In What Order Should You Apply Skincare?

Apply your skincare from thinnest to thickest texture so each layer can sink in.

Here is the answer first, then the reasoning. A complete morning routine runs in this order: cleanse, mist or essence, serum, eye care, any targeted treatment, moisturiser, then sunscreen last. Your evening routine follows the same thinnest-to-thickest path but swaps sunscreen for night care.

You do not need every step every day. The order is what matters most, because it lets the lighter, more active formulas reach your skin before the richer textures form a protective layer on top.

The thinnest-to-thickest rule exists because of how products are built. Lightweight, water-based formulas such as mists and serums are designed to be absorbed quickly and to deliver their active ingredients deep into the surface layers. Heavier, oil-rich creams are designed to sit on top and hold moisture in. If you apply a rich cream first, you create a barrier that a thin serum then struggles to pass through, so the serum cannot do its job properly. Apply the serum first and the cream second, and both work as intended: the serum absorbs, the cream seals. This is the single principle that the rest of the routine is built around, and it holds true morning and night.

Thin formulas absorb, rich formulas seal, so thin goes first.

Every routine starts with a clean face, morning and night. Cleansing removes the make-up, sunscreen, oil and daily grime that would otherwise sit between your skin and everything you apply next. In the evening this matters most, because a thorough cleanse clears away a full day of build-up, and many people prefer to cleanse twice at night to be sure everything is gone. In the morning a single gentle cleanse is usually enough to refresh skin and prepare it for the day. The British Skin Foundation advises that everyone should be gently cleansing at least once a day. Whatever comes next only works on skin that is clean, so this step is never optional.

With skin clean, the next layer is the lightest one you own: a mist or essence. This is the prep step. A fine mist adds a first veil of hydration and leaves skin slightly damp, which helps the serum that follows spread and absorb more easily. The Skin Vitality Alpine Micro-Mist is an ultra-fine micro-mist, enriched with energising Swiss Apricot extract and decongesting Cornflower water, that refreshes and brightens the skin instantly. Because it is so light and water-based, it belongs right after cleansing and before any serum, in keeping with the thinnest-first rule. It is dermatologically tested. 125ml, £22.80.

Serums are the workhorses of a routine. They are concentrated, lightweight and made to be absorbed, which is exactly why they go on before your moisturiser rather than after it. Apply your serum to clean, slightly damp skin so it sinks in fully. Which serum you reach for depends on what your skin needs that day. For skin that feels dehydrated, the Aqua Plus Intensive Serum is a moisturising intense serum that restores the skin's water balance, leaving your complexion fresh, radiant and plump, rehydrating, protecting and soothing in a single step. For tired, dull skin, the Skin Vitality Healthy Glow Serum is an anti-fatigue serum that awakens the skin and restores its natural radiance with a hydrating formula. Both are dermatologically tested. Aqua Plus Intensive Serum 30ml, £41.00. Skin Vitality Healthy Glow Serum 30ml, £45.00. Whichever you choose, the rule is the same: serum before moisturiser, always.

If you use a dedicated eye product, it goes on after your serum and before your moisturiser. The skin around the eyes is delicate, so eye formulas are usually lighter and more targeted, which is why they sit in this part of the order rather than under a heavier cream. Pat it on gently with your ring finger rather than rubbing. Not everyone uses a separate eye product, and that is fine. If you do, slotting it in here keeps the thinnest-to-thickest logic intact. If you skip it, simply move on to your treatment or moisturiser.

This is the step for anything that targets a specific concern, and most of these treatments belong in your evening routine. Exfoliation is the clearest example. The Skin Vitality Beauty-Enhancing Micro-Peel is an exfoliant that revives the radiance of tired skin by gently removing dead cells, and because exfoliating treatments work best when they are not competing with sunscreen or make-up, night is the natural time to use one, a few times a week rather than daily. Targeted serums also live here. The Anti-Age Pro Day Serum is a concentrated anti-wrinkle treatment for face and eye contour, synchronised on the natural skin biorhythm to maximise the skin's daily activities, making it a morning treatment rather than an evening one. The principle holds either way: apply your most active treatment after your everyday serum and before your moisturiser. All are dermatologically tested. Micro-Peel 65ml, £22.50 (evening, a few times a week). Anti-Age Pro Day Serum 30ml, £49.00 (morning treatment).

Moisturiser is the step that seals everything you have applied so far, which is why it comes near the end. A cream is richer than a serum, so it forms the layer that holds water and active ingredients in place. For dehydrated skin, the Aqua Plus Featherlight Cream is specially formulated to provide 24 hours of non-stop hydration, a lightweight and melting cream that protects, soothes and delivers softness and comfort to dehydrated skin, and it is ophthalmologically and dermatologically tested. For dull, tired skin, the Skin Vitality Healthy Glow Cream is a daily anti-fatigue treatment that awakens dull, tired complexions by providing a vitamin-packed boost, and it is dermatologically tested. Use your moisturiser morning and night, smoothing it over your serum as the moisture-sealing step. Aqua Plus Featherlight Cream 45ml, £30.00. Skin Vitality Healthy Glow Cream 45ml, £33.25.

