In what order should you apply skincare?

The rule: thin to thick

A watery liquid sinks in easily, while a rich cream or oil leaves a film on the skin. Put the cream on first and a thin serum struggles to reach the skin afterwards. So you start with the thinnest product and finish with the thickest.

Give each layer a moment to absorb before the next one. About a minute is usually enough, and it stops products pilling or streaking under make-up.

Step 1: cleanse

Start with clean skin. A cleansing gel or foam is rinsed off with water, such as Bioderma Sensibio Gel moussant or the Effaclar Purifying Cleansing Gel from La Roche-Posay. Micellar water goes on with a cotton pad, such as Sensibio H2O from Bioderma.

If you wear make-up or sunscreen, an evening routine often starts with a cleansing oil or balm. It dissolves make-up, and you follow it with your usual gel. Examples are Clarins Total Cleansing Oil and Erborian Centella Cleansing Balm. Every type is under cleansing.

Steps 2 and 3: toner and serum

A toner is a watery lotion applied after cleansing, with your hands or a cotton pad. Some are soothing and alcohol-free, like Kiehl's Calendula Herbal-Extract Alcohol-Free Toner; others exfoliate with acids, like the Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner from The Ordinary. The Ordinary recommends using the latter in the evening and wearing sunscreen during the day.

Some brands add an essence or lotion after the toner. It is watery too, so it goes before the serum.

A serum is concentrated and thin, and a few drops are enough. Common active ingredients are hyaluronic acid (hydration), vitamin C, niacinamide and retinol. The packaging tells you whether a serum is meant for the morning, the evening or both. Makers treat retinol as an evening product: L'Oréal Paris calls its Revitalift Laser Night Serum with pure Retinol a night serum.

Using two serums? Start with the thinner one. Every type is under serums.

Steps 4 and 5: eye cream and moisturiser

The skin around your eyes is thin, and there are separate products for it, used in small amounts. Pat a little on along the eye socket with your ring finger, not right up to the lashes. Most brands place eye cream after serum and before face cream, so the richer cream does not end up underneath. Compare them under eye care.

A day or night cream holds in the moisture from the layers before it. A gel cream is lighter, a rich cream fuller. CeraVe Oil Control gel cream is a light option; a night cream such as La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Night Cream is for the evening. A face oil is the thickest of all, so it goes last in an evening routine. Browse day and night creams.

Step 6, in the morning: SPF

Face sunscreen is the last skincare step of the morning, before make-up. Eucerin and La Roche-Posay say on their sun products to apply generously and to reapply often, especially after swimming, sweating or towelling. A day cream with SPF, such as Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler + Longevity Day Cream SPF 30, combines steps 5 and 6. A separate fluid, such as Eucerin Sun Hydro Protect SPF 50+ or Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF30, goes over your moisturiser.

Morning and evening side by side

You do not need every step. Cleansing, a moisturiser and SPF in the morning make a complete routine. Add a toner or serum only once you know what you want it to do.