Current Skincare

I will start this with a spoiler- I know very very little about skincare. I like reading about it and I love testing out new products but my actual knowledge about this subject is rather limited. So please keep that in mind.

I have mentioned before that my skin is normal/combination and blemish prone. A month ago the humidity hit Dubai and my skin went extra bad- normal became flaky dry and T-zone became proper oily. So I have switched up a few products for the summer months and it seems to help. My make up sits good and the blemishes are slowly disappearing. Something is working and I intend to keep most of this routine up.

So here goes my daily evening skincare routine.

1. Dermalogica PreCleanse oil to remove my make up. I had never ever used a oil based skincare product before and was worried it will give me breakouts but non of that nonsenses happened. Instead I fell in love with it. It melts away the impurities and the makeup so easily. It smells lovely. I give my face a little massage working the oil into dry skin and then wetting my hands I work it in more. I wash it off with lukewarm water.

 2. I follow with Vichy Normaderm Deep Cleansing Gel. This range is for combination/oily skin which is acne and shine prone. It has a little bit of Salicylic Acid which works well for my skin and it still feels gentle enough for use daily. Its nothing special but I have enjoyed using it.

About twice a week I use Dermalogica Skin Resurfacing Cleanser instead of the Vichy one. Now this one I love and felt an almost immediate change in my skin. This is an exfoliating cleanser with one of my favorite skincare components- Lactic acid. Lactic acid helps to accelerate cell turnover and really keeps my skin smoother and bump free. Its a highly active formula so I dont use it more than 2 times a week. I think this product made the biggest change in my skin. Its all kinds of fantastic.

I keep Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pore & Shine in my shower. I love the citrus scent and the gentle exfoliating bits in it. I use it once in a while. Its good value for money and feels great on the skin.

 3. If I wore waterproof mascara I will generally do a quick wipe down with Loreal Paris Make-up Remover Eyes & Lips Waterproof. I have used this for about 10 years and its in my books the best value for money when it comes to waterproof make-up removers.

4. The Clinique Clarifying Lotion 3 for combination/oily skin is a brand new addition. I admit I should have done a bit more research before I picked this one up as one of the main ingredients is alcohol and you can really smell it. The strong smell is not pleasant and I think the formula is a bit too harsh for me. I just wanted to reduce the shine and figured maybe this one helps but now I'm not sure. I cant use this daily so have been switching between this and Herbaline Essentials Cucumber & Rose Water Skin Tonic. Herbaline one is mild, lovely and fresh. It has spring water and rose water and other organic ingredients and I like it a lot but I dont think it does anything in the matter of helping reduce the shine.

5. I have been trying to pin down the next "best ever" serum and moisturizer. Until I make my decision and part with the pile of money it will inevitably cost I have the trusty Bodyshop Vitamine E Overnight Serum-in-oil and night cream to finish up. I especially like the serum-in-oil. It really plumps up my skin. I have my eyes on Khiels Midnight Recovery Concentrate or one of the Claudaile serums? Have you tried these?
For eyes I have been loving the Dermalogica Ultrasmoothing Eye Serum.

I would really appreciate recommendations for serum and toner if you have combination skin like I do. Is there something that your swear by? I'm a bit lost in the world of skin care.