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So, you've already learned about cleansing, so you no longer will get inflammations from clogged pores! I am so proud of you!! Sadly, for most people, this isn't enough though and you also have to figure out how to hydrate your skin, once you've cleaned it! Of course, a well-nourishing diet contributes to this too, but usually you just tend to dull skin. I will explain to you the most common categories of moisturising products and which would make sense for you now!

Prepare your Skin

Toner - the foundation

The main function of a toner is to prepare your skin for its following moisturising so that it's able to take in all the nutrients properly. It will gently refresh your skin without irritating it! Some toners do contain alcohol which is okay for oily non-sensitive skin but for every other type of skin something we really desperately want to avoid since alcohol both can irritate skin very easily and dries it out! I am using the "COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner" but it is totally fine to just go to your local drugstore and pick something non-Nivea non-alcoholic!

Essence - even more moisturising

To even further treat your skin you can also use an essence after your moisturiser, which, while often pricier and less easy to find in your local drugstore, not only prepares your skin for its follow-up moisturising but also already provides nutrition itself! I started using the "Secret Key - Starting Treatment Essence" properly some months ago and its magic OwO

Moisturising and Treating

Serum/Ampoule

In case of sensitive, dry skin you'll definitely necessarily want to add up to your nurturing part of your skincare routine. In other cases it can give you a nice fresh look and happy skin :3 Serums/Ampoules (same thing) are rich on nutrients for your skin, hence why they usually have a thick oil-like texture that you really have to tap into your skin for it to get to work. If you properly prepared your skin for it, the ingredients should sink right into your skin and give you a boost! For sensitive skin like mine there is properly no better serum than the "iUNIK - Tea Tree Relief Serum" since tea tree is my personal favourite soothing ingredient!

Sheet Mask

This one is the queen of skincare! You can get them in every drugstore in all different kinds of flavours, for all different kinds of skins, etc. for low money! I usually apply one when I take a bath since it has to lay on the face for usually around 15 minutes up to half an hour sometimes even! It's usually filled with the same ingredients you get in a Serum/Ampoule but the sheet protection layer prevents the ingredients from disappearing into the air instead of sinking into your skin. It's also much more product per mask than you'd usually use per essence + serum. It's more of an optional thing, but if you're going to go on a date for example or just want to get some feeling of luxury in your everyday life, it's the perfect product to use!

Eye Cream

Usually, the area around your eyes tends to be very dry due to very thin skin and the lack of sebaceous glands. So you'd like to apply a very rich, for sensitive-skin approved cream there to prevent skin-damage and resulting wrinkles! Apply every night!

Moisturiser (Cream)

Why still using a cream after all the other moisturising treatment products? Well, that's easy to answer - to protect your skin throughout the day / night from daily environmental exertions, keeping it hydrated, moisturising it further! If you wanna skip out on the more richer treatment and nurturing part of your skincare routine (time/money/motivation), at least apply a creme!

Summary

1. Cleansing (see post #1 in this series)

2. Preparing (Toner + Essence)

3. Treatment (Serum/Ampoule + Sheet Mask)

4. Moisturising and Protection (Eyecream + Face cream)

Hey there! Long it's been! I wanted to write this guide for some longer time now already but I kinda kept procrastinating it... I hope you'll enjoy! <3

How to get started (& motivated)

The hardest part about establishing a skincare routine for yourself is - the routine. In order for it to be effective you'll have to do it every day and in order for it to show it's results you'll have to keep up with it for at least a month. In my opinion it's worth it though! When I started getting into skincare, I started by just cleansing my face properly every time I'd brush my teeth, so I would just add something small to the already existing routine of brushing my teeth. In order to even actually looking forward to it I got myself a cute headband, which is of course entirely optional but can really set the mood for you to actually want to do it. Below there are some of my favourite picks from Yesstyle for low money! (I personally got the rabbit ears in light pink for myself ♡)

Another useful tip is to really really put in the effort to have your bathroom look nice and tidy since you'll be spending your skincare time in there and if it's not a place you'd want to be in, it would probably also be much harder to stay motivated for your daily skincare!

