Skincare Routine

A skincare routine works best in the right order, so this page is laid out that way: cleanser, toner, two exfoliants, moisturiser, sunscreen. You do not need all six. The two acids overlap, and using both on the same night is where most irritation starts, so pick glycolic for texture or salicylic for blackheads and congestion. Reactive skin should begin with the cleanser, the moisturiser and the sunscreen, then add anything else slowly. Sunscreen is the step not to skip, because it protects the work the rest is doing. Each card says when a product is the wrong choice, which is as useful as knowing when it is right.

The two steps in this routine you can skip ›

Tatcha The Rice Wash: is it worth $22? ›

Alpha-H Liquid Gold: how to use it without wrecking your barrier ›

LANEIGE Cerapeptide Toner vs La Roche-Posay Toleriane: which first? ›

Disclosure: HarshaHQ is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not change what gets recommended. Prices are what Amazon Australia was charging when this page was last updated.

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Step 1: Cleanser

Tatcha The Rice Wash

A cream cleanser with Japanese rice powder that takes off the day without leaving skin tight. It will not shift heavy sunscreen on its own, so double-cleanse on those days.

★★★★★4.6 / 5

$22.00Luxury

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Step 2: Toner

LANEIGE Cream Skin Cerapeptide Toner

A toner with the slip of a light moisturiser, so it hydrates and softens in one step instead of two. If you want a bracing, clarifying toner, this is not it.

★★★★★4.4 / 5

$41.46Luxury

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Step 3: Exfoliant

Alpha-H Liquid Gold

A 5% glycolic treatment you sweep on at night and leave, from an Australian brand that was doing acids before they went mainstream. Start at two nights a week, because more than that stings.

★★★★★4.6 / 5

$84.95Luxury

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Step 4: Serum

Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

Salicylic acid that gets down inside the pore rather than polishing the surface, which is why it works on blackheads and the small bumps that never come to a head. Nothing about using it feels like it is working.

★★★★★4.4 / 5

$54.00Best Seller

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Step 5: Moisturiser

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive Riche

A ceramide and thermal-water cream aimed squarely at reactive skin, rich enough for winter without turning greasy. The 40ml tube goes fast if you use it on your neck too.

★★★★★4.4 / 5

$35.99Derm Pick

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Step 6: Sunscreen

La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400

SPF50+ with UVA filtering that reaches further into the long-wave range than most sunscreens manage. It is a lotion rather than a watery fluid, so give it a moment to settle before makeup.

★★★★★4.5 / 5

$35.99Derm Pick

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