My current skincare routine: personal favorites right now

I mentioned way back in the beginning — last March! — that I was planning to share lists of my personal skincare favorites mainly in private posts; since I have specific allergies and sensitivities that lead me to specific product choices, I’m not sure all of my personal favorites would necessarily be yours. There are piles of outstanding products out there that I can’t use and that might be absolutely perfect for you.

BUT:

“What do you use on your skin?” is probably the question I get the most frequently. And, as I pointed out in this earlier post, summer has a special kind of wild, carefree energy, and rules are made to be broken on occasion.

So, for everyone who might be interested, here’s the list of everything I’m using on my face at the moment. Even if your skin is very different from mine, I hope you’ll find it helpful.

PS I won’t be on Substack next week: I’ll be in Canada, playing my violin in the orchestra that I joined with my son! We’re excited to go on tour — I’ll share a few photos and videos on Instagram if I come across any fun discoveries.

A recent photo so that you can get a sense of my skin tone, which I’ll mention when we get to sunscreens. And yes, Relax Infusion is coming back later this year! (Don’t get me started.)

What I’m using on my face right now

First, a few explanatory notes:

1. Almost everything on this list happens to be from Ayla; if there’s something out there that I love, I want to sell it! But there might be something on the list that isn’t. I’m sure it will make it seem extra tantalizing.

2. I have a few restrictions that dictate the contents of this list. I’m allergic to tocopherol (Vitamin E), which is in a LOT of products. My skin generally tends to be pretty sensitive and reactive, too.

Cleansers

There are a few different cleansers here because this is the skincare category where I think it makes the most sense to have a couple of options. If your skin, like mine, tends to shift from dry to combination to congested to sensitive (in my case, the drawback of testing many different things on myself), it’s the easiest, least expensive, and lowest-commitment way to switch things up. Here are the ones I have in rotation right now:

I think almost everyone should at least try VENN’s Moisture-Balance All-in-One Facial Cleanser, especially since it comes in a perfect little trial size. It’s not quite an oil, not quite a milk; as their founder told me, it’s a “quasi-semi-emulsion” that you apply to dry skin (like an oil), but it rinses off like a milk. It’s a total category-defier. Obviously, I adore it.

I also adore Ursa Major’s Making Moves Milky Cleanser for its super-milky texture and super-light exfoliating properties. I also love its perfect rinse-off. It’s just lovely all around. I recommend using 1-2 pumps more than suggested in the usage instructions.

Unsurprisingly, I adore Dara’s Water, too. I use this every time I use the tinted sunscreen I mention below. (Always rinse after you use Dara’s Water! That’s the clincher, especially if you have sensitive skin.)

Mist

I’ve been using the Luzern Firming Facial Mist for at least a couple of years, and it’s still my go-to (at home, anyway). I love how hydrating it is, I love the spray nozzle on it, I love the extra firming benefits.

Serums

I’ve been using the Sea Serum in the morning and the Sea Retinal at night for years, every single day. And I don’t feel any FOMO — which is unusual for me, where skincare is concerned — because I just don’t think I’m missing anything. (I’ve ventured elsewhere to make sure: I boldly picked up a prescription retinoid recently, which was fine for a few days until it really wasn’t.)

It’s a funny thing, isn’t it, this desire to keep switching products just in case there’s something better out there. I suggested to a customer this week that there might be some kind of ingrained evolutionary instinct involved. Anyway, I’ve chosen to focus my experimentation on different categories (cleansers, sunscreens) where variation can be helpful, but these two are my tried-and-trues that aren’t going anywhere. They just really, truly deliver.

Moisturizers

I use Dara’s Oil most days over the Sea Serum in the morning. It’s light; it’s nourishing; it’s made by Marie Veronique, the best sensitive-skin fairy godmother out there. If I’m craving something with a liiiittle bit of a scent, I’ll mix things up and use de Mamiel’s wonderful Phyto-P Elixir: it’s magic for rage-y perimenopausal skin, and also made by a magical skincare fairy godmother. Another one I reach for frequently: Symbiome’s intriguing Recharge 002 face oil. I pat it on and imagine myself running around in the Amazon with perfectly resilient skin.

I use Marie’s Barrier Restore Serum over the Sea Serum on days when I need a little bit of moisture, but less than I’d get with an oil. I also love to slather it on over the Sea Retinal at night.

Sunscreen

I’m always trying new sunscreens. (Aren’t we all? It’s so hard.) These days, I’ve been surprising myself and reaching for a tinted version almost every day: I love Marie Veronique’s new Sheer Tint Zinc SPF 30. It feels ultra soothing, and if you apply it over a little face oil, it melts perfectly into the skin. I wear shade 03; if you’re not sure which shade to go with, it’s all about the undertone. As you might have seen from the photo above, while my skin tone is not quite as deep as you might imagine it would be for shade 03, it’s warm, so the rosiness of shade 02 wouldn’t have worked for me. I also use this brush to buff it into the skin for more subtlety. (I think it’s all about the brush, too. Makes a huge difference.)

On days when I just need to run out and don’t want to deal with the brush and the tint and all of that, I use an outlaw sunscreen.

Eye cream

The area around my eyes can get dehydrated easily, but I tend to prefer lighter textures to thick, rich creams. I normally use my own Eye Serum, but I recently tried a product (no, it’s not on our shelves at Ayla and no, I won’t tell you what it is) that gave me a craaazyyy reaction around my eyes, so I’ve dialed it down a notch and am currently using the Kahina Eye Serum, which is very light and soothing and a little less punchy. I do miss my Eye Serum’s gingery zing, especially on and over my eyelids, but pulling back on supercharged products is just the right thing to do sometimes.

Masks

Marie Veronique’s Probiotic + Exfoliation Mask is the perfect thing to alternate with the Sea Retinal or any retinoid. Since retinoids stimulate cellular turnover, you can picture them pushing younger skin cells up towards the surface. On alternate nights — or just once a week, which is about how frequently I do this — you can sweep off older, duller skin cells that are ready to let go with an enzyme- or acid-based exfoliant like this one. I love it because it takes just 3 minutes; it uses lactic acid, which I love; and it’s great for all skin types, including the very sensitive ones.

I use M Picaut’s Stem Cell Firming Biocellulose Mask whenever I’m craving a boost of hydration and luminosity. Most of us could benefit from a hydrating sheet mask every once in awhile, in my opinion. I also consider it to be a must whenever I’m traveling: I pack one in my carry-on, and once I check into my hotel and take a shower, I’ll lie down with one of these on to flood my skin with hydration after sitting in the desert-like atmosphere of the airplane cabin. (I do not think using it on the actual plane is an excellent idea; maybe I’ll write more on that later.)

If I wasn’t allergic to Vitamin E, I’d mix things up and alternate this one with VENN’s extremely cool (and cooling) Regenerative 1B-Exo Compound K Mask or Luzern’s Bio-Cellulose Sculpting Masque. They’re both phenomenal.

I hope that was helpful. Ask me any questions you like in the comments! And I’ll see you back here in two weeks.