What you'll also wanna use is a very soft towel, preferably out of microfiber or a similiar soft material, to rinse the soap from your face gently without irritating it, since normal cloths tend to be too rough. NEVER RUB! You can get those in any local drugstore for low money in all different kinds of colours! (I have this one in white and in purple!)

The essentials

Nothing is more important in your daily skincare routine than proper cleansing and exfoliating. As long as it's not your hormones acting up, not properly cleansing your face every day is THE no. 1 reason for acne and skin irritations, since your pores get clogged with your own sebum, with dust from your environment and bacteria. Of course, using a cleanser that is not suitable for your skin type can also contribute to irritations and following acne, but if you're not cleansing it properly at all, you can't really expect your skin to like you. There are different types of cleansers of which you can pick your favourite, all of the ones I am introducing here I am using myself with very sensitive skin so as long as you're not explicitly allergic against any of the ingredients, they should be save picks for you! You can really just pick whatever you think sounds the most fun to use / fits your financial needs the most!

Gel based cleanser

It has a gel texture and foams lightly when you use it. When you apply it, your skin shouldn't be entirely dry, but slightly damp instead. I am using a product from Yves Rocher which is no longer in their sortiment, the "Hydra Vegetal gel cleanser", but they still have other products in that "Hydra Vegetal" product line that are suitable for sensitive skin. So sadly I am unable to recommend a specific product here, but since it's one of the more common kind of cleansers, you should be good with anything you can find in your local drugstore which says that it's suitable for sensitive skin, as long as it's NOT from Nivea. Definitely recommending you to NOT buy products from Nivea, especially not if you have sensitive skin. The last 3 products from Nivea I've tried that all should have been suitable for sensitive skin resulted in heavy irritation and following acne and I don't have any allergies against their ingedrients. Don't buy Nivea!

Foam based cleanser

These are the most fun for me personally. They have a texture like shaving foam and you apply them on your dry skin directly and massage them in. They're so fluffy!!!! ♡♡♡ I am currently using the "Ritual of Namaste" foam cleanser from Rituals, which is a bit more on the pricier range for skincare products with its 12,90€ for 150ml, but you don't need much for your whole face so it will last you definitely some time and it's just a very very nice texture.

Oil based cleanser

This one is actually something I'd consider essential to have ADDITIONALLY next to either gel based or foam based. This can be a dedicated oil based product from your local drugstore or even just pure coconut oil instead. It's ALWAYS suitable for sensitive skin and you apply it on your dry skin first. Because it is oil, it can rinse your own sebum much better from your pores, which makes it incredibly powerful. Another advantage is that it does not dry your skin like water based cleansers do. If you tend towards dry skin, it would be very helpful to only use an oil based cleanser since you get rid of sebum and dandruffs but don't have to worry about moisturising your skin afterwards

Exfoliating!

This is something you should do at least once a week, up to twice a week if your skin isn't too sensitive. It is the only way you can properly get rid of all the dead skin cells that can clog your pores. There are two major categories of exfoliators:

• physical exfoliators, that use an ingredient like sugar to physically scrub the dead skin cells away. For sensitive skin it HAS to be sugar since it's the most gentle type. I personally use the "Lemon Sparkling Peeling Gel" from Secret Key which not only smells incredibly nice and additionally moisturises but is also gentle enough for my skin! In general, physical exfoliators are the more common type and less expensive, but you should definitely only reach for those that use sugar for the exfoliating part if you want to avoid irritating your skin! Also, you WILL need to moisturise your skin after using these kinds of exfoliators! So get yourself a basic moisturiser for sensitive skin too, if you're getting one of these!
• chemical exfoliators, even though "chemical" sounds scary, these are actually the better options for sensitive skin, since they don't involve physical rubbing! They're based on AHA and BHA acids, which loosen the ties of dead skin cells with your skin, so you can just wash them off without any rubbing involved. Those two ingredients are real superheroes for sensitive and especially oily skin! I use the "AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner" from COSRX which does not only remove dead skin cells but also tones your skin to make following moisturising especially effective!

Summary

Your beginner's skincare routine for getting started and getting into your own rhythm should look similiar to the following:

1. Daily: Oil based cleanser

2. Daily: Gel/Foam based cleanser

3. Once to Twice a week: Exfoliation + Moisturising

Most important - Enjoy your routine!

