Beauty Edit · Skincare
A skincare routine, three budgets.
Good skin is four steps done consistently, not ten steps done once. Here's the routine in the order it actually goes on, then the same four steps built three ways — a full drugstore kit under $50, a high-low mix, and the clinical splurge — so you can spend where it counts and save everywhere else.
The four steps, in order
Every routine, at every price, is the same short list: cleanse, treat, moisturise, protect. Apply thinnest to thickest, water before oil. Morning is cleanser, a water-based serum, moisturiser, then sunscreen last. Night is cleanser, one treatment (a retinoid or an acid, never both the same night), then moisturiser. That's the whole architecture — the only thing that changes between budgets is what fills each slot.
The Steal — a full routine under $50
All of it from the drugstore aisle at Ulta, and none of it a compromise. A CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser (around $16) to wash without stripping, The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc (about $6) as the treat step, CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion (around $14) to seal it, and a La Roche-Posay Anthelios sunscreen for the one step you can't skip. Four products, roughly $45, dermatologist-boring in the best way.
The Mix — spend on two, save on two
The high-low move: keep the cheap basics, put the money into a nicer cleanser and a sunscreen you'll happily reapply. Farmacy Green Clean balm to melt off the day (around $36), a vitamin C serum to treat, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream (about $38) for the moisture step, and Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen (around $38) — the one that feels like nothing, which is why people actually wear it. Roughly $150 for the set, and the sunscreen alone is worth the trade up.
The Investment — clinical, buy-once
This is where price buys something real: stabilised actives that still work in month six. SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic is the famous one (about $182) and it earns the number by not oxidising into uselessness the way cheap vitamin C does. Pair it with Tatcha The Rice Wash to cleanse, a rich moisturiser to finish, and EltaMD UV Clear (around $41) — the sunscreen dermatologists quietly wear themselves. North of $300, but two of these four are things you use down to the last drop.
Where to actually spend
If you take one thing from all three columns: save on cleanser and basic moisturiser, spend on sunscreen and vitamin C. A $16 cleanser and a $60 cleanser do the same job — the difference is packaging. But sunscreen prevents the damage everything else tries to reverse, and vitamin C is the active where cheap formulas fail fastest. Put the budget there and the routine works at any total.
Questions, answered
What order do you apply skincare?
Thinnest to thickest, water before oil. In the morning: cleanser, then any water-based serum (vitamin C), then moisturiser, then sunscreen last. At night: cleanser, treatment (a retinoid or an acid, not both the same night), then moisturiser. Sunscreen is the only non-negotiable step, and it always goes on last in the morning.
How many steps does a skincare routine actually need?
Four does everything: cleanse, treat, moisturise, protect. The ten-step routine is a marketing invention — most people see better skin from doing four steps consistently than from doing ten inconsistently. Add a fifth step (an exfoliating acid or a retinoid) two or three nights a week once the basics are a habit.
Is expensive skincare worth it?
For actives, sometimes; for basics, almost never. A drugstore cleanser and a drugstore moisturiser do the same job as their $60 counterparts — the formulas are close and the difference is packaging. Where price can buy something real is in stabilised vitamin C and well-formulated retinoids, which are genuinely harder to make well. Spend there, save everywhere else.
What's the one product worth spending money on?
Sunscreen you'll actually reapply, and after that a stable vitamin C serum. Sunscreen prevents the damage every other product tries to undo, so the best one is the one whose texture you don't hate. Vitamin C is the active where cheap formulas oxidise fastest, so a stabilised one like SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic earns its price by still working in month six.