I don't know about you but I love evening skincare routines. It helps me winds down and because you will be heading to bed soon, it means that as your skin rests it will also absorb different products layered on throughout the night and you wake up to better skin (or eventually wake up to better skin). Some products only should be applied in the evening, e.g. vitamin C, and you can layer on more products in the evening than the morning because you're not going out and feeling like you've got a ton of skincare on your face. Of course this is just a personal preference!
I find "locking in" the products you've layered on in your routine in the evening is super important, so everything stays on the skin until they're all absorbed throughout the night. It's also important for those who sleep in air conditioning or colder places as your skin can dehydrate throughout the night. When I lived in Asia, I had to make sure I layer on enough moisturising products on my face in the evening - in the summer - to make sure I don't wake up with super dehydrated skin.
Here are a couple of products I've been using over the past few months to help me "lock in" everything I layered on to my skin in my evening routine. First is a moisturiser and second a sleeping mask to lock everything (including the moisturiser) in.
1. Skin Ceramic Argan OIl & Donkey Milk Steam Cream
I think I've hit a jackpot with moisturisers here. Honestly when I first got this I wasn't expecting this to work as well as I thought it would - but I was so wrong. I had 2 tubs of this as part of a deal on Sasa.com and bought them for a fraction of the original price and I've been in love with this product ever since first use.
My favourite thing about this stem cream is the texture. Oh it's so glorious! They used steam heating to mix both oil and water together and creating a soft and light texture, but don't let that fool you - the hydrating quality of this cream is just as effective as other night creams, without the heaviness to it! It's also so much easier to be absorbed into the skin because of its texture - tip: warm product between fingers/hands prior to applying to make it easier to be absorbed; I've found that applying with cold fingers on cold skin makes products generally harder to penetrate. I also have sensitive skin and heavier moisturisers can cause some grief to my skin, but this is the perfect solution to that. This product is also multi-functional so you can also use it on other parts of the body (and apparently hair!), but it will run out a little faster ;)
I actually use this product for day time too because of how light it is and needless to say I love it so much - it's now literally the only moisturiser I use in the cream part of my skin care routines. Sadly I am running low and almost hitting bottom of this second tub that I have, but I haven't been able to buy it again on Sasa.com. Sad times, but I do have other moisturisers to try out next (also k-beauty products) which I am really looking forward to. I've also come across a UK steam cream company/brand STEAMCREAM that I will definitely try at some point. If you've already tried this let me know what you think!
2. Goodal Waterest Vital Sleeping Pack
Usually my routine ends with moisturiser, but lately I've been loving using a sleeping mask on top of the moisturiser (last step of the routine, I promise) to really lock everything in and reap in the benefits of the sleeping mask.
Honestly I've never really liked sleeping mask - I used to use Vichy - because of how weird they make my skin feel and how it goes on to literally everything while I sleep. It's really not pretty haha. That being said I'm happy that I've opened up to sleeping mask again - to right ones, just to clarify! - because this one has been doing me a lot of favours throughout the night.
Goodal is another brand that I stumbled upon when I was living in Asia and I am absolutely gutted that I can't have easy access to them on the sites that I use in the UK to buy my K-Beauty/Asian beauty products - again, I got it from Sasa.com and they haven't stocked it to ship to UK since. I first came across their eye/lip makeup remover and hands down it's my absolute favourite eye/lip remover. Super gentle to the eyes but so damn effective.
Anywway, this brand is pretty well known for its fermentation and hydration properties in their products, which is so up my street because if there is anything I will preach about, it's skin hydration. This sleeping mask is lightweight and you can just apply it like a gel/cream all over your face, or you can layer it on thick and then wash off later. I'm a lazy person I go for the prior option and keep my hair off before I go to bed so make sure everything is absorbed in so nothing smears on my pillow cases and etc. When I'm too tired or letting my skin take a break from face mask I would use this sleeping mask too so I feel like I still got my mask treatment in.
This mask sits really well on top of the skin and gradually gets absorbed in; as with all sleeping masks you'll feel like there's a layer of cling film on your face, but it certainly isn't as sticky as some of the other ones I've used. I wake up with skin not feeling dehydrated at all but there will still be a little residue that gets removed when I splash my face with water and wipe with miscellar water and toner.
So there it is, my 2 current favourite products for the last steps of my skin care routine currently. Have you used either of them and what do you think?
Disclaimer: all products have been purchased by me, no sponsored content and whilst these products worked for me, it doesn't necessarily work for you.