I'll categorize this list into "good for physical health / looks" and "good for mental health". During lockdown it's really important to consciously take care of your mental health as the lack of daily social interaction can lead to feelings of social isolation and a lack of connection.

Physical Health / Looks

• Take care of your mental health It's a well known fact that mental health issues result in physical issues too and vice versa.
• Meals Eat a proper warm meal at least once a day. Bonus points if you cook it yourself and use seasonal fruits / vegetables! There are apps you can use to find out which produce is currently in season. I use a seasonal calendar app from the F-Droid store, but chose your preferred one. It's also really helping when you're wondering what you should cook if you want to cook. Find out, which vegetables are in season and then look for nice recipes for them!
• Nutrients Make sure you have no lack of nutrients, if so, take dietary supplements when the doctor says so (especially relevant for vegetarians / vegans -> B12, Iron, Calcium, Omega 3, ...)
• Skincare Establish a personalized skincare routine to use the quarantine time to finally get rid of those Acne! Your routine can be however you like it whether you prefer to just wash your face every morning and evening or want to use special products to treat skin problems like Acne or Dryness. Read skincare guides to find out which kind of skin you have (dry, oily, mixed, irritated, ...). If specialised skincare products for your problems don't seem to work after even weeks of using them daily, maybe you should try out going to a dermatologist to get your problems checked as there could be underlying health issues.
• Going outside This one is really hard during lockdown cause why should we go outside in the first place, if it's so much more comfy to stay at home all day long, right? It's really hard to establish the habit of going outside and take a walk regularly but you really should try it out. It's good for your health on all levels, physical and mentally. Breathing fresh air makes happy and helps you clearing out some cloudy thoughts you might have that day. If you don't know what to do outside, just grab yourself some music or an audiobook and walk around in the next park ~
• Sports ... I am definitely not the right person to suggest things you could do to get motivated for sports. For me it has to do with how every sports I am interested in is currently either not possible (Ballett, Swimming) or makes no fun alone (Martial Arts). I am trying to find a solution to it but.. yeah..
• Sleep Establish a good-night-routine with alarm clocks to help you going to sleep and waking up at the same time every day. What I currently do is 1. my skincare routine 2. a cup of herbal tea. My alarm for doing these things is set up for half an hour before I want to be laying in bed. A good night routine really helps you to get into the mood for sleeping which is not so easy to achieve especially if you're a student.

