Everyone’s skin is different, and even your own skin can change from season to season, and even from day to day! So, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to skincare - but there are some good basics that everyone should follow. To help you get to grips with them (and start your journey to fabulous, fresh, happy skin!) we’ve put together a little guide to help you build your own personal routine using your Lulu & Marula products.

THE BASICS

Morning
The main function of your morning routine (apart from giving you a few much-needed moments of quiet to start your day) is to prep your skin for the day and give it the tools it needs to be protected from environmental stressors. A great morning routine is like a suit of wonderfully gorgeous armour to fight free radicals, pollution, cold or dry weather, and the sun throughout the day.

1. Cleanse
People often ask if it’s really necessary to cleanse your skin in the morning - and the answer is a resounding yes! We often sweat a lot when we sleep, so it’s always a good idea to remove any residue and start with a clean canvas before going in with your serums, oils, and makeup. We recommend starting the day with our oil-to-milk Balancing Cleansing Balm, which gently cleanses the skin without drying it out. Gently massage into dry skin for a couple of minutes as the ultimate ritual to start a great day.

2. Tone
Toning is a great way to wake your skin (and yourself!) up and is the first hydrating step. Your leave-on products, which come straight after toning, will be better absorbed if applied to slightly damp skin, and our Refreshing Tonic Mist is perfect for this. Made with a blend of antioxidant-rich botanical waters and extracts, it has the added benefit of plant-based glycerin which attracts moisture into the skin. Spritz directly onto the skin, or swipe over your face using a cotton pad.

3. Treat
Next up is serum. These are treatments specially formulated to target key skincare concerns like dehydration, premature ageing, and sun damage. They’re usually lightweight products and aren’t designed to moisturise skin on their own (guys, hydration and moisturisation are different things!), which is why you always follow a serum with a moisturiser or oil. Our Balancing Hydra Serum is a great option that’s suitable for all skin types - its key purpose is to hydrate the skin because so many of us are dehydrated (even if you have oiler skin, as hydration and oil are completely different things), while also delivering powerful antioxidants that firm and protect your skin from premature ageing. Plus, it’s also a very skin-soothing formula - total bonus.

4. Moisturise
Your moisturiser is your key protector and locks in all the other ingredients that you’ve just layered onto your skin. We like to use a facial oil in place of a traditional, cream-based moisturiser - because you’ve already applied your water-based products, a facial oil will now give your skin the oil-based ingredients it needs to balance and replenish your skin’s protective lipid barrier. Don’t worry about your skin feeling greasy though - our facial oils are lightweight and skin-loving, meaning they’re super easily absorbed into the skin. Have combination to oily skin, or suffer from breakouts? We suggest our Purifying Treatment Oil. Or, if you have normal to dry, sun-damaged, sensitive or mature skin, then our Nourishing Treatment Oil is ideal for you.

5. SPF
No matter if it’s cloudy outside, or even if you’re not planning on leaving the house, SPF should always be the last step in your routine before you apply makeup, or the very last step if you’re going bare-faced. SPF is still the most effective anti-ageing product, as preventing sun damage is always much easier than trying to fix it later. Even if your makeup contains an SPF, we suggest using a separate SPF for guaranteed effective protection. We don’t currently have an SPF in our range, but it would be irresponsible for us not to recommend using one.

Evening
The main function of your nighttime routine is to give your skin the tools it needs to repair and replenish itself, while also allowing you the perfect moment of quiet to wind down at the end of your day. But, that’s not to say that your skin only repairs itself at night - that’s total fake news. It’s just that at night your skin isn’t being bombarded with the environmental stressors it has to fight against during the day, so it has a better chance of focusing mainly on replenishment, rather than having to also think about protection.

1. Cleanse
Cleansing your face at the end of the day has to be one of the best feelings ever (in our opinion - and let’s be honest, we’re always right!) If you’ve worn SPF and/or makeup that day, we highly recommend doing a double cleanse. A double cleanse is exactly what it sounds like – you cleanse your skin all over again, right after cleansing it the first time. It’s a great technique because the first cleanse removes the surface dirt and build-up, including SPF and makeup, and the second cleanse ensures that anything lingering is gone, and your skin is properly prepared to welcome all the lovely products you’re about to layer on it. Our Balancing Cleansing Balm can be used for both your first and second cleanse. Try using it with a (clean) face cloth every evening to create the perfect foundation for your products.

2. Tone
Just like it is in the morning, toning is key to your night routine. We love sandwiching in antioxidants and hydration wherever we can because, as we’ve said, most people’s skin is dehydrated. However, if you’d prefer to do this step just once a day (either morning or evening) that’s okay, too! Again, our Refreshing Tonic Mist is ideal for this step.

3. Hydrate
Again, hydrating is really the core treatment step of your routine where you can layer on your serum(s). Using our Balancing Hydra Serum at this step will help your skin repair and replenish itself, as opposed to serving more of a “protection” role when used in the day. Go on - your gorgeous mug deserves all the hydration it can get!

4. Moisturise
Your last step in your evening routine, this really locks everything and encourages all; the nourishing ingredients that you’ve layered on to absorb beautifully. Like we do in our morning routine, we like to use an oh-so-lovely, gorgeously glowy facial oil as our moisturiser. If you’re feeling like you need an extra moisture injection (oh hi there, winter!) you can also always let your skin products sit for a while, and then add another layer of oil, should your skin need it. Our Purifying Treatment Oil is for skin that is combination to oily, or if you suffer from breakouts, and our Nourishing Treatment Oil is for normal to dry skin, sun-damaged, sensitive or mature skin. But don’t be afraid to mix and match - feel free to switch these oils up and use one in the morning and the other in the evening. It all depends on how your skin feels and what it may need. You know your skin best!

Weekly
Exfoliating and applying a face mask isn’t part of your daily skin routine, but it should be incorporated 1-3 times a week, depending on your skin.

Add this step in right after you’ve cleansed your skin, before your toning or hydrating steps. Our Mask & Polishes are a 2-in-1 face mask and exfoliating treatment (can we get a shout out for multitaskers?!) Our Nourishing Mask & Polish is targeted at normal to dry, dull or mature skin, but it’s totally suitable for all skin types, and our Purifying Mask & Polish is for combination to oily, or blemish-prone skins - but again, it can be used by anyone. Feel free to mix things up and alternate these masks based on how your skin is feeling, or use the Purifying Mask & Polish on any patches of breakouts or your t-zone, and the Nourishing Mask & Polish everywhere else. Mix up a mask, apply liberally, and enjoy some well needed (and well deserved!) me-time while it’s on.

SWITCHING IT UP

A lot of our products are multi-use, and because your skin is constantly changing based on seasons, hormones, diet and other factors, you shouldn’t be afraid to change up your routine based on what you feel your skin needs. After all, you know your skin best! So we’ve put together a little guide on how best to change things up, which you can read right here.