Toning is good for several reasons that you’re probably already familiar with - it helps set skin up for maximum skincare absorption and also acts as a final sweep of removing makeup and grime. While I don’t always use it for the latter, I do tend to use it primarily for skincare prep. I love the way it leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated.

Several targeted toners help even out skin tone, I decide on a whim what my skin needs that day. I have melasma around my eyes and am always trying to heal the ghost of a former breakout. I switch between Rosen’s Gold Tides Toner for the days I need some gentle exfoliation to rid my face of dark spots and Herbal Dynamics Rose Water Facial Toner for days I want to soften and hydrate.

I love Rose Water Face Toner for a major reason - it has a spray pump. This means you can spray it on skin, then follow with a cotton pad or towel without losing tons of product to the cotton pad. It’s formulated with Hyaluronic Acid which helps deliver hydration because my skin suffers from chronic dryness even though I live in a sub-tropical climate that somehow depletes my skin, rather than restoring hydration.

Chamomile helps to calm and soothe, which my eczema requires of me on a daily basis. This leaves behind a brighter complexion and tighter pores.

It’s easy to get caught up on the “treatment” train. Serums provide an intense delivery of essential goodness for skin that helps solve specific problems. What I’m usually working on solving - dryness, discoloration, dullness. As I call it, the Three D’s.

While I’ll choose what I need at that point in the day, sometimes I opt for a more simple solution. In this case, Rosen’s Rose Water Face Dew. This is another one of those “two in one” products that we know and love. I use it prior to moisturizing or throughout the day on top of my makeup after I’ve dabbed off that pesky oil with a (let’s be real here) a piece of toilet paper rather than blotting sheets.

Rose Water Face dew quickly absorbs into the skin, delivering fatty acids that plump and smooth out wrinkles, along with rosehip oil which softens and adds a bouncy glow. Remember y’all, we’re going for quick here! That’s what this product does.

I’m not a confessed oil girl. I don’t particularly enjoy using them. They tend to leave my skin feeling greasy and unruly when it comes to makeup application, but I’ve found some hacks that let my skin benefit from the goodness that is oils. If your skin wants it but you’re avoiding that dewy-makeup look, reserve it for the night or you can consider skipping the moisturizer. I however am a moisturizer nut case, so I’ve learned to mix in oils with my daily moisturizer, which helps deliver all the benefits while absorbing into my skin a little more quickly than it normally would on its own.

Freck’s Lil Prick Cactus Seed Dry Serum is another one of these hacks. As a human, you can be many things, as a serum, you can also be many things (deep thoughts with Jillian). This serum is more oil-based, but rich in Vitamins A and E which help firm and even out skin tone. It’s also formulated with Prickly Pear Seed which is rich in linoleic acid aka free-radical fighting for UV rays, pollution, and those times you can’t stop touching your face before you’ve washed your hands.

I pair this up with a cream moisturizer because we are all about efficiency, people! Specifically with another Prickly Pear hero; Herbal Dynamics Beauty Prickly Pear Moisturizer which has a secret superpower known as squalane. While Hyaluronic Acid delivers hydrations and plumps skin cells, it isn’t known for keeping it there. Squalane helps lock in all of the vitamins and minerals from all the work you’ve done up to this point.

The moral of the story, don’t be afraid to mix them together and play around with different oils and serums. Going for two at once helps cut down routine time and deliver similar results (unless they tell you otherwise on the product, ok?).