I Tried Zendaya's 3-Step Nightly Skincare Routine & I Feel SO Refreshed

You've been there before: You're scrolling through your Instagram feed when you see your favorite celeb post about their favorite new product — a face serum, vitamins that will make your skin brighter, or a specialty food service. You can't help but want to be like the stars, but are the products worth it? In Elite Daily's new series, I Tried, we put it all to the test. We're trying those products as well as celebrities' health and wellness tips, recipes, and life hacks. We'll do the leg work and tell you what living like your fave star is really like.

Zendaya is all grit and glitter as Rue on Euphoria, but her off-camera beauty vibe is much simpler. From fire red carpet looks to her au naturale selfies on Instagram, her skin *literally* glows. I've always wanted to embrace the star's natural look, so when I got the chance to test out Zendaya's three-step nightly skincare routine for a week, I jumped at the opportunity.

When I first found out about the products Zendaya swears by, which she detailed in a post on her website, I couldn't believe how accessible and reasonably priced they are. I immediately opened up my Amazon app and ordered everything right then and there, making sure I chose next-day shipping because I truly couldn't wait to get started.

The three products are:

• Shea Moisture African Black Soap Facial Cleansing Wipes
• Thayers Rose Water Witch Hazel
• The Body Shop's Vitamin E Oil

Before I get into it, here's what my skin looked like ahead of my seven-day experiment. My face was sunburned and dehydrated from a (very lovely) tropical vacation I had just returned from.

Suffice it to say, I was more than ready for a skincare refresh, and Zendaya's process seemed like the perfect option. Here are the steps:

1. Remove Your Makeup

I'm a firm believer in heading to bed with a bare face. Even the days I don't wear makeup (which is most of them), I still give my face a good wash before my head hits the pillow. After years of doing this, I consider myself an expert in the area of face wipes. When I first swiped a Shea Moisture cleansing wipe across my face, I could instantly feel the difference from other wipes. They are thicker, absorb more, and have a subtle, yet unique, scent that made me feel like I was transported to a spa.

2. Apply Toner

Until now, I've never used witch hazel, even though I've read all about the wonders it does for my favorite celebs. Despite how its name sounds, it was not at all intimidating to put on, and it's extremely affordable. Each night after I wiped my face clean, I'd grab a cotton ball and apply this alcohol-free liquid product. By the third day, the normal puff around my eyes had seemed to subside, so I decided to do some research about the benefits of witch hazel. It turns out, witch hazel "contains antioxidants that help prevent widespread inflammation and neutralize free radicals, which are disease-causing compounds that can build up in your body," according to Healthline. Witch hazel can also help reduce inflammation and smooth your skin. And trust me, I felt these positive effects firsthand. Sure, I still have some dark circles under my eyes, but this product helped me not look like I haven't slept in weeks.

3. Smooth On Vitamin E Oil

This was the step I was most hesitant about. While I don't have acne-prone skin, my face reacts negatively to oils, and normally I end up with a fierce pimple or two to show for it. So, I rarely use oil-based products of any sort on my skin, let alone overnight on my face. However, this particular product is branded as a "non-greasy serum," so that helped calm my nerves. I went super-light on the oil the first night, but loosened up a bit the other six nights and really let myself embrace it.

I should have known Zendaya wouldn't lead me astray; I didn't have a single bad reaction throughout the whole week — just refreshed skin that looked and felt smooth. The oil really seemed to help with my post-vacation, sun-dehydrated skin.

Final Thoughts

After one week of trying Zendaya's nightly skincare routine, my skin felt refreshed, recharged, and looked a lot less tired. Not to mention, it was as smooth as can be. I even did the skincare routine one morning before putting on makeup, just for the fun of it, and it left my face feeling better than it's ever felt while having makeup on it. My foundation easily blended, and my powder didn't clump up, because my skin was so hydrated.

At the end of my seven-day trial, I snapped this no makeup, no filter selfie to show how much more hydrated and firm my skin looked in just one week:

While I can't guarantee I'll stick to each step of this every single night — because I often get distracted after one step of any beauty routine — I'll most definitely be using all of these products at least a few times per week. It's what Zendaya would want.