Today I'll be sharing with you my current skincare routine~ This is for warmer weather as its summer here right now, but some products are permanent in my routine!
The products I currently use include COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser, Mizon AHA 8% Peeling Serum, Hadalabo Shirojyun Arbutin Lotion, JuJu Aquamoist Moisture Lotion, Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion, Innisfree Green Tea Moisture Cream, Petitfee Black Pearl & Gold Hydrogel Eye Patches, Hadalabo UV Creamy Gel and this lip balm really deserves its place here, the Nivea Repair and Protection Lip Balm.

I'll just make a disclaimer here that I bought all of these myself, nothing sponsored, and after doing some research. Most of these were bought online and are under $20NZD each. I wait for sales/promotions and look up prices on at least 5 webstores, so be a smart shopper. None of these products were sponsored and I'm not affiliated with any of the companies. Also, what works for me might not work for you! 

My morning and night routine are different due to the texture or working ability, but I'll just sum that up at the end after introducing all the products.

My stats: I have dry, sensitive skin, with a slightly oily t-zone in summer (currently.) I'm 19 and I have "young" skin. I sleep at 3-5am every night

 My skin troubles that are on the way to being banished, include uneven skin tone with redness around my nose, closed comedones (white heads) on my forehead and temples, and some sebaceous filaments on my chin. Also have severe dark circles.. Although I have these problems with my skin, I'm glad that I don't have it too bad and never had cystic acne. Occasionally I do get random pimples though ;;

I follow the Asian skincare routine where layering is key, and the full routine goes like this:
-Double cleanse (1st cleanser: cleansing oil/balm +2nd cleanser: cleansing foam/milk/gel/water)
-Actives/Chemical Exfoliants (Vitamin C/BHA/AHA)
-Toner/"Lotion'
-Serum/Essence/Ampoule
-Put on a sheet mask ; u ;
-Emulsion/"Milky lotion"
-Moisturising cream
-Eye cream
-Sleeping packs/occlusives, spot treatments
-Sunscreen
And obviously I don't have every single step in my own routine, as I can decide what I feel like I need for myself. But I am planning on adding vitamin C, niacinamide (I have the LJH Vita Propolis Ampoule coming in!), and more hyaluronic acid into my routine soon~



CHEMICAL EXFOLIANT: MIZON AHA 8% PEELING SERUM
Now this stuff is amazing. Basically, this wee bottle of magic is helping me get rid of the tiny pimples that are actually closed comedones/whiteheads off my forehead, and it fades the redness around my nose. Its still an ongoing process but I can see the improvement from using this!

AHA promotes cell turnover, so it gets rid of the dead cells kinda like scrubs. Scrubs are physical exfoliators, which can scratch and damage your skin, but chemical exfoliators are in a liquid form that get absorbed by your skin, letting the active ingredient do its thing deep in your skin :~)


The way it works for me is that I apply this to freshly cleansed skin, on my forehead, around my nose, and chin at night, and then overnight it brings the whitehead bump to a visible head- not a completely new pimple! Then after a few days you can see that the bump is gone and your skin is nice and smooth where the bump used to be!

I only use this every 2 or 3 days at night. You must let it absorb into your skin for 15-20 minutes before continuing your routine.

AHA is photosensitive, meaning it increases your chances of sun damage by I think 10%, so you must wear sunscreen the next day!! Also if you use too much of this, you may overexfoliate and breakout :( If your skin doesn't like it then you can breakout even from 1st use, so start by patch testing with a little amount.

If you have similar problems as me that you want to target, this is something that you could try!! But make sure you do your research on chemical exfoliants- don't underestimate these clear liquids!

I recommend this to people who are trying to get rid of closed comedones and hyperpigmentation, and want smoother skin!


HYDRATING TONER: HADALABO SHIROJYUN ARBUTIN LOTION
This "lotion" is actually a toner, since the Japanese term for toner is lotion. The consistency is just like water.The shirojyun has arbutin in it which helps brighten your skin. Not whiten, but brighten!! I decided to try this one out even though it is less moisturising than Gokujyun, since it offers a brightening effect that I'm after, and it works. Earns itself a permanent position in my routine- holy grail status.





HYDRATING TONER: JUJU AQUAMOIST MOISTURE LOTION AKA "MAGIC WATER"
The reason for using two watery lotions is because my skin loves hyaluronic acid, it leaves my skin feeling so plump and hydrated :") and its the single product that gives me the best moisturising results.  I love getting plenty of hydration, so layering on lotions is like heaven for me :") This lotion is also called "magic water" because my bf doesn't get any of this so I just tell him its "magic water" HAHAHA

 As you can see, I'm nearly done with this bottle, on my last few drops T__T It has lasted me about 8 months, which is amazing as I slap this all over my face twice a day!!

I used the Hadalabo Gokujyun Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion in late 2014/early 2015 and thats another favourite of mine! After running out of that I tried out this moisture lotion from Aquamoist, which is another famous hyaluronic acid product. I love both of them equally and both are holy grails. More holy than other holy grails. I plan on trying out the Milk version of Gokujyun lotion, since I'm missing an "emulsion" from my routine, and it could be another holy grail product!



 They both have these pop caps from the top of the bottle.  Sometimes I end up getting too much lotion out but its ok because I know for sure this doesn't break me out, just moisturemoisturemoisture ; u ; However if you have oily/acne prone skin, it is not recommended that you "over-moisturise" or you might break out >:(

Hyaluronic acid moisture lotion is something I can't live without, and if I were to live on only ONE skincare product, this would be it. 


