You’ve decided it’s time to invest in a good skincare routine. Maybe this is the first time you’re building a skincare routine, or maybe your current regimen isn’t giving you the results you want. Whichever the case, revisiting the steps for a skincare routine and learning the basics of a skincare routine order can help.
Building a proper skincare routine involves understanding your skin type and addressing its specific needs. Then, applying each formula in the optimal order for your skin to best receive each product’s benefits. To do this, we created an easy step-by-step guide to help you build an effective skincare routine tailored to your needs. From understanding the right skincare routine order, to knowing what exactly those skincare steps should be, our guide will walk you through everything you need to know.
How To Layer Skincare
Lancôme recommends you apply skincare formulas from the thinnest to the thickest texture. Toner before serums. Serums before eye cream and moisturizer. When we spoke with Noemi Powers, Lancôme’s National Director of Skincare Education on layering skincare formulas, she explains, “Thinner formulas, like serums, typically have smaller molecules which allow them to sink into the skin better than trying to seep through larger molecules from thicker formulas, like moisturizer. You want to allow your skin to drink up all the delicious benefits of your serum and then lock them in with a good moisturizer.”
Why Do I Need a Daytime Skincare Routine?
The purpose of a good skincare routine in the morning is twofold: to refresh your skin after waking, and to prepare your skin to handle whatever the day may bring, be it dry air or UV rays.
In What Order Should You Do Your Morning Skincare?
Your morning skincare routine order can follow the below steps:
Step 1: Cleanse – Wash with a gentle cleanser
Step 2: Toner
Step 3: Serum
Step 4: Eye Cream
Step 5: Day Cream Moisturizer
Step 6: Broad-Spectrum Sunscreen
Step 1: Wash with a Gentle Cleanser
Sweat and oil production continues overnight, so you’ll want to wash all that off in the morning. You may like to choose a morning cleanser based on skin type. If your skin tends to be normal to dry, reach for a formula that provides refreshing moisture like Crème Mousse Confort Foaming Cleanser, a creamy foaming cleanser with a comforting formula. Nourishing Rosehip Oil and soothing Rose de France cleanses skin leaving it soft, supple, and satiny-smooth. If you’re on the oily side, consider using a purifying cleanser, like our Clarifique Pore Refining Cleanser designed for all skin types, including oily and sensitive. Formulated with Salicylic Acid and Beech Bud Extract, this formula deep cleanses without over-drying to effectively remove lingering makeup, dirt, pollution, and excess oil. This helps minimize the appearance of pores, refines skin texture, and leaves skin feeling purified and refreshed.
Crème Mousse Confort Foaming Cleanser
Cleansing & Comforting
Clarifique Pore Refining Cleanser
Purify, Smooth, and Revitalize
Step 2: Purify Skin with Toner
After cleansing, remove lingering residue & impurities while prepping skin for your hydration routine with a toner. Unlike harsh toners of yesteryear, this new generation of facial toners are formulated to hydrate skin as they purify pores. Tonique Confort Hydrating Toner is a milky toner formulated with Hyaluronic Acid, Squalane, and Centifolia Rose Extract to help strengthen your skin's natural moisture barrier and leave skin looking healthy and radiant. The hydrating milky formula with hyaluronic acid instantly softens & soothes and provides long-lasting hydration for up to 24 hours. Absolue Rose 80 Essence-in-Lotion Hydrating Toner offers a luxurious, cushiony texture that’s infused with 80% rosewater and rose extracts, plus Proxylane and Hyaluronic Acid to address signs of aging, like firmness, texture, and elasticity in addition to purifying the skin.
Tonique Confort Hyaluronic Acid Toner
Hydrating & Purifying
Absolue Rose 80 Essence-in-Lotion Hydrating Toner
Smoothing & Brightening
Step 3: Treat Skin Concerns with a Serum
Now that your skin is both cleansed and prepped, apply your favorite daytime serum. Serums are generally thin and lightweight concentrated formulas that are easily absorbed into the skin to help visibly improve skin quality and address signs of aging. To find a facial serum that’s right for you, consider your skin concerns and desired effects.
Brightening serums, like our Clarifique Pro-Solution Brightening Serum, are widely used and often recommended for their ability to protect and correct in the daytime. They may contain ingredients like antioxidants, such as Vitamin C, or exfoliating acids, such as Polyhydroxy Acid, to help brighten skin appearance. Antioxidants are known to defend skin against damaging free radicals caused by sun rays, pollution, and other external factors. While gentle exfoliation can help with discoloration or an uneven tone.
