Skincare in Your Twenties— My Favourite Products At 23
Something happened when I started university. Something….I never saw coming. Instead of caring so much about the latest makeup releases, I started becoming more and more interested in my skincare. Skincare routines? OBSESSED with them! Sephora skincare shelves? CAN’T GET ENOUGH! Don’t get me wrong, I still get excited whenever I buy a new lipstick or eye palette, but I definitely prioritize getting good skincare these days. Your skin is the base to any makeup look— spending time figuring out what products work for your skin is time well invested.
My skin type + history
In my teens, I’d describe my skin as 100% oily, all the time, never ending… I also dealt with acne and tended to use lots of acne-targeted products. My skin historically hasn’t reacted well to acne products with benzoyl peroxide, so I tend to use products only with salicylic acid.
In my early twenties, my skin has shifted to become more combination— I still battle with oil in my t-zone, but other areas of my skin now can get dry during brutal Canadian winters (what a fun development for me, right?). I don’t really struggle with consistent breakouts anymore in the way that I did in my teens; during my period, I get the odd pimple here and there, but otherwise my skin is fairly clear. My new skin concerns: acne scarring and my darker under-eyes.
Teen vs. Twenties
One of the biggest changes between my teens and twenties when it comes to my skin is how much makeup I use. In my teens, I wore a pressed mineral foundation every day with concealer. In my twenties, although I still use makeup every day, I only use a little bit of concealer under my eyes and brush my face lightly with a translucent powder to help with oil control. I do think one of the reasons my acne isn’t as bad now is because I’m not applying a thick layer of foundation everyday.
SOME OF MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS….
Miceller Water
Micellar water has been my go-to method of makeup removing for years. One of my favourite micellar waters that I’ve been using since high school is Bioderma’s Sensibio H20— I never break out from it, and it removes all the makeup and gunk off my face before cleansing! Be gone gunk! Away with you!
HOW TO USE: saturate a cotton pad with the micellar water and wipe the make-up off, paying special attention not to tug around the eyes (skincare tip: press and hold a cotton pad with makeup remover to your closed eyelid for 10-15 seconds before wiping. This will give the makeup remover a bit of time to break down your eyeshadow/mascara and reduce tugging).
Gentle cleanser
Every night, after removing my makeup, I cleanse. I’ve tried so many cleansers over the years, but Fresh’s Soy cleanser is one I tend to go back to because it doesn’t dry out my skin (it’s pricier than something from the drugstore, but one bottle lasts me months because I only use a quarter sized amount each time). I’m no skincare expert, but if you’re washing your face and feeling like your skin has been stripped, you might be using a cleanser that’s too harsh.
During the winter, I usually cleanse in the morning to remove my heavier night cream, but during the warmer weather I tend to get by in the mornings with just splashing my face with water.
Toner
Over the past few years I’ve really embraced the beauty that is rosewater toners. Thayers’ makes a popular line of toners that I’ve loved using in the past— the witch hazel rose petal toner is really great. Currently I am using the rosewater toner from Cocokind. According to Cocokind’s website, rosewater toner is great for, “help[ing] ph balance skin and prep it for the moisturizing step.” This is the kind of toner that makes you feel like you’re pampering your skin because it feels so hydrating.
I also love the raspberry vinegar toner from Cocokind for helping manage my more oily areas. Unlike the rosewater toner that can just be sprayed directly onto the face, this toner is one I always apply with a cotton pad so I can target very specific areas and avoid vinegar in my eyeballs, haha!
Moisturizer
The daily moisturizer that I haven’t been able to stop repurchasing is Origin’s Ginzing Oil-Free Energy Boosting Gel Moisturizer. It’s just the best. I love that it doesn’t take five years to soak into my skin, so I don’t need to wait around too long before I apply makeup.
In the last six months, I’ve also been loving the High Potency Night-A-Mins moisturizer from Origins. This moisturizer is for heavy duty moisturizing, so it’s meant to use at night because it’s a lot thicker than the Ginzing. You can usually find deluxe sample sizes of the Ginzing and Night-A-Mins moisturizer together at Sephora during the holidays for a pretty good price— definitely a great option for trying out the products before committing to the full-size versions.
Another moisturizing product from Cocokind I’ve been obsessed with is their Mymatcha Stick. It’s an all-purpose moisture stick that you can use anyyyywhere. I love applying this under my eyes and on any areas that I want some extra hydration— I also have a second tube that I use as a lip balm! My fellow Canadians can find it at their local Shoppers Drug Mart (if you wait for it to go on sale, you can score one for under $10).
Masks
As many skincare lovers do, I too enjoy myself a solid face mask. I usually use one once a week, and I’m always switching up the ones I use.
When I’m having a break out, I like to go in with a charcoal face mask that I apply like a spot treatment. I’ll use any charcoal face mask that I have on hand— L’Oreal’s clay masks, in my experience, are a really great drugstore option.
A face mask that I hate to say I love because of the price tag, but I do really love it, is the rose face mask by Fresh. Like Fresh’s soy face cleanser, I love the fact that I don’t feel like I’ve completely stripped my face of all my natural oils once I take it off. If you’re wanting to try any face mask from Fresh, again, wait until the holidays at Sephora— Fresh tends to have great value sets during this time of the year.
Wrapping things up….
There you have it, those are some of my favourite skincare products— I use some other products as well, but most of the products in this post are ones I’ve been using for years so it’s truly a list full of favs! At the end of the day, skincare is super personal….the only way to really find what works for you is to begin experimenting. Hopefully this article gave you some ideas if you have a similar skin type as me!
I really need to film a skincare routine soon because it’s been a video I’ve been procrastinating on for years lol…every time I think of filming one, I start using a new product that I want to wait to test out, and then the procrastination cycle starts all over again *facepalm* If there’s a product that you think I need to try, please let me know in the comments below!
Until next time, happy skin care-ing! Xo —C.
