Beauty: Skincare

Today’s blog post concerns skin care, specifically targeting the facial area. Since being at University, I’ve noticed a big change in the look of my skin, and numerous factors can contribute to these changes or alterations. From the stress

we endure, the food we choose to eat, or the makeup we wear - all can contribute to a tired and poor complexion. I’ve compiled together a few of my go to products which enable me to keep my skin in the best condition as possible, and some products or habits that I find have an exceedingly negative effect on our appearance. Yes I’m not a dermatologist, nor a trained health adviser, but hopefully these tips may help some of you.

A first change could simply be adopting a facial routine, which can become an everyday normality that will improve appearance providing you use the right products. Every evening and morning I give my face a thorough wash with water. Water, (essentially free from the tap) is a completely natural source that refreshes the skin, whilst also removing surface dirt that has developed over the course of the day. To remove my makeup, at the moment I have been using L’oreal Paris’ Skin Perfection, 3 in one Purifying Micellar Solution. Having slightly sensitive and rather dry skin, I have found many benefits with the properties of this. The formula dissolves makeup, unclogs pores, removes impurities and tones the skin. I simply use this with one or two cotton wool pads, (perhaps more on a night out) as well as two or three squirts of the solution to ensure all the foundation or concealer I have used is no longer blocked in my pores. Previously I have used Garnier’s Micellar water, however I noticed more breakouts when using this. My next step is to use a slightly pricier, but great product: Pixi Skintreats’ Glow Tonic. This is an exfoliating toner, which firms, tones and removes dead skin cells. Whilst it does have a rather bland smell, and you do have to use this product for about a week to start noticing the toning changes, my face feels a lot smoother.

For a moisturiser, I also obsess over the Pixi ‘Double Cleanse’ skin cream developed by Caroline Hirons. As aforementioned, my face is more dry than oily, and this two in one jar of a solid cleansing oil and a cream works a treat, and I would thus highly reccomend for anyone wanting a formula to minimise dryness. However, because the oil is not embedded within the cream, this product also usefully allows you to apply as much of the oil or little as you would prefer, so in essence it can suit any skin type.

Alternately, I love using nivea products for healthy skin, and most importantly it is so affordable and has been compared to Creme de la Mer in its effectiveness. I also use Emma Hardie’s Cleansing Balm every two weeks as an overnight deep clean. The jasmine and rose extracts literally make you feel you have the smells and feel of a spa on your face, and my skin feels incredibly soft after one use.

Now I come on to the dreaded spots, and the first thing I can say about these is the best things to do is leave them be. However, most of us can’t. I’ve tried copious amounts of drug store products, from neutrogena to clearasil - for me they don’t work and I feel they have more benefit of just shifting the horrid stuff in our blocked pores around our face as opposed to thoroughly removing it. For me, I find sudocrem works best in specifically targeting a spot. Yes this may be a product known for babies bottoms, but the antiseptic healing cream thoroughly reduces the redness and dries spots out. I prefer the tube of sudocrem as opposed to the tub as this prevents you putting any bacteria both in and out of the pot when you apply. Admittedly, there are also more costly products, however pleasingly they are effective. Origins’ super spot remover contains salicylic acid which shrinks down the spot, and the ingredient red algae calms/reduces red inflammation simultaneously. Ren’s Clearcalm 3 Clarity Restoring Mask is equally a favourite of mine as it can be applied as an overall face mask or can be just dabbed on to spots in very small quantity meaning the life of the product fortunately covers the cost you pay for it.

Washing your makeup brushes or sponges can also make a huge change to

your skin. I tend to wash my brushes every two weeks, and the amount of product that comes off them in the sink is rather alarming.

Essentially if we don’t wash them, we are smearing damaging bacteria that has built up in the brush hairs back onto our face, essentially self-inflicting more spot damage. I simply use a makeup brush cleanser and any form of body wash, and lather the brushes one by one on the back of my hand, scrubbing them in a circular motion and then let them drip under the tap with lukewarm water. Alongside this, drinking enough water and eating the right things is also incredibly important. Fruit and vegetables are an obvious given for improving our complexions, but sometimes cutting back on cakes or fatty products can also make a lot of difference.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, blotchy and tired skin just doesn’t go away. It’s also important to note that over-exfoliating or using too many products can actually be negative rather than positive, hence why I find it important to only use some products every fortnight or so - or change the products you use. Maintaining a healthy glow thus can be quite hard to produce, and sometimes the best thing we need is some good vitamin D from the sun and a relaxed environment. In the meantime however, maybe try changing or trying out a few of the mentioned products to see if they benefit you.

All My LittleMauve Love,

Hannah x

Disclaimer: Pixi Double Cleanse photo from CultBeauty, and the Cleansing Balm is taken from the Emma Hardie website. I am not qualified in skincare nor health!