Here’s A Totally Mindless, Anti-Aging Skincare Routine If You’re Sick Of Thinking About This Stuff
by The Candidly Team
Sometimes we read our own site and see all the products we recommend and we get overwhelmed.
We’re skincare fiends so we try everything. And we’re extremely picky and exacting so if a product ends up on a list of ours, it means it’s very, very special.
But most of you are like, can you just tell me exactly what to use every day that’s simple and easy and I don’t have to think about it anymore because my skin looks old and tired and it’s making me sad and I just want to look glowy and rested and awake and alive but I also don’t really want to devote more than 3 minutes a day to this crap?
And to that we say, we got you.
All of these products are anti-aging powerhouses. All excruciatingly tested for incredible efficacy. And many (most?) of them are quite affordable.
If you hate the routine you have now, if your skin is angry lately, or you’re just sick of not ever seeing real results, just start over.
Only 6 products. Let’s go.
1. Hanskin Pore Cleansing Oil - PHA
We all know Cetaphil or Cerave cleansers are “dermatologist recommended” but we get VERY dry from using them. If you want an incredible daily cleanser that DEEPLY cleans out your pores, never leaves you feeling tight, and is formulated for sensitive skin, try this magic oil.
How to use: 2 pumps morning and night on dry skin—it also gets rid of makeup beautifully. Wash off with a wet cloth. Skin is left perfectly balanced.
Price: $27
2. SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic
Vitamin C is a non-negotiable element of a true anti-aging skincare routine. If you take only one thing from this article, let it be this. We’ve tried…well…possibly hundreds, and we always come back to this one. There’s a reason it’s always on every single “best vitamin c” list. Because it is. It contains eight times the protection, helps your skin to produce more collagen, fights free radicals, and brightens complexion. We’re all so worried about wrinkles, but it’s not wrinkles that make us look old. It’s dullness. This serum addresses that almost immediately with daily use. If you have rosacea or are acne prone, we actually recommend THIS one.
How to use: Apply 5 drops to face, neck, and chest every morning (only morning), immediately after cleansing. Skin is left perfectly balanced.
Use the code CANDIDLY for 15% off
Price: $182
3. Neutrogena Collagen Bank Daily Face Moisturizer with SPF 30
We recently discovered this perfect moisturizer with SPF and are now, in a word, hooked. We lose 1% of our collagen every single year, and collagen is responsible for plumpness, firmness, hydration, and an overall youthful appearance. Aka, we are majorly prioritizing collagen now. Majorly. And SPF? Well. SPF is the number one anti-aging piece of skincare any of us can use. Yes. The sun is the culprit for almost all visible aging in our faces, and SPF combats that. Do not skip this. It’s imperative. And out of the hundreds (thousands?) of moisturizers with SPF, we love this one because it leaves our sensitive skin utterly balanced, never greasy, visibly plumper, and it’s wildly affordable.
How to use: This should be the last step in the morning only. 2-3 pumps on your face, neck, and chest ought to do the trick.
If you feel you need more hydration in the fall and winter:
1. Furtuna oil: Press this onto your skin as a last step. It’s like a soft cashmere blanket for your face. We’re over the moon for this product. Read more about it HERE.
2. Charlotte Tilbury Mist: Mists are wildly underrated for their incredible hydration abilities. This mist is the most hydrating one we’ve ever used. Read more about it HERE.
Note: you’ll notice there’s no eye cream. We sort of don’t buy into eye cream. Feel free to yell at us in the comments or on Instagram and we will take it under advisement.
Price: $30
4. A313 Retinol Pommade
Retinol is the other gold standard in a truly anti-aging skincare routine—the first two being vitamin C and SPF. We’ve tried expensive prescriptions and always come back to this. Layer it under a thick moisturizer (we use it with THIS, our favorite worth-it moisturizer, or THIS its $36 dupe) and it helps cell turnover to reveal brighter skin within a couple of days.
How to use: On dry skin, use a pea-sized amount all over your face, neck, and chest. Follow with a thick moisturizer. If you’re feeling peely or sensitive, lay down your moisturizer first and see how that goes. Start with twice a week and work your way up to more.
Price: $22
5. Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel
If you have skin texture, these pads will honestly change your life. Designed for daily use, they contain five different acids to help shrink the appearance of pores, banish hormonal acne, and reduce skin texture overall. If you have active blemishes try the EXTRA STRENGTH version, and if you have sensitive skin, try the ULTRA GENTLE version. We use the classic version on all the evenings we don’t use retinol, and that combination has made our post-40, dry, sensitive skin look better than it ever has. Fine it was pretty damn good when we were 26 but let’s be real.
How to use: Alternate evenings with retinol. Swipe pad #1 all over your face and wait 2 minutes. Swipe pad #2 all over your face and do not cleanse. Follow with a moisturizer or, if you’re prone to errant pimples and blemishes when you use thick or occlusive products, just leave it as is. You’ll wake up with unspeakably glowy, smooth, poreless skin.
Use the code CANDIDLY for 15% off
Price: $92
6. EltaMD UV Lip Balm BroadSpectrum SPF 36
If you’re not using SPF in your lip balm every, single day, you’re basically making your lips shriveled and small. We don’t love those words but we must use those words to impress upon you how important this is. We wrote a whole thing about it HERE. In the evenings we just use Vaseline, but in the daytime it’s crucial to use an SPF.
How to use: Slather it on every time you set food outside. Every. Time.
Price: $17
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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