Ever had days/weeks/month(s) where you've just been so tired and neglected your skin? Or that your mood is down and you'd really want a pick-me-up or a pamper?

So I've recently started a new role and although my evening routine helps with winding down and relaxing me at the end of the day, I do still need a more thorough facial to help me through the following me. Skincare, for me, is a good reminder that I am still taking care of myself and paying attention to what my body is telling me - through times of stress your skin may react differently, or if you have been eating different or been in different environments.

I work in a not so well-ventilated office and there is a lot of stale air due to lack of air circulation; this makes my skin feel really irritable and unclean and I've started to run through this routine (give or take a step or two) once over the weekend as a reminder to restart myself and ready for the week to come. I thought I'd share my routine and products I've used (and some thoughts on the products) with you, especially now that I'm going through a phase where I'm suffering from spots and irritated skin.

1. Cleansing

Double cleansing has been part of my routine for ages now and even in the evening wind-down I still do a double cleanse to really take off the makeup and the dirt that clogged up my face during the day. I always use a balm and then a foaming/lighter cleanser and love how my skin feels squeaky clean afterwards.

I've started using the Clio Microfessional Cleansing Oil Balm and Skin Watches Enzyme Powder Wash and absolutely love them. The balm is so effective in cleansing the skin (much like my all time favourite, Heimish) and doesn't leave the skin bone dry afterwards. Same with the Enzyme Powder Wash - I was skeptical when I first tried it, but after several times I'm so in love with how clean this product makes my skin feel afterwards, again, without drying out. It also gently exfoliates your face (not enough to serve as an exfoliator though!)

2. Exfoliate

I tell everyone I speak to that I've completely come off any exfoliators that are in a scrub form. I've recently started trying this skin food skin peel in hope that it would be a more accessible and cheaper version of my favourite Wonderbath Salon de Tte exfoliation pads.

Impression? I don't love it, but I don't hate it. It definitely is more accessible and affordable and it does do its job. Effective? I'm not too sure and may have to go a couple of weeks without exfoliating to see how it really performs. My Salon de Tte pads are extremely effective in exfoliation - I've tested this after 1-2 weeks without exfoliating and I can see the little bits and pieces coming off almost immediately. You have to really work this Skin food peel into your skin for a few minutes before seeing the little bits that are dead skin.

I feel like this would be good for those with sensitive skin and to be fair, after washing it off I do feel that it worked, even when I couldn't see it. Also, not too irritating or dehydrating at all. Always a plus!

3. Clay Mask

For me, a good clay mask really draws out all the impurities and "detox" the skin. The Kiehl's rare earth clay mask is my favourite and this is actually a repurchase! You can use this everyday or as per your skin tolerance. If used continuously I would recommend using it on only parts of your face rather than the whole. I use this on the whole of my face as this is a once a week thing for me at the moment.

4. Exfoliating pads

Not gonna lie, after using this I did feel like this was a bit excessive, but I thought that my skin needed further exfoliation because my skin feels congested. Yeah, probably not a good idea, but I thought to introduce these pads anyway. They're okay so far, I still need to test them out for longer before I know if I will repurchase

5. Serums

To make serums more effective, I tend to layer my serums under the sheet mask that I will put on next. I have quite a few so I tend to sort how I use them by function, e.g. anti-ageing (retinoid, matrixyl); brightening (vitamin C); hydration & sebum control (hylauronic acid, niacinimide)... Occasionally I just go with what I feel like, like this time.

6. Face mask

I'm a huge fan of sheet masking and have written about what I do to make masking more effective. Masking is a huge part to my skincare routine and whilst I have different masks, they all focus on hydration and this is really effective in plumping up the skin with water.

7. Eye cream and Face cream

To wrap it all up and lock it all in

And that ends my lil pampering routine! I know some people prefer to go have facials done but I get bored so easily that I like to be doing something else whilst I have a sheet mask on my face for a good 30 minutes, or watch something on YouTube.

What do you do for your routine? Do you have one or would you be starting one?