BEFORE the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s Eve, you need to have nailed down your 2026 beauty resolutions.
Whilst some intentions have a bad rap, levelling up your beauty routine can have a huge effect on how you look and feel for the year ahead.
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A few of my favourite products to stay Botox and filler-freeCredit: RM
I had to double up on the Wrinkles Schminkles patches to cover my forehead linesCredit: RM
1. Cleanse twice
If there is one step in our skincare routine that experts recommend doing twice, that is the way we cleanse our face, aka double cleansing.
It’s a popular practice that originated in Korea, and encourages you to cleanse your face twice with two different cleansers.
This two-step method ensures your skin is thoroughly cleansed and preps for the next steps in your skincare regime, allowing serums and moisturisers to penetrate deeper into the epidermis.
The first cleanse is dedicated to removing makeup, SPF, skin oils and pollutants. The second cleanse is a deep clean that goes further into pores. So move over Elemis…there’s a new product on the block.
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I thought myself and iconic ElemisPro-Collagen Cleansing Balm would be best friends for life, but then I was introduced to Medik8 Lipid Balance Cleansing Oil.
“A deeply nourishing cleansing oil that purifies and protects skin with hydration,” it’s the first step of your double cleanse, melting onto the skin before emulsifying into a creamy cleansing milk.
It’s a dreamy product that I look forward to using both morning and night – and it’s not lying when it says it can “remove the most stubborn of makeup” with just a few pumps.
But that’s not the best part – the feeling of your skin after using it is incredibly soft and nourished, and that’s before you cleanse the second time with your favourite water-based cream, gel or foaming cleanser to rinse everything away.
As for the second cleanse, STYLPRO Routine Facial Cleansing Device is a game-changer. With its vibrating motion, it thoroughly cleans your pores, stimulates blood circulation, gently massages and leaves you with a healthy glow.
What’s better, it’s waterproof AND rechargeable!
2. Say no to Botox and fillers
If I weren’t afraid of being botched by Botox, I would’ve frozen my forehead years ago. So I’m keen to try anything that’s remotely non-surgical to smooth out my wrinkles, in a bid to stay a Botox and filler virgin.
“Thousands of dissolving microneedles that melt under the surface of the skin,” sounds scarier than it is, but self-dissolving microneedle patches are an innovative alternative to injections.
Designed for all areas of the face (think crow’s feet, smile lines, forehead wrinkles), they work by creating microscopic channels, releasing active ingredients deeper into the skin – an area traditional creams and serums often can’t quite reach.
After just one use, your skin is said to appear “smoother and more plump, with fine lines and wrinkles looking visibly reduced, while feeling refreshed”.
Wrinkles Schminkles are cheaper, but have less needles per patchCredit: RM
The E.S.K. patches can be worn under the eyes too
I tried two brands of patches across several months: E.S.K. and Wrinkles Schminkles. The shape and size of the patches were different, with neither wholly suitable to cover all of the deep lines across my forehead without doubling up. The number of microneedles also varied, 2600 for E.S.K compared to 1800 for Winkles Schminkles patches.
The question on everyone’s lips, though – do they hurt? Not really, there’s no pain, more of a scratchy feeling followed by the area getting hot for a couple of minutes. Removing them is another story…
Do they work? I felt Wrinkles Schminkles produced quicker results. I wore them from the moment I took my makeup off, overnight in bed, until first thing in the morning. They kept my forehead tight, relaxing my muscles overnight, and therefore reducing the appearance of lines. E.S.K patches, on the other hand, didn’t stay on the skin as well, and I broke out in tiny spots after regular use.
3. And yes to Retinal
“Prevention” was the skincare buzzword of 2025, and as I settle into my 30s, it’s time to turbocharge my Vitamin-A game.
Many dermatologists recommend starting to use retinol in your mid-twenties, as that’s when skin-cell turnover starts slowing down, and skin texture changes. After using retinol, you then move to retinal. Both are forms of Vitamin A and are used to improve skin texture, fine lines and pigmentation, but they differ in strength, speed and potential irritation.
What is the difference between Retinol and Retinal?
RETINOL
What it is: Retinol is the most common over-the-counter retinoid.
