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It’s the start of a new year which means it’s that glorious time where you’ve made your resolutions and you’re still sticking to them. One of the beauty resolutions that I made for 2018 was to be more consistent with my skin care. I’m horrible, especially for not only being a beauty blogger / YouTuber but also a cosmetologist, about not doing my skin care every morning and every evening. *Smacks hand* “Bad Cassie!” I thought sharing my current Morning Skin Care Routine would help keep me accountable. To see what all I currently use for my morning skin care routine check out the video below or just keep scrolling!

Due to my dry skin I don’t like to completely take off the oils that my skin was able to generate overnight and after reading the recommendation in makeup artist Mally Roncal’s book (read my review here) I now don’t cleanse my face in the morning. Instead I either use a micellar water like Bioderma Moisturizing Micellar Water ($10.90 for 250 mL from Birchbox). I reviewed the original Bioderma here and I reviewed the moisturizing Bioderma and some other products here. Another thing that I’ll do is use the Derma E Hydrating Facial Wipes ($7.99 for 25 wipes at Derma E) as I find them a bit gentler than an actual cleanser. On mornings that I feel that my face just NEEDS to be cleansed and the good oils be darned I use the Origins GinZing Energy Boosting Gel Moisturizer ($28.50 for 1.7 oz. at Ulta) which is a great cleanser, you can read my review here .

After I cleanse my face I tone it to bring the pH back to normal and get any extra dirt that may be on my face. In true extra fashion I use two toners, the Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herb, and Rosewater ($12.00 for 8 oz. at Ulta) and the Derma E Radiance Toner ($14.95 for 6 oz at Derma E). The way that I use these is that right after my skin dries from the cleanser I immediately spray the Mario Badescu spray all over my face and then pat it in. Once that is all absorbed I apply some of the Derma e toner to a cotton pad and swipe that across my face (read my review here) and let that absorb in as well.

Okay this may seem a bit backwards, to exfoliate after cleansing and toning instead of doing it during cleanser, but trust me on this one. Because my skin is so dry normal exfoliators have a tendency to be to abrasive and strip my skin. You would think with my eczema patches that I would something with a little abrasiveness to it to get rid of the loose skin but this actually inflames my eczema patches worse! Instead the Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 8% AHA Gel Exfoliant ($29 for 4 oz at Nordstrom) works the best for me. This exfoliant is a non-abrasive liquid exfoliator that you apply a small amount to the skin and leave on throughout the day. At first I was skeptical but after using it I’m sold! Check out my first impressions of it here.

Get ready for a LOT more Paula’s Choice because my next few products are ones that I REALLY love from the brand. For serum I use the Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum with Retinol ($34 for 1 oz. at Nordstrom) which I covered in the same first impressions post as the Exfoliant and that I have repurchased MULTIPLE times. After the first time though I picked up the Paula’s Choice Resist C15 Super Booster ($49 for 0.67 oz. at Nordstrom). Essentially I put a small amount of the serum in my hand and then put a few drops of the Super Booster on top of that and the swirl a bit with my finger and then apply to my face and neck. As soon as I put the serum on you can see an immediate glow come to my skin (in my opinion anyway) and my skin looks like it actually has some moisture to it. The Super Booster is 15% concentrated vitamin C along with vitamin E and other antioxidants. I didn’t think it would really do anything for my skin and really only got it initially because Nordstrom had a bundle that wasn’t much more than the serum by itself, however, after using it I’ve seen a noticeable difference in my skin.

The battle of the eye cream…or finding one that actually does something I should say. When I can find it in stock one of the first things I do (like up by the toner step) is use the Pixi 24K Eye Elixir ($22 for 0.34 oz. at Target) which I reviewed here. However it’s hard to find around me so I’ve just been relying on an eye cream alone. The one that I’ve found that works best for me is the Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream to Brighten and Depuff ($31 for 0.5 oz. at Ulta) which I reviewed here. I find that this eye cream moisturizes and actually helps my dark circles a bit.

Once the eye cream is absorbed I move onto moisturizer and this is where things get…complicated. The moisturizer that I use depends on what I’m going to be doing for that day. If I know I’m going to be outside I’ll use my Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Daily Moisturizing Lotion with Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($29 for 2 oz. at Nordstrom). This moisturizer doesn’t have a high SPF so it doesn’t burn my eyes when I sweat but it’s high enough that it gives a decent amount of protection since my serum has retinol, my issues with this one is that it is a bit thick and leaves me looking whiter than when I started. I do fix the thickness issue though by adding in a few drops of Paula’s Choice Resist Moisture Renewal Oil Booster ($36 for 0.67 oz. at Nordstrom) which does amazing things for my skin and which I have repurchased multiple times! I cover both of these in the first impressions post that I linked above! If I’m going to be staying inside for the day then I use the Origins GinZing Energy-Boosting Gel Moisturizer ($28.50 for 1.7 oz. at Ulta) as it doesn’t have an SPF in it but provides a good bit of moisture for my skin!