The correct order for your morning skincare routine

Getting your morning skincare right will help dissolve away any impurities, as well as rebalancing and protecting your complexion, and setting your skin up for the day ahead.

Your daytime skincare regime should start with a cleanser to clarify and remove any sweat, oil and dead skin cells, followed by a toner to remove any remaining impurities , before hydrating with serum and moisturiser, and finally applying SPF to help protect your skin.

The correct order for your evening skincare routine

An effective nighttime skincare regime helps your skin recover from the day as well as supporting it while it’s in repair mode overnight.

Your nighttime skincare routine order should be to cleanse (or double cleanse if you fancy a really deep clean) , tone and then apply serum and moisturiser. The hydrating products in your evening skincare regime can be heavier, to assist your skin’s natural overnight surface cell turnover process and also counteract any moisture loss that could happen during the night.

Skincare routine step-by-step

Step 1: Cleanser for a fresh-faced base

Cleansing is an essential first step in your morning and evening skincare, as it helps remove impurities and any make up, and helps prep your skin for the next steps, so it can really reap the benefits of your serums and creams.

Liz Earle’s botanical cleansers are formulated to gently cleanse and dissolve dirt, oil, & make up without stripping your skin of essential moisture. Choose the iconic Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser to deeply cleanse and hydrate while lifting away dead skin cells to leave skin looking radiant and feeling more hydrated. Or try Cleanse & Glow™ Transforming Gel Cleanser which transforms from a luxurious gel to a lightweight oil to effortlessly melt away impurities.

If you wear make up during the day, you may want to double cleanse as part of your evening skincare routine. You can use the same cleanser each time or choose to remove your make up with one cleanser and then follow up with a different cleanser. Try Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser Rose & Lavender Relaxing Edition, which is fragranced with a blend of pure Damask rose petal and lavender essential oils to add a sense of tranquillity to your evening skincare routine.

Read our How To Choose The Right Cleanser and How To Use Cleanser and articles for more tips on how to find and use the right cleanser for you.

Step 2: Toner to rebalance & prep the skin

The second step in your skincare routine should be toner. You can choose to use a toner as part of your morning or evening skincare regime, or include it in both.

Toner can help to remove any remaining impurities from the skin, prepping it for the rest of your skincare routine. Toner may also help replenish your skin’s moisture levels after cleansing. Liz Earle toners help refresh your skin and are gentle enough to use morning and night.

Instant Boost™ Skin Tonic will help to replenish your skin after cleansing. Or try Smooth & Glow™ Exfoliating Tonic to help even the appearance of your skin tone and leave your complexion feeling nourished and looking energised.

Step 3: Serum to target specific concerns

Serums are designed to help address specific skin concerns like hydration, radiance or supporting your skin at different life stages.

Choose a serum that best suits your skin’s needs, and apply it day and night as part of your morning and evening skincare routine in this order.

If you’re looking to instantly quench thirsty skin, supercharge your skincare regime with Skin Repair™ Hydrating Serum. Powered by plant-based hyaluronic acid and snow mushroom, this lightweight serum hydrates multiple surface layers of the skin to leave your complexion feeling instantly refreshed and deeply hydrated.

If you’re looking for a serum to help lift, firm and even the appearance of your skin tone, try Superskin™ Face Serum. Persian silk tree helps visibly even the look of skin tone and pomegranate flower helps lift and firm the appearance of skin, helps to leave skin feeling plumped & looking smooth. The luxurious, lightweight texture melts into skin for a radiant, visibly rejuvenated complexion.

Step 4: Eye cream to care for delicate areas

As the skin around your eyes is thinner and more delicate, the next step in your skincare routine should be to gently apply targeted, lightweight eye products before your heavier creams.

Use your ring finger to apply eye cream around your eye area – take a look at gentle and effective eye cream options from Liz Earle.

