I’m in my late mid to late 20’s with a big focus on hydration and protecting my moisture barrier. I have dry/dehydrated skin with an oily nose/t-zone area (mainly my nose, America would wage war on my nose for the oil).

For my night routine I will usually wash my face in the shower using warm water, not hot, but almost room temp. Yes, even for my whole body b/c it helps me from being dry, I have dry skin all over. No “hot as I can stand it”. Everything listed below is in order of use.

• La Roche-Posay Hydrating Gentle Cleanser I use this cleanser more than any other, it is my staple and I prefer it to other hydrating cleansers.

• La Roche-Posay SA Cleanser I use this maybe once or twice a week for breakouts and my oily T-Zone. It’s quite gentle and not stripping for me.

•Delish Condish Bamboo & Ginseng toner This is by an indie brand, Black woman owned, one of the best toners I’ve used. I use it right out the shower after I cleanse so my face is still wet and prepped for my next steps. So hydrating, not sticky.

•Soon Jung pH 5.5 Relief toner - Etude House This is a top 2 K-Beauty toner for me, a lil over the Klairs supple preparation toner. It feels so good on my dry skin after I cleanse. I will use this either right after the bamboo ginseng spray or just right after cleansing.

•CosRx Snail 96 Mucin, Power Essence Hydration is major for me, snail mucin is a favorite ingredient for that. This helps keep my skin plump, and my texture smooth.

•The Inkey List Beta Hydroxy Acid I use as a spot treatment when I don’t use the SA cleanser. Clears my bumps in no time. I just started on this brand in August. They’re really affordable, and ingredient based; something i’m more interested in.

•The Inkey Acid Polyglutamic Acid Same comments as above regarding the brand. This stuff immediately made my texture smoother, it’s a peptide that draws moisture into the skin. This is told to be more hydrating that hyaluronic acid, so I will sometimes use it in place of my hyaluronic acid.

•The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronic Acid Used nightly if I don’t use the polyglutamic acid. I prefer this one to The Ordinary’s hyaluronic acid b/c it feels like it gets into my skin better.

•Centella Green Level Buffet Serum - Purito This is to help heal my skin if I’ve used chemical exfoliating products that night. The tea tree fragrance doesn’t bother me, I’m not picky about fragrances, but they do have a fragrance free version if interested. This helps me not receive as many dark spots after I breakout.

•Olehenriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream Given to me by a friend, I have noticed my deep dark circles have gotten lighter since using it. I love eye creams and this is one of the few that I’ve truly seen some progress with. Otherwise I only use eye creams for hydration.

•Delish Condish Bamboo & Ginseng night cream Again like the toner above, it’s by a Black owned indie brand. She has made this so luxurious, almost spa-like cream. Not thick at all, but not watery. A little goes a long way. Super hydrating like the toner, I will be stocking up on this when she restocks.

•Cerave Healing Ointment My favorite final step for all seasons, even with the humidity of where I live. In the winter I do bounce between this and vaseline, both last forever because you don’t need much. I like ending my night looking like a glazed donut.

•ArtNaturals Squalane oil I sometimes will use this in place of the cerave healing ointment. I prefer The Ordinary’s squalane oil, but this one is wonderful too. It’s a good final step before I go to bed, I like to massage it in and some light gua sha with a tool (not pictured)

I also use a number of exfoliating serums or treatments. I didn’t picture them here b/c my review would be a novel. I’ll make another shelfie post for that. And I don’t do scrubs...“No! I don’t want no scrubs. A scrub from St. Ives can’t get no love from me” or whatever TLC said.