I met some people recently, and we got to talking about skincare. We were discussing various products like cleansing oils, serums and toners or lotions. I was mildly surprised (putting it mildly) when the consensus was that including cleansing, the most products the other ladies put on their faces was 3, maybe 4.
I sat there quietly counting in my head the number of products I use, and my brain shut down after 5. At any one time, I use at least 8 products, especially at night. Sometimes, its 9 if I’m doing a mask. I don’t know when was the last time I did 3 or 4 and left it at that.
So, I’m curious. Just how many products do you use in your skincare routine for day and night?
The picture above is what I’m using currently for my night time skincare routine. I double cleanse as a general rule so that’s 2 cleansers. I use a wipe off gel exfoliator thingy, a lotion or face spray, my pre-serum, a serum and then a moisturizer mixed with an oil. Some items may change in terms of brand, but my skin has benefited from this regime and as I’ve been doing this for quite a while now, I don’t intend to stop.
In the day, the list is markedly shorter. A face wash, a facial spray, serum, moisturiser and sunscreen. If I skip the serum, that’s 4 items already.
I’m not saying that less is more or that more is better. There are many schools of thought on this and I subscribe to none. I do what my skin likes and prefers and so long as my skin is happy, I’m happy too. I must say though that ever since I set up this sort of routine, I have been seeing better results on my skin. Does it take me longer? Not really. It never takes me more than a few seconds to pat or apply everything on in any case.
Someone with more problematic skin may benefit from using fewer products. We’re all different. But it would be interesting to know just how many is your optimum number 🙂
Your Say: How many products do you use as part of your daily skincare routine?
Paris B
Day:cleanser,toner,eye gel,serum,moisturizer,sunblock(sometimes will skip serum)
Night:makeup remover,cleanser,Activator,toner,eye cream,serum,serum(double serum),moisturizer.scary!(sometimes will skip Activator)
Aww I don’t think that’s very scary at all 🙂 So many of us here have a long list of skincare we use daily too!
Wow! You guys, my skincare routine is kinda lame compared to all of yours haha. I use the same two products, morning and night: Clinique Facial Lotion and Dramatically Different Moisturizer after. And if I go out I add in Clarins HP sunscreen.
I feel like I should start with anti-aging now (prevention is better than cure I suppose!), but my skin seems to behave the less I put on it!
I spot REN – how is REN? My best friend raves about the brand.
I think those who have very sensitive skin will react better if they use less products. I can’t use both the Clinique products you mentioned though. As for REN I think their products are not bad, based on the ones I’ve tried anyway. They are supposed to be more natural but that again is debatable depending on the school of thought one subscribes to. The one in the picture is a Radiance Perfecting Serum and I wasn’t sure what to expect of it, but I think its quite good! My skin looks brighter and better and it was unexpected 🙂
this is my current skincare routine:
Day
– cleanser : LUSH angel on bare skin
– toner : Lancome tonique
– serum : Lancome genifique + Lancome visionnaire
– moisturizer : Lancome genifique day cream
– SPF : Chanel SPF 50
Night
– cleanser : Soy Fresh + Clarisonic
– toner : Lancome tonique
– serum : Lancome genifique + Lancome visionnaire / Estee ANR
– moisturizer : Lancome genifique night cream
– eye cream : Lancome genifique eye cream / Estee ANR Eye cream
– mask : Dior one essential / Sisley black rose / Laneige sleeping pack
Ooh I see you use the Dior One Essential mask too! How do you like it? I just bought it and am planning to use it this weekend 😀 I also see that you use a lot of Lancome too! I couldn’t use Genifique serum because it broke me out but I’m going to try to give Visionnaire a go.
I love love love the one essential mask.. It makes my complexion plumper and softer too.. not to mention slightly brighter. I’m using up my Lancôme deluxe sample my sister got me before finishing up my cle de peau beauty regime 🙂
Do try the visionnaire!! My mum’s swears by it and that what makes me wanna try.. to date I love the evenness of my complexion. Hope this helps!
Eeeps! I’m so excited about using the mask now hehe… I already use the serum and I swear its doing wonders for me skin. I love it! I’ve also heard alot of good thing things about Visionnaire. I’m wondering though if I should swap out my Dior One Essential for Visionnaire since they essentially do similar things … well almost. We’ll see! 😉 Thanks for sharing!
ooh good one! 😀
Daytime – cleanser, 2 serums, moisturiser, sunblock, face spray.
