The best facial skincare regime

This is completely unbiased. It’s more of a record, because it would be nice to point people towards this info when I’m asked.

Occasionally

1. Get some Oatfix from LUSH and scrub + leave on your face occasionally. Nice moisturizer and a bit of exfoliation.
2. It’s also good to do a clay/mud mask to soak up some of the oil in your face etc once in a while. Leave it on and let it dry.
3. Do an occasional Japanese or Korean face mask, sometimes called “face pack.” Google or Amazon search for these. Firmly pat the mask on your face around 80 times to get good skin contact / liven up the skin. A Japanese friend told me to do this.
4. A microdermabrasion is good to do once in a while, like every week or so. I like this one:

At night

1. Clean your face. I don’t tend to use an exfoliant, but maybe it’s beneficial for some.
2. Moisturize / splash your face with a light liquid moisturizer. No need to smear on traditional facial lotion, which tends to be too heavy to put on before the Bio-Oil step below. This tends to be hard to find in America, although I think some brands are finally getting on board, but if you google for “Japanese liquid facial lotion” or “Korean…”, you should be able to find something. Make sure it doesn’t have any whitening agents. Stuff with hyaluronic acid may or may not be too harsh / or may also be beneficial.
3. Use a filler for any deep wrinkles, like this one from RoC.

4. Apply Bio-Oil over your face. It is indeed an oil but will not cause you to break out. It actually kind of cleanses your face and heals any wear and tear from the day / aging / any scarring. You can Google / Amazon search for this.

5. Eye cream, if desired. Sometimes I use the ROC cream around the eyes, but may be a bit too harsh to use daily.

In the morning

1. Light liquid moisturizer. See above. You could use one with hyaluronic acid for the morning rather than at night, if that works for your skin.
2. Thicker / regular moisturizer. Things with retinol are often recommended. There are also some thicker Japanese “emulsions” or “skin milk” products that pair well with the lighter liquid moisturizer.
3. Most important: Sunscreen (or substitute moisturizer with sunscreen for the step above). If you have oily skin and/or sheen problems like me, search for a matte sunscreen or matte moisturizer with sunscreen. This is the most important step! If you can’t find what you want for some reason, there are Korean beauty stores in major cities that often have some good products for this.

Before going out

1. Use Smashbox Photo Finish foundation if you have oily skin / are prone to sheen.

Enjoy! Hope it works well for you.