Hello everyone, my name is Jemima and welcome to today’s skincare video. This is part one of Skincare & Me, a series of videos where I will be going into more dept about my skincare journey and the behind the scenes of creating skincare videos. I thought I would start this series off with, how I buy skincare and come up with routines that work for me.

There are so many products available and I know personally when I started my journey I was overwhelmed and did not know what would work for my skin. I am going to be share with you how I find skincare that is right for me. There are a few things that I consider before making a purchase, and all these factors are important to help me feel confident in my decision. When shopping for skincare to buy I think about Price, My Skincare Concerns, Key Ingredients in the product and Brand Reliability.

First let’s discuss coin, how much does the skincare cost. I used to have a very small budget and so I was worried about wasting money or buying something only because it’s cheap but doesn’t work for me. And there are also those products that are super pricey but not worth it. Over time I have learnt how to get good quality affordable products and because I have a growing interesting in skincare I do splurge in terms of price now compared to before. My thought process is not finding the cheapest routine or finding the must expensive  routine. I simply judge each product individually. I can buy a £5 moisturiser that I know works well and I can also buy a £20 one; the other 3 factors I think about will help me know when I need which product when. A drugstore example is my Garnier Rose Soothing Moisturiser for £5.99 and La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (+) for £16.99; I think they both work well, they are good quality and the prices makes sense. I also know that for my skin the most expensive one doesn’t always works better for me. With this K-Beauty example the MIZON Black Snail All In One Cream is £19.17 and the ÍUNIK Centella Calming Gel Cream is £11.89, and I my skin just preferred the gel cream.

To balance things out, I try to create routines with a mixtures of prices. And I also know that the more steps I add will increase the total cost. I always try to repeat in my routine videos that a basic skin care routine can transform your skin, it is cleansing, moisturising and sunscreen; when you follow these 3 steps and use good products you have a great foundation. Then everything else you add such as toner, essence and mask work better. Following a 3 step routine should be the starting point when purchasing. I buy cleansers, moisturisers and sunscreen without scrutinising the price too much as I see them as building blockers.

The next thing that I consider which impacts if I am willing to spend more or less on a product is my skincare concerns. There are things that I try to improve such as dryness, sensitivity, textured skin, hyperpigmentation and scars; the list can go on. I haven’t found just one product that can tackle all of them to the degree I would like. I have some products that say on the label it can help with multiply different skincare concerns, and it is true it will help but there is only so much it can do. The product might do amazing in clearing my acne and reduce roughness but my skin might still looks dull and feel dry.

This is the main reason I use several different types of products, I am working with each individual products strength to get me my desired result. Another reason is that my skin gets used to products and also depending on the season a products effectiveness will change. In terms of skincare concerns there are some that I focus more on than others. I do not make the scars on my face a priority because of how late I started treating them, I am aware there is a limitation to them fading. So I won’t be upset if a product does great at giving me smooth and soft skin but doesn’t do much in terms of fading the scars. And when deciding on what to focus on I have noticed that some skincare concerns once treated impact another, using hydrating products that also help with brightening is dealing with my dry skin and hyperpigmentation.

After I have thought about the skincare concerns I wish to work on I begin to look at ingredients. Key ingredients will let me know if the product has potential to work for me. I am not an expect in reading ingredients list but I understand that the top is usually major percentage. So I look at the first couple to see if it includes key ingredients that will help me, I also look towards the middle of the list to see what is supporting them. I visit https://incidecoder.com to find out what each ingredient does, or I use the original G google. 

I have this habit of when I like an ingredient I start buying similar things with that same ingredient. I like Aloe Vera Gel and when I found out about the Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner, the Aloe was what made be pick it over other options. I bought several Garnier Rose products after I fell in love with their Micellar Water. The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Oil + Foam introduced me to the benefits of rice in skincare and when I came across COSRX Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask it was an easy yes. Then I used the COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence and fell in love, I started looking out for products with snail to see if it would give similar result and got the MIZON Black Snail All In One Cream. I used the SOME BY MI AHA, BHA, PHA 30 Days Miracle Serum and fell in love with Centella Asiatica; then bought the Purito Centella Green Level Buffet Serum and ÍUNIK Centella Calming Gel Cream because Centella is a queen. When it comes to knowing whether a hydrating product will work for me I look out for Glycerin and Hyaluronic Acid they are the cherry on top. And so this method of getting something similar has allowed me to have better success in finding products that are right for me. It has also made me aware of ingredients that I need but can’t use alone too often, such as Salicylic Acid. It does wonders for exfoliating but it is incredibly drying for my skin.

Finally the last thing I think about before checking out my shopping basket is the Brand’s reliability. I mean this for individuals brands but also Western v Korean. I am more likely to give a K-Beauty brand I have never heard of a go more than I would a UK Drugstore; and this is to do with price and ingredients. I do enjoy my Garnier, CeraVe and La Roche-Posay; these are popular, reliable and great options for skincare basics. But the reason I am not currently trying more Western brands is because Korean beauty to me is more innovative and I can get things done with similar results for cheaper. I am not frugal with my skincare but if I can save money why not. 

Korean skincare products are great building blocks to maintain a minimal yet effective skincare routine, while also treating my specific skin care concerns.

And so with that we have come to the end of the video. This is my thought process when it comes to shopping for skincare and finding products that are right for me. At the beginning of my journey shopping was very experimental, I had no idea if what I was buying would be effective and give me results. Now I have confidence in my shopping baskets, the main change was knowing my skincare concerns and finding ingredients I love. There are still times when I try a product and though the ingredients list is good, the formula just wasn’t right for me. Or sometimes the product is effective for awhile but then loses it touch as time goes on. I just see those experiences as further information to help me narrow my choices in the future. I do want to make it clear that me getting new products regularly is because my skin doesn’t like the same routine over and over. As well as I find it fun trying new products, I am careful with how I do it knowing to introduce products one at a time and give it time to work over a period of weeks. There will be a video about how I test products out and more of how I do research later on in this series.

I list the products in use in my skincare videos in the description box along with where you can buy it. I buy my Korean skincare from YesStyle because they give coupons and samples in their packages. I like being rewarded for my shopping. Use my YesStyle Code and Link to get 5-10% off your purchases. For my drugstore skincare I mainly shop at Superdrug, once in awhile Boots and Amazon.

If you have any questions or any suggestions for routines you would like to see in the future leave a comment. Thank you so much for watching this video. If you enjoyed this video remember to like, comment, subscribe and ring the notification bell so you know when I post. Byeeeee