The Best Skin Care Routine For Your 30s, From A Beauty Editor

Another season, another skin care routine. You may not think it’s worthwhile to audit your products when the weather starts to change, but I assure you, your skin’s needs fluctuate depending on the time of year. And if you’re in your 30s, your skin care routine needs to be designed like a strong offense, gearing up to combat those signs of premature aging, environmental damage, and general markers of stress that are synonymous with this time of life. As a beauty editor, I’ve taken close to a decade to find a new beauty routine that works for my complexion, tweaking it with every passing year, and I think that I’ve done it — or at least my dermatologist and esthetician seem to think so.

With fall comes colder weather, which is ideal for maintaining additional hydration in your potentially congested and sun-damaged post-summer skin, but pesky things like dry air and cooling temperatures can throw your skin out of whack. For these types of issues, calming and soothing products are your best friend. I also begin to swap out my lightweight summer moisturizer with an emollient-rich cream to moisturize and smooth my skin, followed by some SPF and a bit of oil if I need another occlusive layer on my cheeks and chin where I tend to be drier.

If you’re also dealing with dark spots and melasma from all that summer sun exposure, using a potent antioxidant like vitamin C is essential, as is reapplying your SPF throughout the day to ensure your skin is protected.

Is this routine a tad high maintenance? Perhaps. But I assure you, if you want to maintain the health, look, and feel of your skin despite the change in seasons (and your decreasing collagen levels), sticking to a routine that works for your skin, and being consistent, is the best “anti-aging” defense out there.

So if you’re a fellow 30-something and you’re looking to update your skin care routine for fall, check out what new products and techniques have made it into my daytime beauty lineup.

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Step 1: Oil Cleanser

I’m soaking in the last of outdoor activities in nice weather with lots of diners and drinks with friends, so I typically wake up with a very puffy face and no cheekbones to be found. To combat this, I start my day with a nourishing oil cleanser and a face massage, spending at least five minutes with either my hands or a Gua Sha tool to move around that static lymph fluid and help all that puffiness drain. Then I rinse with cold water and pat dry on a clean towel (the ones from Baina are my favorite).

Ginger Melt Oil Cleanser

I love the feel of this oil cleanser — it’s like my skin is getting fluffed and plumped as I use it. The soothing sunflower seed and grapeseed oils are also great if I have any lingering irritation. Keep it on while you perform the face massage for added slip, then rinse and continue on with the rest of your skin care routine.

Peach & Lily

Step 2: Gel Cleanser

I’m still dealing with some residual build-up from summer and I’m wearing more makeup for the fall, so I typically require a two-step cleanse to prep before additional serums. In the winter I’ll go with a cream cleanser but while the weather is still somewhat warm, I love a gel texture to get my skin clean without any of that dry, squeaky, uncomfortable feeling.

True Calm Rosehip Gel Cleanser

My skin leans more sensitive which is why I’m unfailingly loyal to this rosehip seed oil, prickly pear oil, and ashwagandha-rich cleanser from Dr. Chaneve Jeanniton, a leading dermatologist in New York. The blend of antioxidants and soothing fatty acids leaves my skin calm, clean, and comfortable for the rest of my routine.

epi.logic

Step 3: Essence

I always use an essence to add a boost of moisture to my skin, no matter the season. And since I’m in my 30s, I look for products that have additional anti-aging benefits to minimize fine lines and fight hyperpigmentation for an all-over even tone. Don’t forget about your neck and décolleté when using this, and apply the excess to the back of your hands (which don’t get nearly enough love when it comes to skin care).

The Treatment Lotion

The added nourishment from the brand’s signature Miracle Broth is like a magic eraser for my skin — fine lines looked smoothed, dry spots are hydrated, and any lackluster complexion is revitalized. It’s worth the splurge in my opinion, especially if you’re over 30.

La Mer

Step 4: Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Can you tell that moisture is the name of the game when you’re in your 30s? Dry skin is the ultimate enemy, not only because it’s wildly uncomfortable, but also because it emphasizes fine lines and generally makes you look… kind of blah. So a hyaluronic acid serum (which draws water into the skin) is always a part of my lineup. I wait until my essence is almost dry and then add one pump to my face, neck, and décolleté for a nice, juicy finish.

Dew You Hyaluronic Acid Serum

A lot of HA serums tend to feel super watery, but this formula has a bit more substance and is especially cushiony. It takes a minute to dry down, but once it does your skin feels crazy plumped, like you just chugged a gallon of water. Just make sure your skin is still slightly damp so it can pull in that water to hydrate effectively.

