Falling in Love with Skincare All Over Again

I'm heading towards 40 and quite frankly I need to get my sh*t together when it comes to my skin. 
I've always been a big fan of skincare. I've been writing this blog for over 10 years now and have shared tons of beauty and skincare stuff. (Remember #TheSkinProject I did back in 2013? Oh, how things have changed when it comes to skincare nowadays! And it makes me cringe to look back on what I used to use on my face over the years!) 

I didn't really start looking after my skin until I was about 27. Before then I was happily using makeup wipes to 'remove' my makeup and then slap on the odd moisturiser every now and then, with no idea what or why I was putting anything on my skin. I also spent a lot of my early 20's sleeping in my makeup!! 

I attempted to make up for it though by really getting into my skincare, and I soon fell in love with it; learning about it and trying new products. I even started a beauty therapy course a few years ago, but then I got involved in a project that pretty much took over my life and I quit the course, and over time, my skincare routine started slipping too. All my time and energy went into this project and unfortunately, my self-care suffered in the meantime. I got really lazy, and would often just wipe my face with micellar water before bed and be done with it. 
I knew enough about skincare to know this wasn't great, at all, but I'd often stay up working until super late that it was all I had the energy for. 

Just recently, I realised I really need to start taking more care of myself. My body has changed, my metabolism has pretty much given up on me after having my back for all these years, haha, and my skin is showing more signs of ageing. Getting older sucks.
So I started looking into, and learning more about skincare again. I got my books out and started to re-read them, I ordered more books. I started following my favourite skincare gurus and doctors again, researched products, and bought more products than I care to admit. (Cult Beauty needs some sort of alternative to a parental control lock, I've placed 2 orders in a week, it's becoming a problem, haha) 
I've fallen in love with skincare all over again. 

Skincare has really evolved over the years and I'm really enjoying looking into all the products I'm using, learning about the ingredients, the benefits, and what is right for my skin, rather than listening to the hype that often surrounds beauty products. 
Gone are the days of 'Cleanse, tone, moisturise and be on your merry way...' and the days where I'd treat my face to a good scrub with an exfoliator are no more, fortunately. I genuinely used to think this was the best part of my routine years ago, the scrubbier the better!  I thought if it left my skin red, it was working, bye bye dead skin cells! *insert head in hands emoji here, haha* Then I'd usually follow with a good, usually alcohol-based, toner with absolutely no idea what it was for, it was just what we were told to do right? Oh my skin! 
I have a whole new skincare routine that I've been using for a few short weeks now and can already see the difference in my skin already. Softer, cleaner... I'd go as far as saying I've got a bit of a glow! I've finally introduced retinol into my routine (better late than never!) too. My skin is starting to look a lot healthier so I thought I'd jump on here and share my journey with you guys, everything from my routine, my favourite products, and also what I'm learning about skincare along the way.

What is your skincare routine like? Is it something you need to work on? Any holy grail products you use that you couldn't be without?


love,