My Skin Care Routine | For Oily Skin

Hello and welcome to my Realm of Beauty. 

Today's post is gonna be about skin care. More specifically, how I look after my oily skin.

Those of us with oily skin are both blessed and damned at the same time. Blessed because our skin never looses its moisture and as a result, we are less prone to ageing and developing wrinkles than those with normal/dry skin. However, we are more prone to breakouts and acnes. In addition, searching for a matt foundation that keeps away the shine throughout the day is an impossible task.

Since 7 years ago, when I started caring for my skin, I have tried numerous skin care products. My current routine is the results of years of experimenting and finally coming to a combination of products that actually work together to look after my skin.

Before I introduce you to these products, one thing needs to be said. It is very important to be realistic and to not expect too much from your makeup and skin care. As I have mentioned in my previous post when talking about foundations for oily skin, it is unrealistic to look for a product that keeps the shine away for the entire day. If a products claims to do this, be it a foundation or a moisturiser or a cleanser, you should not trust it. Moreover, if a product actually delivers the "no shine all day" promise, you should stop using it because it is very bad for your skin. These products work by blocking your pores so that the oil is trapped underneath whatever you have on, which can cause all sorts of troubles for your skin.  So just be diligent out there, and know that keeping your face matt all day requires touching ups during the day. You can for example always carry a power with you to use mid-day over your foundation.

Now with the important "warning" out of the way, we can get started.

Storage is from Stackers available at amazon.co.uk

Morning routine: 

In the morning, right after I wake up, I use the Clear Skin Oil Balancing Exfoliating Face Wash by Simple. This product is a life saver for those of us with oily skin. It has no artificial perfume or colour and no harsh chemicals. It's just full of goodness and vital vitamins. The 'zinc' element helps absorb excess oil while the 'witch hazel' reduces blemishes and 'B5' helps to keep the skin smooth and soft. And at the price of £3.99 and wide availability, it's really worth adding to your routine. 

Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Exfoliating Face Wash available at Boots.com.

After I've dried my face with a clean face towel, I apply the Clinique Clarifying Lotion in No. 4 with a cotton pad all over my face. This is such an amazing cleanser and comes in 4 ranges. 1 is for dry skin and 4 is for oily/greasy skin, 2 and 3 are for those with normal/combination skin. I just love it when I can see the dirt and oil on the cotton pad after I've used this.
The No. 4 lotion contains alcohol which can be a skin irritant for some, so if you are one of those people it's best to go for a different number. I personally love it because it helps keep the oil to minimum for longer. It's also deeply penetrating and gets rid of all the dirt that's accumulated under your skin.
It is on the pricey side, but I'm not one to hesitate spending money when it comes to skin care. The 200ml bottle is £16.50 and the 400ml bottle is £26.50.

Clinique Clarifying Lotion in No. 4 available at  Boots.com.

The next step is moisturiser. I have wrestled with this for so long. It is very tricky to add extra moisture to a face that's already oily. But I can't forgo it either because the benefits of using moisturiser are well known, plus they really are important when it comes to applying foundation.
So, as you can understand I had a hard time finding a moisturiser that didn't make me even more oily. Until I came across this gem: Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel. This is a holy grail of skin care for me. At this point, it is one of the very few products that I know I will not ever replace. The texture is gorgeous, it is not drying and it glides smoothly and perfectly on the skin. And once it's on, you don't even realise you have moisturiser on and yet you feel all the benefits that come with it. It controls the shine without giving you dry patches and is full of natural goodness. I just cannot recommend it enough.
Again, this is a pricey product (£30), but it's really worth it.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel available at Boots.com.

Now, I know at this point some of you are wondering why I don't use the 3-step skin care routine offered by Clinique, since I already have 2 of the products in this range. The reason is because I have spent a long time looking for a good face wash and now that I've found 2 of them, one which you have met and one that's coming up in my night routine, I am just scared to let them go and try the Clinique face wash. If I could get my hands on a sample it would be great. But until then, I'm gonna continue using my 2 beloved face washes.

Night routine:

Before I go to bed, I usually look like a disco ball because of the amount of oil on my skin. No matter what I do/use, I end up with a shiny face at the end of the day. So it is important to make sure I treat it before any breakouts occur. For this reason I use Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub. This is an absolute gold and I have already been through 4 bottles of since I discovered it. It is so gentle on the skin thanks to the 'witch hazel' and yet tough on the dirt and oil that's trapped inside the pores. It unclogs your pores and leaves you feeling refreshed and clean. It also helps prevent breakouts and dries any existing spots thanks to its 'tea tree' element. 

And at the price of £3.79 you just cannot resist to add it to your routine. 

Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Face Scrub available at Boots.com.

Next I use the same Clinique clarifying lotion to cleanse my skin before applying moisturiser. 

Night time is when I can stop worrying about looking shiny and apply a more conventional moisturiser to maintain moisture throughout the night. This is when I use Palmer's Cocoa Butter Night Renewal Cream, which is a fantastic anti-ageing and firming cream with Shea Butter and vitamin E. I really take my time with this to massage it onto my skin. And when I wake up in the morning my skin is visibly firmer and well rested. 

It might be a bit unusual for a 26 year old to use an anti ageing and firming cream already. But since I lived 19 years of my life in Iran and barely used sun screen (I know, very bad!), I'm afraid that I've done some (reversible) damage to my skin. Which is why I thought it would be good idea to start using this cream to counter act those years of negligence. 

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Night Renewal Cream available at FeelUnique.com.

So there you have it lovelies. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. 

Let me know if you have any techniques to tackle oily skin. And don't forget to follow me on social media for updates, all the links are on the right hand side. 

See you soon x