With all the micellar waters, oil cleansers, toners, face masks, exfoliants etc. sometimes skincare feels like an overcrowded playground. To be completely honest, I'll probably add some (un)necessary skincare items come autumn because I'm a skincare junkie at heart. However, for me, summertime means downsizing and simplifying things and it's been like that year after year. Majority of products I own are actually geared towards makeup removal and face cleansing. I've run out of eye creams because I use them diligently, I pop a face mask twice a month on average and I'm proud to have only a handful of face creams in my rotation. This will be a post dedicated to one of my faves.
Clinique is killing it lately - I've used up their Pep-Start eye cream last month, yesterday I finished my pot of their All About Eyes Rich, they announced a new range of skincare and makeup called Clinique Fit (made for sweaty active people!) and I'm absolutely in love with their smartest range to date. Alongside with just one range of skincare (about which I'll post reviews soon), Clinique Smart is one of the best things I've tried skincare-wise lately. Out of five products from the Clinique Smart range, I've been using four- so we can say I got a decent, if not well-rounded impression of what it really does. Let's start with my favorite item.

This is a very interesting addition to my skincare stash and I was extremely excited to test it out mostly because I'm a big fan of both, the EL ANR serum and of facial oils. This product merged my two loves together and is aimed at skin which is showing signs of aging - a skincare issue that is becoming one of my primary concerns. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Intensive Recovery Ampoules (60 Capsules | $110) are such a luxurious treat - I consider them mini facials.
Glorious skincare - I could go on and on about it as it's a never-tiring topic for me. I have shared my current skincare routine in this post and the only thing that has changes is the fact I've run out of all cleansers - at the same time (don't you hate it when that happens?). My Estee Lauder ANR cleansing balm, GlamGlow Youth Cleanse cleanser and alverde Clear wash paste have altogether said farewell and I'm contemplating what to purchase next. In the meanwhile, I've promised to share my The Ordinary edit, how I've picked each item, what they're for and how to combine them.
Considering that I'm a skincare junkie, I don't think I've ever used a horrendous amount of products at the same time but I must admit that (even though I love all those skincare routine steps), not all are necessary. I like trying new things but at the end of the day, I'm aiming at curating a well thought-out, streamlined routine which is efficient. This is the first time I'm not using some of my year-long staples such as the LRP Effaclar Duo. I've totally skipped on toners and face masks as such. Even micellar waters are absent so it's a pretty big change for me.
Next week my in-depth skincare routine post is coming but I want to shed light on a few products beforehand. As I've made it clear on many occasions, skincare is a big deal to me. I may not always have the latest products on the market incorporated in my skincare routine and not all of the things I use are expensive but I always do the best I can with what I have. Also, it's been shown many times that a price tag doesn't come with a quality guarantee but it's not strange to feel affectionate, support and trust certain brands with which we have good experience.