Hi Karen, welcome to your skincare review.

There was a moment in our consultation that probably became the most useful part of the whole conversation.

You said:

“I've always had a routine.”

And you absolutely have.

You cleanse. You tone. You moisturise. You use Vitamin C, you have hydration in there and, importantly, you already wear SPF every day.

So this isn't a review that ends with me telling you that everything you've been doing is wrong and handing you an entirely new bathroom shelf.

Actually, quite the opposite.

There is quite a lot I like.

What became interesting when we went through everything together was what you have traditionally meant by a routine.

For you, consistency has largely meant maintaining the structure:

Cleanse. Tone. Moisturise.

The products occupying those spaces could change, but as long as each umbrella category remained filled, the routine itself felt consistent.

I want us to change that slightly.

I don't particularly want us to become loyal to the words cleanser, toner, serum or moisturiser.

I want us to become loyal to products and formulations that have earned their place.

Because “toner” doesn't actually tell me what something does.

One toner might hydrate.

Another might exfoliate.

Another might contain an acid you didn't even realise you were using.

Two moisturisers can have moisturiser written on the front and behave completely differently on your skin.

And suddenly a routine that appears beautifully simple can contain considerably more activity than we realised.

So we're not starting again.

We're taking a good routine and making it much more intentional.