I’m turning 45 in December. I no longer have the time or patience for a 10-step skincare routine. I’ve found what works well for me, and I’ve stuck to it for the past year. And my skin still looks pretty good for my age — very minimal fine lines and the occasional breakout.

The biggest thing I’ve stopped using is prescription tretinoin. Or any type of retinol at all. I know it’s the #1 ingredient against aging skin, but my skin has gotten more sensitive over the years and I couldn’t even tolerate the lowest 0.02% dose. Over-the-counter retinol dries out my skin and I get flaky. I’ve also developed mild rosacea so I need to be very mindful about potentially irritating ingredients.

So here is my simplified skincare routine, at the age of 44. And I must say I’m pretty happy with the results. (Some of the linked products are affiliate links, meaning I get commission for purchases or clicks made through those links in this post.)

Cleanser, oil-based:

I prefer cleansing balms to cleansing oils, and the Aprilskin Carrotene IPMP Hydromelt Cleansing Balm takes the top spot. It dethroned my previous favorite, the Then I Met You Living Cleansing Balm, because it performs just as well for $10 cheaper. It melts away all my sunscreen and makeup at the end of the day and rinses clean. I know Aprilskin also markets this product for blackhead removal but I don’t use it that way.

Cleanser, water-based:

I admit that I have a perhaps-not-so-healthy preference for cleansers, and it’s that they must leave my face squeaky clean. I know these types of cleansers usually have a high pH level and can be stripping, but that’s just my preference and besides, I moisturize right afterwards.

The Dewytree Hi Amino All Cleanser is one of those cleansers that leaves your skin clean. It has a very slight, fresh scent and isn’t too drying. You only need a pea-sized amount and it foams up nicely. I’m not sure if the amino acids actually do anything for my skin, but I have tried other cleansers through the years and always come back to this one. Plus, at $16, it’s at a great price.

Treatment:

I know the VT Cosmetics Cica Reedle Shot 100 is a controversial product because it contains micro spicules that can potentially damage your skin. Does it hurt? Well, you can definitely feel the reedles as you massage it onto your face. But ever since I started using this product, the products I use afterward definitely absorb better into the skin and their effectiveness increased. The texture of my skin has improved, and when I do get a pimple, they disappear much faster. (When I do breakout, I rub a some extra reedle shot into area and the pimple is usually gone within the next 1-2 days.) I haven’t tried the 50 which is supposed to be gentler, but I see no reason to go up to the 300 or 700 since the 100 is working so well for me.

Serum:

I first purchased the Anua Azelaic Acid 10 Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum to help with my rosacea. Although I liked the texture and how it moisturized my skin, I must admit that I didn’t see that much difference in my redness until I started using it in conjunction with the reedle shot. But now that I’ve found a combination that works, I’m sticking with it.

Moisturizer:

If you know anything about Korean skincare, you must know that PDRN has been all the rage for the past year or so. I first came across the Heveblue Salmon Caring Centella Cream on Instagram and learned that it was one of the best-selling moisturizers at Olive Young (the biggest beauty retailer in Korea). In fact, when I first tried to place an order via the Olive Young Global site, it was sold out.

Luckily, Heveblue has an Amazon storefront and I was able to obtain a bottle. What makes the Heveblue cream so effective is that it has a staggering 5,000ppm of PDRN, one of the highest concentrations available over the counter in Korea. It also contains centella leaf water and madecassoside, two very calming, healing ingredients in skincare.

The Heveblue Salmon Caring Centella Cream is pretty rich, so I only use it at night. But I swear that since having started using it, the fine lines around my eyes have disappeared. And at $28.70, it’s a lot less expensive than other creams I’ve used and loved in the past.

Sunscreen:

I first wrote about the Saint Jane Luxury Sun Ritual Pore Smoothing Face Sunscreen SPF 30 two years ago, so I must have been using it for at least that long. I’ve tried other sunscreens during this time, but the Saint Jane sunscreen beats them all.

I’m indoors most of the time, so I don’t need SPF 50+. The difference between SPF 30 is SPF 50 is only 1% anyway. (And this sunscreen worked perfectly fine when I used it on last year’s vacation in Cancun.) All I know is that this product really is a primer and sunscreen in one, and it beats other standalone primers. As the name says, it does smooth the pores and leaves the perfect canvas for makeup.

At $38, it’s the most expensive product in my routine. But I haven’t found any sunscreen, even Korean and Japanese ones, that beat it. (And with tariffs in addition to the FDA crackdown, Asian sunscreens are becoming more difficult and expensive to purchase.)

So that’s it. My morning routine is simple:

1. Water cleanser
2. Anua serum
3. Sunscreen

My evening routine is as follows:

1. Oil cleanser
2. Water cleanser
3. Reedle shot
4. Anua serum
5. Heveblue moisturizer

As stated above, I’ve been using these products for the past year or so and I’m very happy with the results. At this point in my life, the goal is to prevent new lines and wrinkles, keep my skin calm and healthy, and prevent/treat breakouts. I’ve found this mostly-Korean routine to not only be cheaper than other products I’ve used in the past, they’re more effective.