For aging skin concerns like wrinkles, volume loss, and dark spots, apply a serum that pairs Vitamin C with an ingredient like Niacinamide or Hyaluronic Acid. Niacinamide is known to improve the appearance of dark spots and skin texture. Our Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum and Clarifique Pro-Solution Serum contain a combination of Activated C – a stabilized form of Vitamin C, ideal for daytime antioxidant protection – and Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), making them both excellent options for daytime use. For added hydration and antioxidant defense that skin over 40 may crave, choose Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum, or layer in a hydrating serum with Hyaluronic Acid, like our Génifique Ultimate Recovery Serum.
Clarifique Pro-Solution Serum
Brightening & Dark Spot Reducing
Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum
Plumping & Dark-Spot Reducing
Génifique Ultimate Recovery Serum
Visible Damage & Skin Barrier Recovery
Step 4: Hydrate the Eye Contour
The skin around the eyes is notoriously thin and delicate, which is why it’s one of the first areas to appear dehydrated or show signs of aging (Oh, hello crow's feet). Think of skin as a sponge. It won’t work as intended unless it’s moistened, making under-eye hydration top priority. In addition to moisturizing the eye contour, you may want an eye cream or serum that also addresses your eye-area concerns, like crow’s feet, dark circles, and puffiness:
Puffiness & Eye Bags: Advanced Génifique Light Pearl Eye Serum
Dehydration & Crow’s Feet: Génifique Ultimate Eye Cream or Absolue The Eye Cream
Pro Tip: If you plan to layer eye serum with an eye cream, apply your eye serum first.
Advanced Génifique Light Pearl Eye Serum
De-Puffing & Illuminating
Génifique Ultimate Eye Cream
Dark Circle Reducing & Depuffing
Absolue The Eye Cream
Wrinkle Reducing & Smoothing
Step 5: Moisturize with a Day Cream
Well-hydrated skin is essential, not only for maintaining a healthy look, but also for giving skin a visibly youthful radiance. Keeping your skin hydrated supports the skin barrier, which plays a vital role in defending against environmental stressors and preventing moisture loss (known as trans-epidermal water loss or TEWL) throughout the day. Daily, consistent moisturization can lead to a noticeable improvement in skin texture and elasticity, so skin is supple and smooth over time. Lancôme’s day creams are specifically formulated to tackle everyday skincare concerns like dryness, fine lines, and oiliness, with options that suit various skin types.
For a luxurious, spa-like day cream experience, our Absolue Longevity The Soft Cream is a treat on dull and dry skin. This indulgent cream moisturizer visibly improves face contour definition, tightens and firms skin, and delivers up to 24 hours of hydration for a luminous, moisturized appearance. Extend your skin’s youthful look with our first-ever topical PDRN cream inspired by Longevity Science (Topical PDRN refers to a complex ingredient containing hydrolyzed DNA used for the first time in a Lancôme topical product.).
For daily anti-aging benefits from a day cream with SPF, try Rénergie H.P.N. 300 Peptide Cream with SPF 25. It’s a multi-tasking peptide cream moisturizer that helps to visibly firm skin, provide all-day hydration, plus helps protect with SPF 25 sunscreen. The 300 different peptides in combination with other active ingredients help to improve visible signs of aging, like wrinkles, dark spots, and lower face sagging.
For oily and acne-prone skin, try Hydra Zen Gel Cream formulated with Hyaluronic Acid and Squalane. This moisturizer has a lightweight texture that is absorbed quickly without leaving a greasy residue, making it ideal for oily skin types. It also effectively soothes skin, making it a suitable option for sensitive skin types as well.
Absolue Longevity Soft Cream
Visibly Firm Skin & Hydrate
Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream SPF 25
Reduce Sagging & Wrinkles
Step 6: Protect Skin with Broad-Spectrum Sunscreen
Research shows that sun exposure is responsible for 80% of signs of aging, including wrinkles, sagging, and dark spots.1 If your day cream doesn’t contain SPF 30 or higher, follow up with a facial sunscreen and take other sun protection measures. Lancome's Supra Screen Invisible Serum Sunscreen SPF 50+ provides comfortable & effective broad-spectrum sun protection coverage while also offering the clinical efficacy of an anti-aging serum. Patented UV technology combined with Niacinamide, Hyaluronic Acid, and Vitamin Cg help correct 6 key signs of photo-aging: dark spots, wrinkles, fine lines, brightness, tone evenness, and smoothness. The serum sunscreen formula is invisible on all skin tones (no white cast) and layers well under makeup.