How it works: Retinol must convert twice in the skin before becoming the active form (retinoic acid): Retinol → Retinal → Retinoic Acid
What that means for your skin:
- Slower acting than retinal
- Less potent
- Less risk of irritation
- Good for beginners or sensitive skin
- Widely available and affordable
RETINAL
What it is: Retinal (retinaldehyde) is a stronger, more advanced OTC retinoid.
How it works: Retinal only needs one conversion: Retinal → Retinoic Acid
What that means for your skin:
- Faster results (often 2–3x faster than retinol
- More potent, closer to prescription tretinoin
- Slightly more irritating than retinol, but still gentler than tretinoin
- Great for people who already tolerate retinol or want more noticeable results
Having used Naturium Retinalhyde Cream Serum for the last two autumn/winters, it was time to increase the strength. Enter Medik8 Crystal Retinal 6, a powerful 0.06% retinaldehyde serum that encourages visible elasticity, firmness and radiance.
Apart from the scent, I love this product, and my skin looks clear, bright and plump after a few weeks of use.
And if you’ve been on the retinol train for a while, Novage+ Proceuticals Retinol Power Drops are said to be “powerful but gentle” in the fight against ageing.
4. SPF is an everyday essential
Suncream was a product you’d traditionally use in the summer, or when on holiday. But thanks to extensive scientific research and a greater awareness about the dangers of the sun and the impact on overall health and ageing, it’s the product you need to use every single day, if nothing else. Especially if you’re using retinol or retinal.
Cleanse twice and apply suncream in the morningCredit: Alamy/PA
Consultant Dermatologist Dr Hiva told La Roche Posay: “It’s really important to use sunscreen every day, even in winter months, because ultraviolet, which is an invisible radiation, is present all year round, even in the winter months. Because we know ultraviolet can cause problems with skin cancer and skin ageing, it’s really important to incorporate sunscreen use into your daily regime so it becomes routine.”
I slather Eucerin Oil Control Dry Touch Sun Cream SPF50+ on my face first thing, every day. It’s ultra-light, absorbs quickly and leaves no residue. What’s more, it has a high UVA/UVB protection and HEVIS light defence, is water and sweat resistant and suitable for all skin types including sensitive. But to top all of that, it sits wonderfully under foundation.
5. Copy K-beauty
K-beauty made waves in 2016 when the infamous 10-step skincare routine and early focus on products lacking potent actives led to a mixed reception. A decade on, and it has cemented its place as the industry leader, becoming the second biggest cosmetics exporter with $3.61 billion.
To put it into perspective, this year, Boots sold one K-beauty product every 15 seconds, with Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics 50ml emerging as the best-seller. But what are going to be the new trends?
Boots sells this product every 15 seconds
Toner pads, lip masks, and “glass skin” were huge K-beauty trends in 2025, not to mention the can’t-live-without-products that dominated social media.
Next year is all about smarter, more natural-looking skin solutions: your bathroom shelf is going to be less of an experimental lab and more focused and refined, with evidence-backed products.
Why is K-beauty considered the best?
South Korea has a long and rich history with skincare, in fact, it “goes back thousands of years to the time of the three kingdoms era (BC 37-668) where the ideology of beauty standards was coined ‘young-yook-il-chi-sa-sang‘, meaning ‘Within a beautiful body, rests a beautiful soul’”.
It was during this time, Dr Christine Hall, an aesthetics specialist, says, when people made homemade face powders from ground rice and millet, blush from safflower, cleansers from ground mung beans and creams from plant juice.
Skincare was also “for everyone regardless of status, gender and wealth”, and “appearance and beauty are ingrained in society from a young age”.
“Even today, the presentation of your best appearance is considered as a way to honour and show respect to others,” the expert adds.
Therefore, given the emphasis on beauty, South Koreans spend more on skincare than the rest of the world.
It’s also said that South Korea is estimated to be 10-12 years ahead of Europe and the US in terms of skincare and aesthetic treatments.
Routines will become more pared-back, personalised and products will be working twice as hard to combat two or more skincare/beauty concerns.
There is also going to be a rise in regenerative aesthetic ingredients – PRP, PDRN/salmon sperm, exosomes – that work at a deeper to restore skin function rather than mask issues.
