First published: 2 September 2015; updated 19 February 2022.

My goal for this post is very modest: I want to turn words into pictures. I see lots of confusion and questions about when to apply which skincare products. And for good reason: it’s confusing!

I think that simplifying things drastically by removing most words for a moment could be useful. Think of this post as a cheat sheet for constructing and following a routine.

Visual Guide to Skincare: overview

All-In-One Version

This is also available as a PDF for easy printing.

A few notes

• This post provides a recommended order for layering skincare products–you don’t need to use all of these products in the same routine!! And you probably don’t even need to use all of these products ever. Do what’s right for your skin and your skin goals.
• I’m messy and busy and distracted, so I like to put eye cream and spot treatments over creams and sleeping packs. I think that it helps them stay in place better. Other bloggers and kbeauty fans recommend doing things differently, so feel free to experiment and see what works best for your skin.