Night Routine

Step 1: Remove Makeup

After moisturizer and SPF, this is by far one of the most important steps to do. Surprisingly, it’s the hardest one for many of us to follow. Yet it’s the difference between a bad skin day and good one. And we can have a good skin day every day just by making sure to remove our makeup each night.

Because we have dry skin we like to use products with little to no alcohol in them. We suggest using cleansing oils, oil-based makeup removers or lotion to remove our makeup and hydrate the skin.

What We Use: Homemade makeup remover concoction (2 parts water to 1 part olive oil).

Alternatives: Mac Cleanse Off Oil, Bioderma Creline H20, Physician Formula Eye Makeup Remover Lotion for Normal to Dry Skin or Ponds Cold Cream

Step 2: Cleanse

Same as our day routine only we pair our cleanser with the Clarisonic Mia. We find it’s a little too harsh (leaves our skin a bit red) for the mornings, but perfect for the night. We love using the Clarisonic because it removes all our makeup and dirt the makeup remover didn’t take off. It also preps the skin for the next step.

What we Use: Same as our day routine

Step 3: Masks/Exfoliate

We love pampering ourselves with a mask one to two times a week to restore and rejuvenate our skin. With so many on the market it all boils down to our preferences and our skin needs, whether to fight acne, minimize pores or brighten the skin. The key is to choose one that targets moisture and hydration as well.

What We Use: Homemade Oatmeal Yogurt Mask, Michael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Scrub

Quick Recipe:

½ cup of Organic Oatmeal (regular is fine)

1 tsp of Honey

1/2 tbsp of Coconut Oil or Olive oil

1-2 drops of lemon (optional)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together and apply with a clean foundation brush for smoother application. Make sure to lie down when you’re done applying it so the mask won’t slide off. Let it sink into the skin for at least 30 minutes. Wash off the mask when time is up. Voila! Soft, hydrated skin.

Alternatives: LUSH Oatifix Mask, LANEIGE Multiberry Yogurt Repair Pack, Burt’s Bee’s Intense Hydration Treatment Mask, Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask for Dry/Very Dry Skin

Step 4: Serum/Treatment

For our night routine, we like to focus not only on moisture but also anti-aging. Here is where serums play a big part. They help boost the skin more extensively than a typical moisturizer can.

We like to press the serum into our skin by using our fingers to apply light pressure (no palms) on our entire face. We let it sink in for at least 10 minutes before we move on to moisturizer.

What we use: Seventh Generation Boost Skin Serum, Murad Essential-C Daily Renewal Complex

Alternatives: Caudalie Firming Serum, L’Oreal Paris Youth Code, Olay Regenerist Advanced Anti-Aging Regenerating Serum, Trader Joes Tea Tree Oil

Step 5: Lip Balm/Treatment

Typically we’ll use a more moisture-infused lip balm or treatment at night.

What We Use:  Nivea Olive Oil & Lemon Lip Balm

Alternatives: Jack Black Peppermint Lip Balm, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15, Vaseline

Step 6: Moisturizer:

We like to turn our hydration up a notch at night with a deep moisturizer. Our skin will feel soft and supple in the morning.

Putting moisturizer can be a bit tiresome, especially if we’ve had a long day at work. But we like to take this opportunity to relax and give our minds a little breather from the day while doing this step. We work in circular motions, and really massaging the product into our skin. It’s a wonderful facial right from home.

What We Use: Indie Lee Hydrating Body Balm or Aquaphor Moisturizer

Alternatives: Philosophy Hope in a Jar, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Concentrate, Olive Oil +Coconut Oil +Vaseline home treatment.

Step 7: Eye Cream

Again this can go right on hand with our moisturizer. A tip: Use products with a little caffeine in them to counteract puffiness in the morning.

What We Use: Same as morning routine.

Step 8: Acne/Hyper pigmentation Treatment

We like to leave our spot treatments for last since we’ve found them to be more effective if we take proper care of our skin beforehand.

We like using a Q tip to apply any acne treatment to a pesky pimple or two, and our fingers to apply any cream to our dark spot areas.

What We Use: Indie Lee Blemish Lotion, Philosophy Miracle Worker Dark Spot Corrector

Alternatives: Clean & Clear Advantage Mark Treatment, Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, Good old Toothpaste

Let us know what your skincare routine is in the comment section below.