Packing your life up into a 30kg suitcase to move across the world is no joke. Where do you even begin to decide what to take with you when you are moving to a country that you’ve never even visited before?

My Simple Skincare Routine

I took my time when packing what I wanted to take with me, and did it slowly over a period of two weeks. I also tried to be quite methodical and thoughtful about everything that I packed; made lists and added and crossed things out, and added them back in again, desperately wanting to avoid panic packing. Moving countries is stressful enough in itself, and I didn’t need my feelings of anxiety to increase anymore than they already were.

Of course I knew that whatever I didn’t have I could buy. But I wanted to avoid that as much as possible, especially if it was something that I already owned and was nearly full.

My plan; take all my favourite basics and essentials, and the rest is just a bonus. To be honest, I absolutely loved this process. Life can get so heavy by just the sheer amount of things that you own. Back at my home in London I would open my drawers and look at all the products I had mindlessly spent money on, collecting dust. The weight of it all bearing on my life.

I already had the intention of trying to use my products up before buying and testing new ones (I managed to display the willpower and restraint of a monk during the winter sales), so being able to narrow down what I had with me was something that I was very much looking forward to as part of this move.

Here are a few skincare items that I took with me. The items that I know are staples, the ones that I will repurchase again and again.

Starting with cleansers, I was recently introduced to Cleanser 27 which is a cleansing balm. I had previously never used cleansing balms before, but let me tell you now… I am converted for life! The way this emulsifies and just melts off all the gunk from your face leaves it feeling soft and ready for the next skincare steps. I use this in the evening as a precleanse if I have been out all day wearing make up. Next I will use the Nourishing Foamy Cleanser from Bio Essence. I find that this cleanser is perfect to use with the Clarisonic because it is so thick and foams so well.

Currently, I am using the Clarisonic about twice a week, otherwise I will just use the Bio Essence cleanser on its own. I use this cleanser every morning too.

During the day I don’t like to put too much on my face as I will probably just end up sweating it all off due to the hot weather in Sydney.

Using a face cream with SPF is an integral part of my routine, at the moment I am loving the Vichy Capital Soleil Mattifying Face Fluid Dry Touch SPF 50. I discovered this cream before I spent 2 weeks in Italy last summer and it saved my face! I find that a lot of face creams that have high SPF leave the skin very greasy and shiny, but this is precisely the opposite.

If I am going to be wearing make up during the day then I will prime my face with the Maestro UV Skin Defense Primer SPF 50 (yes, on top of the SPF 50 day cream!) from Giorgio Armani and then use a small pump of Luminous Silk foundation on top.

At night I have been interchanging between Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair and the Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate from Kiehls. Both slightly pricier items, but also very effective.

I love reading about new products and finding the perfect new creams and serums for my skin, but finding that balance between what I need and what I want is something that I am continuing to learn.