A 5-Step Skin-Care Routine for Beauty Minimalists

If you’re searching for tips on how to build an effective skin-care routine that won’t consume hours of your day, we’re sharing an easy, five-step system that can fit into even the busiest of schedules, ahead!

Let’s face it, that ten-step skin-care routine is great but for minimalists, it can feel like ten steps too many. If you’re the kind of person who prefers to keep it simple, you’re going to want to adopt this routine ASAP!

A Minimalist’s Skin-Care Routine

With a minimalist skin-care routine, you’ll only want to concern yourself with the essentials. The goal is to boil your skin-care routine down to just a few key steps without sacrificing results. Below, we’re detailing each step of a minimalist skin-care routine and offering some of our favorite product recommendations.

Step 1: Cleanse

Put down your makeup remover wipe, oil cleanser and water cleanse — forget about doing a double or triple cleanse. Instead, reach for a product that can replace all of that: Lancôme Crème Radiance, a clarifying cream-to-foam cleanser for normal and combination skin types. The award-winning cleanser is formulated with antioxidant white lotus and rose de France and helps to purify the skin, dissolve impurities and gently remove even waterproof makeup. Massage over a wet face and neck and rise away with lukewarm water.

Step 2: Moisturize (and Protect!)

Toners, essences, serums and more: Sure, these skin-care products are great if you’re the kind of person who likes to treat her routine like a time-honored tradition, but when you’re a minimalist they aren’t always necessary. Instead of prepping your skin for hydration with more hydration, reach for a quality moisturizer and use it immediately after washing your face.

During the day use a multitasking moisturizer that’s formulated with broad-spectrum SPF, such as Vichy Aqualia Thermal SPF 25 Face Moisturizer. Not only will you be hydrating your skin, but you’ll also help protect yourself from harmful UV rays — both of which are great for fighting premature signs of aging.

While we’re all for cutting down the number of products in your skin-care routine, we’d be wrong to tell you to skip out on a night cream. Fact is, night creams and day creams have one major thing in common —they help to replenish the skin with moisture — but they have many unique benefits as well, so you’ll want your routine to have one of each. During the day you’ll use your moisturizer formulated with SPF, but at night you’ll want to forgo the sun protection for a formula that boasts a few other beauty benefits. We love the L'Oréal Paris Refitalift Triple Power Intensive Overnight Mask because its rich, creamy texture envelops skin in a luxe cocoon of moisture to help improve elasticity while you sleep.

 

Step 3: Eye Cream

The skin surrounding your eye contour is thinner and much more delicate than that found on the rest of your face, so it needs its own cream. Your under-eye area is also one of the first to show signs of aging so you’ll want to give it a little extra attention. Try Lancôme Visionnaire Yeux Eye Balm, an advanced multi-correcting eye balm with a fresh, hydrating texture that helps reduce the visible appearance of many eye contour concerns.

Step 4: Lip Care

Another area of skin that’s thinner and more delicate than the rest is the skin found on your lips. Keeping a lip-care product in tow is key if you want your lips to look and feel soft and supple. A favorite is Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1, a moisturizing balm that soothes and smoothes dry lips with a blend of squalane, aloe vera, and vitamin E.

Step 5: Head-to-Toe Hydration

Finally, you’re going to want to turn your attention to the skin on your body. Once a day after showering, you should layer on a body lotion to help keep your skin feeling soft and hydrated from head to toe. Try CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, a barrier-reinforcing moisturizer formulated with hyaluronic acid and ceramide cream. The non-greasy, fast-absorbing cream was developed by dermatologist and is suitable for all skin types, including those with dry and very dry skin conditions.

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