SUMMER DAYTIME MOISTURIZERS

After an impromptu 2-month hiatus, I'm back! I was so busy with my last semester of Uni that I needed a little break from blogging to focus on work. Hopefully no unplanned disappearances will happen again, at least not anytime soon.

Whenever the seasons change, I have to adjust my skincare a teeny bit to account for the changes in weather. Granted, the weather in Dubai is almost always summer, with a week of 'winter' sometimes in January. Two weeks if we're lucky. But jokes aside, once June hits, it's scorching hot and beauty products have to be adjusted accordingly. Today's post features two daily moisturizers that I found are super lightweight, but still moisturizing enough for the hotter months.

The first of the two is & Other Stories' Tulle Day Cream (£15 £7). It's called a gel cream, and is targeted toward combination-oily skin, which is what I have. I don't particularly love this product, but there's nothing I hate about it either. It has a light powdery scent that I'm not a fan of but it's hardly noticeable, and a little definitely goes a long way (which I learned the hard way as it's very easy to squeeze out too much). It's lightweight enough to wear under makeup, and it doesn't bother me that it has no SPF as I like to use a separate product for that, or just get it from my makeup. I don't find that it helps reduce the shine on my T-zone at all, but it definitely doesn't increase my oiliness in any way. I definitely don't recommend this for anyone who has slightly dry skin as I don't think it will bw moisturizing enough for them. Overall, I think this is a good inexpensive product, but not a great one.

The second product I've been testing out is Kiko's Mat Fluid (£11.90). I picked this up on a whim when I was in Spain in January because I tested it out on the back of my hand and it felt amazing. I'm glad to say that after proper use this didn't disappoint me in any way. It has a fragrant scent which I love, and is so smooth to apply on the skin without being too heavy. I find it a bit more moisturizing than the & Other Stories one, while still being nice and lightweight, and giving my skin the perfect amount of moisture with or without makeup. I also like the packaging, and find that one pump gives me the exact amount I need for my whole face, so I never use too much product by mistake. Although I don't find it ultra-matifying, I do think it helps prolong the inevitable appearance of shine on my nose a little. 

Out of the two, I definitely think the Kiko moisturizer is the winner, and will probably repurchase it when I run out.

Let me know what some of your summertime skincare essentials are, I'd love to read!

MORNING SKINCARE ROUTINE

I LOVE skincare. If I went back in time and told my 13 year-old self this, she'd laugh at me. I used to dread doing a skincare routine when i was younger. I had pretty bad acne and wanted it gone, but didn't want to put in the effort of actually sticking to a routine for more than a few days. That all changed when i started using Murad products and they completely saved my skin. That, and starting to actually use makeup on a regular basis made me feel like I should actually put more effort into taking care of my skin. 

Flash forward to now and my skin has been pretty well behaved for the past year or two, mainly because i love having a routine now. I literally can not go to bed without doing all my steps, even if I'm falling asleep while doing them, they will be done. Today, however, I will be sharing my morning skincare routine. My night one is not all that different, but there are some extra steps and a few different products, so let me know if you'd like to see that too.

1. Cleanse

I like to use a gel cleanser in the morning as my skin loves gels, and I feel like it's really refreshing. I am currently using this Clean & Clear deep Action Gel Cleanser (£7.22) which I don't LOVE, but it's doing the job. I think i prefer there Morning Energy Shine Control wash though.

2. Tone

Surprise, surprise, this step features nothing other than my beloved Pixi toner. This has seriously done wonders to my skin, I can't go a day without it (probably from paranoia, but shh). I'm not going to go on about it too much as this already has a whole post dedicated to it which you can check out here.

3. Serum/Cream/Treatment

I don't think I've had anything as effective at keeping my spots at bay than La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo (£15.50). It basically stops me from getting any major breakout, and helps heal the little hormonal ones that slip through. I also think it helps reduce my oily t-zone and reduce scarring, while remaining totally non-drying. It's basically a miracle working product, and if you only want to use one treatment, you should go for this.

PS. I used to use Peptabright as a step before this to help fade acne scars, but most of my old ones have gone now, and with La Roche I haven't gotten any new major scars that I need to take care of. And my skin scars easily.

4. Moisturize

My final step is of course, to moisturize. I'm currently using Lush Vanishing Cream (£18.75) and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand it smells amazing, and sinks into my skin REALLY fast, which I love for a morning moisturizer. However, since i have combo skin i don't feel like it's enough for my dry bits, and it doesn't seem to help with preventing my oily nose from appearing a few hours into the day. I'm almost done using it up now, and will switch to trying the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, although i'm not sure if it'll be too rich to use as a daytime moisturizer. I shall see and let you know how i get on with it.

Of course, i also add SPF if i'm not going to be wearing a foundation that has one. Gotta keep the skin protected from the sun!

Let me know what your routine is like, and if you recommend any products for combo skin x