Affordable Skincare Essentials

Hello everyone! Hope you're all having a fabulous day. Today's post is all about the skincare products that have become absolute staples in my daily routine. I've suffered with many break-outs in the past, and I have sensitive, combination skin, so finding products to suit me has been a struggle over the years. The condition of your skin can not only affect you physically, but also mentally, so it's important to prioritise a part of your day to some sort of skincare. As I have no beauty experience whatsoever (I just about know how to apply a natural makeup look), I turned to YouTube for inspiration, and thought I'd try out a couple of different products. Luckily, the first lot of products that I bought have worked, so I thought I would share them with you all today. I wanted to find products that weren't necessarily the cheapest drugstore brands, but were totally affordable for the high quality of the product.

Disclaimer: I am not a beautician at all, I'm definitely a beginner to all things beauty, and am not qualified to tell you which products will work for your skin type. The next products that I am going to show you have all worked for me and my skin type and I have tested these products over a couple of months. Also, do not use any of these products on your eyes or mouth (I know that's obvious but I needed to put that in for my own sanity).

My Skincare Essentials

1. The Body Shop Tea Tree Squeaky Clean Scrub - £8 for 100ml 

This is the first product that I apply to my face, a refreshing exfoliator that gets rid of any dirt or hidden makeup that has been left on my skin. I don't use this every day as it can be quite harsh on the skin if used constantly, as you're getting deep into the pores and could probably do more harm than good if you overscrub. I massage it around my face and then rinse off with water and then pat my face down with a face cloth. The smell really wakes me up in the morning and leaves me feeling 'squeaky clean', job done!

2. La Roche-Posay Derma-Soothing Hydrating Cleansing Cream - £12.50 for 200ml

This is an amazing cleanser, and the next step of my facial skincare routine. It is really soft and great for sensitive skin like mine. I love the fact that their products are dermatologically tested, so it really feels like it's not harming my skin. This is applied the same as the scrub, rinsed off, and then patted dry with a cloth.

3. The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Mattifying Toner - Prices start at £6.50 for 250ml

This is another from the Tea Tree collection. I pour some of the toner onto one of my reusable face pads and then wipe across my face. This helps to mattify the oily parts of my skin, helps to reduce the clogging of pores and again makes the skin feel really refreshed. Like the exfoliator, I don't use this product everyday to ensure that I don't dry out my skin, but it's a great product to wake me up in the mornings when I'm feeling lazy.

4. La Roche-Posay Nutritic Intense Riche - £18 for 50ml

This is the final step in my skincare routine, and smells amazing. I'm probably really odd for thinking this, as there's no particular smell or fragrance, but it just smells really natural and feels comforting to the skin. The silky smooth texture finishes off my routine, ensuring that my face feels super soft. I would highly recommend this moisturiser as it feels, similar to the title, like an intense and rich hydration of the skin. This is the most expensive item in my routine but by far my favourite!

Results: After a couple of months of using these products, my breakouts have honestly reduced, it is the smoothest my skin has ever felt in such a long time, the appearance of red blemishes on my face have slightly reduced and I've introduced a new routine into my mornings that leaves me feeling more awake and ready for the day ahead. I am hoping that with future continued use of these products, the condition of my skin will go from strength to strength. 

Thank you for reading this Friday's blog post! I hope this has given you some ideas for your own skin routine using any the affordable products that I have recently been obsessing over. If you want to see more lifestyle content, head over to my Instagram page @carlylauren_ 💗