morning.

Make-Up

My “everyday” look hasn’t really changed much in years, as far as my appearance goes, but I have been playing with some new products lately which I have really grown to love. The biggest change has been a switch back to powder foundation. I used to use Bare Minerals in my late 20s, then switched to liquid foundation (L’Oreal) about 5-6 years ago. More recently, I found that I was using a finishing powder for that “blurred Instagram filter” look, and started to wonder if I could simplify things by going back to a powder foundation. My dermatologist’s spa sells Jane Iredale make-up, so I decided to give that a try as opposed to going to Sephora for Bare Minerals — I am the queen of convenience, and I also like to make my life easier by avoiding temptation as much as possible. Sephora is “danger, Will Robinson” territory for me.

Long story short, I LOVE my Jane Iredale foundation. It offers the perfect amount of coverage and line blurring, and it helps to even out my tone. I bought the re-fill package, and skipped the compact. It comes in a plastic tray which has traveled with me without issues. It’s not inexpensive at around $50, but it last for 3-4 months.

For my under-eye area, I use the Essence Colour Correcting Say No to Dark Circles (oof!) concealer stick first, then the Maybelline Age Re-Wind concealer on top (then powder). I also use the Maybelline concealer on and around my nose for extra coverage.

On my eyes, I have recently started using the Tarte Tarteist Pro To Go shadow compact. It was a birthday splurge at, where else, Sephora. I have stepped foot into that store exactly one time this year, and came out poorer for it. I do love the quality of the Tarte eyeshadows though. They are very pigmented and go on smoothly. All of the colours are too dark as “all over” colours for my everyday face, so I use them only in the crease of my eyelids. For “all over” crease colour, I use one of the shades from an e.l.f highlighter quad (which I can’t seem to find online). Yes, I am that pasty. I love the wide pans in this compact, by the way.

I touch up my microbladed eyebrows using the same Essence eyebrow pencil I have been using for the past couple of years. It’s cheap and it works fine. Here’s a link to Amazon, but ignore the price; you can get it for $3 at the drugstore.

Since getting the Bambi eyelashes of my dreams, courtesy of the EyEnvy serum, I have stopped wearing my old crayon eyeliner. Combine with my eyelashes, I found the thick line too overwhelming for daytime. I did recently splurge on a Kat Von D Tattoo eyeliner (see above) which I use from time to time to add a veeeeery thin line on my upper lashline. I am waiting for a special occasion to try a proper cat’s eye. So far, it does seem to be better than most liquid eyeliners I’ve tried before. The pen hasn’t dried out immediately, and it has good pigmentation and staying power. I am not sure I want to spend $27 on eyeliner on the regular, but we shall see.

As for mascara, I still use my trusty L’Oreal Voluminous though I have branched out to new versions of it. I use two different mascaras, which yes, is ridiculous, but eyelashes are my obsession. First, I use the Voluminous Butterfly Sculpt. I find that it separates my eyelashes nicely, and adds a good, thick-but-not-too-thick base layer of colour. I find that more than one coat of this mascara leads to gloopy results, so for the next coat, I use the Voluminous Lash Paradise. This one builds colour nicely without clumping even after 2 coats. Yes, I do add up to 3 coats of mascara, especially on the tips of my lashes, because they are very feathery and almost invisible otherwise. This is not for the faint of heart, for sure, but I’ve got it down to a 2 minute science.

While I wait for my first coat of mascara to semi-dry, I add a little bit of blush. This is a new addition to my make-up routine. After switching to powder foundation and running out of my old Benefit blush, I kinda gave up on finding a replacement. When I was at Sephora, the birthday gift I received included a mini Tarte blush (similar to this but small) which happens to be a great colour for me. So I’ve been using it, sparingly, most mornings. Like the eyeshadows, it’s very pigmented, so I recommend applying with a light hand.