Nighttime – 2 cleansers (separate one for removing eye makeup), lotion, 2 serums, moisturiser, eye cream.
I reckon I use more at night compared to daytime though, but after looking at some of the routines others have shared, I’m thinking mine is quite little! :O
Haha yes! Your list is short by comparison. In fact even mine is short by comparison 😀 I also use more at night than in the day mostly because I feel that night time is when I do all the replenishing while in the day I don’t want too much on my face lest it all slips off under my makeup 😛
Mine is very simple
Day: Cleanser then moisturize.
Night: Cleanser followed by toner.
I’m horrible. I know.
Hey! Not horrible, just a minimalist 😀 If it works for you, there’s nothing wrong with it 😉 I do notice you don’t use a moisturizer at night and I was wondering why?
Morning:
Warm water rinse (no cleanser)
Sukin Facial Moisturiser
Kiehl’s Ultra Light Daily UV Defense Sunscreen SPF50 PA+++
Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner (using it primarily to ‘kick’ me from falling asleep at work)
Night:
OCM
Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate
Sukin or Clinique moisturiser
I admit I’m lazy to put cream on my eyes..
psst! I don’t use eye cream either. Eeps! 😛 Its good to know the OCM works for you. I guess I just don’t have the patience nor inclination to try it again after my first disastrous bout.
I have combo skin and sometimes dry if I was inside airconditioned room all the time. Currently I use Garnier Light products. Weirdly enough, it work perfectly against my adult acne. I’ve been having jawline acne for a couple of years (currently, I havent been wearing headscarves because of this too) and this skincare line somehow faded most of it away. I don’t really care for the whitening capabilities (it give white tint on the face which fade when you didnt use it often) but anything that made my skin clear is a HG.
Morning
Garnier Light Gentle Clarifying Foam
Garnier Light Milky Lightening Dew
Garnier Light Moisturizing Day Cream (sensitive)
Maybelline baby lips
Night
Garnier Light Gentle Clarifying Foam
Garnier Light Milky Lightening Dew
Garnier Light Peeling Night Cream
once or twice a week, I use biore’s nose pore pack, simple deep cleansing mask, and “one tablet of disprin in water” mask. Sometimes I use virgin olive oil from kitchen for heavy eye makeup and light olive oil with white egg as a mask (the yellow yolk I use for the hair)
I have the Garnier scrub, bb cream and eye roller but they’re just fillers *and I get zits with the scrub*. I like the gel-mask better than current tissue mask and peel mask so I skip on purchasing that.
I still have jawline acne (never seem to go away) but it lessened drastically. My zits went away after day or two but the scar takes weeks/months to heal. I can’t use oil control line for anything since all of them worsen my breakout. And I’ve been on and off with this skincare for a couple of years but it still work for me. Staying with it for now.
That’s a nice budget friendly routine! I love it when something inexpensive works well 🙂 I’d read somewhere that jawline acne was link to hormones. I’m not sure how true that is though.
Hi Paris. I’m actually a skincare “samseng” 🙂 For the longest time though I have very problematic acne prone and sensitive skin – I use all sorts of drug store products which often leaves a trail of mishaps 😛 So I decided to jump onto the Estee Lauder bandwagon after trying numerous facials with them and the products did not cause any retaliation on my skin. This is what I am using now and though I am barely 1/10 done with the products, my heart is racing to try other skincare and make up products. I try to be very disciplined for now before I get too adventurous again, lol.
Day
EL Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser
EL Optimizer Pore Minimizing Boosting Lotion
EL Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher
EL Hydrationist Maximum Moisture Creme
* since I don’t apply make up at all, I am considering to apply sunblock as a starter, maybe Kiehl’s Ultra Light Daily UV Defense or Clarins UV Plus HP
Night
EL Perfectly Clean Splash Away Foaming Cleanser
EL Optimizer Pore Minimizing Boosting Lotion
EL Advanced Night Repair or EL Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher
EL Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher
EL Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex
EL Hydrationist Maximum Moisture Creme
* I have tried Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate sample, not sure if it’s done me any good, perhaps KIV it during sale. Also looking to buy Kiehl’s Rare Earth Clay mask for my oily skin
Your blog has been my source of reference for skincare reviews which I am very grateful for. Can’t thank you enough 🙂
Its great to know that so many Estee Lauder products work fo ryou 😀 The Perfectly Clean cleanser I found too drying as well as the Optimizer. I have heard that the new Idealist is really good so I’m sort of itching to try that one 😛 The whitening one dries my skin so I’m not too impressed, but I hear the regular one is good. Hydrationist works for me too! I’m glad you’ve found inspiration or recs from the blog – its gratifying to know that it helps 🙂
Actually the cleanser sometimes leaves a layer of grime on my face especially when I wash my face during hot sticky afternoons at home. I quite like Optimizer as it’s easily absorbed and most importantly, does not leave any tingling feeling. But when applied on nose, I get a very shiny nose. Hydrationist cream is a little too rich for my oily skin for day use – I was advised to take the lotion instead but I ended up with cream 😛 Ahh and I love Idealist, it’s like having a giant velvety blotter sheet over my face, lol.
