Morning Skincare Routine

Recently, I have actually been keeping to a routine when it comes to skincare, which is pretty rare for me as I'm always switching between products, so I figured I would share it on the blog. I like to keep things simple in the morning because during the day, my main concern is to protect my skin from environmental damage such as sun damage and the dry Vancouver air. Here is my 5 product (I left one out in the photo; my apologies) morning skincare routine.

I start my routine with the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser, which I mentioned previously in my February Empties post, and yes, I have already repurchased it. This is quite possibly my favourite cleanser of all time. I've tried using home-made soy milk on my face before, and it always leaves my skin so soft and supple, so I am a firm believer of soy as a skincare ingredient. This cleanser has a light gel texture and is so refreshing to use in the morning. It cleanses the skin of any oils that might have accumulated throughout the night, but also leaves the skin very soothed and hydrated.

After that, I mist my face with a spray toner, which is what I forgot to include in the photo. Currently, I've been reaching for either the Lush Breath of Fresh Air or Lush Tea Tree Water. Breath of Fresh Air is great at calming redness and giving the skin a punch of hydration, while Tea Tree Water is reserved for particularly spotty days.

While my skin is still wet from the spray toner, I go in immediately with a lightweight eye cream. I have a deluxe sample size of the Caudalie Vinosource SOS Morning Eye Rescue that I received when buying my beloved Caudalie SOS Thirst Quenching Serum. This sample is only 7mL of product but has lasted me such a long time, because you only need a tiny amount. It has a light souffle type texture that is incredibly hydrating, and also contains antioxidants to help with aging around the eye area. It does seem to help with de-puffing the eye area as well, but I don't really suffer from puffy eyes, so it's hard for me to really tell. For my face, I've been loving the Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Radiance Lotion. This is the newest addition to the Fresh product line. I am going to do a separate post on this moisturizer because I just love it that much, so I'm not going to go into detail here, but I will say that this moisturizer leaves the skin so hydrated and plump, and have this beautiful illuminating effect on the skin. I don't understand how it happens, but I can't stop looking at myself in the mirror.

Finally, I finish off with an SPF, and my current pick is the AmorePacific Natural Protector SPF 30. This is a physical-chemical sunscreen hybrid (which means it contains both physical and chemical sunscreen ingredients) that offers full spectrum UVA/UVB defence. The product has a slight pink tint to it which sort of helps to even out skin tone, but the effects are minimal. The product does not leave any white cast on the skin. It is fairly lightweight in comparison to other SPF products and absorbs quickly. I wouldn't say that this is my holy grail SPF because it does contain a lot of fragrance and is still just a little bit heavy for my liking. It also tends to flake off in little white bits when certain makeup products are layered on top, so there is a lot of trial and error involved. I have already ordered a new SPF to play around with, so I will report back on how we get along. Until then, I am content with my current routine.