Superskin™ Eye Cream contains a signature blend of nourishing plant oils to gently care for the delicate eye area. The powerful botanical blend visibly reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and puffiness while it hydrates and improves the appearance of dark circles leaving the eye area looking brightened.

Instant Brightening Eye Cream is enhanced with light-reflecting pigment to help reduce the appearance of dark circles and revitalises the look of the eye area, leaving skin looking brightened and feeling hydrated.

Step 5: Moisturiser to lock in hydration

Moisturiser is a key step as it helps to seal in moisture, as well as nourishing and hydrating for healthier-looking skin. Choose a moisturiser that suits your skin’s needs and consider opting for a more intensive formula to use in your nighttime skincare routine.

Liz Earle moisturisers help keep skin hydrated and protected from dryness while supporting the skin’s moisture barrier.

For a moisturiser that exfoliates and minimises the appearances of pores while it hydrates, try Revitalise & Glow™ Illuminating Gel Moisturiser. The glow-boosting blend quenches skin, leaving it feeling smooth and supple.

Skin Repair™ Light Cream is a lightweight, plant-powered formula that offers 72 hours of hydration leaving skin looking and feeling balanced. Enriched with borage oil and avocado oil, skin is left feeling comfortable with a naturally glowing look.

Choose Superskin™ Nourishing Night Cream to help even the look of skin tone and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while you rest. This hydrating formula, with brightening Persian silk tree extract, smoothing pomegranate flower extract and nourishing buriti fruit oil, help lock in moisture to support the skin's moisture barrier.

Fragranced with the relaxing scent of rose and lavender essential oils, Skin Repair™ Hydrating Night Cream helps support skin’s overnight recovery, so you wake up to skin that looks radiant, refreshed and rested. Scientifically proven to deliver intensive hydration, the formula is powered by plant-based hyaluronic acid, hydrating borage seed oil and avocado oil to help replenish and hydrate your skin while you sleep.

Step 6: SPF to provide daily protection for your skin

The final step in your morning skincare regime should always be SPF, to help protect your skin from UV damage.

Liz Earle Environmental Defence Cream Mineral SPF25 is an easily absorbed, lightweight cream that primes and protects for visibly healthy-looking skin. Formulated with mineral UV filters and antioxidant plant extracts, this product helps protect skin from sun exposure and environmental elements and prep it for the day ahead. Enriched with a priming, light-reflecting pigment and blueberry seed oil, lingonberry seed oil and shea butter, skin is left looking healthy, radiant and ready for the day ahead.

Find out more in our Guide To Environmental Defence Cream SPF25.

Additional tips for building your ideal skincare routine

When it comes to getting effective results from your skincare regime, consistency is key. If you can stick to each step in the right order, your skin will reap the benefits and you’ll see the results.

Depending on your skin’s needs, you may want to add some tweaks to your skincare routine, such as including night treatments or a moisturising mask like Hydrating Cream Mask to give an instant boost of moisture in minutes.

Skincare routine order FAQs

What is the correct order to do skincare?

The correct order for your morning skincare routine is:

• Cleanser
• Toner
• Serum
• Eye cream
• Moisturiser
• SPF

The correct order for your evening skincare routine is:

• Cleanser
• Toner
• Serum
• Eye cream
• Moisturiser

Can I skip any steps?

To get the most out of your skincare routine, it’s important to apply your skincare products in the correct order and not skip any steps. However, for the odd time when you’re rushing in a morning or home late in an evening, a quicker version of your skincare routine, consisting of cleansing, toning and moisturising, will still benefit and care for your skin.

Do I need to adjust my routine for morning & night?

To be really effective and for your skin to get the most out of the products you’re using, your skincare regime should follow certain steps in a specific order, as outlined in the step-by-step guide above. Most of the key steps are the same for morning and evening, with a couple of differences, like only using SPF in the morning.

Enhance the look and feel of your skin with the right routine

When you get the order of your skincare right, your skin will start to really reap the benefits. Explore the full range of Liz Earle skincare to create a personalised skincare routine.