According to Cosmopolitan, the bible for all things beauty, the general rule for applying skincare products is to start with the lightest and end with the heaviest, as thinner products cannot absorb through thicker ones. For a daytime routine that contains multiple products, that order might look like this: cleanser, toner, serums, eye cream, spot treatments, moisturizer, face oil, sunscreen. At night, since you are less likely to be using a sunscreen and more likely to be using an anti-aging product like a retinol, that routine might look like this: cleanser, toner, serums, eye cream, spot treatments, moisturizer, retinol, face oil.
Now, depending on the product and brand, you might be using a moisturizer that contains retinol rather than a separate retinol product, or you might mix a face oil with a lightweight water-based gel to create a moisturizer, so don't get too caught up in this list as the holy grail. Instead, just follow the rule of lightest to heaviest, and you should be getting the best results from each product without creating irritation or skin barrier issues.
Of course, like many rules you learned in grammar class, there are often exceptions.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEpaCsrF6YvK57kGptcmhnbXy0sdGupGauo2K6sLXSrayroaqav27Dx6KaoWWXpLK0ec6nZJ%2BhoqjBcA%3D%3D