simple skincare Archives

In December, I was shopping quite a bit as you might have noticed already from my posts. Since I’ve hoarded so much make-up, I decided to go for the skin care instead and ended up choosing a set of different face products on Lookfantastic.com – the Ole Henriksen Magnificent Seven Holiday Kit.

I paid about €33 for this set of 7 deluxe samples, which is bargain really, since each of the full-size products costs an arm and a leg, but we’ll get to that later. Apparently, the set is worth £89, which brings us close to €120.

Now you’ll probably agree that the box looks fab on the front, but I find what is in the back even more important. The box actually provides you exact information about each of the products (it’s also printed on the sides), also advising whether to use it in the morning or in the evening.

I would have kept the box until I ran out of the products anyway, since it’s a cheat sheet and at the same time stores the products really nicely. Of course you don’t have to keep it – there are simple paper instructions inside as well.

Anyway, as already mentioned, the set includes 7 deluxe samples. I’ll just do this review in the way I use them throughout the day. I start of every morning with the African Red Tea Foaming cleanser. The instruction is to simply massage it into damp skin and rinse clean with warm water.

First of all, I love that it’s a foam product, since I kind of enjoy the light feeling of light foam on my face. Secondly, this cleanser smells like heaven. And thirdly, it really leaves my face feeling very clean and fresh. It’s an instant refresher in the morning. View Post

I’ll be the last one to claim that I always stick to my routine, go through all the paces, take 20 minutes to get my face ready in the morning or clean at night, never sleep with my make-up on. Let’s face it, we’re all working people in some way or another. I don’t have half an hour a day to go through each of these steps. But when I do take the time and put in the effort, this is my normal autumn & winter skincare routine that is quite different from what I do to my face in the summer.

In the morning, there are four steps I try to take before putting any make-up on. First, some warm water never hurt anyone and apparently, it opens up your pores and prepares them for everything that is to follow. When dry, I follow up with the moisturizing part which is my absolute favorite thing to do in the morning – it really helps me feel fresh and ready to start the day. I’ve recently switched up my daily moisturizer to Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel.

So far, so good. It’s a little dry for my taste so I will probably try the lotion from the same line next time, but it does not break me out which is a step in the right direction. Normally, I’ve had luck with Clinique skincare products in general, so it’s a positive trend.

I try to take off my make-up when I get home from work, but it still normally has a good 12 hours to jump around my face clogging my pores, melting away and doing all kind of other silly business. I don’t tend to do the entire skincare routine at that moment though – I just use some cleanser (right now, I’m using the Nivea Pure&Natural Cleaning Milk) and a facial wipes. I’ve written a long post about many of these already and I’m currently using the Yes to Blueberries wipes which I again adore 🙂

In the evening, the real pampering (or torture, depends on the type of person you are) starts. About 3 times a week, I try to exfoliate with my Olay Pro-X and the Neutrogena purifying pore scrub. I’ve also gotten my hands on some Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 1 % BHA gel and I’m excited to try this stuff out to see how my skin will like it. When I exfoliate, I always end the process by putting the Nuxe (Huile Prodigieuse) oil on my face and let it really nurture the skin properly for about 15-20 minutes before doing anything else. I feel that exfoliation is quite stressful on the skin and it deserves a little pampering afterwards.

But as a part of a regular, everyday routine, I first take off my make-up as described above. Then I let my skin rest for a couple of minutes before applying Mixa Soothing Toner. It’s good, but it is not my favorite. That would have to be the Nuxe Eau Demaquilliante Micelaire (Micelar cleaning water). I’ve only had a deluxe sample of that and I am quite ready to invest in the whole bottle.

Then I apply the eye cream. I am currently using the Eveline Argan Oil Anti-wrinkle rejuvenating eye-cream, but I doubt that I will finish the whole serum – it does not seem to do anything to have any benefit whatsoever on my skin and I am a bit disappointed in it. Last but not least, I apply my nightly moisturizer. I switched this one as well, so I am using the L’Oreal Triple Active night moisturizer (I dropped it one day hence no lid because it broke). It’s very, very nice – quite oily, but I like that in the night cream since it has plently of time to really do its thing to my face throughout the night. I also apply down my neck as well.

And that is IT. It’s really simple in my opinion, although my husband would probably not agree.

What is the one thing that cannot be missing from your skincare routine when you want to pamper yourself? Comment below!

Until next time, stay beautiful, stay awesome!

My one brand skincare routine with Ole Henriksen

My Fall and Winter Skincare Routine