Idiot-proof skincare set recommendations?

[Anonymous]

I'm ready to get serious about a skincare routine. Got overwhelmed on Sephora's website and ended up here for advice!


I want to buy a daytime skincare set and nighttime skincare set, with all the things I need included (eye cream, night cream, vitamin C serum, etc) so there's no guesswork. I don't want to buy a bunch of individual products. Right now, my routine is basically just washing my face and slathering on any random moisturizer.

Please recommend your favorite skincare set to me? I'm 36 with fair skin. Normal complexion with no concerns about sensitivity, oiliness, or dryness. I am starting to see some minor fine lines.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

This is the perfect time to get invested - the holiday skincare sets are the best.

This Sunday Riley kit will do exactly what you asked. It it is split into a morning and daytime routine, includes cleansing, acne treatment, and moisturizing products. Plus the nightime Luna Sleeping Oil has retinol for the wrinkles.

https://www.sephora.com/product/good-genes-holiday-kit-P437468?icid2=products%20grid:p437468:product

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the perfect time to get invested - the holiday skincare sets are the best.

This Sunday Riley kit will do exactly what you asked. It it is split into a morning and daytime routine, includes cleansing, acne treatment, and moisturizing products. Plus the nightime Luna Sleeping Oil has retinol for the wrinkles.

https://www.sephora.com/product/good-genes-holiday-kit-P437468?icid2=products%20grid:p437468:product

OP here, thanks for this suggestion. It looks great. But do you use a separate eye cream with it since it doesn't include one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the perfect time to get invested - the holiday skincare sets are the best.

This Sunday Riley kit will do exactly what you asked. It it is split into a morning and daytime routine, includes cleansing, acne treatment, and moisturizing products. Plus the nightime Luna Sleeping Oil has retinol for the wrinkles.

https://www.sephora.com/product/good-genes-holiday-kit-P437468?icid2=products%20grid:p437468:product

OP here, thanks for this suggestion. It looks great. But do you use a separate eye cream with it since it doesn't include one?

Sunday Riley doesn't sell eye creams but I use a variety of different eye creams depending on my mood. Anything with retinol will work - Kate Somerville + Retinol Firming Eye Cream is especially good.

https://www.sephora.com/product/retinol-firming-eye-cream-P411881

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest you go to sephora and ask for samples before you invest. Especially in Drunk Elephant, which is incredibly pricey. It works great for some people. Personally, I found their products to be really irritating, and I've never had sensitive skin before. Also, I'd rethink and consider buying separate products, depending on what you need. But if you are really committed to getting everything from one line, I'd recommend going to blue mercury and checking out Dermalogica. They make great products, and are somewhat mid-priced. Plus, once you figure out what you need, you can find their stuff in CVS and Target.

I'm 46 and my routine includes a double cleanse at night (tatcha camellia oil cleanser followed by fresh soy cleanser), then some kind of exfoliant (either Pixi glow tonic, or ole henricksen AHA gel), followed by toner (thayers witch hazel), followed by estee lauder nightime serum, and finishing with a moisturizer (right now I alternate between IT Cosmetics special sauce, and may lindstrom blue cocoon).

In the morning, if I've worked out I wash my face. If I havent', then I just splash some cold water on. Then I do the witch hazel, tata harper resurfacing serum, and moisturizer. I use biossance squalene oil + vitamin C, which I LOVE. Cannot say enough about using a lightweight oil (either squalene or marula) as daytime moisturizer. Works as moisturizer and make-up primer.

Anwyho... this routine took awhile to piece together and there were a number of products that I tried along the way and returned b/c they didn't work or actively felt gross. I recommend buying stuff from sephora because it's so easy to return if it doesn't work. Though it's probably nicer to just get samples so you don't return used products too often.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest you go to sephora and ask for samples before you invest. Especially in Drunk Elephant, which is incredibly pricey. It works great for some people. Personally, I found their products to be really irritating, and I've never had sensitive skin before. Also, I'd rethink and consider buying separate products, depending on what you need. But if you are really committed to getting everything from one line, I'd recommend going to blue mercury and checking out Dermalogica. They make great products, and are somewhat mid-priced. Plus, once you figure out what you need, you can find their stuff in CVS and Target.

I'm 46 and my routine includes a double cleanse at night (tatcha camellia oil cleanser followed by fresh soy cleanser), then some kind of exfoliant (either Pixi glow tonic, or ole henricksen AHA gel), followed by toner (thayers witch hazel), followed by estee lauder nightime serum, and finishing with a moisturizer (right now I alternate between IT Cosmetics special sauce, and may lindstrom blue cocoon).

In the morning, if I've worked out I wash my face. If I havent', then I just splash some cold water on. Then I do the witch hazel, tata harper resurfacing serum, and moisturizer. I use biossance squalene oil + vitamin C, which I LOVE. Cannot say enough about using a lightweight oil (either squalene or marula) as daytime moisturizer. Works as moisturizer and make-up primer.

Anwyho... this routine took awhile to piece together and there were a number of products that I tried along the way and returned b/c they didn't work or actively felt gross. I recommend buying stuff from sephora because it's so easy to return if it doesn't work. Though it's probably nicer to just get samples so you don't return used products too often.

