Well, it's two routines really, one for morning and one for evening! Winter, even a mild winter such as the one we've just had can be hard on my temperamental combination oil-dehydrated skin, so the main thing I add to my routines (AM and PM) is to add an oil.
So, in the evenings, I'll do a deep cleanse with Nude Cleansing Oil, lots of massage, and removal with a muslin cloth and hot water, then I'll tone with Darphin Intral Toner, two - maybe three, depending - drops of Neals Yard Frankincense Facial Oil, then I'll follow this with Neals Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream. I'll be honest, I mainly use the Frankincense products for the wonderful heady and intense fragrance, but I've found that they do wonderful things for your skin too. These are all old favourites and they're the products I come back to every winter without fail.
In the morning my routine is the same, but, different:
Because I do a thorough cleanse in the evenings with my nude oil, I just need a tiny wipe over with a touch of Bioderma Crealine in the morning, followed, again, by Darphin Intral Toner (both of which I'm going to have to replace soon, VERY soon), then an oil, and in the mornings I'm using Clarins Santal Facial Oil, which is one of the most beautifully scented facial products on the planet. Redolent of sandalwood and cardamom, it's a perfect pick me up in the morning, and does a great job of both rehydrating and protecting your skin during the day. Then I'll use a good old dollop of Kate Somerville Goat Milk cream, which I've been using all winter and still love.
My skin survived the winter surprisingly well - in spite of the lack of actives in my skin care - how did you do?
The Fine Print - mixture of purchases and PR samples, many of these, however are repurchases.
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.
As the weather has got colder, I've found my skin needed a bit more hydration than what I was getting from my Darphin range alone, so I've added some Kate Somerville skincare to my routine. I first found out about The Goat Milk Cream via BeautyMouth, and I was desperate to try it from that point onwards. Whilst I'm not (these days) particularly acne-prone, my skin is sensitive and reddened quite a lot of the time, and I wanted to see if it would help.
Packaged in both air- and light-tight packaging, the cream is very rich, but feels extremely lightweight on the skin. It does have a faint "creamy" scent, but it doesn't smell at all of goat.
In use, I find that it absorbs quickly, and doesn't leave a tacky feeling behind, and when my skin is having one of it's periodic "angry" phases, it is very cooling and soothing. It doesn't clog my pores either. My skin just drinks it up.
In addition to the Goat Milk Cream, I've been using Kate's Quench Serum, which I adore. Seriously, adore it. My skin is dehydrated quite often, for a variety of reasons, but Quench solves that, and very quickly indeed. In fact, it re-hydrates so well that my skin has been described as "beautifully normal" by a couple of makeup artists recently - that never happens, and it's entirely down to this beauty.
It's fairly silicone heavy (but it is dimethicone, one of the "good" 'cones - used by plastic surgeons to heal wounds after operations), but I haven't had any problems with clogging or acne as a result of using this. A little drop of this goes a very long way. The instructions say to use a full pump morning and evening, but I find that half a pump is more than enough for both my face and neck. Once I've applied this, my skin dfeels plump and smooth, and moisturised. Dry patches are instantly soothed, and if your skin feels tight through dryness at all, this feeling just disappears.
I love it, and hey, if it's good enough to fool others into thinking I have normal (instead of dehydrated combination) skin, then it's good enough to have a permanent place in my routine. I can't recommend this stuff enough.
Separately, these are good products, together, they're amazing. Sadly, the Goat Milk Cream is hard to find at the moment, it is mainly stocked by Space NK, but it appears to be sold out right now, but keep an eye out for it. Oh, and they're pricey, both coming in at around the £60 mark, but, what price "normal" (plump, moisturised, non-reddened and sore) skin?
The Fine Print: Samples, but they've both immediately gone onto the "must purchase" list. They're essentials now.
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.
