Putting on make-up in the morning is my idea of me-time. It feels like an absolute luxury to be able to sit at my vanity table and do something that isn’t necessary, productive or aimed at someone else. Just me (and usually Aya likes to join me and play with my make-up brushes) prepping, priming and painting. The same goes for taking off my make-up in the evening: it’s my time to relax and take care of myself. I never skip it, because my skin has improved a lot since I made skincare part of my evening routine. I have tried a lot of different products and my routine changes every now and then, but I am very happy with the products I am using night now. So of course I want to share them with you!

My Evening Skincare Routine

I’m going to jump straight into the products because there are quite a few. I always take my eye make-up off first. I stopped wearing waterproof mascara, but it’s still a challenge to find the perfect product for getting everything off without damaging my lashes. I like to use the ‘Clinique Take the Day off Lids, Lashes & Lips‘ with a cotton pad. This stuff is gentle, but does the job. It doesn’t irritate my eyes, blur my vision or leave an oily residue. Some days I like to go in with some castor oil and softly rub this thick oil on my eyelids and lashes until I have ‘raccoon eyes’.

Once my eye make-up has come undone, I take a couple of pumps of ‘Clarins Cleansing Milk‘, with Alpine herbs for normal to dry skin and rub it all over my face. This takes care of my foundation, concealer and powders. Then I take a make-up wipe – right now I am using the ‘Neutral Make-up Remover Wipes‘- to wipe away all the products that have come undone and remove the oil and milk. Neutral doesn’t use perfume, colorants and parabens.

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Don’t ever think your face is clean after using only milk and make-up wipes. It’s not. Trust me. So next step is face wash. I wrote about the ‘Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash‘ in my Morning Skincare Routine, so check that out if you like to know why this stuff is great. I gently rub it into my face and then take out my Clarisonic. Most days I use the Cashmere brush, because I have very sensitive skin. Once a week I will use the Sensitive Brush Head on my t-zone. The Clarisonic cleans six times better than your hands and increases your natural hydration levels.

Also read: "My New Skincare Routine with NUXE".

The next three products are also in my morning skincare routine, so I’m not going to go into them. But for toner I use the ‘Clarins Toning Lotion‘, with Camomile for normal to dry skin. Most days I will just put on my ‘Bobbi Brown Hydrating Facecream‘ and some ‘AOS Lip Balm‘ and I’m ready for bed. But two to three nights a week I will use an overnight eye mask and/or an overnight face mask. I like overnight masks because they are so easy and fuss- free.

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My overnight eye mask is the ‘Talika Eye Dream‘. It regenerates the skin and prevents expression lines around the eyes. I like that I can apply it with a little roll-on ball, because it’s cooling and I have this thing with scooping up cream from a jar. That’s probably the one thing I don’t like about my Bobbi Brown face cream, that it comes in a jar. My overnight face mask is from Origins. It’s the ‘Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask‘. I hate taking off masks: it’s messy and I don’t like to pull at my skin. An overnight mask is the perfect solution. The only thing I don’t like about this one is that it is quite thick and sticky. So even though I probably won’t repurchase it, I am happy with what it does for my skin, which is hydrate it during the night.

Als read: "Beautiful Face and Eye Masks from Talika"

Once a week I use a sheet mask. I have been using the ‘Qiriness Wrap‘ masks for a couple of months. There is no mess and no having to take it off, because I can rub the excess into my skin. It is super easy to use and I like that I can take off the sheet if Aya were to wake up while I have my mask on. I don’t want to scare her coming into her room looking like a ghost. The cream on the sheet is very soft and gentle. There are two downsides though to this mask, so I am eager to find some other brands as well. I don’t like the fact that it ignores the area around the nose, even though that’s a problem area for most people. Also, I don’t like that the sheet is quite cold when you put it on your face. It takes on your skin temperature after a while, but the initial feeling is a little uncomfortable. Qiriness advises against heating the masks.