In the morning, sunscreen is the final step, applied over your moisturiser. It goes last because it is designed to form a protective film on the surface of your skin, and anything applied on top of it can disturb that film. The NHS advises you use at least factor 30 sunscreen, making sure to use enough and to re-apply frequently, with a sun protection factor of at least 30 to protect against UVB and at least 4-star UVA protection. The British Association of Dermatologists likewise recommends you choose a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or above that also carries a UVA logo, advising 4 or 5-star protection and to apply it liberally about 15 to 30 minutes before you go out into the sun. Daily sunscreen is one of the most effective things you can do for your skin, and it only works when it sits on top of everything else.

At night there is no sunscreen, so the last step becomes your richest treatment. Overnight is when skin does most of its repair work, which makes it the ideal time for a deeper, heavier layer. An overnight mask is a good example of a thickest-last step. The Aqua Plus Sleeping Mask is a hybrid cream-mask that transforms your night into a true hydration bath, leaving your skin fresh and plumped by morning, and it is suitable for all skin types seeking hydration, comfort and suppleness. Use it in place of your usual night cream a couple of times a week, or whenever skin feels especially thirsty. It is dermatologically tested. 75ml, £37.30. Whatever you finish with at night, it should be the richest thing you apply, sitting on top of your serum and treatment to lock everything in while you sleep.

You do not need every step every day. A good routine is the right steps in the right order, repeated consistently.

Morning:

• Cleanse
• Mist or essence
• Serum
• Eye care, if you use it
• Any morning treatment
• Moisturise
• Sunscreen, last

Evening:

• Cleanse (twice if you have worn make-up or sunscreen)
• Mist or essence
• Serum
• Eye care, if you use it
• Exfoliating or targeted treatment, a few nights a week
• Night cream or overnight mask, last

The same thinnest-to-thickest thread runs through both. Keep it consistent, adjust which products you use to suit your skin and the season, and let the order do the heavy lifting. Shop the full skincare range.

Mavala is a Swiss skincare and nail care house. Its skincare collections, including Aqua Plus, Skin Vitality and Anti-Age Pro, are formulated in Switzerland and dermatologically tested. Mavala UK is the brand's official UK presence, sharing skincare guidance grounded in its own products and in established UK health authorities.

Serum first, then moisturiser. Serums are lightweight and concentrated, designed to absorb into the skin and deliver active ingredients, so they need to reach your skin before anything heavier. Moisturiser is richer and forms a sealing layer on top, holding the serum and its benefits in place. Applying them the other way round means the moisturiser blocks the serum from absorbing properly.

Sunscreen is always the last step of your morning routine, applied over your moisturiser. It is designed to form a protective layer on the surface of your skin, so nothing skincare-related should go on top of it. The NHS recommends using at least factor 30 sunscreen with at least 4-star UVA protection, and the British Association of Dermatologists recommends an SPF of 30 or above with a UVA logo, applied liberally 15 to 30 minutes before going out. There is no evening SPF step, because sunscreen is only needed during the day.

Your evening routine follows the same thinnest-to-thickest order as the morning, but without sunscreen. Cleanse first, often twice to remove make-up and sunscreen, then apply a mist, then your serum, then eye care if you use it. Targeted treatments such as an exfoliating peel belong here, used a few nights a week rather than daily. Finish with your richest step: a night cream or an overnight mask to seal everything in while you sleep.

The guiding rule is thinnest to thickest. Lightweight, water-based formulas such as mists and serums go on first because they are made to absorb, and richer, oil-based creams go on last because they are made to seal. So you move from cleanser, to mist, to serum, to eye care, to treatment, to moisturiser, and in the morning you finish with sunscreen. Following texture from light to heavy lets each product work without being blocked by the one before it.

No. The order matters more than the number of steps. A complete routine has many possible stages, but most people use a shorter version day to day: cleanse, serum, moisturise, and sunscreen in the morning. Steps like exfoliation and overnight masks are occasional, used a few times a week rather than daily. Add or drop steps to suit your skin and the season, but keep whatever you do use in the thinnest-to-thickest order.

• Skin Vitality Alpine Micro-Mist. 125ml, £22.80. Ultra-fine prep mist with Swiss Apricot and Cornflower water.
• Aqua Plus Intensive Serum. 30ml, £41.00. Moisturising intense serum to restore the skin's water balance.
• Skin Vitality Healthy Glow Serum. 30ml, £45.00. Anti-fatigue serum to awaken the skin and restore radiance.
• Skin Vitality Beauty-Enhancing Micro-Peel. 65ml, £22.50. Gentle exfoliant to revive the radiance of tired skin.
• Anti-Age Pro Day Serum. 30ml, £49.00. Concentrated anti-wrinkle day treatment for face and eye contour.
• Aqua Plus Featherlight Cream. 45ml, £30.00. Lightweight cream for 24-hour non-stop hydration.
• Skin Vitality Healthy Glow Cream. 45ml, £33.25. Daily anti-fatigue cream with a vitamin-packed boost.
• Aqua Plus Sleeping Mask. 75ml, £37.30. Overnight hydration bath for plumped, comfortable skin.
• Shop the full skincare range

NHS, Sunscreen and sun safety (at least factor 30; SPF of at least 30 against UVB; at least 4-star UVA protection; re-apply frequently).

British Association of Dermatologists, Sun Protection Fact Sheet (SPF of 30 or above; UVA logo; 4 or 5-star protection; apply liberally 15 to 30 minutes before going out).

British Skin Foundation, Identifying your skin type, by Dr Jonathan Kentley (everyone should be gently cleansing at least once a day; most skin types benefit from cleansing and often a moisturiser; everyone should use a sunscreen daily).