Bedtime skincare routine! - because you need one

Evening all,
I'm going to start off by asking how many of you removed today's make up with a wipe tonight?
Guilty!?
We've all been there - spending the day rushing around, all you want to do is jump into bed and take your face off in one swift process - keeping one eye on the telly! Comical really, after we spend so long putting our make up on in the morning and taking care to moisturise and perfect our skin only to forget all of that 15 hours later!
Fear not though ladies, for years, I too have practiced this oh so easy wipe process, gasped at by 'MUAs' and the girls at the make up counters in department stores!  However I made it one of my New Years Resolutions to up the ante on my skincare routine & this was the most obvious place to start! I've kept it fairly quick still, I mean, if you don't make the time to 'contour' for work in the morning, there's no way you'll be sitting for 20 minutes enduring a 'nourishing avocado deep cleansing peel mask' every weekday night!
So here's my quick and easy 3 step guide to keeping your skin soft, glowing and healthy!;

1. Eye make up remover - I recently learnt that mascara is really damaging to your lashes, especially if you wear it everyday, eye make up removers condition your lashes and encourage growth as well as being far less likely to accidentally pull out any lashes - which can often happen trying to get eye make up off with a wipe! Simply squirt the liquid on to a cotton wool pad and wipe away! I use No.7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make up remover purely because it's great quality for the price (£8.50 a bottle and often on offer in boots!) but as a treat I sometimes buy the Vichy Purete eye make up remover which is great for waterproof mascara and priced at £11. There is a huge range out there, varying in price and quality, if you're not sure it's for you but want to give it a try, Boots do their own brand one for about £2.50!                Alternatively see a full list of what brands Boots have to offer Here!
2. Cleanser - Once your eyes have been attended to, it's time to give your skin a good cleanse! Cleanser's are brilliant, they get right in to your pores and flush out all of the days make up, oils and impurities in your skin. You also get fab cleansing tools now to ensure you are getting the best results! I don't actually have one but I've read great reviews of the Foreo-LUNA-Anti-Aging-Skincare-Device - got my eye on it, but as it's worth about a weeks rent I may need to settle for the £25 No.7 one! The cleanser I use is the No.7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser. This is applied straight on to my skin dry and massaged in little circles all over the face. I then leave it for a few minutes or alternatively you could continue to massage it in with a cleansing tool. After a few minutes I'll run my muslin cloth under warm water and use this to wipe away the cleanser, rinsing the cloth in between wiping each area of my face. Finally pat dry your face with a soft towel - honestly there won't be a make up stain in sight!
3. Finally, Toner. - This is the quickest step of the lot! Again, using the cotton wool pads, squirt a the toner directly on to the pad and simply glide it across your face. This is an extra step to make sure all those pore impurities were removed by the cleanser, it also leaves your skin feeling clean and taught! I use Boots' own brand Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Cleansing Toning lotion - it's specifically made to help prevent spots, so perfect for someone like me who naturally has combination/oily skin. It's super cheap too at £3.60 for a whole bottle! There is a fantastic Clarins toner for my skin type also but at £20 a bottle I have to be treating myself! So, final point on toner is that it should be worked in to both your evening and morning skincare routine for best results, do this right before you would apply moisturiser! 

So that's it! Quick and easy and really leaves your skin feeling so much better than after baby wipes! It's worth noting that I absolutely will not go anywhere without my No7 Wipes and I am all for them being used as part of my make up removal routine! - Just not solely relied upon, simply because they don't do the job well enough on their own! All of the skincare products mentioned above come in a huge variety of skin types so if you are unsure what's best for you make sure you ask for help at the counter - Clinique, Clarins, No7, amongst others, all have brilliantly trained staff just waiting to help you with your skin care queries!

I hope this has enlightened at least a few of you to have a think about your evening skincare routine, do let me know if you found this helpful in the comments below or have any questions about the products I use! 

Happy Cleansing! 

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