Search

Type below and hit enter...

Skincare is a topic quite close to my heart.

This video outlines my morning staples- anyone who has followed my blog for a while will know that I’ve been using these for yonks. Tried and tested.

View Video Transcript

Hello, everyone. Welcome back. Today I'm going to be talking to about my skin care routine. Now this is been heavily requested so here we are. I'm actually going to split this into 3 videos, just so I can do mini reviews along the way and it's not a complete snooze fest. So the first video which is today's video is going to be about my morning staples and some sunscreens. The second video is going to be about make-up removal and my evening routine. And the final video would be about exfoliants and other miscellaneous topics. I'll stop by quickly describing my skin so that you can have some perspective. I would say my skin is normal so to speak so it's not oily and it's not dry. I would also consider it to be quite thin. Now this is not to be confused with sensitive. I can tolerate chemical peels but anything that involves abrasion or scrubbing is a no go for me.

I break out rarely, perhaps a few times a year but my main skin concerns are localized redness, mostly around the cheeks and around nose probably due to the fact that my skin is paper thin and unfortunately there isn't much that can be done to remedy that. My philosophy when it comes to skin care is keep it minimal. I try to omit any steps that are not crucial to my routine and it's so tempting nowadays to go and try everything on the market. But when you have 20 steps to your routine, it becomes almost impossible to determine what's actually working for you or conversely what's breaking you out or what's irritating you. Ok let's get on to the good stuff. I'm going to show you the products that I use in the morning. I have using this for years. I rarely switch it up and it works for me.

Okay, in the morning I stumbled out of bed and I cleanse my face. Now I don't necessarily want my cleanser to brighten or anti-age or do high dishes. I just want something that thoroughy removes grime without irritating my skin. And for this, I love the La Roche Posay Lipikar Syndet. I'm Australian and I mispronounce everything. But this is a French Pharmacy brand and it's actually a body wash formulated for hyper sensitive skins but it turns also a fantastic cleanser. It has a gel like consistency and lathers nicely. So I massage the lather on to my face for a solid minute and then I rinse thoroughly. I think the key with this product and most cleansers is to use sparingly, half a pea size at most.

And I think that lipikar syndet will be suitable for most skin types. It cleanses my skin fantastically. It's gentle. It doesn't dry me out and it doesn't leave a fume of any description which is my peak hate and I love it. So now if someone is going to ask me about Clarisonic and have I tried it and did I like it. I have tried it and I think I'm delaying the center on this one. I didn't really like it. Now as I said earlier, I have very thin skin that doesn't benefit for any form of abrasion and the Clarisonic in essence is a mild form of abrasion. So currently, I cleanse really thoroughly and I exfoliate regularly. So I didn't perceive any improvements in clarity or skin texture cleanliness but if your skin tolerates manual exfoliation quite well then you may very well like the Clarisonic.

So after I've cleansed, I will moisturize. Actually I used a serum. This is the Chantecaille Vital Essence. Now, well, this claims to do a lot of things - regulate serum production, seaweed extract, offers stable vitamin C to brighten the skin, blah, blah, blah. I don't subscribe to that. Maybe I'm a cynic but working cosmetics really taught me that marketing is such a powerful tool and frequently those claims are just not founded. I'm not hating on Chantecaille though because this is a fantastic hydrator, more hydrating than of some the heavier in emollient creams I've tried. I apply 2 pumps to a damp face and it has a like gel consistency. Now if I apply to a dry face, it always remains kind of a sticky and tacky on the skin so damp face is the way go with this one.

It works beautifully on the make up and bonus, if I am having a flaky situation that would otherwise completely ruin my foundation or my concealer, this seems to smooth out the texture of the skin somewhat. And flaky people out there, you know what I'm talking about. I think that this would be suitable for most skin types whether you'd be oily to slightly dry but the dry skin types may opt to use this as a conventional serum with a cream over the top because I'm not sure that it would be enough alone. Third and final step in my morning routine, if I anticipate anything more than incidental sun exposure, I will apply a sunscreen. Now this is the most important factor when preventing premature aging and considering that I live in Australia, I really should be more diligent about it.