Mental Health

• Take care of your physical health Every point that's listed up before here definitely plays a role for mental health too as a bad physical health can result in a bad mental health and vice versa.
• Have a conversation with a nice person once a day Maybe you talk with your flatmate(s) or maybe you talk with your friends online. It doesn't have to be a meaningful conversation, but just talk about S O M E T H I N G. Make sure you have a healthy amount of social interaction despite lockdown making it difficult. Problem is that for some people (including me) talking online doesn't provide me the same amount of emotional bonding as talking in person, so I need to talk even more with people!!
• Take your breaks If you're working from home you could easily overlook taking your breaks as the borders between private and professional are less obvious. The result is obviously stress. You should try out using alarms for this one too! When taking a break, maybe you'd like to drink a cup of tea and hear music or draw something. Everything meditative works! Whatever makes you feel calm and relaxed.
• Hobbies Try to find something where you can be creative. Only watching movies / shows, reading and playing (not creative) video games (creative video games definitely work as a canvas for your inner creativity) can make you feel numb and bored out. I am currently into Fashion, Fashion Fotography, Skincare, Coloring and thinking and learning about problems like racism and feminism while trying to form my own opinion on those.
• Journaling You don't have to write some next level writing skills' essays about deep philosophical connections in the world, there are a lot of different forms of journaling, they all aim for the goal of helping you to self-reflect and getting some structure into your day to day life. Especially the structure part is really important during lockdown when it feels like every day is out of touch with your life. You might consider looking into:
  • The traditional journaling - the usual writing about topics that keep your mind busy. This one also helps your writing skills as you get used to transform feelings into sentences.
  • Bullet journaling - this one is highly flexible to your needs. You might want to look into the original bullet journaling method by Ryder Carrol (he wrote a book about it but you can also find summarizing articles and video essays if you're not concentrated enough to read a book) but you should also get inspiration by other bullet journalers as in how to customize your own journal so it fits your needs better. I for example neither use the yearly overview nor the daily or the classical weekly overview. Instead I organize my weeks by topics I need to work on. So instead of dividing a weekly overview into week days, I divide my weekly overviews into my study courses/modules and side jobs I have. It helps me so much more finding the information I search when I plan what to do for the day. Habit trackers are also nice as you can completely personalize them to your needs and they don't require much effort to maintain each day. There are also artistic approaches to them but be careful to not become perfectionistic here. It doesn't help you if your bullet journal looks beautiful but you're afraid of using it / it doesn't fit your needs. I might write a post about general bullet journaling tips and things to try out and all. In general - get inspired by other people but never think you'd have to use your bullet journal in a specific way
  • Scrapbook or Art Journal - this one is the most artistic journal you could probably have apart from a sketchbook. Here you can freely express yourself with scribbles, colors, stickers, your photos obviously, patterns, stamps, glitter pens, newspaper clippings, printed out recipes, articles or pictures from magazines, etc. There are tons of guides for it out there for you to find some inspiration. Best paired with a polaroid camera or a photo printer if you like these things. :3
  • Spiritual Journal - if you have some kind of religion you can use a journal to connect to it. Be it something like a Devotional Journal or a more pagan Book of Shadows like thing. I am not the right person to ask about how these work but if you're interested you can easily search for these kind of journals online too to find out more.
  • Mindfulness / Gratitude Journal - these are especially targeted towards a better mental health. Basically you write down every day some things you are thankful for or that were good that day, mostly "banal" seeming things like "the look out of the window" or "a friend complimented me for x". You could also use an Affirmation Journal for collecting quotes and positive beliefs you want to integrate into your life!
  • Journal with writing prompts / suggestions / activities to do / etc. - if you're not that creative yourself and really really don't know what to write or scribble or whatever each day, you could try out buying one of these journals where you get some different topic each day suggested to write about or to do, etc. They're really beginner friendly as you might notice that you could talk about some topics more and would like to talk about these more. They also give you conversation topics as you might want to discuss some topics with your friends!

Hey cuties, it's been a while and I get more and more bored during Lockdown. I just want to visit lectures in fancy auditoriums again and meet fellow students to talk with...
But until its gonna be like that again I've got some new hobbies that keep me busy!!

Skincare

I am currently reading "The Little Book of Skin Care: Korean Beauty Secrets for Healthy, Glowing Skin" by Charlotte Cho, its about finding the right products for your skin type and explains the 10 steps of the famous Korean skincare!! I thought that if I begin taking care of my skin now during Lockdown, everyone will be surprised about how squishy perfect my face will look like when I can meet everyone again!!!! ・ω・

Organising

Working from home means I need to have a neat and comfy workspace. My desktop is sadly neither right now, it's chaotic and unorganised, but it could be so much more!! I plan to reorganise it carefully step by step so I can finally have a clean and empty surface for doing homework!

Fashion

I found a lot of YouTube channels that talk about fashion aesthetics and fashion history or fashion from tv shows and movies. I am even changing my wardrobe piece by piece into something more timeless with high quality pieces that would probably fit into the "dark academia" aesthetic while still being comfy. It really feels good to have some academic vibes back in my life now, whenever I have an online meeting I dress up fully in blazer and all, it's so nice!! The Youtube channels about fashion I can really recommend are:

• Styled by Khatia
• Modern Gurlz
• Mina Le
• vanillaa.

But be careful, my current "About You" wishlist costs over thousand euros in total, I guess it'll take some time for me to update my wardrobe in total. General advice is - quality over quantity, high quality timeless basics over saisonal fashion pieces, personal fashion aesthetics over trends.

Outlook

I plan to write about specific things from these topics, maybe it helps someone else here to find something interesting and meaningful to do during Lockdown :3 Stay healthy, cuties ( ⌯ᵘ ᵕ ᵘ ⌯)

Me: mlem
Him: If I just had a post stamp now..
Me: I'd eat it ・ω・

・ω・