LIGHT MOISTURISER: INNISFREE GREEN TEA BALANCING LOTION
Now this lotion is an ACTUAL LOTION, like inbetween an emulsion and a moisturising cream- its your silky, thick but light lotion. This lotion is in the "balancing" line of Innisfree's green tea series, so its actually for combination skin, but I'm using this now because, as I mentioned before I get a bit oily in my t-zone in the summer heat. This moisturising lotion absorbs really well and I like to use it day and night. At night its another step of hydration, in the morning, its my final step of hydration. Since it absorbs quick, I don't need to wait forever before applying sunscreen and makeup~


The bottle is plastic but REALLY STURDY, LIKE ROCK SOLID LOL. I'd imagine it to be extremely difficult to get the last drops of product though OTL And its a bit hard to control the exact amount of product coming out. I guess thats the only complaint but the product itself it really nice and I would recommend it as a light day-time moisturiser!



OCCLUSIVE CREAM: INNISFREE GREEN TEA MOISTURE CREAM
Even though this is in the "moisturising" line, I don't find it very moisturising. BUT it is a good product to help lock in moisture. Sealing up the moisture is important so that all the layers of moisture applied before stays in your skin.


 The consistency is extremely thick, so I don't slather this all over my face, and only use at night. I just use this cream on areas where I tend to get dry patches. This cream is ok, and I'd rather use this than Vaseline but I'll be using a more moisturising cream and using a sleeping pack as an occlusive when the weather is less hot. Actually I think this is the only product that I don't strongly recommend in my whole routine ;;

After applying this cream, thats the end of my night routine done! This process takes about half an hour, but most of the time is just waiting for the AHA to absorb ; w ;


THE FUN STUFF:

PETITFEE BLACK PEARL & GOLD HYDROGEL EYE PATCHES
I'll be posting a review of this on its own, but I like to pop these on for quick relaxation when my eyes are puffy/while staying up till 5am lol but spoiler alert: this babies aren't nearly enough for these designer bags

FACE MASKS
My favourite face masks are from My Beauty Diary!! MBD is a long time favourite of mine, since like 2010?? Their masks are thinner than most Korean masks, they feel light on your face and you don't need to worry about it falling off, but most importantly they make your skin so soft and supple :") I also recommend Innisfree, they absorb into the skin really well too, but MBD masks in general make my skin feel softer.
Recommendations: My Beauty Diary Black Pearl, Arbutin Whitening (these two are really popular but they are really good), 2 Step Europe Clarifying Pack (this one comes with little pack of gel!)



SUNSCREEN: HADALABO UV CREAMY GEL SPF 50+
After I do my morning routine, I use this sunscreen as the final step before makeup. This a chemical sunscreen so you need to wait like 20 minutes before the spf is effective, but it doesn't leave a white cast and its very smooth like a primer, which is great if you wear makeup. It has hyaluronic acid in it so its moisturising too!!♥


The texture is literally a creamy gel, its very silky and easy to blend. It absorbs so fast unlike physical sunscreens!! I never wore sunscreen on my face before because I hated how the ones they sell here smell and it just felt bad on my face (physical sunscreens). But since I use AHA I need to use sunscreen to protect my skin, so I was searching for a good sunscreen to use and decided on this one, and I absolutely love it!! I will be sticking with this one for maybe forever and I'm not tempted to try Biore's. 200% recommend this to everyone :")


LIP BALM: NIVEA REPAIR & PROTECTION SPF 15
No lip balm ever did it as well as this one. I've always had severely dry, flaky lips that would bleed all the time but this has really saved my chapped lips. I've tried EOS, Mentholatum Lip Ice, Chap Stick, other Nivea lip balms, but tbh they all felt like I was putting a layer of wax on my lips that actually did nothing to help. This one however, really does repair and protect my lips. I actually bought this because my lips were reeeeally chapped and I was desperate, I saw that Nivea lip balms were on sale for $3.20 and picked this up. Best $3.20 spent in my life LMAO


It has this much product so it'll last me quite a while!
I kinda want to try Carmex but I'm not too fond of the intense cooling sensation or the menthol smell. This one has a sweet honey scent in the tube but its flavourless on the lips. When you apply this on your lips, its not like a layer of film just sitting there, it actually gets absorbed into your lips so they feel really soft~ This lip balm is just so cheap and effective that I wouldn't spend any more money on other lip treatments :^)


MORNING ROUTINE
1. Cleanse with COSRX Low pH Gel Cleanser or only water
2. Hadalabo Shirojyun Arbutin Lotion
3. JuJu Aquamoist Moisture Lotion
4. Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion
5. Hadalabo UV Creamy Gel
6. Nivea Repair and Protection lip balm

NIGHT ROUTINE
1. Double Cleanse with COSRX Low pH Gel Cleanser
2, Mizon AHA 8% Peeling Serum
3. Hadalabo Shirojyun Arbutin Lotion
4. JuJu Aquamoist Moisture Lotion
5. Face mask (once a week-ish)
6. Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Lotion
7. Innisfree Green Tea Moisture Cream
8. Nivea Repair and Protection lip balm (load this on)
9. Petitfee Black Peal & Gold Hydrogel Eye patches (whenever I feel like it)

All of these products have low potential acne/irritation triggering ingredients (you can search on COSDNA) except for the eye patches. Its not too big of an issue to be honest, but I will talk about that in its own review.

As always, thank you for reading this very lengthy post and I hope it has given you some ideas to build your own routine! I would love it if you could comment with feedback or any recommendations that I should try out!! (someone pls recommend me an eye cream that actually works) Please remember that the products I use will not suit everyone as we all have different skin types!
[Edit: I didn't think I needed to include this but just in case you were wondering, I was not sponsored to write this review!]
-Christina

Also: I was going to do a review of my fave Aritaum Honey Melting Tint for Anonymous commenter but    I LOST IT SOMEHOW FML pls pray for me that i can find it somewhere T_T