Sunday Night Pamper Routine

Some say Sunday is the start of the week and some say it's the end. Whichever the case it is for you, I usually leave Sunday nights as my pamper nights, simply because it's the end of the week for me (my usual off days are on Mondays). 

I keep up a pretty detailed skin care routine every day of the week because I believe in giving my skin the best there is on a daily basis but there are days when even I get lazy to do the full works on my face. But try as I might, I never ever skip my Sunday night routine because it is the one night i really strip my skin bare of all the makeup and gunk that may have accumulated on my face throughout the week and load on all the good stuff.

So let's first start with the pre-cleanse, or better known as the removal of make up. Before piling on all the good stuff onto your face, you have to remove all things that may clog your pores and prevent your skin from fully absorbing all the nutrients and benefits of your subsequent products. Naturally, the first step would be to remove all your make up. 

I typically use Lancome's Bi-Facil to remove all my eye make up, especially the stubborn waterproof mascara that I coat on my eye lashes. I have raved about this eye make up remover so many times before because I truly believe it's the best I've used so far. It removes make up so easily and quickly and it does not sting the eyes at all. The only downside to this is that it is super pricey. 

Next, I'll follow up with a make up remover to remove the products I use on my face. The one I'm current using is Lancome's Galateis Douceur. It is a cleansing milk so what I typically do is to do 2 pumps onto my palms, rub it all over my face to break down all the make up products, and gently wipe everything off with a piece of tissue. While this cleansing milk does do the job of removing most traces of make up, I like to do a double cleanse to make sure I've throughly removed all traces of make up.

My next step is to use a cleanser (which is the second step in double cleansing). My current facial cleanser is Mamonde's Super Moist Foam. Just squeeze a little bit of the cleanser on the palm of your hand, add water and it lathers up pretty well. While I do not rely on facial cleansers to remove make up, I have done a test on the abilities of this cleanser to remove make up. It didn't remove eye make up totally but it did a good job in cleansing away face and lip make up so when I'm done with cleansing, I'm pretty sure I've gotten rid of all traces of make up on my face. (Review: HERE)

After cleansing, I like to use a physical exfoliator to scrub away any dead skin cells on my face. This not only helps promote skin cell renewal but it also helps with deep cleansing my pores. A long time favourite of mine is definitely St Ives's Apricot Scrub, specifically the one that is for blemish control. I like to do this scrub 2-3 times a week after I wash my face with a cleanser. I feel that this minimises the possibility of spots appearing. Clean pores means less chance of clogged pores which leads to lesser spots. Just squeeze some out on to your finger tips and rub it onto your face. Make sure your face is damp and avoid your eye area! Be sure to rub gently so as not to injure your skin.

Once I'm done with all the cleansing, I like to do a purifying wash off mask before I even start with the rest of my skin care. I can hear everyone going "What?! Yet another step?!" Well yes, I do like to make sure my face is squeaky clean before I pamper my face with all the good stuff. My favourite wash off mask of the moment definitely has to be Skin Food's Egg White Pore Mask. It purifies my skin really well without drying it out at all. I apply this onto dry skin, leave for about 10-15 minutes then rinse off. (Review: HERE)

Toners are an essential part of our skin care routine. They are the first step in helping to replenish moisture back into our skin that may have been lost during the cleansing process. Toners also help to soften and prepare the skin for the rest of the products that will be added on subsequently. I'm currently taking a break from my favourite Boots Botanics All Bright Cleansing Toner and I'm giving Mamonde's Rose Water Toner a shot. So far I'm liking it a lot! Just squeeze out some of the toner onto a cotton pad and sweep it all over your face, avoiding the eye area of course. (Review: HERE)

I like to do my eye creams immediately after my toner but I know many people like to leave it to the last step so it really is up to you. There is no right or wrong way of doing this. Eye creams are essential for hydrating the delicate eye area. Even if you do not have fine lines around your eyes, proper hydration is the first line of defence against aging so be sure to invest in a good eye cream to keep the area around your eyes hydrated! I'm still using my trusty Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment. I scoop a little of this on my ring fingers, rub them together to warm up the product, then dab it gently around my eye area. This cream definitely does the trick in keeping my eyes happily moisturised. (Review: HERE)

After eye cream, I move on to essence. Whilst most people use essence and serums interchangeably, I typically view essences as the more liquid version of a serum. I've used IOPE's Bio Essence Intensive Conditioning for quite a while (although I didn't feature it in my 10 step skin care regime because I didn't start using this until after I did up that post) and I've really been liking it. Applying this literally feels like applying water onto my face. It does what it says it does, which is to improve the condition of my face. After adding this into my skin care regime, I notice my face becoming smoother (lesser of those little pesky bumps are formed on the face), my complexion becoming brighter and clearer, lesser spots tend to form during that time of the month, my face becomes a lot lesser oily than before, and the redness on my face as a whole seems to have lessen. What I do is to pour a bit of this onto the palm of my hand, rub my palms together and then pat this all over my face. Alternatively you can choose to soak a cotton pad with the lotion and sweep it all over your face (the same way you would do with a toner), avoiding the eye area. (Review: HERE)

Now it's time to talk about serums. I love serums. They're like a concentrated shot of goodness to the face, and you get to choose what goodness you want on your face. On most days I just stick to my trusty Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum. I've raved about this serum so many times before so I believe I do not need to do so here. I pump one pump onto my palm, rub my palms together, then pat it all over my face, avoiding my eye area.

This is pretty new to my skin care regime. Since I thought I would give my skin a break from my favourite Boots toner, I thought I would give the serum from the same range a shot. I got the Boots Botanics Radiance Concentrate Serum All Bright when I was in BKK and so far I'm really liking it. I'll probably do up a full review on this after I try this for a longer period of time (I've only been using it for 4 days or so). I drop 3-4 drops on my palm, rub my palms together, then pat it all over my face, avoiding my eye area.

After I'm done with my serums, I like to do a sheet mask to energise my skin. I really love doing sheet masks because not only do they inject much needed moisture into my skin, they also come with all sorts of skin benefits depending on what flavour they are. Also, it is so calming to just lie down with a cooling mask on my face and a book in my hand (or whatever phone game I'm addicted to at the moment) for a good 15-20 minutes. It helps me relax after a long day at work or being out with my friends/boyfriend. My sheet masks of the moment have been from Etude House's I Need You range. You can click HERE for my mask haul (with short write ups on each mask and the link for the full review of the individual masks if they are up).

On the areas where I have spots, or scars from spots, I apply a thin layer of Nature Republic's Soothing & Moisture Aloe Vera Soothing Gel. I'm a huge fan of aloe vera and all the amazing benefits it has. If you're prone to getting spots, you should know how amazing aloe vera is at soothing those angry and painful red spots as well as helping with the healing process. On areas when my skin is peeling, I also like to dab a bit of aloe vera gel and by the next morning, all the peeling stops. It's amazing and this aloe vera gel is so crazily affordable.

Last but not least, I top everything off with a moisturiser. My current favourite is Mamonde's Floral Hydro Cream. I love everything about this cream. Not only does it smells amazing, it is incredibly hydrating even though it is really light weight. There's honestly nothing not to love (unless you're a tub hater). (Review: HERE)

Last, but not least, I top everything up with a sleeping pack. I'm currently using Laneige Water Sleeping Pack_EX. I've been using this for years as the last step in my skin care routine and it just seals all the amazing goodness into my skin. I always wake up with smoother skin the next day whenever I use this.

And this concludes my Sunday Night Pamper Routine :> I hope this has been helpful to all those who are looking for pamper routines to well pamper your skin.