My everyday natural and affordable skincare routine that my skin is currently loving

I’ve been meaning to write a skin care update for a long time, and the day has finally arrived, hurray!

My skin is doing quite well at the moment, and I´ve got a few compliments lately, which is new for me ‘cause I used to have pretty bad skin. Oily and with acne. I’m going to spare you the nasty details and I’ll go straight to what made that change: the food I eat and the way I take care of my skin.

We are what we eat, really

Yes, it’s that simple. When you nourish your body properly, everything feels better, even your skin.

I stopped having dairy milk about 6 years ago, and I also stopped eating canned foods, after an expert recommended it to me to stop breakouts. And it worked. It worked really well, actually. Something about the metal goes directly to the food that you eat and it can be inflammatory for some people, and it was for me.

But that was years ago. More recently, about 5 months ago I stopped eating animal protein and following a mostly plant based diet. I say mostly because if I feel like eating meat or cheese I do it because I don’t believe in restrictions.

Anyways I found that the less I eat those foods, the less I crave them, so I’m more and more into it and I’d say I follow a 99% plant based. As a result, my digestions are way better, I’ve lost a bit of weight and I feel more energized.

Choosing the right skin products

I believe that the food I eat is responsible for how well I feel inside and out, but I also think that choosing the right skin care can help a lot, especially if you live in extreme weather conditions. In Singapore it’s 30C everyday, but the aircon is crazy everywhere you go, and the temperature changes dehydrate my skin quite a bit.

Before I went back to Spain for my summer holiday last June, I ordered a few products to be delivered in Spain (watching that carbon footprint) from a niche UK brand called West Barn Co. that I showed in my Instagram stories and promised I would give my thoughts on.

They are a natural brand that make all products by hand and per order. So they make your products when you place the order and that amazed me. As a result, it takes a few weeks to receive them, but I think it’s worth it! They use high quality natural ingredients, their products don’t contain any silicones or preservatives and they also don’t test in animals. The only downside that I see is that the jars are made of plastic, except for their serum, which is amazing and the jar is made of glass. West Barn lovely people, if you are reading, please change the packaging of your products 🙂

Well, after 4 solid months of using them, I can honestly tell you that it was an amazing discovery. But instead of doing a review of each of them, I’m going to walk you through my routine so that you get an idea of everything I do and the different products I use.

Morning Time Skincare

First thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and cleanse my face with the West Barn Balancing Cleanser. It’s a creamy cleanser that is super gentle. I apply it on dry skin and massage it. Then wet a face cloth and remove. Skin feels very clean and soft, and the smell is so nice and refreshing, smells like lime!

After that I apply their day moisturizer mixed with a few drops of my beloved Biconi Glow serum, which is my second bottle now. The I apply the Khiel’s eye cream and I let the skin absorb all this good stuff for a few minutes and then apply my makeup if I’m going out. Otherwise I leave it there.

Night Time Skincare

At night I like to take a bit more time to make sure my skin is perfectly clean and fed with all it needs to feel amazing and glow. If I’m wearing makeup I will first use a few drops of the Biconi Coconut Oil and massage it on my eyelids and rest of the face using my hands. Then, with the oil on and looking like a panda, I would take a pump of the West Barn balancing cleanser, massage it onto the skin, and damp a face cloth in warm water to remove all of it. I like to double cleanse, so I repeat with another pump of the cleanser and remove again with a rinsed face cloth.

After that I usually apply the Pixie Glow Tonic with a cotton pad and then the West Barn Restore Serum, which is my absolute favorite. If you’ve ever tried the Estee Lauder Night Time Repair, I feel like this serum is very similar, but better. Dare I say it’s the natural beauty dupe of the Night Time repair serum? Yes, that’s what it is!

I run out last week and I’m missing it a lot! It has great anti aging ingredients and leaves the skin super hydrated, plumped and ready for the next step.

The last step for me  is to apply the West Barn Night Cream with a few drops of the Biconi Glow oil, the Khiel’s eyecream and the Khiel’s lip mask treatment which is super hydrating for the lips. After all this I’m feeling amazing and ready for my favorite time of day:  going to bed!

Do you think this is a lot of stuff? Let me know if there are any natural skincare brands that I should know about! I always love to discover new ones 🙂

Besos!

Elisa