We need much less than we think we need.

Since quarantine makes me staying at home most of the time, I thought it might be the perfect chance for going on a skincare diet. With nothing on my face but a minimal selection of products. I’m a total beauty freak and can never leave a Sephora without buying anything so my beauty shelf contains a huge collection of skin care products. So deciding in the morning which products to apply can be a bit overwhelming and time-consuming. Furthermore, my skin tends to be dry and sensitive so I was aiming to get it back to producing its natural protective oils.

Here’s how I pressed the reset button and brought my skincare routine back to the basics..

Step 1: Face Wash

As a first step in the morning I’m using this simple organic cleansing gel from Alverde which I bought at a drugstore. I like the light texture and that it doesn’t contain any needless substances. Just one little pump onto my face with a splash of water – that’s it. The face wash works perfectly as a make up remover as well! Oh, and as it didn’t have the most spectacular packaging, I filled the gel into one of these nice pump dispensers from MUJI.

Step 2: Hydration

Second step is already moisturizing the skin. I’m applying the Silky-Soft Lotion from Maria Galland while the skin is still damp. This lotion has a soft gel texture and smells like a soothing day at the spa. It’s a product that I’m using for quite some time now and which was usually followed by a serum and face cream. However, these steps are now skipped during my ‘diet’.

Step 3: Ice roller

So there are a lot of skin tools out there but this one sounded most convincing to me. It’s an ice roller I bought on Amazon for around 7 € – a good invest I’d say! This handy gadget is a great way to refresh the skin. Just put it in the freezer and roll the head over the face. It helps decreasing facial puffiness, improving dry skin and can be also used to soothe headache pain.

Step 4: Eye cream

I’m rounding up my routine with this eye cream from Shiseido which is very rich in texture. I noticed that my skin around the eyes is more dry and needs an extra portion of moisture. This one works pretty fine.

Bonus

Once or twice a week I’m giving my skin an extra highlight by using these two products from Paula’s Choice. It’s the Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel Peeling and the C15 Super Booster. Both do a pretty good job and I must say that these are products where I’m really noticing immediate results. The AHA Gel Peeling has an ultra light gel texture and helps fading brown spots from sun damage (which I couldn’t 100% avoid as a total sun seeker). It leaves the skin smooth & soft. After exfoliating I’m treating my skin with some Vitamin C for an extra glow boost. This serum smoothens, brightens and firms my skin which I can see right after applying.

Résumé

If you ask me, a diet has never been that easy! I really enjoy having less products on my skin and let it ‘breathe’. I figured that my skin knows how to function by itself without a lot of products it simply doesn’t need. I’m trying to follow this ‘less is more’ mentality in many other aspects in my life and will share some more thoughts soon. I hope this inspires you to try out a new routine for yourself and maybe simplify your steps as well. Let me know your experiences <3