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In June I counted eleven products in my morning and evening routines. Two acids, a retinoid, three serums, an essence I couldn't explain, and a moisturiser for every mood. My skin, which is combination and easily irritated, was red around the nose, tight by mid-afternoon and breaking out along the jaw. I wasn't sure which product was the problem, so I decided to remove almost all of them.
The rules were simple: one cleanser, one treatment and one moisturiser with SPF, used for 90 days with no additions. I photographed my skin on day 1, 30, 60 and 90 in the same spot by the bedroom window, at 9am, with no filter.
The routine
I chose products I'd already used without a reaction, so the test was about simplicity rather than novelty.
- Cleanser: the Halden Soft Gel Cleanser. A low-foam gel that takes off sunscreen in one pass. Evenings only; mornings were a splash of water.
- Treatment: the Ossa Skin Calm Barrier Serum. Niacinamide and ceramides, two drops morning and evening on damp skin.
- Moisturiser + SPF: the Lumen & Leaf Daylight Moisture SPF 50 in the morning. At night I used the serum on its own, with a thin layer of the same moisturiser on very dry days.
That's it. No exfoliating acids, no retinoid, no sheet masks. I kept wearing makeup as normal.
"My skin didn't need more products. It needed fewer things fighting each other."
Week by week
Weeks 1–2. Honestly, nothing exciting. My skin felt slightly oilier, which I think was my barrier adjusting to not being stripped twice a day. Two small breakouts on the chin, both gone within four days.
Weeks 3–4. The redness around my nose was noticeably calmer by day 25. The tight, almost papery feeling I used to get at 3pm disappeared completely. This was the point where I stopped wanting to add things back.
Weeks 5–8. The boring middle. I nearly broke the rules in week six, when a new vitamin C serum arrived, but it went in a drawer. Jawline breakouts slowed from four or five a fortnight to one or two. Makeup sat better because there were fewer layers underneath to pill.
Weeks 9–12. Texture on my cheeks was smoother, though not dramatically. The real difference was consistency: my skin looked the same on a Monday as it did on a Friday, which hadn't been true for years.
What didn't change
I want to be clear about the limits. The marks left by old breakouts faded only slightly, and that's not something niacinamide alone is going to fix quickly. My pores look exactly the same. If you have stubborn pigmentation or acne scarring, a three-product routine is a good base, but you'll probably want a targeted treatment on top, introduced slowly.
What it cost
The three products together cost €81, and at the end of 90 days I'd used about two-thirds of each. My previous routine, restocked as things ran out, was costing me roughly €120 a month. I'm not going to pretend that's typical, but it was a useful wake-up call.
The verdict
If your skin is reactive, red or confused, and your shelf is full, try stripping it back for a month before buying anything new. Choose a gentle cleanser, one treatment that supports your barrier, and a moisturiser with SPF you'll actually wear every day.
Who should skip this? If your skin is happy on a longer routine, there's no reason to change. And if you're treating acne with a prescription, talk to your dermatologist or GP before changing anything.
Next, I'm going to reintroduce a retinoid slowly, twice a week, and see whether the routine holds. I'll report back in another 90 days.
