My name is Alexandra and I have oily, acne prone skin. Well, that's a sentence I never thought I would string together for all to see willingly. But hey, it's true and I am not alone. There was recently a forum dedicated to skincare routines and we thought it might be helpful for us staffers to go through our own skincare routines and let you know what works for us and each of our specific skin types and concerns. 

First, I should say that my skincare routine did not happen overnight. It took a lot of experimenting and it's still ever changing. I find that when my skin gets too use to a product, it tends to rebel so I need to switch it up every so often to keep it clear. I'll go through a typical day (morning and night) in my skincare regime and give some suggestions as to what products I find work. 

My night time and day time routines are very similar so I won't go through them separately. I will go through products that I use only at night or during the day if it applies since I have different skin focuses during day and night. I like to focus on moisturizing my skin at night. This way I can let a good night cream sink into my skin without any makeup or outside elements. At night, usually, I apply a thicker cream and only spot treat a pimple if necessary. During the day, I focus on reducing oil secretion (hot, right?). Oil along with dirt builds up during the day; I try and reduce the shine so I break out less.
 
Step 1: I always start off by washing my face and getting rid of all my makeup if I do have any. This is an essential step. I always break out if I have makeup on my face overnight. I actually use a petroleum jelly to remove my eye makeup but if my eye area is really dry then I will use Bio-Oil. I wash my face with a cleanser containing salicylic acid to help prevent and treat pimples. I use the same cleanser in the morning as I do at night. Every other day or so, I exfoliate with a scrub. I'm a big fan of St. Ives Apricot Scrub for it's price point and quality. 

Step 2: I find most store bought toners don't do a lot for me and it's just an extra cost. If I do want to tone, I just go for witch hazel or I DIY one of my own with ingredients I know work for me. 
 
Step 3: At the moment, I am having a major love affair with Lush Grease Lightning. I use a thin layer both in the day and at night. I apply it after a toner or after cleansing to reduce oil production. It also contains tea tree oil (which is pretty much the best thing in the world). If I have a really bad blemish, sometimes I will also spot treat at night or underneath makeup with straight tea tree oil. On the subject of spot treating, if it's necessary I will apply a spot treatment with either 5% benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid to a pimple. 

Step 4: Next up, I moisturize my eye area. For a while I was getting really dry skin underneath my eyes and on my eye lids so I bought a really rich cream and I've been using it for a while. At my age I don't think it is necessary to spend a lot on an eye cream, but I do think it is necessary to use one and use a thicker, hydrating one. 

Step 5: Acne products are very drying so next, it is time to hydrate my skin. At the moment, I'm using Live Clean Fresh Face Nourishing Night Cream, alternating with La Neige Water Sleeping Packs (thanks to the wise words of Mandy) at night. This is my last step. In the morning, after I have applied all my acne products, I use a light moisturizer. For SPF, I really like Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Tone Correcting Daily Moisturizer, it's one of the only SPF containing lotions that doesn't break me out. I'm really liking Vichy Normaderm Pro-Mat Ultra Mattifying Oil-Free Lotion too, It lasts throughout the day and I can totally see the difference in oil and shine. 

Besides the basic steps in my skincare routine, I also have a few tricks that I swear by for clear skin. I am absolutely dedicated to my face masks for my acne. I like to use a face mask almost daily, depending on how my skin feels. Most days, I use a clay mask to reduce oil, minimize pores and to get more glowing skin. For dry skin days (especially during winter) I like to use a sheet mask or Clarins HydraQuench Cream Mask. A while back, I introduced you to using milk of magnesia as a primer to mattify your skin. Since then, I've been using it on and off and as an occasional mask. I've found it works to create a nice, matte canvas for my foundation.

Here are some of the products I use on a regular basis or that I have used in the past and recommend: 


1. Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash (C$8.99)
2. Clean and Clear Foaming Facial Cleanser (C$8.49)
3. Phillip's Milk of Magnesia (C$7.99)
4. Witch Hazel (C$3.99)


1. Live Clean Deep Cleansing Clay Masque (C$19.99) 
2. Clean and Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment (C$11.39)
3. Lush Grease Lightning (C$12.95)
4. Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque (US$5.49)


1. Aveeno Fresh Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer (C$20.99)
2. Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Tone Correcting Daily Moisturizer (C$28.59)
3. Elizabeth Grant Caviar Eye Creme (C$75.00)
4. Vichy Normaderm Pro-Mat Ultra Mattifying Oil-Free Lotion (US$22.00)
5. La Neige Water Sleeping Pack (US$20.35)
6. Live Clean Fresh Face Nourishing Night Cream (C$19.99)

Hope you enjoyed this (very long) description of everything I use! Let me know if you have a similar skin type and what you use or what your daily skincare routine is.