Last but not least, lips. I have nothing exciting to recommend here. I am still working through my old stash of beloved (and discontinued) Rimmel Colour Rush lip crayons. I haven’t found a single other lip product to take their place, though I do quite like the following 2 products. L’Oreal Infallible lipstick in Rambling Rose looks like a lipstick but goes on almost like a crayon. It dries semi-matte, and has really good staying power. The colour is quite pigmented, so it’s a good alternative for a day when I want a bold-but-not-red lip. Wet ‘n Wild Megalast Liquid Catsuit Lipstick in Give Me Mocha is another product I quite like. It’s a brown-leaning pink; the formula is a matte lipgloss. Decent staying power, though not as good as the L’Oreal. I have also bought another tube of Clinique Black Honey, but I don’t find myself reaching for it too often. After my Rimmel lip crayons, I find it a bit too sheer and smear-y; the colour is still a classic, though.

And, since pictures are worth a thousand words and all that, here is my before and after. Yes, this is the first time I’ve put my naked face on the internet so y’all better catch it quick before I inevitably regret my decision.

before, obvi
before, obvi

And after:

the Everyday face
the Everyday face

Questions? Product reccs? Hit me up in the comments.

30 Comments on My Skincare & Makeup Routine, Summer 2017

  3. Hi there, a couple of sites I can recomend are Caroline Hirons (British, quite amusing, and has good skin care info on her website and Youtube) and Gothamista on Youtube (talks a lot about Asian beauty). I’ve also newly discovered The Ordinary and placed a small order through well.ca. I also recently bought the Calendula Moisture Lotion from The Face Shop in Ottawa and I’m really enjoying that extra layer of moisture. By the way I’m 57 and don’t have a clue about make up so I just go with a CC cream, bit of blusher and maybe lipstick. This was pretty interesting and your eyelashes are astounding!! ;o)

    • I have heard about Caroline Hirons before on one of my fave blogs but her regimen sounded intimidatingly complicated at the time. That was before I started layering products and getting into skincare so maybe I have to revisit her site.

      I love makeup but the older I get, the less I experiment with it. I just stick to the same look all the time. At least it’s simple, haha!

  5. From one skincare fanatic to another…thanks for this post! Shout out to the Elta MD Clear 45 sunscreen, esp if you are dry but also tend toward breakouts from time to time. Amazing.

  6. I love talking about skincare! We’re the same age, and I use several of the brands you do, like Cerave (also love their hydrating cleanser as a second cleanse, and their nighttime moisturizer. I’ve tried a bunch of stuff from the Ordinary and it’s a bit hit and miss for me: I’m finishing up a lactic acid that’s not great (for me) and their Vitamin C is a no go for me. Have you heard of MUAC (makeup artist’s choice)? They make a great lactic acid serum: it’s called lac-luronic because it combines lactic with hyaluronic acid; I’m definitely going back to it after I finish up what I have. MUAC is also makes great products for at-home peels from very mild all the way to TCA. Give our mutual interest in budget but quality skincare, they might be worth checking out–and they pretty much always have a 20% off coupon.

  7. When I was researching Asian Skin Care I came across DHC. The Deep Cleansing Oil is wonderful. It starts out as an oil, then add water and it foams up. Removes all traces of make-up. I’ve been exploring their other products. I get 4 free samples with each order and 4 free samples in the catalogs in get in the mail. Great company.

  8. Do I spy an AB afficionado? My skin is much improved since discovering that!

    If you like a powdery feel, you might like the Biore UV face milk in the white bottle. It’s tiny, but it somehow magically blurs my skin a bit to even it all out. I love it so much that I even gave my last full tube of the old watery essence to a friend!

    Can you say a little bit about your eyelash serum?

    • Not an afficionado by any means!

      I’ll have to check out that milk. It sounds intriguing.

      I wrote about the eyelash serum a few weeks ago. It’s a product that’s available through spas only but I really love the results.