Facile

Step 5: Vitamin C Serum

The older you get, the more that dark spots begin to top your list of skin priorities. Using a daily antioxidant like vitamin C is crucial for fighting free-radical damage and minimizing hyperpigmentation (from either sun exposure or after battling a breakout). Just make sure to allow your chosen formula plenty of time to dry down before moving onto your next step — adding in another product too soon can mess with its potency, and sun exposure can break down the formula. Patience is a virtue with your skin care routine, so no rushing if you can help it.

Vitamin C Superserum

Vitamin C is notoriously unstable, but the airtight pump on this bottle — and the fact that it was manufactured in a factory used by NASA to minimize the formula’s contact with oxygen — means that you’re really getting your money’s worth. I use a dime-sized amount on my face, neck, and décolleté to minimize free radical damage, fade dark spots, and keep my skin tone even.

Protocol

Step 6: Eye Cream

I know that some people will happily smear their moisturizer everywhere and not bother with eye cream, but I’m a big proponent of using something targeted for the most delicate skin on your face. Just make sure you don’t pull or press too hard around your eyes — be gentle and tap in the formula until it’s dry.

Act 5 The Eye Contour Cream

Getting a facial with Pietro Simone is a transcendent experience, but for the majority of the time when I can’t visit him for a treatment, I love this eye cream to lift and firm my eye area. The active ingredient, Darutoside, targets skin laxity and helps to minimize crow’s feet for a brighter, smoother, and more youthful effect. I use one pea-sized amount split between both eyes and apply it on my lid and down to my orbital bone.

Pietro Simone Skincare

Step 7: Moisturizer

Although the average SPF does have emollient (meaning moisturizing and softening) ingredients, when you’re in your 30s this is definitely not a step you can skip. Hydrated skin is happy skin, and I love to use a very straightforward, clinically tested moisturizer to keep my face and neck soothed and supple throughout the day. I massage in a quarter sized amount after my serums are dry and wait about five minutes before moving onto the next step in my routine.

Instant Angel

Dieux Skin (the brand’s Deliverance serum is also in my nightly routine) lives up to the hype with their moisturizer. The formula is a treasure-trove of moisturizers, from phytosterols, fatty acids, ceramides, glycerin, urea, squalane, and sodium PCA, all of which will leave you with unbelievably soft and dewy skin. And despite being a rich moisturizer, there is none of that heavy feeling that sometimes makes your pores feel clogged or greasy — just a silky finish that will have strangers demanding to know what you’ve got on your face.

Dieux

Step 8: Oil

If you’re familiar with “slugging” then you’re aware that an occlusive product can help to minimize water loss in the skin and lock in moisture. With fluctuating temperatures in the fall, I like to tap in a light layer of my favorite face oil both morning and night to keep dry patches at bay.

Plum Beauty Oil

This has been my go-to oil for years. Anyone who is sensitive to lots of active botanicals can rest easy with this formula, which is packed with omega fatty acids 6 & 9 to nourish your skin and uses no essential oils, parabens, sulfates, preservatives, or added fragrance. I’ve gone through about five bottles over the years so if that doesn’t tell you how essential it is to my routine, the glow it gives my skin certainly will.

Le Prunier

Step 9: Sunscreen

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it 1,000 more times: your “anti-aging” efforts are pointless if you don’t use SPF every single day. It’s worthwhile to find a formula that agrees with your skin, is comfortable, and if you’re prone to melasma like me, doesn’t leave a white cast (since only a mineral/physical SPF can combat those dark patches from forming). Trust me — you will thank yourself in the next 10, 15, 20+ years when your skin is still looking healthy, strong, and youthful. And if your skin care budget can only allow for a handful of products, invest in your sunscreen 100% over anything else (although quality formulas are available at a range of price points).

The Silk Sunscreen

I’m always a Tatcha stan, but this new SPF really has me swooning. The creamy texture leaves you with such a radiant glow and silky finish, and the SPF 50 is high enough to block those sun’s rays even on my melasma patches. It also contains hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to combat inflammation for a multi-prong skin care boost.I apply a half-dollar sized amount all over my face, my ears, my neck, and décolleté, plus another dime-sized amount to my hands and forearms. Don’t forget to reapply every few hours to maintain your sun protection.

Tatcha

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