evening skincare routine for oily and acne prone skin

I have problem oily and acne prone skin which to be honest used to be awful but during the past couple of months has cleared up drastically and it is mostly down to this skincare routine which I am pretty religious with and never skip on.

step one: I remove eye makeup with the L'Oreal gently eye makeup remover. I usually do this twice to make sure all the mascara is removed as I use Benefit 'they're real' mascara which is notoriously hard to remove. I really like the L'Oreal one as it's gentle and isn't oil based (a massive pet peeve of mine)

step two: using the Emma Hardie moringa cleansing balm I smooth it onto my skin and massage it in. This is probably my favourite part of the routine, it smells absolutely amazing and leaves your skin feeling so soft. It does have a high price tag but if you search around enough you can usually find some sort of discount and I do feel it is worth it for the quality of the product. When I was in SpaceNK the other day I spotted they do a moisturiser in the same range, £55 for a  moisturiser is a bit ridiculous though! :(

step three: using the Elemis peachy perfect gentle face wash from their Fresh Skin range I massage it into my already damp skin. This is to ensure all of my makeup is properly removed and to give it a proper wash. I love the pump bottle it is in as it make so easy to apply which is a negative of the Emma Hardie cleansing balm as, due to hygiene reasons I don't like having to scoop my fingers into the pot.

step four: I only do this 2-3 times a week as I don't feel I need to on a daily basis but I take the Elemis skin glow exfoliator and massage into my skin. I like the jojoba beads in it as you can really feel them removing the dead cells without it feeling like you're harshly scrubbing at your skin. It also has a nice fruity scent which isn't too strong, and this is probably due to the mandarin which it is infused with.

step five: once I have dried my skin using patting motions and a soft towel I take a cotton pad and Pixi Glow tonic and sweep all over my face and neck to ensure all traces of makeup and cleanser are removed and that my face is perfectly clean. I don't feel like it strips it at all but is leaves me with a nice clean base to start putting moiturisers on. It's almost finished and when it is I'm going to buy the origins zero oil toner which I can't wait to try!

step six: around once a week I will use a face mask. I am currently using the Origins clear improvemnts charcoal mask which I picked up in New York in July. It claims to act like a magnet to 'draw out pore cloggers' and clear impurities. I wouldn't say it was holy grail or that I really really can't live without it but I do like it and it's always nice to treat your skin with a mask

step seven: I apply the elemis softly softly daily moisturiser. As I mentioned earlier this is from their fresh skin range. It's not too thick or heavy at all on my skin so it absorbs well and it suitable for a morning moisturiser too. I like it but I don't love it. I would like it to feel a bit more hydrating, it's quite runny so I don't feel like it's really getting into my skin that well, I like my night time moisturisers to feel quite thick and like they're really doing a good job at hydrating my skin.

step eight: I apply a small amount of sudocrem on any areas that I have and blemishes and leave it overnight. It doesn't completely get rid of them overnight and it isn't a miracle worker but for long term it really helps to keep blemishes at bay and reduce the redness of them.

the elemis products are from their Ultimate Skin Fix set and are part of their 'fresh skin' range which is developed especially for young skin. The set contains nine (seven of which are full size products) and retails for £70. It is available to purchase in Debenhams. Overall considering how many products you get and how they have improved my skin I honestly think it is definitely worth the investment! Elemis products are normally much more expensive than this and because it's developed for younger skin I think they have set it at a more affordable price point than their normal ranges.

All of the Elemis products which I used were from the Ultimate Skin Fix set. It contains:

• Skin Clear Treatment Gel 15ml
• Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash 100m
• Peachy Perfect Gentle Face Wash 100ml
• Super Boost Moisturising Serum 30m
• Softly Softly Daily Moisturiser 50ml
• Dreamy Sleep Night-Time Moisturiser 15ml
• Make-up Away Cleansing Wipes 25 wipe
• Loving Lips Quenching Lip Balm 10ml
• Skin Clear Purifying Face Wash 30ml

I was sent the Elemis Ultimate Skin Fix set for review however this does not influence my opinion on it and is 100% honest as always

proactiv 3-step system

I have been using the Proactiv 3-step system* for around 6 weeks or so now. You may of seen adverts for it  on the TV or in magazines before, it is endorsed by Gabriela from one of my favourite TV shows Made in Chelsea which I think is cool!
What they say: "Help your skin start a fresh with this blemish banishing medicated skincare system. Acne-prone skin can be gently cleansed, smoothed and smoothed in 3 simple steps, with results seen within weeks. Perfect for acne-prone skin" Sounds like a miracle product, yes? Well it is.
I've heard mixed things on Proactiv- some people seem to swear by it and say it woks miracles for them but others don't seem to notice much of a difference!

The set consists of three steps:
Step 1: Renewing Cleanser
Step 2: Revitalising Toner
Step 3: Repairing Treatment

As I said above, the first step is the renewing cleanser. This is an exfoliating facial wash which has tiny beads in to get rid of dead skin cells and helps remove any traces of makeup. Before using this I use the Liz Earle cleanse and polish or Herbalism from LUSH to remove my makeup as I don't feel that this works as a makeup remover.
It contains salysilic acid which is well known to help with acne. It is mild though and thankfully isn't irritating which I'm grateful of as my skin can be sensitive!
I just use this in the evenings as I don't like to exfoliate too often and it leaves my skin feeling really soft and smooth without that tight feeling that you can sometimes get with some stronger acne treatments. It doesn't strip the oil from my face either which is good because when the oil is stripped it causes your skin to produce more oil, meaning your skin will be just as oily and as my skin can be oily I'm thankful of this!

Step two is the revitalising toner which I use morning and night straight after the first step after I have dried my face. This has a cooling and soothing effect as it is very mild and it has a fresh scent to it. I simply put a few drops onto a cotton pad and sweep it all over my face and neck. It has botanical extracts in which helps soften the skin and I would completely agree with this claim! It makes my skin really soft and smooth to the touch which it definitely didn't used to be like before starting using this!

The final step is the repairing treatment. I apply this mainly to my jaw, chin and forehead just in the evening. I apply it after my moisturiser which is the Nivea oil free moisturiser and leave it to sink in. It isn't greasy or drying which I thought it could be, and it has a nice consistency to it as it is quite thick but without it being too heavy on the skin.

What I thought...
Overall I have found Proactiv to be a great trio of products which work very well for my skin type. I wish I had taken a before photo but I forgot, boo! My skin was so much worse than it is now before and I'm so glad I have finally found a skincare routine which works for me!

Once again, you can buy Proactiv here

Have you tried Proactiv before? Did it work for you?