I love to double cleanse. I started double cleansing about a year ago and I absolutely love it. It really cleans the dirt out of my pores, and helps eliminate some bacteria as well. I like to start out with this popular oil cleanser on a completely dry face. I then rinse my face with water and then wash my wet face with this black rice gel cleanser. The black rice cleanser is a gentle exfoliant that helps my skin maintain a healthy barrier.

After cleansing, I love using this hyaluronic acid toner on my dry skin because hyaluronic acid is excellent for hydrating your skin, and the ceramides in this toner help my skin retain moisture which easily gets lost throughout the day. A little bit goes a long way. I’m still on the same bottle for almost 6 months and I’m only halfway through! It’s super hydrating and doesn’t make my skin feel tight.

I’ve been using this super popular bean essence for about 2 months now and I can really feel and see a difference. This essence became extremely popular on TikTok, and even though I do not have TikTok, I still found out about it anyway and gave it a try. If you have heard of PDRN which is typically made from salmon, this is a vegan version made with fermented beans. It smooths out the skin plus it is high in vitamin C, which is a key ingredient for brightening the skin especially if you have acne scars like I do.

I like to use two different serums on my skin after exfoliation. First, I like to use this dark spot correcting serum, which is full of niacinamide. You do need to be careful with niacinamide at first, as some people can be very sensitive to it. Your skin may need to build up a tolerance to it like mine did, but it really does work. I had a lot of dark acne scars from deep, persistent hormonal and cystic acne caused by stress and postpartum. They say you’ll see a difference after 6 months of use, but I saw a difference after just 1 month. My darkest acne scars have faded, and I’ve had to rely less on concealer when I wear makeup.

The second serum I use is this anti-wrinkle serum from Korea. It helps boost elasticity and firm my skin, strengthening my skin barrier that at one point felt quite thin and weak. I also used this version from the same brand, but honestly I saw more of an effect from the dual effect ampoule than the turnover ampoule.

To seal all my moisture in, I use my MediCube Booster Pro twice a day. In the morning, I like to use the orange LED light/Booster mode for 5 minutes, and at the end of the day I like to use the red LED light/Dermashot mode for 5 minutes. Once a week, I will use the blue LED light/Airshot mode to eliminate acne-causing bacteria and really clean out my pores.

Welcome to the part of the skin care routine that really matters. Honestly, I could skip all the steps before this if I really wanted to and just use these final few steps. The real secret to keeping wrinkles and fine lines at bay is retinal/retinol. I prefer to use retinal, as it is more focused on particular areas of my face whereas retinol is typically used all over the face because it is not as strong. Retinal is not something you can jump into using every day. It is extremely strong, so I started off using a tiny bit every 3 days for 2 weeks before doing every other day for another 2 weeks. After 1 month, I was able to start using it every day and only at bedtime. Because it is so strong, it is not uncommon to notice extra zits in the beginning as your skin purges and eliminates bacteria. I did experience this for the first 2 weeks, but then afterwards my skin adjusted to it. I swear by this retinal shot from Korea, and I only use a small amount. I put a tiny bit where I would expect to develop wrinkles – around my mouth, under my eyes, and above my eyebrows. The total amount of retinal used should not be bigger than a pea. I have now been using this for almost 3 months, and I can tell you my pores have shrunk and any fine lines I had slowly faded.

To complete the skin care routine, I use a centella based moisturizer to lock in the moisture. As I said before, my skin is naturally quite dry, and so even in the humid summer months in Hong Kong I still need to hydrate my skin. This moisturizer is quite thick but it does the job, and a little bit goes a long way. It’s brightening as well, which is helpful with my acne scars.

To combat under eye puffiness and fine lines, I always finish up with an eye cream. I have been using this eye cream with ginseng and retinal for almost 2.5 years now, and I never travel without it. It’s my favourite eye cream so far, which is why I have not used anything else in 2.5 years. I lightly tap under and around my eye area, which I think has had an amazing effect on delaying the appearance of crow’s feet.

Last but not least, we have come to the most crucial part of my entire daytime skin care routine – SPF. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or if it’s a cloudy day, or if you’ll be spending most of your day indoors – you should not be leaving the house without SPF on your face. SPF is so important when it comes to protecting your skin from harmful UV rays from the sun, since sun exposure can not only damage your skin but also weaken it. If you are also experiencing an acne breakout or recovering from dark acne scars, SPF protects those marks or scars from getting darker caused by sun exposure. I have been using this hydrating sunscreen all summer, and it’s probably the best one on the market at the moment. Even my nearly 3-year old daughter uses it sometimes because it is so gentle (it’s never too early to learn about protecting our skin!). It also doesn’t leave the dreaded white cast that is common with facial sunscreens and still gives my skin a radiant glow.