Minimalist Skincare Routine: How to Simplify Your Skincare & Makeup Routine

This week I’m excited to share a guest post all about how to adopt a minimalist skincare routine by simplifying all things related to skincare and makeup. A minimalist skincare routine can help make life easier, keep your bathroom clutter-free & help reduce stress when it comes to skincare and makeup.

I’ve loved following along with JoEllen’s tips and tricks to simplify your wardrobe and makeup routine on Instagram for quite a few years. She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to helping you look and feel your best without needing a bunch of “stuff” to do it!

If you’re looking for some tips to help simplify your makeup and skincare routine, JoEllen is giving you some great tips in today’s post. Sharing not only what products are helpful to take good care of your skin. But also what products aren’t necessary too!

It’s not always easy to know what to simplify when it comes to creating a more minimalist makeup and skincare routine. But this post is a great place to start.

I hope you enjoy it and find it helpful!

Minimalist Skincare Routine: How to Simplify Your Skincare & Makeup Routine

This post contains affiliate links. Click here for the full disclosure policy.

Women are bombarded daily with all the creams, cleansers, masks, foundations, blushes, and beauty products we’re supposed to be using to look prettier and younger and more put together. It’s hard to know what to buy, what to use, and how to use it all!

Because of the beauty overwhelm, we either get paralyzed and don’t bother doing anything at all or we buy all. the. things. Am I right?!

But there must be a better way! I believe that you can live a simple life and still look and feel beautiful. You can follow a simple and minimalist skincare and beauty routine to look more put together without breaking the bank or feeling overwhelmed.

Here are some tips on how to simplify your skincare and makeup routine while still keeping it effective and looking beautiful!

How to Simplify Your Skincare Routine

When it comes to skincare, keep it simple. Yes, there are tons of serums and moisturizers and masks and systems to choose from. But keep it to a simple routine and your skin will be happy and healthy!

No matter what type of skin you have (dry, normal, combo, or oily), it’s so important to stick to 3 daily basics: cleanse, tone, moisturize. That’s it! Sure, you can add more to your routine. But if you want to simplify your skincare routine, then stick to those steps.

Some women wash their faces both morning and night, some just in the morning, some just at night, and some not at all! If you only have time to do your daily skincare routine once a day, then DEFINITELY do it at night! Just think of the dirt, grime, sweat, oil, dust, and makeup buildup you have on your face after a long day of work. Your face is like a windshield on a car…it collects that film over time and needs a good cleaning.

DO NOT go to bed with a dirty face! Your skin renews itself while you sleep, so help the process out by going to bed with a clean face. Commit to making it a habit to cleanse, tone, and moisturize your face each night. It only takes a few minutes but you’ll notice a big difference!

Tips on How to Wash Your Face

Why is it important to cleanse, tone, and moisturize daily? These are the 3 simple steps that will keep your skin healthy. They’re the basics of happy skin!

Cleansing helps clean your skin and rid it of the product buildup (remember the windshield comparison??). To cleanse your face properly, use warm water, a microfiber cloth, and a good cleanser to wash it well. The skin on your face is gentle, so use light circular motions to rub in your cleanser and scrub off the grime.

Wipe off the makeup and dirt with a damp and clean microfiber cloth. You’ll be amazed at how much a microfiber cloth can pick up! It will gently grab the dirt, the makeup, and the cleanser leaving your skin nice and clean! Use a new one each day so you’re not spreading bacteria on your clean face.

Why You Need to Use Toner

You may have heard about toner but really have no idea what it’s for and how to use it!

Let’s keep it simple. Toner is used to help restore your skin’s natural pH level. After you’ve cleansed your face, you have stripped your natural oils and toner will help get it to a point where it’s balanced again.

After you cleanse your face, you can either spritz toner directly onto your face and let it air dry. Or you can spritz a cotton pad and then gently wipe your face with it. Either way, will help get your skin balanced and happy. It’s a simple step!

