I have been asked by a couple of people, (yes, really!) for a starter skincare routine. What to do if you’ve never really had a proper beauty routine or have lost your way. So, if you’re a skincare aficionado, this week’s post is probably not for you!

First thing’s first, the key, I personally think, is consistency. If you’ve turned 30, you cannot afford to go to bed in your makeup, use face wipes or skip SPF anymore, not if you want to still be smooth and have as few crevices as possible in your 40’s, 50’s and beyond. So, the below needs to be done religiously every morning and night – for the rest of time. (Or, until you add more to it the older you get!) As this is a starter routine, and you might need to be convinced that the effort is worth it, I have tried to keep the products at the budget end as much as possible.

There are three basic steps for me that I learnt when I worked for Lauder that I think are worth sticking to:
1. Cleanse
2. Serum
3. Moisturise
Different ingredients can be incorporated into this and a few additional elements can be added for different concerns, but these three simple steps are a really good place to start and literally will only take you two minutes. So, without further ado, off we go.

Cleanse
I’ve said this before, but in the morning, I like a wash and, in the evening, if you wear makeup, SPF or live in a city, you need to double cleanse. I was told by a Jo Malone facialist to do this when I was about 24 and I have been doing it ever since, trust me, it really helps. My favourite budget washes are all currently on offer at Boots and are:

Neutrogena Hydro Boost | Simple Face Wash | L’Oréal Face Wash

In the evening, I think a simple micellar is the best thing for a first cleanse, they’re cheap, take eye makeup off as well and I personally use the Garnier original one. Then, you can follow with the wash from the morning, particularly if you tend to be oilier, or if your skin is drier and also great in the winter, I use a balmy or cream cleanser. With either of the latter, I like to give my face a really good massage and rinse with a warm flannel.

Garnier Micellar | Your Good Skin Hot Cloth | Vitamin E Hot Cloth

Serum
If you have a bit more cash to splash, this is where I’d do it. A serum has the most intense ingredients and can have more actives, so you get more bang for your buck. If you just want to use one serum, go for a multi-use and do it day and night. If you’re happy to splurge on two, I would use a Vitamin C in the morning and more of a hyaluronic at night. Good multi use ones are:

The Ordinary Skin Buffet | Simply Hydrating Serum | Clarins Double Serum

My favourite Vitamin C I’ve talked about a lot before, is the Beauty Pie one, I use this in the morning. Then at night, I love Advanced Night Repair, for me this is well worth the money, but if you’re not sure of the splurge, the Vichy serum has had amazing reviews and I’m a big fan of anything from La Roche Posay.

Beauty Pie Vit C | Vichy Hyaluronic Serum | La Roche Posay Hyaluronic

Moisturise
Here you really do need two. One for day with an SPF, (fine to do this in the winter I think, in the summer I use a separate SPF,) and one for night. Moisturisers are really just to nourish the skin and protect the barrier and there are some good ones at the budget end of the market.
Day creams with SPF

Olay Complete Care SPF15 | CeraVe SPF25 | Neutrogena Hydro Boost SPF25

Night Creams

Aldi Caviar Cream | Avène Hydrance Rich | Botanics All Bright Night Cream

So that for me, is where to start. If you’re oilier, a lot of these creams are available in a lotion formula which might suit you better. You’d also be wise to add a glycolic or salicylic acid after cleansing at night, something like Pixi tonic. You might then want to start doing some exfoliation and masks, but try the three step for at least a month and see how you go. Let me know!

Hannah x