Eeps! Sounds like I do have to check out Idealist after all – giant velvery blotter sheets sound amazing!
Day:
Cleanse
Tone
eye cream
brightening Serum
Moisturing Serum
Sunscreen
Night:
oil clean
foam Cleanse
scrub, mask (twice a week)
Tone (sometimes only :D)
nite cream (sometimes only :D)
i didn’t slp in an air-cond room, so would prefer face naked at nite 😀
Good to know it works for you 😀 Actually just referring to your last statement, I was just wondering if it might not be a good idea to apply some light cream, because I saw you use oil cleansers and foaming cleansers which can be very drying for the skin in the long run. So a bit of moisture will help even if you don’t sleep in an air conditioned room. Just a thought 🙂
I don’t think there’s a need to use so many products.
I am now testing the Hada Labo series, so it’s basically only cleanser, serum, moisturizer. I only use pimple gel when I need it, then a whitening cream on a pimple scar. But that’s not part of my daily routine.
My standard routine is quite simple too.
Day: Cleanser, toner, moisturizer, sunscreen
Night: cleanser, toner, night cream.
If I exfoliate that night, I will just use an overnight mask.
I don’t think my skin can take so many products… …
I think it depends on our skins and there are different schools of thought about just how many products we need to use. The basics of course, are as you have mentioned – cleanser, toner/lotion, moisturiser, sunscreen – but as I get older, I find adding serums help 😉
Hmm.
Day: Konjac/Konnyaku sponge, Dr Andrew Weil For Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Cleanser, Dr Andrew Weil For Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Eye Serum, Cellnique Soothing And Hydrating Lotion, Cellnique Intensive Hydrating Complex, Melvita Soothing Care Serum, Marie Veronique Organics Moisturising Face Screen. Then it’s Chanel Vitalumiere Eclat compact foundation and Eau Thermale Avene spray.
Night: Dermalogica Precleanse, konjac/konnyaku sponge, Dr Andrew Weil For Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Cleanser, then once or twice a week- Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant followed by Cellnique Soothing And Hydrating Masque, Dr Andrew Weil For Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Eye Serum, Cellnique Soothing And Hydrating Lotion, Cellnique Intensive Hydrating Complex, Melvita Soothing Care Serum, Melvita Sweet Almond Oil.
Nice long list there! I have been quite curious about the Origins Dr. Andrew Weil mushroom range. Maybe I’ll try it some day but for some reason, Origins always falls through the cracks of my memory LOL!
hahhaa… ever since I started reading your blog, the number of products increased from 3 to I dunno how many… gotta list them down…lol…
Day:
Clinique Liquid Facial Soap
Clinique Clarifying Lotion
Avène Thermal Spring Water Spray
bliv Off With Those Heads
Clarins Pore Minimising Serum
Clinique All About Eyes
Clinique Acne Solutions Clearing Moisturizer
Clinique Moisture Surge™ Extended Thirst Relief (only for the neck area :P)
Skin Food Aloe Sun BB Cream
Night:
Biore Cleansing Oil
Clinique Liquid Facial Soap
Clinique Clarifying Lotion
Avène Thermal Spring Water Spray
bliv Off With Those Heads
Clarins Pore Minimising Serum
Clinique All About Eyes
Clinique Acne Solutions Clearing Moisturizer
Clinique Moisture Surge™ Extended Thirst Relief (only for the neck area :P)
quite a lot… lol…
Eeps! My fault 😛 Actually, I was already using quite a few products before I started blogging, so I can’t quite blame myself hehe… 😉 Looks like Clinique works well for you eh?
Well, it depends on my skin condition and the weather over here. Living in North Europe, the weather can be rough on your skin sometimes. But I love layering my products if I can.
