My 9 Step Daily Skincare Routine
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. However, I only recommend products I use and love.
I hope you find value in these fabulous tips and products I’ve picked up from celebrity estheticians — aka my clients — over the past 10 years.
☀️ Morning Skincare Routine
SPLASH WITH WATER. Yes, it’s important to wash your face.. but not too much!! After years of thinking face washing was a twice a day thing like brushing your teeth, I learned that many skincare gurus suggest washing your face only once a day. It makes the most sense to do this at night, whether you wear makeup or not. Night time is best because you want to wash off any makeup obviously, but also the dirt or debris from outside and your SPF from the day.
Why just once? When you wash your face too often, you strip your skin of natural oils, which is bad—they’re supposed to be there. Instead of washing my face in the morning, I simply splash it with lukewarm or cool water. You should never use hot water on your face because it will dry you out! I use a Q-tip when necessary to remove any makeup remnants. If you were looking for a cleanser recommendation, don’t worry, I recommend a fabulous cleanser in the PM section down below. 😉
Pro Tip: Bring your skincare products all the way down to your décolletage — aka to the boobs. It does us no good if our face looks young but we have a saggy old turkey neck and chest!
Pro Tip: It’s really important to use a fresh, clean towel to dry your face, every single time you wash it.. because even after one use, a towel becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and mold. Before you call me crazy, here’s a hack. Buy this set of 24 inexpensive washcloths on Amazon, keep a stack of them under the sink. Use these to dry your face, instead of your main body towel, and throw it in the dirty laundry after one use. Voila — now you have a fresh face towel every time, without owning a billion full-size towels or doing laundry 24/7.
SERUM. I alternate between several serums, depending on my mood. My everyday go-to is Summer Friday’s CC Me Vitamin C Serum. This product is brightening, seals in moisture, targets dark spots, and protects against pollution and dehydration. My second go-to, which I use 1-2x per week, is COOLA Sunless Tan Anti-Aging Face Serum. This serum has a subtle fake-tanning ingredient, so it gives you the glow of a weekend spent in Cabo.. with the skin-protecting benefits of natural anti-agers and vitamins. Just don’t fall asleep with it on or it can leave you splotchy like a spray tan. If you’re on a budget, I also like The Super Pack of serums from Glossier. (These are full size by the way, not samples. Added perk: Glossier packaging is so pretty you’ll want to display them on your bathroom counter and post them on your IG.)
EYEBROW GROWTH SERUM. I’m (unfortunately) part of the generation that thought it was a GREAT idea to pluck almost all of our eyebrows out in the 6th grade 🙄, so I’ve been working on growing mine back ever since. I love a thick, bushy youthful brow.. think Taylor Hill. I have found VEGAMOUR GRO Brow Serum to be very effective—my brows have grown in a lot since I started using it about 6 months ago. Vegamour makes a lash serum too, but I’m more focused on my brow game at the moment.. because brows (or lack of brows) really shape your face.
MOISTURIZER WITH SPF. I know a lot of people use a daytime moisturizer first, and then a SPF, but I love to kill 2 birds with one stone whenever possible. Efficiency, you know? I avoid sun exposure to my face AT ALL COSTS. But that isn’t always possible.
If I’m going to get no sun exposure I use Cosmedix Hydrate Plus Broad Spectrum SPF 17. If I’m going to be exposed to any sun, such as going for a walk, or even a bright, sunny day in the Penthouse, I use Cosmedix Peptide Rich Defense Moisturizer with SPF 50.
Pro tip: always wear a baseball cap or some sort of hat outside for an added layer of sun protection! Even if you’re just taking the dog out to pee.
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That’s it for Morning! Let’s dive right into my PM routine, which is one of the most relaxing and therapeutic parts of my day, and part of my overall evening wind down. I love to put on Spa music in the bathroom while I do my night time skincare routine, wear a hotel robe, and really take my time with it.
🌙 Nighttime Skincare Routine
CLEANSE. Before bed, I wash my face with Cosmedix Purity Solution Nourishing Deep Cleansing Oil. If you aren’t familiar with oil cleaners, you are missing out! They are less drying than soap cleansers, and I love the way an oil cleanser feels on my skin. This one is also amazing at removing makeup, it just melts right off. (Even the stubborn stuff like mascara.) Contrary to what you might think, cleansing with oil should not make you break out, even if you have acne prone skin. My skin feels suuuuper soft and plump after an oil-cleanse, in a way that it doesn’t when I use a non-oil cleanser.
Pro tip: I never wash my face using a washcloth because I believe it pulls the skin, which stretches it out and over time causing sagging. Think about when you get a facial.. does the esthetician use a rough cloth to apply products, or does she massage them in to your face with her hands? (The correct answer is hands!) Give yourself the same treatment and stop using washcloths on your face, except to gently pat it dry!
PEEL PAD. After the oil cleanser, I use Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel Pads, which is a fast-acting, two-step daily treatment with 5 AHA/BHAs to boost radiance, smooth fine lines, refine pores, and improve tone and texture. I swear by this product! These pads include Retinol, which freaks some people out.. but I have very sensitive skin and these don’t bother me at all—in fact I love them. You want to use the peel pads on your face, neck and décolletage (which is a fancy word for the neck-to-boobs area.)
SERUM. Next, another serum, over my face, neck and décolletage. Typically I go with Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Ferulic Texture Renewal Serum, which is great for evening out tone & texture, clearing blemishes / balancing oiliness, and—my personal favorite—diminishing and preventing fine lines. Sometimes I switch it up and use Cosmedix Radiance Age Restorative Serum instead. If these products don’t fit your budget and you’re looking for a more affordable option, I like to mix & match from The Super Pack of serums from Glossier. These are full size, not samples. Added perk: Glossier packaging is so pretty you’ll want to display them on your bathroom counter and post them on your IG.
NIGHT MOISTURIZER. After the serum has soaked in for a few minutes, I bounce back and forth between two night time moisturizers from Cosmedix: Emulsion and Resync. I’m obsessed with both of these and sometimes I even use a little bit during the day if my skin is feeling extra dry, i.e. New York winter dry (the worst!) They’re both creamy, thick and luscious and smell wonderful and calming. They do make you look a little greasy, but who cares right before bed.
NECK CREAM. You want to use a different moisturizer on your neck and décolletage than on your face, because the neck skin is actually very different than your face skin. (I learned this from Dr. Dennis Gross, who we love.) My favorite is Illuminate and Lift by Cosmedix. It firms, tightens and lifts the neck skin while moisturizing.
FACE OIL. Last, I put a few drops of The Skinny Confidential Ice Queen Face Oil on my face, neck, and (you guessed it) décolletage. This product is a cooling facial oil packed with antioxidants that penetrates quickly to help hydrate, firm, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, leaving skin soft and supple. I absolutely LOVE how it smells and makes my face feel soft as a baby’s ass. The concept behind finishing with an oil is that it seals in all the other products underneath, so they can do their magic instead of rubbing off onto your silk pillowcase.
That’s it! Do you enjoy these beauty & skincare blog posts?If so, you’ll love my emails. Subscribe here.
x, gretchen
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I’m a Brand Designer and Strategist living in NYC. 9 years ago I quit my job to start this business, and now I’m here to help you do it too! I specialize in helping established female millennial entrepreneurs transform their brands.. to attract Dream Clients and grow their businesses, so that they can make more money, be their own bosses and live the life they deserve!