The Importance of Moisturizer

Whether you have dry to oily skin, you need to moisturize! Yes, even if you have oily skin! Moisturizing your skin is like giving your body water to drink. It helps hydrate it and keep it supple.

After you cleanse and tone, it’s time to moisturize! Let me be clear, DO NOT use normal body lotion to moisturize your face! Use a moisturizer that is specifically made for the face. There is a big difference!

Dab a few spots onto your face and gently rub into your skin. And don’t forget your neck!

If you have oily skin and fail to moisturize, your sebaceous glands will overproduce causing more oil on your face. And that’s not good! You want less oil, not more. So, make sure to add in this crucial step.

Extra Steps in Your Basic Skincare Routine

If you want to take your skincare routine a little further, but still not complicate things, then also add in an exfoliator and a mask into your weekly routine.

Exfoliator is my very favorite step in the skincare process! It helps keep your skin nice and smooth.

Using an exfoliator helps slough off the dead skin cells and product build-up, increases blood flow, and gets it feeling nice and smooth. Yes please!

Use exfoliator after you cleanse your face and then follow up with toning and moisturizing.

In addition to using an exfoliator, you can use a mask once a week for a little extra TLC. Masks help promote healthy cell turnover, remove excess oil on your skin, and help hydrate your face. All great things!

How to Simplify Your Makeup Routine

Skincare is the foundation for a good beauty routine. And makeup is the icing on the cake! But you don’t have to complicate things or collect all the things. Stick to a few simple products that will help you look and feel beautiful so you can show up for the world as your best self!

Do you have a cluttered makeup bag with all the things??! It takes time rummaging through the clutter to find what you need and it also takes up a lot of space! Keep the process simple by sticking to your favorites and tossing the rest.

What you need for a simple makeup routine

A simple makeup routine consists of:

• foundation – to help even out your skin tone
• contour – to create shadows and dimension
• blush – to add a pretty flush
• eyeshadow – to fancy up your eyes
• mascara – to lengthen your lashes
• lipstick – to top the look off

Anything else is extra and great! Extras would include eyeliner, brows, bronzer, and illuminator.

If you want to simplify your beauty routine, then you have to commit to stop buying all the products that are thrown at you. Find your favorites and stick to them!

Or better yet, build a custom compact with exactly what you need and say goodbye to the rest!

Get rid of the makeup clutter. Stop wasting time rummaging around through products in your drawer or a bursting makeup bag. Stop wasting time trying to find the item you need to use to get ready.

I used to have a collection of clutter! I had all the bottles, colors, and products. It took up a lot of space in my drawers and wasted a lot of money!

But once I made the switch to a simpler makeup routine, it was so liberating! I saved time, I saved space, and I saved money. It’s the best makeup for the minimalist!

How to Get Personalized Makeup Help

If you’re on the other side of the spectrum and you don’t buy any of the skincare or makeup things because you don’t know where to start, you’re not alone! A lot of women are confused and overwhelmed with knowing what colors will look great on them and what products will help them look and feel beautiful, so they don’t buy anything!

This is where it’s important to have someone to help you!

You can’t email Amazon or walk into Target and ask someone what shade of lipstick will complement your coloring. (That would be great though, right??) But what you can do is work one on one with someone that specializes in beauty and color. You can take a complimentary makeup survey to share your makeup needs and preferences and I can recommend exactly what you need…no fluff added. Let’s keep it simple!

Feeling beautiful shouldn’t be complicated or require tons of products. If you want to simplify and embrace a more minimalist skincare and makeup routine, then stick to a simple beauty routine that will help you look and feel great without the clutter and overwhelm.

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This post was written by JoEllen Woods, an esthetician and makeup artist that specializes in helping women feel and look beautiful through a simple beauty routine. After living in New Zealand and Italy and travelling the world with her family of 6, she learned the power of living intentionally. You can live a simple life and still look and feel beautiful!

You can find JoEllen on Instagram, her lifestyle blog, her beauty blog, or YouTube.

This post contains affiliate links to products that come used and recommended by JoEllen.