My Skin Care Routine: Jan Marini, Liz Earle & Origins

I’ve had a lot of questions about my skincare routine, including what I use because I’m often mistaken for a 16 year old. As I’ve explained before, a lot of it is genetic because my mum and dad look really young, but it’s also because of my lifestyle. I don’t drink alcohol or fizzy drinks and I don’t smoke or go out in the sun without sun cream. I would say that I have a pretty healthy diet and rarely eat sugar either, but I do have a good skincare regime that I stick to every morning and night and it’s something that works really well for me and my problem skin. I am prone to acne and have a lot of scarring on my face too, but to keep my skin under control it’s related a lot to my hormones and diet unfortunately, which makes it even harder to keep spot free. But I will take you through my skincare regime and the products I use, when I use them and what they look like, this does also include vitamins!

So above is my Jan Marini 5 step system that I use morning and night. I originally found out about these products when I went for a consultation at a skin clinic here in Bath called The Orangery 2 years ago. I went there to talk to them about getting my skin under control and also a system of removing scars and pigmentation that I have on my skin. I was introduced to the skin care system that they swear by and it is Jan Marini. I will admit that it’s incredibly expensive, however the products last for such a long time because you don’t need that much of them, so instead of buying new products every couple of months, you are really looking at buying them twice a year, so it does work out almost the same cost wise, it’s just the initial expenditure. It’s an amazing system though and I honestly don’t know how I lived without it for all those years! I will talk you through how it works below!

So this is the face cleanser. You put a small amount on your dry finger tips and massage it all over your dry face (avoiding the eyes) and rub it in for about a minute. You then wet a cotton wool pad and wipe it off as the water deactivates the chemicals in the cleanser. After you have wiped it off, it’s recommended you splash your face with water about 10-20 times (I do 20) just to make sure it’s all off as it is definitely a strong cleanser. After this, I pat my face dry and move onto step two. You do this step 1 both morning and night as the first part of the regime. I’m very sensitive to smells and this has absolutely no smell, despite being strong, which is perfect!

Step 2 on the left here is the C-Esta serum which is amazing and has a yellow colour! Again you put a small bit on your finger tips and massage it in all over your face. It smells like flowers and it helps to take away redness and inflammation on your skin, creating a more even skin tone. You don’t wash this off though, this remains on your skin and you do this both morning and night as step two in the regime.

Step 3 on the right is the Bioclear lotion/gel. This is quite a strong chemical so this is applied in a thin layer over the face (avoiding the eyes) at night time for the first week. When your skin gets used to it, you can then use it as a step 3 in the morning routine as well, but you have to stick to it for the night time to begin with. Again, this is a product that stays on and you don’t wash it off. It doesn’t have any smell to it at all, which is perfect too as I can’t tolerate chemical scents.

Step 4 on the left is the Transformation Serum. This is a white cream/serum which you apply after the Bioclear at night or after the C-Esta serum in the morning. It helps to regenerate your skin and really transform it, while hydrating it at the same time. It’s like a moisturiser, but it isn’t, if that makes sense. You are supposed to apply it sparingly all over your face. This is the product that I tend to run out of quicker than most though. This is left on again and used both morning and night.

Step 5 on the right is the final part of the regime and it’s Daily Face Protectant. It has an SPF 33 in it so it’s the sun cream that you need to stop those UV rays damaging your skin and also irritating the other products on your skin. It has a light floral smell to it and is really lovely on the skin. Again it moisturises and keeps the skin hydrated and glowy. This is only applied in the morning though and left on because obviously you don’t need sun cream at night. You just put it on your fingertips and massage in.

So that’s the full 5 step system, it is a long one, but it’s definitely worth it because I have noticed such a change in my skin. Before it was quite dull, dry and just looking weird as well as oily and irritated with acne, but after using this I noticed a change pretty fast. It’s brighter, fresher and less red and not to mention the texture of my skin is as soft as silk, it’s really worked for me. This is only one of the kits they have, they have loads for fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, acne and more, as well as a kit for teens and men and body care. I don’t recommend you just head online and buy this immediately as you do need a consultation with a specialist first to make sure you get the right products for your skin and to show you properly how you use them. They have various kits of the same system for different skin types, so you definitely need to make sure you get it right!