Now I'm a fan of Japanese sunscreens. They are far superior protection and they tend to be more cosmetically elegant. So what I mean by that is less greasy on the skin, less white cast and so on. Currently, I'm using Sofina sunscreens. I believe this has both chemical and physical filters to protect the skin from the sun. It has a running texture and it sits beautifully under makeup but it's important remove this really well preferably with an oil cleanser because they were like iron, sweat proof, water proof, you name it. A lot of Japanese sunscreens dry down to a super matte finish, so much so that if you're oily you may opt to use it in place of a primer to control that oil.

For that reason, they tend not to be well suited to dry skin types. If you're quite dry and you're looking for a really high protection sunscreen, I would recommend La Roche Posay because they're super hydrating but they don't compromise any of that protection. So that is my morning routine. Although it sounded a little bit long, there was 3 steps: cleanse, moisturize and possibly apply make up and sunscreen. Tune in for my next video which would be all about make up removal and my evening routine. I hope to see you guys then. B-bye.

La Roche Posay Lipikar Syndet Ingredients:

AQUA / WATER, GLYCERIN, DISODIUM COCOAMPHODIACETATE, COCO-BETAINE, PEG-7 GLYCERYL COCOATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, GLYCOL DISTEARATE, SODIUM GLYCOLATE, ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, CITRIC ACID, NIACINAMIDE, PEG-55 PROPYLENE GLYCOL OLEATE, PEG-75 SHEA BUTTER GLYCERIDES, POLYQUATERNIUM-7, PPG-5-CETETH-20, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM BENZOATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE

Chantecaille Vital Essence Ingredients:
Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, Potassium Hydroxide, Squalane, Glycine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Stearic Acid, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Polyglyceryl-2 Isostearate, Dimethicone, Glycol Distearate, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Bentonite, Isosteareth-20, Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Citronellol, Geraniol, Tocopherol, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Natto Gum, Pueraria Lobata (Kudzu) Root Extract, Chlorella Vulgaris (Green Algea) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract

Sofina Whitening Day Protector SPF50+ PA+++ Ingredients:
Zinc Oxide 13.87%, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate 4%, Cyclomethicone, Water, Dimethicone, Alcohol, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, PEG-3 Dimethicone, BHT, Lauryl Methacrylateglycol Dimethacrylate, Glycerin, Crosspolymer, Polysilicone-9, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Talc, Cetul-PG Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide, Butylene Glycol, Hydroxyethyl Isostearyloxy Isopropanolamine, Bis-Methoxypropylamido Isodocosane, Cholesterol, Methicone, Titanium Dioxide, Aluminum Hydroxide, Dimethiconemethicone Copolymer, Silica, Hydrated Silica, Thjjopsis Dolabrata Extract, Citrus Junos Peel Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root, Palmtic Acid, Ceramide 2 Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Fragrance

Makeup I was wearing here…

Skincare Series – Part One

Face- Armani Lasting Silk, Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel lightly on outer cheekbones
Eyes- Guerlain Noir G Mascara
Brows- SUQQU Brow Pen Moss Green
Lips- Tom Ford Pink Adobe

Love the colour of Pink Adobe but damn, it reveals all the horrors of my lip rubbing habit chapped lips. I look like I’m wearing mega-loads of blush but actually, warm room.

xxkarima

Complete list of products mentioned

Cleansing Gel
Cleansing Gel
Soleil Tan De Chanel
Soleil Tan De Chanel
Lip Color
Lip Color
Noir G Mascara
Noir G Mascara
Vital Essence Serum
Vital Essence Serum
Brow Pen
Brow Pen
Lasting Silk
Lasting Silk
* Denotes products sent for consideration. Iā€™m always honest with my reviews :)

Leave your comment (17 comments)


Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


  1. Weird.I also have the LRP lipikar syndet but the ingredients on mine are different than the ones you posted on your blog. mine are:

