From winter to spring: how to transition your skincare routine

Written by Jenny Wu
Jenny Wu

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  1. Melissa says:

    I’ve been doing the Korean skin care routine for a while now and I’ve recently been seeing others do things differently. I start with the Klairs toner, than get into my snail mucin essence, then i proceed to my Cosrx aha liquid, then my vitamin C20 serum then my oils then moisturizer. Both my serum and aha liquid are liquid form and many bloggers have been saying to apply them before my essence since it’s an acid treatment. Is this true? Usually you’re supposed to apply serum after essence, idk if there is an exception with vitamin c

    • Jenny says:

      Hi Melissa! That’s correct that you should apply any AHA (eg. the CosRX aha liquid), BHA, or l-ascorbic acid (eg. the vitamin c20 serum) products first because they are actives and require your skin to be a specific pH level to work. You can learn more about the how and why here, hope this helps!

  2. Mixing facial oil is such a great tip! Jenny you have some amazing photos here and I love your guide :) http://www.bauchlefashion.com/2017/04/7-signs-your-beauty-addict.html

  3. I have a super oily skin but I do recognize a few routines from you that I also use! The serum+sheetmasks is awesome and I learned it from you. I did this during the winter time (yes you talked about spring hehe) but I loved it so much <3 My Klairs toner is on its way and now I hear its quiet hydrated i'm kinda scared if it will work for my skin, even when i apply it on a cotton pad. Oh well, you will see a review about my experience with the Klairs toner soon! It was fun to read hon

    XX, An || http://thebeauparlour.com/

    • Jenny says:

      Thanks An! So glad you like the serum + sheet mask combo, I actually use this year round too :P The Klairs toner is definitely on the richer side when it comes to toners, but if you use it on a cotton pad I don’t think it’ll be too bad :) Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it!

  4. Jen says:

    You have a marvelous skincare routine, I’m taking notes to buy some of this products and try them! ♥

    http://www.heresometimes.com

  5. Lovely products you share in here! Thanks for sharing with us <3

    xo
    ayu

  6. Marina Rosie says:

    This was fab as usual Jenny, I’m definitely going to have to try mixing in some toner with my heavier creams, sounds like such a good plan. And facial oils are just everything aren’t they?! x
    Lots of love,
    Marina Rosie x
    http://marinawriteslife.blogspot.fr/

    • Jenny says:

      Thank you so much Marina Rosie! :) I’m so glad I decided to give facial oils a try, they’re truly lifesavers during the dry winter months! <3

  7. Keri says:

    These products look absolutely amazing!! Thanks for sharing :)

    Enclothed Cognition

  8. Dasynka says:

    I’t a great idea add some toner or essence to the cream, never try it! Amazing tips, thank you so!
    And love these lightful pics :)
    With love,
    Dasynka
    http://dasynka.com

  9. Sofia says:

    Yesss I love sheet masks!!!! :D Great tips!

    xx Sofia | SOFIAADOT

  10. Andreanne says:

    You are a skincare genius! I can’t wait to try layering products under my next sheet mask sesh. I hope we have a chance to chat about all things skincare over coffee someday, I’d love to pick your brain <3

    • Jenny says:

      Aww, thanks Andreanne ☺️ Yes, a chat over coffee would be lovely! I’ll let you know if I ever visit Toronto (I used to live there, miss it a lot actually), or et me know if you ever visit Washington DC!

  11. Laura says:

    Ooh this post gave me a lot of mixing inspiration! I have never combined oils with toners or anything, but sheet masks I always apply after my other skincare to maximise the absorption. This post was so well thought-out and beautifully photographed I can only salute you! Lotion masks are my new favorite – so much lighter than often thick essenced Taiwanese sheet masks. I think that’s one of my transition tricks, otherwise I haven’t transitioned much.. I’m still dry like a Sahara!

    xx Laura / Laurantaina Beauty Blog

    • Jenny says:

      Glad to hear that Laura, and thank you for the lovely comment! I like to get creative with my skincare routine (I get bored easily…haha), so it’s nice when I can switch things up without buying new products :) I agree, lotion masks are great for adding hydration without any stickiness when you’re crunched for time!

  12. Emily says:

    Great post! I have definitely been going for a more moisturizing routine as of late. A little bit less toner, and more serums and creams. I also love a good vitamin c cream this time of year. Since I live in Arizona, and it gets so hot, I try to wear a lot less makeup in the summer because it just melts off. So during March I like to heavy up on the vitamin c to correct all the hyperpigmentation from the winter months! That way my skin is glowing. :)

    -Emily http://www.coatandcoffee.com

    • Jenny says:

      Thank you Emily! Serums and moisturizers are always the star of my routine, though toners are nice for mixing and lotion masking :D I’ve started using a vitamin c serum as well to help prep my skin for the summer months when I’ll be outdoors more!

  13. Camilla says:

    Great ideas! I definitely have a few heavier creams to use up so I’m going to try mixing some toner into them! Thanks!

