What I'm Adding to My Late 20s Skincare Routine

Let’s face it, I’m getting older. I’m turning 29 in just a few days and I’m actually excited about it. I used to dread every birthday after 25 but I’ve learned that your 30s are when things get even better. You know more, you make better decisions, and you feel more confident. I recently found a gray hair and showed it off to my boyfriend with pride.

Although I’m so excited for all of life’s new experiences as I approach a new decade, I’m also getting serious about my skincare, so it only makes sense that I step up my routine to include more active and effective anti-aging ingredients as well as some at-home beauty devices to preserve the health and youthful look of my skin.

With age comes wisdom and I’m looking forward to learning more about skincare (and life in general) and sharing my discoveries with y’all. Get ready for more late 20s/soon to be 30 skincare tips and recommendations but for now, read on for some recent additions to my top shelfie aka my bathroom counter beauty tray. I’ve been cautiously trying these over the last couple of weeks and have some more testing to do before I can give my full reviews, so check back over the next few weeks if you’re interested in any of these products.

I needed an oil-free cleanser to use with my NuFace device and since I had been eyeing the CHANEL LA MOUSSE Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream-to-Foam, I decided to go with that one. I’ll be using this to cleanse my skin before using the NuFace in the morning and continue to use the Summer Friday Super Amino Gel Cleanser at night. Unfortunately, I’m almost finished using up the Summer Fridays Cleanser because the consistency is so thin. Once that one runs out, I’ll most likely use the Chanel cleanser for both morning and night. It’s super thick so you only need the tiniest amount, which means I’ll probably take a while to get through it.

SHOP

Also in recent additions to the cleansing category, I picked up the CHANEL L’EAU MICELLAIRE Anti-Pollution Micellar Cleansing Water. I love micellar waters for quick refreshes throughout the day and heard good things about this one from Chanel, so I decided to make the splurge for my updated routine. I usually use micellar water with my Muji cotton squares but I noticed that they’re not the best quality. I may invest in the highly raved about ones from Chanel or go back to the Shisedo ones I used to love. I know you’re probably thinking there’s not a real difference in the quality of cotton, lol, but I’m here to tell you there is.

My routine has been without a toner for a while now, so I figured I should add one back in to shake things up. You might remember me mentioning (raving) about celeb esthetician Shani Darden a few posts back. Well, her line of skincare recently launched at Sephora and I picked up a couple of things to try out from the sale, one of them being the SHANI DARDEN SKIN CARE Sake Toning Essence. This is a toner and essence in one that’s meant to brighten and even the skin while controlling oil production and minimizing the look of pores. So far, it’s help balance out my skin after cleansing and I’m loving the green tea smell. I’ll share more thoughts on the other claims after more testing.

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The product I was most excited about adding to my routine was the SHANI DARDEN SKIN CARE Retinol Reform®. I’ve heard so much about this magical product so I ordered the smaller size to give it a try. Little did I know that the smaller size was actually tiny. It looks more like a deluxe sample size and it costs $30. Size aside, I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t tell you if it’s the worth hype. I will be easing this into my nighttime routine, so stay tuned for my review.

Another highly hyped product I’m finally trying is the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta® Universal Daily Peel. Being in quarantine has increased my interest in at-home treatments, so I finally picked up the 5 pack of this very popular chemical peel. From what I’ve gathered from my research, this is basically supposed to make your skin look the best it ever has. More on whether this is true in a later post.

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Another at-home treatment I’m exploring is the NuFACE Mini Facial Toning Device, which is an at-home version of the celeb favorite micro current treatment offered by professional estheticians. The device tones and tightens the face and neck by sending electric currents to the deeper layers of your skin to exercise your facial muscles. It’s used with their Leave-On Gel Primer to increase the conductivity. I’ve used the device once with the leave-on gel primer and noticed I had some breakouts the next day. I also saw other users saying that they had the same issues so they washed the gel off after each use. It seems like a lot but I’d rather do a double cleanse than to breakout every time I use the required gel primer. I’ve been super excited about this device and plan on doing an in-depth post with before and after photos, so stay tuned for that. You can also follow along on my Instagram stories.

I’m excited to move into this new chapter of skincare journey. If you’ve tried any of these products, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. If you haven’t but interested in hearing about how they work, let me know which one(s) you’re most interested in learning about.