Shiseido Skincare

I use the Shiseido skincare line for my daily 3-Step cleansing regimen. All their skincare products have a light fragrance that I find calming and pleasant. I can't place it but they smell wonderful!

Cleanse

The Pureness Deep Cleansing Foam $21 is my all-time favorite cleanser! It really deep cleans gently without making your skin feel tight. All you need is a little dab of this mixed with water. As you wash your face there are little blue scrubbing beads that dissolve once the cleanser has emulsified. I use this as a sign that it's time to rinse this off. I like to just splash my face with warm water until all the cleanser is completely rinsed off. I find this cleanser really washes away all traces of dirt, oil and makeup.

Tone

I follow with the Pureness Balancing Softner Alcohol-Free $23. I love how this is alcohol-free and doesn't dry out my skin. I used to think that a good toner draws out ALL the oil from my face - boy was I wrong! The toning step has 2 purposes: it removes any traces of residue from your skin that your cleanser may have missed and it preps your skin to soak up moisturizer fully. I like to soak a cotton pad and wipe this all over my face. I use 1 side of the pad for half of my face, then I use the other side of the pad for the other half of my face. The important thing is that you always wipe in 1 direction and not back and forth (you'll just wipe any residue that is picked up back onto your skin). I also tone before putting on any kind of mask that doesn't require rinsing off.

Moisturize
I use 2 different moisturizers: one for daytime and one for nighttime because during the day I look for a moisturizer that contains SPF or will help mattify my skin. At night I usually want something more hydrating.

I started off using the Pureness Matifying Moisturizer Oil-Free $32 during the day and the Pureness Moisturizing Gel-Cream $32 at night. Both these products are really great for oily skin but I found that they weren't moisturizing enough for my temples and cheeks as I have combination skin (oily T-zone and dry cheeks).

The great thing about Shiseido products is that you can combine the lines to customize for you own needs. This being said, I started using moisturizers from The Skincare line. The Skincare Day Moisturizer Protection SPF 15 PA+ regular $39 and The Skincare Nighttime Moisture Recharge regular $41. These are also wonderful and fast-absorbing.