Julia Nelson

I’ve always had acne. Always. Now I know that doesn’t make me particularly unique, but I’ve also never quite been able to pin down my skin type. It’s kept me on my toes for the past 15 years, constantly changing and evolving, each phase progressively worse. One day my pores would practically ooze oil and the next my t-zone was dry and flaky. It made my teens and early twenties a bit of a nightmare (raise your hand if you’ve ever avoided attending a pool party because you were worried about people seeing your makeup-free face), and I’ve spent the majority of the last 10 years testing every cleanser, cream and lotion I could get my hands on.

Nowadays my skin and I are on pretty good terms (though we do have a falling out every few months), and it’s thanks to a few carefully tested and diligently used products. If your skin is also more foe than friend, this soothing skin care routine might be for you.

Rise & Shine

I start my routine off by massaging a gentle cleanser into damp skin. There’s no need for anything harsh in the morning as your skin should already be relatively clean and free from makeup from your night-time cleansing routine (ahem). We’re simply washing away sleep and prepping our pores for the day ahead. For this, I absolutely adore the Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash. It gently removes any pesky dirt particles and sebum and leaves skin feeling refreshed but not stripped. This is a staple in my medicine cabinet.

Tip: Always pat your skin dry. Never wipe and drag a facecloth over your delicate skin. Never ever.

Once I’ve dried off, I move on to toning. It’s a shame that so many people choose to skip this step as it’s one of the most important. When you tone you remove any excess cleanser you migt have missed while rinsing, and it preps your pores for any treatments. A personal favorite of mine is the Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist. Just spritz your face one or two times and give your skin a gentle wipe down with a cotton swab. Be sure to let your skin dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step.

Next up I apply my holy grail product, the Pai Rosehip Bioregenerate Oil. This stuff is SO good for the skin, helping to boost its natural healing process. It’s jam-packed with Trans Retinoic Acid (this converts to Vitamin A) but miraculously doesn’t irritate the skin at all. I warm up one or two drops of this in my palms before smoothing it into my skin, focusing on trouble areas. If you have an oily t-zone, I suggest applying it sparingly to those areas.

Tip: This would be a good time to apply an eye cream as it will give it plenty of time to sink in.

And then it’s time to finish it up with a moisturizer. In the summer I usually opt for something quite light, and lately I’ve actually been using two separate lotions for different areas of my face. In my oilier t-zone I apply the Marcelle Hydra-C Ultra-Light Matifying Fluid, and for the rest of my face I use the Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream (this stuff smells divine). And there you have it. A simple four-step morning skin care routine that calms and soothes angry skin, and makes for a lovely makeup base!

Now I know that this morning routine is just the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned; next week I’ll be posting the follow-up nighttime skin care routine. If you have any specific questions, please let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to address them in the next post.