My Simple 3-Step Nightly Cleansing Routine

I used to be the type that changed cleansers every day, using 'this product' to combat oiliness, 'that product' to prevent dry patches, and adding some toner and a serum to round the whole thing off. Needless to say, my skin had no idea what was going on and it would repay me with extremely combination skin and quite a collection of spots.

When I went back to university this year I told myself I had to cut down on the things I was taking and I could only use one cleanser until it ran out. I don't think I've ever used up an entire bottle of cleanser before - ever. The one I went for was one I'd never tried before, and it was St. Ives Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub (£4.29). This gamble seriously paid off because it ticks all of the boxes - natural exfoliators remove all dry patches, salicylic acid targets spots and I find it gentle enough to use every day (although on the packaging it says to use 3/4 times a week).

However it obviously won't take all of that eye makeup off, so before the scrub I use L'Oréal's Eye & Lip Makeup Remover (£4.99) with a cotton pad to remove every trace of mascara. It's quite an oily remover, which I know some people dislike, but I find it effective and non-drying. This is a product that I've been using for years and I haven't felt the need to turn to any other because it does its job so well for a very good price.

Finally, I use my saving grace - Estée Lauder's Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher (£58 for 50ml). At first I didn't really get on with this stuff, and that was probably because I was using it irregularly, combined with many other products. Now it is the only product I use after cleansing and I have the smoothest skin I've had in years. All spots and large pores - gone. Because I have oily skin this replaces my moisturiser in the routine, but if you need some extra moisture then you can slap some on after applying this serum.

Since cutting down to just 3 products in the last couple of months, my skin feels much healthier and looks much clearer than it has before. It's tempting to want to switch up cleansers/moisturisers/serums all the time in search of a miracle product that will totally transform your skin, but I can now say that (from my experience) that is probably the worst thing you can do for it.

How many products are in your nightly routine? Does your skin get better or worse when you change up products every day?