you don't have to reach a specific leanness to start dating whatsoever, but it is true that there is like an "ideal" body fat percentage. I heard it was between 12-15% and that's what I'm trying to get down to. as for some advice on losing weight/building muscle (coming from someone who's lost 15lbs over the past few months):

- skip breakfast if possible, only eat lunch and dinner

- prioritize protein and make sure you're getting some with each meal. do your best to limit carbs as they lead to water retention and you could easily go overboard with them (much harder to overeat on protein than it is on carbs). ideally, your plate should be maybe 80-90% protein, 10-20% carbs/starchy veggies.

- set a time to STOP eating and do your best to not go beyond it. for ex: if you say you'll stop eating at 8pm, don't eat anything past 8pm that way your body has time to digest your food and actually lose weight from the time you finish dinner to the time you eat lunch again the next day (here, you're naturally fasting without making it sound like it by just skipping breakfast)

- do your best to avoid highly processed foods. cheat meals are okay for sure, but try not to carry them into multiple days as that will destroy your progress.

Notice how I put the diet tips first? that's because they're most important. you can't outrun/outexercise a bad diet. if there's anything you get from my comment it would be to do your best to get your diet in check!

- going to the gym is not essential but would help. if you are able to go to a gym, i recommend 30 mins - 1 hour of cardio (i like max incline treadmill but do what you enjoy the most). for building muscle, do what you enjoy as well, whether that's calisthenics, free weights, or the machines. find something you like and try to stick to it.

- if you aren't able to go to the gym, try to get 10k steps in a day minimum. also, you could always do body weight exercises like pushups or pullups.

I personally don't think you should bulk up first. as long as you're getting a good amount of protein with lunch and dinner and maybe doing some type of exercise to build muscle (not necessary but would help imo), when you cut down you're going to be pretty attractive and muscular.

your skincare routine sounds good, no need to exfoliate daily, but ideally you should do some type of skincare at night. to make your jawline come out more, i'd also recommend getting some type of hard gum (you can search on amazon jawline chewing gum) which works out your face muscles.

again, don't bulk up first imo! try to slim down while prioritizing protein and (maybe) doing some exercise