Rise and Shine: My Morning Skin Care Routine

Today I wanted to share my morning skincare routine with you. I've always suffered with dry skin and its took me years to find a skincare routine that helps my skin look it's best all day long.

I start off by gently ex-foliating my face with a generic face scrub. I especially enjoy neutrogena's range of face scrubs as they're never too drying and gently slough away any dead skin or black heads I may have. This doesn't irritate my skin either and leaves my skin feeling smooth and ready for the next step.

I then cleanse my face using the Ole Henrikson African Red Tea Foaming Cleansing by using one pump of product all over my face and neck. I usually stay clear of anything foaming as they tend to be drying; but this one feels like silk on the skin and leaves my face feeling clean and fresh.

Once I've patted my face dry, I'll use a small amount of Benefit's Total Moisture Toner on a cotton pad and smooth it all over my face. I've been using this product for well over a year now and can't be without it. It sets my skin up ready for the next products to follow and makes my face feel hydrated. Most toners contain alcohol, which means it has a drying effect and can make the skin feel tight. That's why I love this one, its hydrating and light on the skin.

Next I'll use a face serum. I'm not overly picky on serums and tend to change them up quite regularly. However I have found the more you pay for them, the better they are! I'm currently using the Ole Henrikson Truth Serum. This smells DIVINE. It smells like oranges and feels lightweight on the skin. I use one pump all over my face and allow a little drying time as it is a slightly wetter formula than others.

I then use my Hydraluron Moisture Jelly (Or the original Hydraluron serum depending what offers are on in boots) This is my holy grail product. This has changed my skin and the way my skin works. I used to suffer from heavy dry patches, or felt like my moisturiser wasn't doing it's job properly and would re-apply more throughout the day,
But this product seals in the moisture you've already placed on your face, and then absorbs more from the moisturiser you place on top. For £25 its a life saver in a tub.

I then use my Benefit Total Moisture Moisturiser. I've tried pretty much every high street moisturiser under the sun, And again found the more money you put into your products; the better the product! This is just a simple white cream, with no smell, that does what it says on the tin. No strange smell, no anti wrinkle crap. Just a plain good moisturiser, A pot of this usually lasts me about 6 months. So it's well worth the money in my opinion.

Lastly I pat a facial oil onto my face to really seal in all that moisture. I learnt this trick from looking on-line, If you place it earlier on in your skincare routine; it's likely to move around your products or break products down and not allow them to penetrate the skin. If you use a face oil as the last step, it just seals it all in. I'm currently using one from the Sanctuary Spa Range and quite like it. I haven't tried any others so I can't compare, but I would like to try the Kiehls Midnight Recovery oil once I've finished this one.

I just use one drop from the dispenser and pat it lightly over my cheeks and forehead, as these are the areas I need the most moisture.

I'm always open to new skin care products and love trial sizes so you can really test out a product before spending a small fortune on them!
Do you suffer from dry/dehydrated skin too? If so do you have any products to recommend?