Now onto something that I use twice a week! My Origins Charcoal mask and Modern Friction exfoliator. With the Jan Marini kit above you aren’t really supposed to use an exfoliator as the acids in the cleansers are quite strong, but on the day that I use the Charcoal mask and Modern Friction, I don’t use step 1 or step 3 of the Jan Marini kit. I avoid using it so that I don’t irritate my skin. I have to use these two products though because it really opens up your pores and cleans them out deep inside, which is perfect because after I use it, I notice how fresh my skin looks and how clean it looks at the same time. It also helps in eliminating getting new spots. I will teach you how to use it below.

So this is what the mask looks like on. The left is it wet and the right is when it’s dried. To start with, you have to open up your pores with a hot flannel or cloth over your face. I do this by running my clean flannel under the hot tap and then laying it over my face for a minute, repeating it a few times until the steam has opened my pores up. Then you apply the mask all over your face like above and leave it for about 10-20 minutes. I usually leave it on 20 minutes until it’s completely dry. Then comes the harder part, getting it off. I usually rub it off with a warm wet flannel until I can get most of the mask off, but this is where the exfoliator comes in. I then use that on my skin after the mask to make sure I get it all out of my pores, otherwise your pores can look black as they have charcoal left inside them. The exfoliator is one of the best I have used, it’s gentle on the skin and you use water to lather it up, so it’s really nice. Of course after that, you wash it off and your skin should be really clean, then you go about moisturising it. You can check both of these out on Origins by clicking here.

Now in terms of how I get my make-up off after the day, I use Liz Earle. I use the Instant Boost skin tonic on a cotton wool pad to remove my foundation and then the Eyebright to remove my eye make-up. I do this because the Jan Marini cleanser can’t be used on the eyes and I do tend to wear a lot of make-up, which the cleanser doesn’t fully get off, so I remove it first. Since these Liz Earle products are really natural, they are perfect for me to use as they don’t hurt my skin. I love Liz Earle! You can shop that by clicking here.

I will say though in terms of make-up, I did my make-up routine post before (click here to see it) and the reason I use Barbara Panagos is because when I was using Bare Minerals before, it stung when I was using my Jan Marini products. There was something in Bare Minerals which reacted badly to the Jan Marini and it was not pleasant. So now I use the natural Barbara Panagos make-up, I don’t get any stinging. So I don’t recommend using Bare Minerals if you use Jan Marini, but then again, it could just be my skin.

Moving onto my supplements, to keep my skin healthy and looking nice as well as trying to minimise blemishes etc, I take these Murad Pure Skin tablets above. You have to take 4 a day, so 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening and they taste absolutely awful like herbs and dirt, but they work well. Since I started taking them some time ago my skin is a lot clearer, brighter and it feels nicer too. It doesn’t just help your skin though as it has vitamins A, C, B1, E etc and Zinc and so many other minerals which really help in daily body function as well. I definitely recommend these (as do so many other people) if you have problem skin. I get mine on Look Fantastic as they usually have a lot of discount codes and deals to make them cheaper! Click here to purchase them.

And last, but not least, my Vitamin C. I’ve been taking this for over a year, everyday and it’s incredible. It doesn’t help my skin as such, but it definitely helps me. I used to pick up bugs and germs so much and would be sick quite often, but now I have only been fully sick once in over a year and that was with a cold. I felt illness coming on the other day and taking these just kicks its butt. I take 1 of the 1000mg tablets a day. It says you can take up to 2, which sometimes I will if I’m not feeling well, but I mainly take 1 as there is a small dose of Vitamin C in my Murad tablets. But these give me a lot more energy and I rarely feel depressed anymore either.

– So this is everything I do to keep my skin like it is. I really do think it works and it does help keep me looking younger as even though I will be 26 in 4 months time, I still don’t actually have any lines around my eyes and I’m always getting asked why I’m not at school, ha ha. I definitely believe in taking care of your body and your skin from an early age, it’s what my mum has been doing and she’s almost 48 but looks about 30. She doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke either, which definitely makes a huge difference as it can dehydrate your skin. The point I’m trying to make is that healthy skin comes from within the body just as much as the skin care products you use externally. I actually wrote a post called 5 Natural Beauty Tips for Radiant Skin (click here to read it) and I would love for you to check that out too! I would love to know what other products you all use and how you keep your skin nice!

Written by Lorna Burford