Daily Skincare Routine I

My current daily skincare routine has been really pared back lately, for a couple of reasons. Firstly,
we have just moved from the city to the country in the past two months and for the vast majority of those two months, I have not been bothered to unpack all of my beauty bits and pieces. So I learnt to make do with what was I'd thrown in my toiletries bag before moving, which wasn't very much! Secondly, the hormonal acne on my jaw and chin has been absolutely horrendous so I have been trying to keep things simple with adding in a product here and there to see if it is successful in controlling it at all (spoiler: I actually have found something that has worked wonders, but that's part of my nightly routine and a story for another post).



First up (always) is an hydrating toner and my current baby is the 100% Pure Jasmine Green Tea
Tonique for normal to dry skin. This one is all natural and vegan and smells amazing. I love anything jasmine (probably one of my first purchases when I eventually own a house will be a jasmine vine...) and this has such a beautiful, refreshing scent. It is a pretty heavy mist so probably not a great one for misting over makeup to refresh it, which doesn't bother me because I use this purely as skincare and an extra hydrating layer. It is packaged in a beautiful white glass spray bottle and (touch wood) I haven't dropped it yet so I love the packaging. Heads up, this is currently on sale from Nourished Life and a really good price, so get on to it if it sounds good to you!



Next is eye cream. I am currently using the Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream from Antipodes. Look, I don't particularly love this one. It is hydrating, sure, but really doesn't do a lot for me in terms of plumping or smoothing the eye area. I was also mega disappointed when I first opened it to use it that it didn't smell like kiwi fruit! It is actually more of an herbal, woody scent and perfectly fine, just not what I was hoping for because how good would that smell! This tiny little jar is lasting me forever and I have probably been using this for at least a year now, so it is definitely value for money. Not my favourite eye cream in terms of what it does for my eye area and I am looking forward to moving on to something else soon.



Serum follows eye cream and, whilst I would usually be switching between a few depending on what my skin needs, I have been almost exclusively using Hydraluron from Indeed Labs because it was in my toiletries bag. This is an always repurchase for me because it is such a saviour for dry skin and also a great all rounder serum that suits my skin no matter what. No such thing as too much hydration, right? It's also great on sunburn, FYI. It's light, easy to use, doesn't affect any makeup, and plumps up skin beautifully. My only problem with it is the packaging. Because the serum is so runny, it runs straight out of the opening in the tube and you always end up with way more than you need everywhere! I can forgive the packaging woes though, because this is just so good and so simple. It is basically my go-to serum when I'm not really sure what my skin wants that day.



Moisturiser is the next layer and I have currently been using a new purchase, the Boost Balancing Moisturiser from Botáni. This is beautifully light and absorbs super quickly, so it has been awesome to use under makeup on work mornings because it sets really nicely so it won't disturb your following layer of foundation. It has a woodsy smell when first pumped out of the bottle but once applied, it actually smells quite sweet! It gives off strawberry jam vibes to me. I really enjoy using this and love how the scent develops. The packaging is also a big win - so quick, easy and hygienic. I can see myself repurchasing this as a work morning moisturiser and it is most definitely the winner of the two moisturisers I purchased in the Priceline 40% off skincare sale.

What does your current morning skincare routine look like - and have you used any of my current routine before?

100% Pure Vitamin C Serum

100% Pure is a Californian brand that I have slowly become more acquainted with, via a few too many orders from online store for everything organic Nourished Life. This particular serum was purchased on a bit of a spree to qualify for a gift with purchase (shhh!). The brand is cruelty free and all products contain no artificial colours, fragrances or synthetic chemical preservatives. Personally, I waver back and forth between choosing natural skincare versus everything else but this is definitely a brand to check out if you like to live an organic/cruelty free/vegan/natural lifestyle. My personal favourite product is their coffee bean caffeine eye cream which is absolute joy (review will follow one day, promise).

The 100% Pure Vitamin C Serum claims to boost collagen, brighten skin tone, and stimulate skin cell renewal. It can be used both morning (under SPF) and night at the serum stage.

I have used up the entire bottle of this serum at this stage, applying primarily in the morning, due to the tightening effect that it has on the skin after application (I prefer to use something heavier and more nourishing at night like a face oil). It is a clear thick, gel - pretty similar texture to its main ingredient, aloe vera gel - that spreads easily on the skin and absorbs really fast. It is great under makeup in this respect, as there is no chance of it breaking through. There is no real scent that I can detect, perhaps faintly of aloe vera. It comes packaged in an opaque amber glass (essential for preventing the degradation of vitamin C due to exposure to light) pump bottle



I cannot say that I noticed any real effect of this serum on my skin. It kept my skin sufficiently hydrated but there were no skin brightening or clearing effects that I noticed. My hormonal (and otherwise) acne kept popping up regularly and didn't fade away any faster than usual. I did not notice any anti-ageing effects to report back either. My suspicion is that either:

a) the vitamin C had broken down ruining its efficacy, due to vulnerability to air and light (the bottle does not have an expiry date so there is no real way to know, however I used the bottle with the 6 month use by indicated on the bottle after opening and there was no change to the colour of the serum to indicate oxidation had occurred), or
b) the concentration of vitamin C was not high enough to have any noticeable effect on my skin (the concentration of vitamin C in this serum is around 2% but you can purchase serums with anywhere up to 25% vitamin C).

As mentioned, the base of this serum is organic aloe vera, giving it a thick, gel texture. The vitamin C is in the form of Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, one of the two forms of vitamin C that are stable in water solutions. Other ingredients include vegetable cellulose, vitamin E in the form of tocopherol, xanthum gum, green apple extract, grape extract, vitamin B5 in the form of panthanol, superoxide dismutase (a potent antioxidant), alpha lipoic acid (another antioxidant), broccoli seed oil, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, willow bark extract, witch hazel, and glycerin.

This would not be a repurchase for me as I did not notice any great skincare benefits despite using up the entire bottle. I would love to try a more potent vitamin C serum, as it has such excellent skincare benefits. This serum would be suited for those looking to try vitamin C for the first time, and definitely for those with sensitive skin due to all of the soothing ingredients included in the formula.

Price: $49.95 (Nourished Life) [$1.67/mL]
Rate: organic ingredients, packaging, great for sensitive skin, good under makeup
Hate: efficacy
Verdict: would not repurchase, but I am not giving up on vitamin C just yet!