In winter my skin is dryer, so I can get away using more porducts. Last time I count it was 9 products, day and night lol 😀 it took a lot of time at first, but when you used to it, you can speed up the routine.
When my skin is more sensitive, acting up, oilier or Im just lazy, then I only use 3-4 products. I dont think I can go less than that 🙁 Im a skin care junkie-monkey!
I remember when it was winter and my skin would feel so taut, it was awful! I can’t begin to imagine months of it at a go. But I also am of the opinion that layering a few light products works better than slapping on one heavy product. I don’t know if its a fact, but thus far, I’ve been experimenting and it seems to be ideal 🙂 Like you, when I look at the number of products I use, it looks like tons of it but its actually not that long to apply once you get into a routine. Join the skincare junkie club! 😀
i hv came a long way and reached the conclusion, lesser is better. go to work without makeup, not even lipstick.
day – cleanser, serum, day cream & bb cream
night – cleanser, serum & nite cream
Its good to know that you’ve found a routine you like 🙂 I like having makeup on though, which you can probably tell 😉
Lets see:
Day:
Cleanser
Toner
Eye Cream
Serum
Acne treatment (if breaking out)
Moisturiser
Sunscreen
Night
Make up remover(s)
Cleanser with scrub
Face Mist
Toner
Clarins face lift cream
Eye Cream
Hilberry exfoliating Serum
Kiehls Night Serum
Moisturiser
Sounds like ALOT but doesnt take me more than 5 minutes…so there Paris, u aint the only one.. 🙂
Hurrah for skincare solidarity! 😀 You’re right. It all looks like a lot, but in fact, it doesn’t take all that long to pat on or apply. I guess whatever makes our skin happy makes us happy!
Morning
– Dior Hydralife cleanser
– Chanel Toner
– Lancome genefique
– Aesop serum / dior hydralife serum
– Lancome BEinteint moisturizer
– Shiseido Sun Screen
– All about eyes Serum
– Origins GinZIng eye cream
NIGHT
– Shu Uemura Whitening OIl Cleanser
– Dior Hydralife cleanser with Clarisonic
– Clarins Whitening Peel off Wipe
– Chanel Whitening Toner
– DIOR Snow DNA Reverse Repair Serum
– Aesop Serum
– Dior Moisturizer
– Bobbi Brown Total Repair Eye
optional:- sometimes add Kiehls Midnight Repair
Ooh that’s quite a mixed bag of brands there 🙂 I’m using a Shiseido sunscreen myself for the first time and I’m surprised that I actually really like it!
a.m.: 4 steps
laneige multi cleanser
laneige skin refiner light
laneige balancing emulsion
kose sunscreen spf 50 pa+++
p.m.: 5 steps
laneige multi cleanser (been trusting this face wash to remove makeup! since i’ve stopped using cleansing oil)
laneige skin refiner light
laneige balancing emulsion
acne treatment: benzac ac 2.5%
and the occassional mamonde sleeping pack (every second day)
so i guess mine is pretty simple 🙂
Aha! Another Laneige fan! I remember another reader also using a lot of Laneige 😀
Morning,
cleanser
Sekkisei toner
SK2 facial treatment essence
Estee Lauder advanced night repair
Vichy whitening serum
Vichy spot target serum
Kose whitening eye cream
IPSA sunscreen
Night,
cleanser
Sekkisei toner
SK2 facial treatment essence
Estee Lauder advanced night repair
Vichy whitening serum
Vichy spot target serum
Kose whitening eye cream
SK2 moisturiser
I was told that the Sekkisei Toner is quite good and that it can be used as a mask too. I haven’t tried it though but I think I might 😉
This is such an interesting topic!! Some days I get lazy and I use minimal 3-4 products. But some days I am on fire and I use LOADS! I noticed that Korean skincare loves layering products – with like emulsions, pre-toners, lotions and whatnots.
I think its an Asian skincare thing. I don’t really use Korean skincare but Japanese skincare employs the same techniques – double cleansing, double moisture, double mask… maybe its so they earn double money hehe… 😉
am: cleanse, mist, moisturizer, sunblock
pm: oil, cleanser, deep cleansing mask (optional)
before sleep: sheet mask (optional/if i can be bothered to), mist, serum / moisturizer
Sounds like a nice compact routine! I have to remember to use a mask soon. I’ve been putting it off for the longest time