Most layering advice is a list to memorise. There's a simpler rule underneath it, and once you have the rule you can place anything — including products you buy next year.

The rule: thinnest to thickest

Apply in order of texture, lightest first. A thin watery serum can pass through nothing; a cream can block whatever comes after it. Get the order wrong and the expensive step underneath a heavy one simply doesn't reach skin.

That single principle handles almost every case. The exceptions are few, and they're below.

The morning order

1. Cleanse. Or just rinse, if your skin is dry — overnight buildup is minimal.

2. Mist, optionally. A light mist on bare skin gives the next step something to spread into. Not essential, but it makes serum go further.

3. Serum. Thinnest active step. A vitamin C formula like the Luxurious Glow Serum goes here, on clean skin, pressed rather than rubbed. Give it a minute.

4. Moisturiser. If you use one. Spring and summer often don't need much.

5. SPF. Always last in skincare, always before makeup. Sunscreen needs to form an even film on the surface; anything applied over it disturbs that film, which is why it belongs at the end.

6. Prep spray. The one step that sits between skincare and makeup. The Pre-Makeup Spray goes after SPF and before foundation, giving makeup a hydrated, even surface to grip.

7. Makeup.

8. Refresh, any time after. The Hydration Glow Mist over the top, whenever skin goes flat — details in can you use a face mist over makeup.

Where body and lips fit

Body oil after the shower while skin is damp, which usually means before you've started on your face. Lip oil last, right before you leave, so the shine is fresh. That sequencing is the whole idea behind the three-step glow ritual.

The exceptions worth knowing

SPF ignores the texture rule. It goes last regardless of how thick it is.

Oils go after creams, not before. Even a light facial oil should follow moisturiser — oil passes through water-based layers poorly in the other direction.

Damp skin helps humectants. Hyaluronic acid works better applied to slightly damp skin than bone-dry skin, so don't wait too long between mist and serum.

How long between layers?

Less than people think. Thirty seconds to a minute is enough for a serum to absorb. The one worth waiting on is SPF — give it two minutes to set before makeup, or you'll move it around.

The short version

Thin to thick, SPF last, prep spray between skincare and makeup, refresh mist whenever. If you want the face steps as one set, that's Base + Glow; the full range is in The Face Edit.