I think my dream job would be having people give me their skincare or makeup needs then coming up with a list of products to buy… Kind of what I aim to do with this blog minus it being the “job” part or getting paid lol. Along those lines, I have a mini story about curating product recommendations for an easy skincare routine for someone that doesn’t want to buy or apply much.
Recently my brother texted me asking what skincare to do because he is struggling with oily skin throughout his work day. I was so excited that he was actually REQUESTING me to give him advice because I always dole it out unsolicited and he doesn’t usually listen. To keep it minimal I suggested three drugstore products so that everything was easy to implement then buy and replace as time goes on.
The two step system I gave him has three total products for day and night.
AM /
Cleanse with Cerave face wash
Moisturize with Cerave SPF lotion
PM /
Cleanse with Cerave face wash
Moisturize with Neutrogena Rapid Clear lotion
I told him to get three things- a basic cleanser (Cetaphil for normal to oily), and two moisturizers– one for day (Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15) and one for night (Neutrogena Rapid Clear Acne Defense lotion). The Neutrogena has AHA so he can get a little chemical exfoliation in without even realizing it. I felt diabolical sneaking in that one in to loosen blackheads and give him smoother texture on his face… shows how much I love good skin care for how sinister I felt recommending some acids. It wasn’t all that long ago that I thought I had to cleanse and strip the moisture out of my skin to get it to stop being oily (not helpful) so I hope these products help him out.
I held back from mentioning anything more because I didn’t want to overwhelm him by sending more. I can say those extra items here though. I’d add in a moisturizer for him to apply that doesn’t have SPF or AHA like Cerave Moisturizing Lotion. I recommend applying this every other night in rotation with Neutrogena Rapid Clear or prior to his morning SPF. The second addition would be Nip + Fab Glycolic Acid wipes to use after cleansing twice a week. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m pretty sure I got him the Jack Black Volcanic Glycolic cleanser mask for Christmas because I’m an amazing older sister… I’ll probably be putting together a little skincare bag and writing out a routine for his birthday. He will hate it hehe.
I got into skincare by starting really basic, then gradually building up my arsenal as my needs expanded and I learned more about active ingredients. There is nothing wrong with keeping skincare super minimal, cheap, and easy. I hope this was helpful for anyone out there that wants to start a super minimal routine. I have more posts on skincare recommendations in the SKIN category under the BEAUTY tab at the top of my page. Thank you for reading!
-Kim