  9. I’m a big rosehip oil fan. I’ve been using The Ordinary brand and it’s fine for me. Btw, you can get a bunch The Ordinary products from well.ca – shipping is usually less than a week. Maybe bordering on a week. I also like using a bit of argan oil under my moisturizer in the winter. And then I can use it on the ends of my hair too.

    I’m looking for an SPF and am wanting to try Elta MD. I’m in my mid-thirties and have been getting melasma when I’m not very vigilant with my sunscreen.

    Makeup faves…I keep coming back to the Marcelle BB cream. And I love the W3ll People concealer. Oh and the Physician’s Formula bronzer. It’s lovely.

  10. Your before and after are both lovely. A little makeup makes the difference on an overall polished look.

    • Thank you! I definitely was very psychologically attached to my makeup throughout most of my adult life, but I am starting to become more comfortable about just being in (naked) skin in public.

  11. I love reading about others’ skincare and makeup routines even though my skincare is simple to non-existent.

    I know it popular opinion to focus on skin first, makeup second, but most skincare fads end up making my skin look worse and then I result to wearing makeup anyway. The one fad I have bought into though is the microcellular water. It does actually make my skin softer and pores smaller even though I still get breakouts. I also don’t need to moisturize afterwards save for a drop or two of rosehip oil in the evening. I don’t wear sunscreen other than what comes in my fancy face spackle.

    I was going to recommend the Benefit Coralista blush for you but then read back and you mentioned already having tried it.

    Argan oil is really nice for hair. I put a couple of drops in before heat styling. I haven’t found it at Winners in a while (the pure kind) where I typically go to pick up my rosehip oil.

    • If it works for you, it works. I’m a big fan of not fixing what ain’t broken 😉

      I used to search for holy grail makeup products, but I eventually realized that, for me, it’s cheaper to buy (inexpensive) skincare. It allows me to stay away from Sephora, LOL!

  12. I’ve been positively itching to try the Ordinary, but I first heard about it when I’d already started my most recent course of dermatologist treatment, and I promised my doctor I’d only use the products they okayed for me. I go in for follow-ups about once every month and a half, so I’m kept accountable. As soon as I stop when I change insurance plans with my new job, I’ll be back to tweaking the over-the-counter side of my skincare routine.

    Like a few other commenters here, I’m a big fan of argan oil! It works for me as part of my face moisturizing routine during both my more dry and less dry times. Back in the day I tried rose hip oil, maracuja or passionfruit seed oil, and argan oil, and though there were all very similar in how my skin reacted, I still found myself gravitating towards argan oil. For Americans who live near a Trader Joe’s, they seem to be stocking really affordable argan oil as a permanent product now.

  13. Thanks for sharing and I appreciate the comments! I’ll have to check out the Trader Joe’s argan oil.

    For my skincare, I use dermalogica purelight sunscreen during the day time. At night, I put on a mandelic acid serum from viviant, and then put an oil over that once it dries–I use pomegranate argan oil from a company called chagrin valley. I’ve been pretty happy with that combo.

    I don’t wear foundation, but I like Jane Iredale too for makeup–I use her pure lash lash conditioner, longest lash mascara in black, cloud nine eye shadow (though it looks like it might have been renamed as sundown), lip pencil in rose, and then lip drink in crush (a berry), or her lipstick in ‘susan’–a mauvey pink.

    Generally, I’ve never been able to master eyeliner, but I like maybeline master kajal, and can sort of handle that!

    • I started off with a few products, and then just kept trying things. The prices are low enough that the stakes are, well, low. I think my fave products are the Hyaluronic acid, Niacinamide, Azelaic acid, and Rose Hip Oil. I think there is a new product I’m interested (resveratol??) but I haven’t bought it yet.

  15. I also love Kat Von D’s Trooper for eyeliner, but in my quest to find something cheaper, I tried a cult favorite from Loreal called Lineur Intense in Black Mica and will never go back! It is also a felt tip, very black, and doesn’t smudge. I find that I get more precision and closer to the lash line than with Trooper.