I am embarrassed to say that I really had never heard of Neocutis or Glytone until just a few weeks ago when it was recommended to me by my local aesthetician. I am always a little hesitant to experiment with new products, especially when they can be so CRAZY expensive (if my husband asks, they were on sale ;). But I was in a skincare rut, so I paid up.
One rookie mistake I made was that I bought too much. For the first two nights, I couldn't quite figure out how to blend all of the products. I typically layer based on texture and consistency (think water for cleansing, toner, thin serum, thicker moisturizer), but all of these products sort of felt the same. Many of them also had the same AM/PM recommendation.
After playing around for a bit, I think I found my routine- here it is ladies!
Morning:
Every morning I cleanse with any creamy cleanser, right now I am using Neutrogena's
Deep Clean Cream Cleanser (not pictured). I'm happy with it, but may switch to their oil-free cleanser when I am finished.
Next I use
Dermalogica's Multi Active Toner- I love the way this toner smells, but most of all, I love that when I use it, I can feel the toner working. There is this sudsy reaction when I put the toner on my skin. You don't get the burning
or warming effect that sometimes happens with an astringent toner but I still feel like it's helping to clean and protect my face.
Next up is my Serum- cue new product haul! I am really liking the
NeoCutis Micro Serum. It goes on super smooth and light, no heavy feeling at all. It gives me an immediate glow. My skin feels clean and moisturized when I use this and it has really earned a spot in my skincare lineup.
And the final step for daytime is a moisturizer with sunscreen. When I am feeling indulgent, I like to do the fancy stuff, but right now I am just feeling the Neutrogena product line (I went crazy at Walgreens). Their
Healthy Skin Face Lotion with Sunscreen layers nicely with the rest of my morning routine and adds that SPF 15 that works well during the winter months (for summer months when I am out more often and the sun is stronger, I definitely up the SPF to at least 30!).
This image also included my NeoCutis ReActive Antioxidant serum. Still not quite sure how to integrate this one into my routine, but occasionally I will swap out the Micro Serum just to change things up a bit.
Evening:
For night, I cleanse with the same morning cleanser and use the same toner, but switch up to the heavy hitters which include my retinaldehyde
Night Renewal Cream from Glytone with the occasional switch in of the Glytone
Enhance Brightening Complex. To be fair, I am not entirely sure that I am using the brightening cream correctly, but I plan on asking my aesthetician this week! Stay tuned...
Retinaldehyde is new to me. I am an old-school Retin-A enthusiast, but figured I would give it's kinder cousin a try (I've had my fair share of skin shedding experiences so the idea of a gentler alternative seemed like one I should consider). I was getting a little bit restless after not seeing an immediate reaction when I started to use it, but after two solid weeks of nightly use, I did notice a smoother complexion. In full disclosure, while I like the idea of using this nightly and not having the painful shedding that can sometimes happen with traditional Retin-A, I do think I want to add a stronger alternative twice a week to really jump start that cell turnover and use the retinaldehyde as a nightly treatment.
There you have it folks! There are a few products from my recent purchase which I haven't quite figured out how to integrate into my skincare routine, but when I figure that out, I will definitely keep you posted!!
Be Well,
Kate
