A Week with the Complete Face Serum Collection

The best way to start the Complete Face Serum Collection is one serum at a time over your first week, then settle into a simple daily pattern: vitamin C and Royal Kalahari in the morning, the peptide serum and The Midnight Youth Potion at night. Once all four are in use, you can adjust the routine to your skin and the season rather than following it to the letter. This article is about that adjusting: how to bring the serums in, how to tune them for your skin type, and the small mistakes that hold a routine back.

Your first week, one bottle at a time

Four new products on the same night make it hard to tell how your skin is responding to each one. A gentler start is to add them in turn.

• Days one and two: The Royal Kalahari Face Serum, four to six drops pressed into face and neck, morning and night. It is the most familiar texture of the four, a light face oil, and a good baseline.
• Days three and four: add the Vitamin C Collagen Boosting Face Serum with Niacinamide in the morning, three or four drops before the Royal Kalahari serum.
• Days five and six: add the Wrinkle Reducing Ultra Peptide Intensive Face Serum in the evening, two to four drops, before the oil.
• Day seven: bring in The Midnight Youth Potion as the last step at night.

By the end of the week you are using the full collection the way it is meant to be used, and you know how each bottle feels on its own.

Tuning the routine to your skin

Dry or mature skin

Use the higher drop counts and keep both oils in your evening: Royal Kalahari after the peptide serum, then the Midnight Youth Potion on top. Avocado and baobab in the Potion add cushion, and baobab and camellia seed oils in the Royal Kalahari serum soften dry skin. The peptide serum lists dry and mature skin among the types it suits.

Combination skin

Start with the lower drop counts. The vitamin C serum suits combination skin and is light enough for an oilier T-zone. In the evening, the peptide serum and the Midnight Youth Potion alone may be plenty. Press the oil more lightly across the nose and forehead than across the cheeks.

Sensitive skin

Both the vitamin C serum and the peptide serum list sensitive skin among their skin types. The slower first week above matters most here. If one product does not suit you, you will know which.

Adjusting through the year

Skin rarely wants the same thing in January and July. In winter, when heating dries the air indoors, lean on the oils: add a drop to your usual count, and use the Royal Kalahari serum at both ends of the day. In summer, you may find the morning vitamin C serum and a lighter press of Royal Kalahari are all you need before sunscreen, with the full evening routine kept as it is.

On mornings when your skin looks dull after a short night, the vitamin C serum is the one not to skip. On evenings when your skin feels tight, the Midnight Youth Potion is the one to be generous with.

What to put around the serums

• Before: a cleanser that does not leave skin tight. Our Rose Face Wash Cream melts into damp skin and rinses clean and soft. A few spritzes of Rose Petal Mist Face Toner after washing gives the serums a fresh, lightly hydrated start.
• After, in the morning: sunscreen, every day.
• After, at night: if you like a cream, the Wrinkle Reducing Ultra Peptide Intensive Night Cream goes on last, over face, neck and décolletage. Many of our customers use it over the peptide serum.

Small mistakes that hold a routine back

• Oil before serum. Keep the watery vitamin C serum and the peptide serum first and the oils last.
• Rushing the peptide serum. Give it about a minute to absorb before the next layer.
• Mixing with retinol. On a night you use retinol, skip the peptide serum. Keep the vitamin C serum out of any routine with retinol or benzoyl peroxide.
• Too many drops. More oil does not mean more moisture. If your skin still looks shiny ten minutes later, use one or two drops fewer next time.
• Stopping after a week. Serums like these show their best with regular use, so give the routine a few weeks before you judge it.

Questions about building a routine with the set

Do I have to use all four serums every day?

No. The collection works as a full routine, but you can lean on whichever serums your skin needs on a given day. Many people keep vitamin C for the mornings and rotate the evening steps.

How long does a bottle of Royal Kalahari last?

Used morning and night, one 1 fl oz bottle of The Royal Kalahari Face Serum lasts about two months.

What cleanser should I use with the collection?

Any gentle cleanser works. Ours is the Rose Face Wash Cream, a creamy wash made for dry, normal and sensitive skin that cleanses without leaving skin tight.

Can I add a face oil from the Face Oil Collection?

You can, but the collection already includes two oils. If you add another, use it in place of one of them rather than on top, so your skin is not carrying three layers of oil.