I get a lot of questions about my skin and skincare (thank you for the compliment!).  I always share that I genuinely think skin is heavily genetic… my mom has great skin and I am lucky that I feel she passed that onto me.

BUT I do take care of it.  I have always been militant with washing my face, no matter how many martinis my night may or may not have involved!  I love a heavy night cream and starting using serums and facial oils as soon as I heard of them.

It’s my job to try new products, and because of that I don’t necessarily have a solid “five products” I always use.  I am always trying new things, but I wanted to break down the types of products I always have in my cabinet along with some of my favorite brands in each category.  There are a few different options for different price points.

And of course you’ll find many additional skincare posts in the “beauty” category of this site!  To shop these items simply click on the image below or click on its correlating number below.

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1 | Cleansers – I’m not super picky with face wash, but I always use about 1/2 dime amount and just use my hands and lukewarm water.

I love Tula, Mary Kay and First Aid Beauty.

2 | Toner – I don’t use toner every night but I use it a lot of nights.  I will use a round cotton pad and try to press it onto my skin and not rub.

I love SkinCeuticals for a splurge and Thayers for a save.

3 | Serum – I use a serum morning and night.  I apply it after I wash my face or after applying toner.

Some brands I love are Korres, Non Gender Specific and Vintner’s Daughter.

4 | AM Moisturizer

I reach for a lighter weight moisturizer in the mornings and save my thicker soft creams for evenings.

I wear Tula most often, sometimes with a drop or two of a face oil.

5 | PM Moisturizer

I’m all about a thick night cream while sleeping.  I will sometimes mix a few drops of my facial oil into my moisturizer in the evenings as well (or this gradual self-tanner).

I’ve been loving Sulwhasoo, Lancome, La Mer, Versed (save) and Revlon (save).

6 | Facial Oil

I am ALL ABOUT using facial oils, body oils, all the oils.  I will sometimes skip my AM moisturizer and just use 4-5 drops of facial oil.  Other times I will add 1-2 drops into my moisturizer.

I use Boscia, L’Occitane and Vintner’s Daughter.

7 | Eye Cream

I use an eye cream both morning and night.

I love Tula and AmorePacific for daytime and for nighttime I like Sulwhasoo and Charlotte Tilbury.

8 | Face Mask

I try to use a face mask on Sundays, but sometimes it ends up being every other week.

I love Tula’s Exfoliating Mask and Sulwhasoo sheet masks.  It’s nice to have an exfoliant but it’s much faster to just throw on a sheet mask and then massage that serum into your skin without the messy washing off process.

Extras

For blemishes, I always trust Mario Badescu.  If I catch a blemish before it’s full-force, this will usually nip it before it really comes to surface.

My favorite devices are my Clarisonic and PMD (and have been for years).  Vanity Planet also has a microdermabrasion device that is really great.

I hope that isn’t too overwhelming!  And it should be a reminder that skincare doesn’t have to be expensive to be good.  I heard a rumor recently that La Mer and Nivea Creme had a lot of similar ingredients.  Like… say what now!?  Don’t forget you can get 15% off ALL Tula products with the code KATHLEENBARNES.

Thanks so much for reading – XO