    AQUA / WATER, GLYCERIN, DISODIUM COCOAMPHODIACETATE, COCO-BETAINE, PEG-7 GLYCERYL COCOATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, GLYCOL DISTEARATE, SODIUM GLYCOLATE, ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, CITRIC ACID, NIACINAMIDE, PEG-55 PROPYLENE GLYCOL OLEATE, PEG-75 SHEA BUTTER GLYCERIDES, POLYQUATERNIUM-7, PPG-5-CETETH-20, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM BENZOATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE

    Do you mind checking the ingredients on the back of your tube? Does yours match the ones you posted still?

    1. Thank you, Dana, for alerting me of this!
      My ingredients on the bottle match the ones in your comment. I will change the blog post now. Thanks again šŸ™‚ xx

  2. Hi Karima!

    Your blog and channel have definitely become my favourite beauty sources on the net!
    Your skincare series is especially great and has encouraged me to invest in skincare again!
    I used Kora Organics and didn’t feel it did much for me but I just purchased Lipikar Syndet a few days ago and can already feel and see a slight improvement in my skin.

    I believe I have very similar skin to you so I would like to purchase Chantecaille Vital Essence, however I was wondering where you purchase yours? On the website the product retails for $108 which is a price that is at the peak of what I would ever spend on a skincare product, however I have visited MECCA as I do live in Australia, and have found that they retail the product at around $150 which is far too much for me!

    I was wondering if the product is 100% worth the amount of money and if you too purchase it for $150, or if there is another way to purchase it more cheaply? If not, could you possibly suggest a cheaper serum alike to this one?

    Thank you,

    Penny xx

    1. Hey Penny!

      That is so kind of you to say, I’m glad you’re liking the videos/posts šŸ™‚
      Kora Organics interested me but it’s quite high in essential oils which isn’t beneficial for my skin type, I think.

      I stock up on Chantecaille Vital Essence when I travel. The first time I purchased it, I did fork out the $150 (ouch!) at Mecca.
      It’s hard for me to determine whether skincare is ‘worth it’ because that depends on your budget and what you’re seeking from the product. It’s a hydrator but not a miracle worker!

      I purchase mine once every six months so I swallow the cost. It is available from Strawberrynet for $125 but more importantly: Mecca is super generous with samples. Don’t be afraid to ask! I worked at Mecca and lots of samples are part of the company policy.

      I think a sample will be the best indicator of whether the product will be worth it for you. I haven’t found a dupe to date but f’real, I haven’t tried anything new in years.

      I rambled, but I hope I shed a bit of light!

      Xx Karima šŸ™‚

  3. Thank you for your reply!

    Meca did offer a sample when I visited however they had just run out so I will visit a different Mecca here in Melbourne!

    I have researched quite a bit and found that it seems a very good product and those who have posted reviews have said only good things!

    Many of the reviewers said that they also use a moisturiser and some said they did not use the serum everyday, in your videos you said that you used the serum morning and night, do you think that it covers the need for a moisturiser? If I were to purchase the vital essence, do you think it would be most effective used twice a day and without a mousturiser?

    Sorry for the 100 questions, thanks again for all your help xx

  4. Hi Karima!

    Have you ever tried (or do you even desire to try) the Chantecaille Vital Essence Serum with Arbutin? I notice the ladies at my Chantecaille counter pushing that particular product more than the original Vital Essence. Thoughts?

    Great video! Cheers- xx, Janessa

    1. Hey Janessa šŸ˜€ The Vital Essence Original seems to get better reviews, I don’t really feel the need to try the Arbutin version (I tend to prefer no frills alternatives, anyway). xx

  5. Where can I find Sofina sunscreen? I haven’t had much luck with online searches and I am 99.9% positive it won’t be sold in any US store :/

    xo Alisha

  6. Hi! Could I ask you a question?
    when you apply this cleanser, you apply it on wet face or dry face? thanks in advance!