Skincare Routines: Full On vs. Lazy Days

Okay. Time to be honest here. As much as I would love to say "Oh yes, I always do a full on skincare routine every day" that would be a lie! I'm pretty sure that's the case for most people because let's face it - sometimes there are days where you just cannot be bothered with the effort. In this skincare routine post, I have decided to share with you my lazy routine as well as my full routine I try to do most of the time.

I have grown up using Nivea products. In fact, I used the moisturiser all through school and only stopped to try out different products. I recently came across the Nivea Purifying range - funny story by the way, the shop had marked it on sale even though it wasn't supposed to be so I got it for a bargain - and I've pretty much finished them within the space of a month. I use the Cleansing Gel every morning, using the Purifying Toner with a cotton pad afterwards. I love how gentle both products are on my skin and they don't have too strong a scent either, although they do smell nice. My skin is left with a nice clearness about it and isn't oily at all. I needed a new daily moisturiser pronto, when I stumbled across the Garnier Essentials Hydrating Day Care cream in my local supermarket. I have to be careful with moisturisers as some leave my face feeling dryer than before, however, the Garnier one is amazing for me. It leaves my skin feeling hydrated without being greasy. A major plus is these three products are great if you're on a budget and can't afford to splash out on high end skincare brands. So like I said before, I use these every morning and if I'm having a "lazy skincare day" I will use these quickly before I go to bed too!

Moving on to my full skincare routine I've been loving recently. I begin by removing my makeup and the days grime with the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. There's been so much hype over the last year with micellar waters that I probably don't need to rave about how amazing this product is. I'll just say it is so gentle on the skin and removes makeup so easily. No need to scrub at my eyes anymore. Moving on to more higher end products, I then use the Clinique 3 Step Kit for dry/combination skin. The face soap is very calming on the skin and leaves it feeling squeaky clean. The clarifying lotion makes my skin feel like it can breathe again! It is so effective at sweeping away dry flakes and excess oil which allows the moisturiser to do it's job better. The moisturiser is great - really leaves your skin feeling nourished without feeling greasy. However, I would say that it doesn't smell amazing! I then use the Clinique All About Eyes cream, because you're never to young to start caring about wrinkles. The earlier you start, the longer you'll have fresh non-wrinkled skin. To finish off this routine, I lather The Body Shop's Drops of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask all over my face. I don't run it in, I sort of leave it wet to dry in itself. I cannot describe how soft and smooth this leaves your face feeling once your skin has drank it up - it is lovely!

Well there you have it - my two current favourite skincare routines for everyday use. Let me know of any products you use in your routine that you think I should try out. What are your current favs?