Skincare routine for dry skin & best dry skin products

my sister's skincare routine dry skin

If you have dry skin, you already know that a good skincare routine is crucial for you. That’s why I collected the best dry skin products in this post, with a little help from my sister.

What is dry skintype?

A normal skin produces both sebum and sweat, which together create an acid mantle. That is the skin’s barrier, which protects the skin from dryness, bacteria, air pollutants and other external threats. Dry skin type doesn’t produce enough sebum, which is why the skin appears dry and sensitive. Basically the acid mantle isn’t working properly. On dry skin the pores aren’t really visible or they’re small.

Dry skin demands oil and moisture. It can be more or less sensitive. It can’t take certain ingredients and it can react to things like weather quite dramatically, since the acid mantle isn’t fully there to take the hit.

dry skin skincare
Dry skin. Here is Annika and her beautiful skin. You can see she takes good care of it! Her beauty therapist-sister must be proud.

My sister Annika has a dry skin, which, you wouldn’t necessarily believe, if you didn’t know better. She takes such good care of her skin, it basically looks flawless.

Only fair to share her skincare secrets, right?

Besides sharing her current routine, Annika also shared all of her favorite products for dry skin.

skincare products for dry skin

SKINCARE ROUTINE FOR DRY SKIN

AM MORNING ROUTINE

1. Toner – *Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion
2. Serum – *Novexpert Booster Serum 
3. Oil – *Pura D’Or Organic Argan oil
4. Moisturizer – *Loccitane Aqua Reotier Ultra-Thirst Quenching Cream
5. Eye Cream – *Natura Siberica Siberian Ginseng Eye Cream

 

Cleansing

Toner

On mornings, Annika just wipes her face clean with a toner. Currently she is using Biotherm’s hydrating & softening lotion. Usually she can’t use products that contain alcohol, but this particular product is working fine. Long time favorite toner of hers is *Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion

Moisturizing

Serum & Argan oil

Annika uses a moisturizing serum before applying the oil. Two of her favorite serums are *Novexpert Booster Serum with Hyaluronic acid and Estelle Thild BioHydrate Thirst Relief serum.

Argan oil is the most important thing in Annika’s routine. It’s actually an oil that I love to use on my skin as well. It’s safe to say that it’s an oil, that is suitable for all skin types and problems: dryness, wrinkles, blemishes, acne scars and even acne. My sister also sometimes uses argan oil in her makeup: she just mixes a few drops in her foundation.

Cream

Right now Annika uses *L’occitane AquaReotier Ultra-Thirst Quenching Cream, which I gave her to try. Other great moisturizers Annika likes to use are *Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Rich Cream and *Novexpert The Repulp Cream.

I like to think I taught my sisters the importance of an eye cream. An eye cream is a part of Annika’s routine and I’m proud. Taking care of that thin skin around our eyes is important. *Natura Siberica Siberian Ginseng Eye Cream is very moisturizing, but doesn’t feel heavy.

P.S. Check out my post on L’Occitane Aqua Reotier products!

dry skin skincare routine

PM EVENING ROUTINE

1. Makeup remover – *Makeup eraser
2. Skin Cleanser – *Lumene Valo Balm Cleanser
3. Toner – *Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion
4. Serum – *Novexpert Booster Serum
5. Oil – *Pura D’Or Organic Argan oil
6. Moisturizer – *Loccitane Aqua Reotier Ultra-Thirst Quenching Cream
7. Eye Cream – *Natura Siberica Siberian Ginseng Eye Cream

Cleansing


Makeup eraser

Annika uses makeup eraser to remove all her makeup in the evening. The original makeup eraser is very soft and it’s indeed gentle enough even for a dry skin. She has used this for a few years now.

It’s seriously so effective, but soft as a feather. Or heaven. (I ended up buying it and I love it.)

Cleanser

Annika’s favorite skin cleanser is unfortunately discontinued (Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel). I would recommend Lumene Valo Balm Cleanser, which has that same balmy oily consistency.

Moisturizing

After the double cleansing, it’s the same toner + oil + moisturizer + eye cream combo than it is on the mornings.

 

WEEKLY MASK FOR DRY SKIN

 

Weekly exfoliating and masking is crucial even for dry skin. Getting rid of those dead skin cells helps the toners and moisturizers to do their magic even better.

When you choose the right products, it’s not too drying, I promise. I gave Annika Lumene’s Nordic-C Glow Reveal Peeling Mask as I felt it was very gentle and could work for her. Happy I did, because it’s now dry-skin approved. I wrote a post about Lumene Valo products here.

Other masks that Annika likes to use are moisturizing *sheet masks (from korean brands mostly) and acid-containing exfoliants (like the Lumene one mentioned above).

And sometimes (not weekly, more like once or twice per month) she uses a more effective mud mask. But she never applies the mud mask on the most sensitive areas which are her cheeks and forehead. If she does a mud mask she only applies it on her nose and chin.

my sister's skincare routine

Thank you dear sister for helping me put this post together! Hopefully this helps all the dry-skinned beauties out there. Would you like to see more posts like this? I’m thinking of some makeup recommendations, dry skin approved?