This is OP, and your skincare routine is impressive! That would be too steep a learning curve for me at this point, which is the thought behind buying a kit. I think I'm less likely to feel overwhelmed if I know I have the right pieces and how to use them.

[Anonymous]

I like Mario Badescu. They have several kits for different ages/skin types

[Anonymous]

I would go to paulaschoice.com and do their online routine finder:

https://www.paulaschoice.com/myroutine.html

These products are well-researched and lack additives like fragrance that can just irritate your skin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm ready to get serious about a skincare routine. Got overwhelmed on Sephora's website and ended up here for advice!


I want to buy a daytime skincare set and nighttime skincare set, with all the things I need included (eye cream, night cream, vitamin C serum, etc) so there's no guesswork. I don't want to buy a bunch of individual products. Right now, my routine is basically just washing my face and slathering on any random moisturizer.

Please recommend your favorite skincare set to me? I'm 36 with fair skin. Normal complexion with no concerns about sensitivity, oiliness, or dryness. I am starting to see some minor fine lines.

Thank you!

I wouldn't buy stuff from Sephora as I like to buy stuff that works. My old faithful is Obagi and they don't carry it.

AM:

- cleanse with anything
- Vit C serum/AHA or BHA cream alternating days
- sunblock

PM:

- cleanse with anything, remove makeup
- tretinoin cream or other prescription retinoid
- moisturizer for the under eye area if needed
- hydroquinone if you have pigmentation issues

There is no need for a special eye cream; any good moisturizer will do. There is nothing special in the jars labeled "eye cream." Read the ingredients.

[Anonymous]

I just do Paula’s choice set for my skin type. With retinol.

[Anonymous]

How much would you like to spend, OP?

I've gone crazy in the past with La Mer, Chantecaille, La Prairie, etc.

Honestly, all of the above are lovely but Lancome makes great products for about 1/3 of the price. You can go to Bloomingdales and get set up with all. They have a promotion going on right now with a small night cream and day cream, serum and full size eye cream for about $128 - a bargain.

I would go and get a consultation and stay away from Sephora.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest you go to sephora and ask for samples before you invest. Especially in Drunk Elephant, which is incredibly pricey. It works great for some people. Personally, I found their products to be really irritating, and I've never had sensitive skin before. Also, I'd rethink and consider buying separate products, depending on what you need. But if you are really committed to getting everything from one line, I'd recommend going to blue mercury and checking out Dermalogica. They make great products, and are somewhat mid-priced. Plus, once you figure out what you need, you can find their stuff in CVS and Target.

I'm 46 and my routine includes a double cleanse at night (tatcha camellia oil cleanser followed by fresh soy cleanser), then some kind of exfoliant (either Pixi glow tonic, or ole henricksen AHA gel), followed by toner (thayers witch hazel), followed by estee lauder nightime serum, and finishing with a moisturizer (right now I alternate between IT Cosmetics special sauce, and may lindstrom blue cocoon).

In the morning, if I've worked out I wash my face. If I havent', then I just splash some cold water on. Then I do the witch hazel, tata harper resurfacing serum, and moisturizer. I use biossance squalene oil + vitamin C, which I LOVE. Cannot say enough about using a lightweight oil (either squalene or marula) as daytime moisturizer. Works as moisturizer and make-up primer.

Anwyho... this routine took awhile to piece together and there were a number of products that I tried along the way and returned b/c they didn't work or actively felt gross. I recommend buying stuff from sephora because it's so easy to return if it doesn't work. Though it's probably nicer to just get samples so you don't return used products too often.

Dermalogica also sells skin care kits with trial size items. Some include eye cream. The price ranges from $30 to $57. Ulta sells them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much would you like to spend, OP?

I've gone crazy in the past with La Mer, Chantecaille, La Prairie, etc.

Honestly, all of the above are lovely but Lancome makes great products for about 1/3 of the price. You can go to Bloomingdales and get set up with all. They have a promotion going on right now with a small night cream and day cream, serum and full size eye cream for about $128 - a bargain.

I would go and get a consultation and stay away from Sephora.

Good luck!

I'm the PP who suggested that OP go to sephora. Granted, the staff there are not skin care experts (or at least, none that I've talked to). But the good thing about going there is getting the samples and the very liberal return policy. With skin care being so pricey, I like to be able to try things for a week or so to make sure the product isn't going to irritate me before I go all out.

[Anonymous]

Tatcha or Obaji are both great.

[Anonymous]

"The Littles" is a Drunk Elephant sampler that, while not divided into day and night, is a good mix of their products.

I purchased this about a year ago when I was in the same boat as you, wanting to get serious about skincare and upgrade my products. I had previously just used a cleanser day/night, moisturizer, eye cream, and sunscreen in the morning. Sometimes an over the counter retinol (Neutrogena brand). I was 40 and had good skin but figured I should try what was out there.

This led to me using nearly the entire Drunk Elephant line for most of the past year. Sure, my skin looked a bit better, but I got really tired of just having so many products. It felt so high maintenance and not my style.

So a few months back I pared down to a cleanser, drugstore moisturizer, eye cream, sunscreen in the morning, and prescription retinol at night. And you know what? My skin has never looked better. I get more compliments now than I did when using a pricy skin care line. Sunscreen and prescription retinol are really the only skin care items with data to support anti-aging effects.