Supra Screen Invisible Serum Sunscreen SPF 50+
Anti-Aging Correction & SPF 50+ Protection
Why Do I Need a Nighttime Skincare Routine?
A good nighttime skincare routine is beneficial for maintaining healthy looking skin and addressing skin concerns. At night, the skin’s moisture barrier is more permeable2, meaning that formulas can get to work on the skin’s surface. By following a nighttime skincare routine, you're giving your skin the best chance to renew and maintain skin's appearance of vitality. Plus, it's a great way to practice self-care and unwind before it's time to say, “sweet dreams.”
In What Order Should You Do Your Nighttime Skincare?
Your nighttime skincare routine order can follow the below steps:
Step 1: Double Cleanse – Oil-based cleanser followed by a gentle cleanser
Step 2: Toner
Step 3: Exfoliate/Prime
Step 4: Serum/Treatment – Target your specific skin concerns, e.g., dehydration, wrinkles, dull skin, etc.
Step 5: Eye Cream
Step 6: Night Cream Moisturizer
Step 1: Double Cleanse
Sometimes a small change in habit can make the biggest difference in results. Breaking out? Skin looking dull or congested? Try cleansing your skin before bed – and make it a habit. Otherwise, the combination of makeup, oil, and grime that’s collected throughout the day could potentially clog pores, which in turn may lead to breakouts. For your nighttime double cleanse, first use a makeup-removing cleanser like our Lait Galatee Confort Makeup Remover Milk to melt away makeup and impurities, followed by a gentle cleanser, like our Crème Mousse Confort to wash everything away.
Lait Galatee Confort Makeup Remover Milk
Cleansing & Comforting
Crème Mousse Confort Foaming Cleanser
Cleansing & Comforting
Step 2: Purify Skin with Toner
Just as you do in the morning, apply a toner like Tonique Confort again after your cleansing routine to remove residue and impurities, and balance skin while prepping for the rest of your routine.
Step 3: Use an Exfoliant to Refresh Skin
Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the skin’s surface. One common method of exfoliation is with a scrub, which uses a physical exfoliant. Our Exfoliating Rose Sugar Scrub gently sloughs away dead skin cells and impurities with real sugar grains to help exfoliate. An alternative method of exfoliation is chemical exfoliation which uses acids, like Alpha Hydroxy Acids & Beta Hydroxy Acids to dissolve dead skin cells. Our Clarifique Double Treatment Essence is an exfoliating essence formulated with a gentle blend of Glycolic, Lactic, Phytic, and Salicylic Acids in combination with soothing ingredients to help improve skin tone evenness and radiance without irritating skin.
Pro Tip: Alpha hydroxy acids, like glycolic acid can cause sensitivity to sunlight. We recommend saving this step for nighttime only and applying sunscreen in the morning.3 The best frequency depends on your skin type — dry or sensitive skin types can exfoliate once or twice a week, while those with oily skin may want to exfoliate every night.4 But, we can’t emphasize this enough, your own skin knows best. Listen to your skin and stop using an exfoliant immediately if it causes irritation or redness. Always consult with a board-certified Dermatologist for personalized recommendations.
Rose Sugar Exfoliating Scrub
Gentle Exfoliation & Plumping
Clarifique Double Treatment Essence
Radiance Boosting & Tone Evening
Step 4: Address Skin Concerns with a Serum or Treatment
Skin does most of its renewal work at night while you sleep. Applying a concentrated serum or treatment before bed allows the ingredients to support this natural process, helping to address skin concerns most effectively.
Ingredients like retinol and alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic acid, lactic acid) are best reserved for your nighttime regimen because they can increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun, making you more prone to sun damage during the day. Skin is also most exposed to external factors like sunlight, pollution, and makeup during the day which can oxidize ingredients or interfere with their effectiveness. By applying your treatments at night, you're giving your skin the best chance to renew its look of vitality.
Skin over 40 may start to feel rough in texture, skin tone can appear uneven, and dullness can steal our natural glow. Retinol, a vitamin A derivative, is a popular skincare ingredient known for its rejuvenating effects. Rénergie C.R.x. Triple Serum Retinol is Lancôme’s clinically effective, daily retinol serum that strikes the perfect balance between being highly efficacious while also providing a gentle and caring experience for the skin. It features 3 high-performance ingredients—Pure Retinol, Pure Vitamin C and X-Peptide—in an innovative triple-chambered bottle to achieve renewed skin and reduce wrinkles and pores without the dryness or irritation commonly associated with retinol.