The Finnish light – Lumene Valo

lumene valo products review

lumene valo

Valo.

That’s a pretty common Finnish word, meaning light. Light has a mind of it’s own here. In summer it feels as if we have all the light in the world – and in winter it’s possible you don’t get any light. Zero. It’s tough. And you can only imagine what that means blogging-wise. Well, I’ve survived other winters and nowadays I do own better lights, so maybe I’ll survive. Maybe.

Be it whatever – light is inspiring and the lack of it makes you appreciate it even more. It’s not a bad choice for Lumene’s Nordic-C -line, which is all about bringing that light to your skin. And whenever we’re talking about brightening products promising a glowy skin, I’m on board!

I got these products as pr-samples. *adlink

lumene valo

Lumene Nordic-C Valo review

Lumene’s Nordic-C Valo line is based on ingredients like arctic cloudberry, vitamin c, hyaluronic acid and arctic spring water. The ingredients are mostly natural. For example the mist is 96% naturally derived, which is quite cool.

Here’s my thoughts on some of the Valo – products. My favorites out of these are definitely the Glow Reveal Peeling mask and the Glow Refresh Hydrating Mist.

Lumene Nordic-C Pure Glow Cleansing Balm

The consistency in this cleansing balm is very nice. It’s a mixture of balm, oil and emulsion. At first, it feels like a balm. But as soon as you put it on your skin, it melts and almost feels like an oil. And when you mix it with water, it turns into an emulsion. When I rinse it off, it leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean – but not oily.

You’re supposed to apply this on wet skin, but I actually prefer to use it on dry skin as a makeup remover. It’s amazing for that. I tried it both ways, but I just really prefer it as a makeup remover. As it’s a balm that melts into an oil, it’s awesome to really get all that makeup off of your face. It’s also great in a sense, that a little goes a long way.

So, here’s a good gentle cleanser, that can also act as a makeup remover.

Lumene Nordic-C Glow Reveal Peeling Mask

This mask became my favorite on the first try. It makes my skin feel and look smooth and glowy. I’ve said it before, but acids are amazing for your skin. They peel your skin gently, without the physical exfoliation and irritation. They minimize the appearance of pores, sebaceous filaments and they help to get rid of acne scars.

The mask feels like a gel cream and it glides nicely onto the skin. I sometimes experience a little tingling sensation, when I’m using this (which happens with acids and is normal). I might not always leave it on for 10 minutes – sometimes 6 or 7 minutes is enough. It has a subtle fresh scent to it, which I don’t mind. This is suitable for all skin types as well.

lumene nordic-c valo

Lumene Nordic-C Glow Refresh Hydrating Mist

The first thing I noticed about this product was how fine the mist is, when it comes out. It’s so fine – and it feels so nice on my skin. The mist is great to use under lotions to bring some extra hydration, but you can also use it during the day to refresh your face. I know a light mist doesn’t sound like it would bring that much hydration, but actually it does. When you’re treating dry skin, lighter products can work better than heavy lotions. Instead of applying a heavy cream on your face, try using light products and layer them. Light products, like this lovely mist, absorb really nicely into the skin and do their magic that way.

This would also be nice to use during flights. I might just need to get it for my upcoming travels, since I’ve almost ran out of this product.

Lumene Nordic-C Bright Eyes All-in-one Eye Treatment

I have actually used Lumene’s eye products before. Their gel-cream was my first proper eye cream ever and I still to this day sometimes recommend it to friends. This eye cream is nice as well. It’s a cream, but it’s quite lightweight. It doesn’t irritate my eyes and it keeps the skin nicely moisturized. I’ve heard someone say, that Lumene has the best eye creams. So far, having tried two of them, I think that they are a pretty safe choice.

lumene valo review
Lumene Nordic-C BB-Cream, shade Light/Medium swatched.

Lumene Nordic-C Bright Boost BB-Cream

Lumene’s BB and CC -creams are quite popular here and many beauty bloggers recommend them. So, I was quite excited about this one. Especially since I feel like I haven’t had that much luck with Lumene’s makeup products before. Unfortunately the color is a bit off for me though. It’s slightly too light and slightly too pink, but it works when I mix it with some other (more yellow-toned) foundation. The consistency in the BB-cream is nice. It’s medium-coverage, the consistency feels quite hydrating, but not too heavy and it leaves my skin looking glowy. It lasts quite well on my face too and since it’s not that full-coverage, it wears off naturally.

lumene valo review

All in all, I’m happy with these products. It was nice to try some Lumene products for a change. It’s actually the first time I properly talk about Lumene here on my blog at all. Lumene is possibly the most known Finnish brand in Finland. It’s a classic. Still – I haven’t used that much of their products before. But now with their new branding, new products and new packaging – I’m finding myself to be quite interested in them. It’s also nice to show you some Finnish brands, made here in Finland. Especially if they’re good.

It’s been intriguing to see Lumene expand and being sold all over the world. So for once, these Finnish products are available internationally as well and I have links for some shops!

*Lumene Valo products on amazon

*Lumene Valo products

*Lumene Valo products on Lookfantastic US
*Lumene Valo products on Lookfantastic UK

Are you familiar with Lumene?

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