i spent a year trying expensive skincare. the $85 serums, the $120 moisturizers, the routines with 9 steps that took 25 minutes every morning.
then i stripped it all back and my skin got better. here’s the actual routine and what everything costs.
morning (3 products, 2 minutes)
1. gentle cleanser — $8/month la roche-posay toleriane. nothing fancy. does the job without stripping. one bottle lasts about 6 weeks.
2. vitamin C serum — $7/month the ordinary’s ascorbyl glucoside solution. yes, a $12 bottle that lasts almost 2 months. i tried the $65 skinceuticals version. couldn’t tell the difference on my skin. maybe it’s better. not $53 better.
3. SPF 50 — $9/month this is the one thing i don’t cheap out on. but “don’t cheap out” still means $14 for a tube that lasts 5-6 weeks. i use a korean sunscreen (beauty of joseon relief sun) that doesn’t leave a white cast and sits beautifully under makeup or alone.
morning total: $24/month
evening (4 products, 3 minutes)
1. oil cleanser — $5/month DHC deep cleansing oil. removes sunscreen and any makeup in one step. a bottle lasts forever.
2. water-based cleanser — same $8 tube from morning double cleanse in the evening only. same LRP toleriane.
3. GHK-Cu serum — $12/month this is the star. a copper peptide serum that stimulates collagen and elastin. i wrote a whole post about what it did for my skin. this is the one product in my routine that made people ask “what changed?”
i alternate this with retinol — GHK-Cu 4 nights, retinol 3 nights.
4. moisturizer — $6/month cerave moisturizing cream. the big tub. simple, ceramide-based, does the job. nothing else needed.
evening total: $23/month (including shared cleanser)
the math
| product | monthly cost |
|---|---|
| cleanser (AM/PM) | $8 |
| vitamin C | $7 |
| SPF 50 | $9 |
| oil cleanser | $5 |
| GHK-Cu serum | $12 |
| moisturizer | $6 |
| total | $47 |
plus retinol at ~$4/month (the ordinary again), so call it $51 if you include that.
what i cut
- hyaluronic acid serum (moisturizer already has it)
- toner (my skin doesn’t need it)
- eye cream (it’s just expensive moisturizer in a small jar)
- face mist (nice but unnecessary)
- any “essence” or “ampoule” that i couldn’t explain the function of
the real secret
consistency beats products. i’ve been doing this exact routine for 8 months. no switching, no “trying something new because an influencer recommended it.” the GHK-Cu needs time to work — you won’t see collagen changes in a week. but at month 3-4, it’s undeniable.
the most expensive skincare routine is the one you keep changing.
more on my peptide skincare approach: how GHK-Cu replaced my foundation.