  14. These are all such excellent tips Jenny! I’m a HUGE fan of facial oils too and used them every day as part of my skincare routine. They have made such a different to my dry skin but I have never thought of mixing facial oil with a toner/essence or even using it before sheet mask. That is definitely something to try. I just order some sheet masks from Sephora as I’m running low on my Korean ones. xx

    Ann-Marie | http://facetocurls.com

    • Jenny says:

      Thanks so much for reading Ann Marie, glad you found the tips helpful! I’m a huge fan of facial oils as well, but using them the traditional way hasn’t always worked well for my skin, which is why I started researching different ways they can be applied :) Hope these methods work just as well for you!

  15. Cat L. says:

    Thank you for all these wonderful tips, Jenny! I never thought about adding toner or essence to my rich nighttime cream, but it sounds like such a great idea and very easy to implement. Will definitely try this for my morning routine. Also, you always tempt me with Naruko and I think I will be giving their products a try very soon! Sounds like such a lovely brand! Great post Jenny and beautiful photography!

    ~ Cat L.
    http://www.CatsDailyLiving.com

    • Jenny says:

      Thank you so much Cat, so glad you found the tips helpful! :) Naruko has a huge range of products, but their sheet masks are the best in my opinion, plus they’re very affordable! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on how mixing the essence with your night cream works!

  16. Floortje says:

    These products sound all great! Loving the photography as well

    Xx,

    || FLOORTJELOVES ||

    http://www.floortjeloves.com
    http://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/floortjeloves-12198253

  17. Blush Canvas says:

    This! I use pretty much the same products but layer them depending on the weather and how my skin feels. I use light moisturizers all year around as it can get really cold or humid here but I team up facial oils when my skin is more dry.

    Advaita | Blush Canvas

    • Jenny says:

      That’s a great tip Advaita! I’ve been on the search for the perfect-weight moisturizer to use year round (and add facial oils as necessary), but until then, at least I have the option to make it lighter with a toner :)

  18. I’ve been really enjoying your blog lately so I thought I’d include you in something a little different to what I usually do… the One Lovely Blog TAG! I was nominated a few weeks back and thought I’d show you my appreciation for your blog and content and let you know how much of a wonderful job your doing. If this is something you fancy, give it a go! But don’t forget to tag me in the post so I can read your response. Just head over to my blog to see the rules!
    – Lau xx

  19. I never thought about using a sheet mask to help the serum underneath absorb, but it makes perfect sense! For me, transitioning into spring and summer means a change in oils towards lighter ones and using a lighter moisturizer, if any.
    It has warmed up nicely here last week, so it finally feels like spring outside too.

    Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking

    • Jenny says:

      It’s amazing how using a sheet mask can really help with product absorption! I used to switch my moisturizers whenever seasons changed, but now I do a lot more DIY mixing to help get just the consistency I need :)

  20. Elisa L. says:

    you know, i always complain about me living in a tropical, humid country with no season but i can only imagine how much of a hassle it is if i were to live in a country with seasons, the trouble i have to go through because i may need more skincare products than what i have (i have the basics: cleanser, toner, moisturizer / SPF moisturizer if i need to go out)… i have combo skin too and i’m always annoyed with my oily T-zone because it’s humid in here but wow, imagine if my combo skin suddenly turns dry if winter comes….i might actually need serums or oils on my face to avoid dehydrated skin! lol

    anyway, the first tips is really helpful! as i’ve mentioned before, my innisfree moisturizer isn’t gel based, it’s actually cream based and although it’s said to be meant for combo skin, i feel like it’s a little too thick to my liking. i can’t use it everyday on my T-zone tbh just because i’m so scared of turning into a greasy hotdog so the first tips is really useful for me. a question though: will there be some ingredients in the toner or moisturizer that will cause problems for this mixture? (e.g. don’t use toner with alcohol in it etc)

    random but have you written any guide regarding exfoliating? Like, scrub first then mask or something like that? I’m confused because some people say to exfoliate first then cleanse while others say the opposite. It’d be cool to read a step by step guideline on how to properly exfoliate and apply mask.

    • Jenny says:

      Haha, hopefully these tips will minimize the need for people to have 2 sets of products for 2 different climates – add a bit of oil for colder weathers, add a bit of watery toner for warmer weathers :P For the toner, I don’t think alcohol will be an issue as long as there are no actives in the cream (eg. vitamin c and retinol), but I try to avoid alcohol in toners in general since they tend to be drying.

      As for exfoliation, I’ve never heard of people exfoliating before cleaning, so it never occurred to me to write a guide like that ^^;; Generally you always want to clean first, exfoliate (whether it’s a scrub or an acid), then continue with the rest of your routine. Occasionally I’ll switch out my morning cleanser with a peeling gel since my skin is already pretty clean to start with, but that would be the only exception. As for masking, I don’t think there’s a rule for when to apply the mask, so I might write a post on that in the future of all the different options :P Thanks for the suggestion!

  21. Thank you so much for such amazing tips, Jenny! I never thought of mixing facial oil with a toner/essence and using it before sheet mask. I have alway applied facial oil as my last or second last step because I thought oil penetrates everything else. I will trial all these tips and see how each work for my skin. Thank you again, Jenny!

    • Jenny says:

      You’re so welcome Shireen, so glad you found this post helpful! I think the mixing of facial oils really depends on the oil itself – it probably won’t work with thicker more occlusive oils, but I’ve had great results when using lighter oils and oil blends. Hope you’ll get good results too! :D

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