If you’re layering serums at night, do not layer retinol with exfoliating acids. BHAs/AHAs exfoliate effectively but can irritate skin when combined with retinol. Instead, alternate their use. Do layer retinol with Génifique Ultimate Recovery Serum. With its soothing skin barrier strengthening and repairing benefits, it’s the perfect partner to retinol.
Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum and Génifique Ultimate Recovery Serum can be applied both day and night. Layer on Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum for anti-aging benefits on dark spots and volume loss, and Génifique Ultimate Serum to help strengthen the skin’s protective moisture barrier overnight for healthy-looking, hydrated skin.
Rénergie C.R.x. Triple Serum Retinol
Reduce Visible Wrinkles & Firms
Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum
Plumping & Dark-Spot Reducing
Génifique Ultimate Recovery Serum
Visible Damage & Skin Barrier Recovery
Step 5: Treat Concerns with Eye Cream or Serum
You may be asleep but overnight is when your eye cream gets to work. Nourish the delicate eye contour area while you’re snoozing to help refresh and moisturize the under eyes. Our Génifique Ultimate Eye Cream is a popular hydrating option for overnight eye care, formulated with top ingredients like micronized Beta Glucan-CM and Caffeine for visibly brighter, smoother skin upon waking. Lancôme eye treatments are multi-taskers, meaning they not only hydrate the eye area, but also target aging concerns like dark circles, wrinkles, and sagging skin:
Dark Circles: Rénergie Eye Cream or Génifique Ultimate Eye Cream
Wrinkles & Sagging Skin: Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Eye Serum
Génifique Ultimate Eye Cream
Dark Circle Reducing & Depuffing
Rénergie Eye Cream
Lifting & Dark Circle-Reducing
Rénergie H.C.F. Triple Serum Eye
Visibly Lift & Reduce Eye Wrinkles
Step 6: Lock in Moisture Overnight with a Night Cream
Because the skin barrier is more permeable overnight, it’s more absorptive—great for soaking up active ingredients—but it’s also more prone to moisture loss.6 For these reasons, night creams tend to be richer than day creams, which helps to seal in moisturize overnight. Lancôme’s night creams are formulated with fortifying ingredients, such as shea butter, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid, which help to seal moisture on skin’s surface and aid skin barrier vitality.
To lock in moisture overnight, try Advanced Génifique Night Cream. With powerhouse ingredients like 10% Bifidus Prebiotic, Hyaluronic Acid, and a Triple Ceramide Complex, this night cream helps to repair the skin’s moisture barrier while you sleep so you awake to supple, radiant skin.
For visibly smoother and replenished skin from the moment you wake up, try Rénergie Lift Multi-Action Night Cream. It’s our comforting night cream with lifting, firming, and anti-wrinkle benefits to nourish skin with moisture overnight and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles over time.
If you have advanced aging concerns such as lower face sagging (jowls), dark spots, static wrinkles, try Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream. It’s an innovative peptide cream that helps improve visible signs of aging, such as wrinkles, dark spots, and lower face sagging, with clinically significant results as early as two weeks. The complementary effect of Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide, and 300 peptides—an unprecedented number and variety of peptides—supports faster and enhanced skin renewal for visibly fresh, younger-looking skin upon waking and over time.
Advanced Génifique Night Cream
Hydrating & Nourishing
Rénergie Lift Multi-Action Night Cream
Lifting & Firming
Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream
Reduce Sagging & Wrinkles
And there you have it, ma chérie! By following these morning and nighttime step-by-step guides, you're not just applying products; you're nurturing your skin and building a foundation for its long-term vitality and radiance. Remember, consistency is key, and while results may not appear overnight, a dedicated routine will unveil a more vibrant, balanced, and resilient complexion over time. Embrace this journey of self-care, listen to your skin's needs, and enjoy the glow that comes from a skincare routine truly tailored to you. Here's to your best skin yet.
You May Also Like
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Learn about the benefits of skincare serums.
Learn why moisturizing is important at night.
1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3790843/
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9424081
3 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2791365/
4 https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-secrets/routine/safely-exfoliate-at-home
5 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15373590
6 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6777699/#__sec3title
* Clinical test with 79 women after 4 weeks
** In a clinical study on 24 women, after 72 hours
