Complexion curation

Return to the basics with a simplified, yet super-charged skincare ritual

- MICHAELA WILLIAMS

After 2019’s age of excess saw us smoothing on anti-aging serums, soaking up hydrating oils and patting on mattifying essences, we’re paring back overly complicated routines in favour of a streamlined system. It’s time to clarify what each of our skincare steps achieves, and justify their position in our AM-PM rituals. This decade, we’re creating skincare routines that work smarter, not harder, with a powerhouse of active ingredients and clever formulas that are backed by science.

Following on from trend-setting K-beauty, which encouraged precise applications of layers upon layers of 12 or more products – an ion away from the Clinique counter’s original three-step – the next age of skincare is a return to a simpler time, but now with intelligently-formulated products ensuring results. The next wave of beauty entails culling your skincare routine to only the core products.

Ready to break down your skincare to the elevated essentials? Science educator and content creator for Lab Muffin Beauty Science, Michelle Wong PhD, says that simplifying your routine starts with reducing your number of daily products. The base number of products varies around two to three for most people; she recommends to start with a sunscreen and cleanser, and perhaps a moisturiser. “If you wear make-up, or if you have any particular skincare concerns, then you’ll probably need more products,” Wong adds, although “you reach diminishing returns quite quickly”.