My Skincare Routine (Oily/Combination Skin)

Over the years, I have tried and tested, tried and tested and tried and tested. Some products have worked wonderfully, some horribly wrong and some haven't worked at all.
Since I have had oily skin ever since I can remember and acne ever since I was a teenager,  you would think I have had my fair share of time to test products and finally come to a good set of products that are best for my skin right? Wrong.
I don't know if it's just me(?!) but I have tried some amazing products that work amazingly well the first time round and whenever I have repurchased them the second time around, I am disappointed 99% of the time. This means I have to change around my skin routine quite often (so expect an updated blogpost on this a few months down the line!)

So since my skin has been feeling quite nice and healthy and looking comparatively clear (touchwood!), I thought this would be a great time to tell you what products I am using at the moment.

Morning routine:
Cleansing:
I don't like to use any harsh cleansers in the morning since my skin doesn't have much product on it, So I start with a product that isn't so popular but had definitely worked wonders for me: The Raw African Black Soap. Now this is a completely natural product that I got from a lovely lady here in Saudi who sells and makes natural skin products at home. You can learn more about this soap here. It helps reduce blemishes, acne marks, age spots etc.

Toning:
For toning I use - and have used for a long long time- Breath of Fresh Air from Lush. They describe it as "The sea breeze captured in a bottle" and it is just that.
A little story about this product though, I once got a really bad allergy on my face with the Neutrogena face wash (grapefruit) and this is the only product that would calm my skin down!

Moisturizing:
So over the years I have experimented with more than a dozen different moisturizers, some of which have worked well, but I still change this up a little bit. Right now I am using the Olay beauty fluid for oily/combo skin and I think it's the most basic, safest, tried and tested product out there. Other great ones that have worked for me are Dermalogica active moist and Elemis.
I am also using Kiehls's Avocado eye cream and I think its such an amazing light formula.

Afternoon:
After I get home from work, the first thing I do is take my makeup off. This is so so important specially if you have sensitive and acne-prone skin.
I double cleanse use my (amazing) Bioderma Sensibio to take the makeup off and Breath of fresh air. If you want to know what double cleansing and its benefits are, Hafsa's Muslimah Beauty blog is an amazing source, this is where I learnt it!
I then go ahead and moisturize and apply eye cream.

Night:
My night routine is pretty similar to the morning routine but I make sure to use my trusted Dalacin-T topical solution on any active acne I may have.

And thats it!

I hope you enjoyed this post but I would like to know what kind of products you guys use? what is working for you at the moment.?What is your holy grail product that your skin can't live without? Let me know in the comments below.

S.

Beauty Bargains: EyesLipsFace (ELF) Tinted Moisturiser SPF 15

I don't know anyone who doesn't love a good bargain. When it comes to makeup and skincare products though, you can't always depend on cheap brands. I have oily/acne prone/sensitive skin that breaks out VERY easily and it is often difficult to find products that would suit my skin well, but when I do find something suitable, I hardly ever change up.

Nowadays we have lots of cheaper makeup brands and some of them are actually good value for money (I would go a little far and say I would even pay a little more for some of them). 

I am starting this series to share some of the best bargains in and value for money products in makeup and beauty products. 

So without further ado, heres my first product.

ELF Tinted moisturiser SPF 15 in Honey (tone 2)

Left: Unblended, slightly blended and fully blended, Right: The tube.

Retails at £1.50

What they say:

SPF 15 formula helps combat premature aging and protects against sun damage while leaving skin radiant and lightly hydrated.
Directions:
Blend a pearl-sized amount into skin and neck daily.

Net weight: 0.42oz (12g) 

What I say:

First off, its a really small tube (the size of my index finger) and I do wish they did a bigger version of it (I tend to buy 3-4 of these at once!) but truth is, you end up using very little product every time. 

This is amazing for the days when I'm feeling confident about my skin and only need very light coverage to even out my skin tone. The product works best when I use it with a setting/translucent powder. Another favourite thing about it is that it had SPF15, which isn't AMAZING but its still very good to have in a base product, though I try to make sure I am using a light moisturiser underneath with a higher SPF factor.

Another important thing that needs to be addressed here is the range of colours. As far as I remember, they initially had only 4 shades which I think were mostly yellow undertones but they later added more pink undertone colours to the range that seem to be for fairer almost porcelain skin tones.

I have recommended this product to a lot of my friends and family and most of them have repurchased after going through one tube, so its definitely not just me who loves it!

I would love to know your thoughts if you have used this product or other ELF products. What do you think of this series and what are some of YOUR beauty bargains?
Tell me in the comments below or on twitter @craponsale

Saman x