You are applying skincare in the wrong order

Every routine, no matter how many products, follows one rule. Once you know it, you never have to look up an order again.

The rule is: thinnest to thickest, with sunscreen last.

The rule

Products go on from the most watery to the most rich. A thin liquid cannot get through a layer of cream, but a cream has no trouble going on top of a thin liquid.

That single sentence orders any routine, from three products to ten, without needing a chart.

The morning

Cleanser, then moisturiser, then sunscreen. Three steps, under two minutes.

Sunscreen goes last, always, on top of everything else. It works as a layer on and in the top of the skin, and putting anything over it dilutes and disturbs it. Give the moisturiser a minute to absorb first so the sunscreen does not pill.

The evening

Cleanser, then any treatment, then moisturiser.

The treatment, usually an acid, goes on clean dry skin and before the moisturiser, because it is thinner and because it needs contact with the skin rather than with a layer of cream. Two or three evenings a week is plenty for most actives, not every night.

What to skip

Toner in most cases, essence, and the second serum. They are not harmful, they simply add cost and time for a small effect compared to the three steps that carry the routine.

If your routine feels like a chore, you will drop it. A short routine you actually keep beats a long one you abandon in February.

In short

Thinnest to thickest. Sunscreen last in the morning, treatment before moisturiser at night. That is the whole system.