Skin Care Autumn : (Homemade care)
We are entering my favourite time of year….Autumn and
Winter. I love the autumnal colours, the fashion, the dark nights, frosty
mornings and above all else…………my cosy PJ’s!!! (don’t pretend you all don’t
wear them). Don’t get me wrong I like the sunshine (what we actually see of it)
but there is just something about the winter months that makes me feel really
comfortable. The only down side to this
time of year is the effect it can have on my skin.
Skin changes all the time dependant on numerous factors
including the weather. Autumn/Winter tends to render my skin dry as the
proverbial stick. The ice-cold winds and central heating just seem to suck
every ounce of moisture from my face and I inevitably experience the post face
wash tightness followed by dry patches and ultimately sloughing off of my face
(it ain’t pretty). At the moment I am
pretty happy with my skin. I’ve had a couple of hormonal break outs but
generally it’s not too oily and not too dry. Now, in my last skin care post I
was using Sunday Riley cleanser, treatment and oils and found my skin responded
really positively to those, but, as I said, skin changes and although the
cleanse, tone, moisturise routine remains the same, the products may need to be
altered to meet the needs of your skin.
In the moment I cleanse with my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish
or Emma Hardie Maringa Cleansing Balm, I then tone my skin with either Liz
Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic or La Roche Posay Serozinc. Up until maybe 4
weeks ago I would then apply my Sunday Riley Good Genes but I have now cut that
down to maybe 2-3 times a week and on the opposite days I am using my Christian
Dior Hydralife Pro Youth Sorbet Essence for extra hydration. Similarly, up
until 4 weeks ago I would apply Sunday Riley Juno Oil daily and Luna Oil at
night but now that my skin is starting to change I have cut those back to 2-3
times a week also. I am instead, using Dior Hydralife Pro Youth Silk Crème at
present but come the really cold winter months I have no doubt I will need the
richness of my Crème de la Mer Moisturising Cream.
Due to the likelihood of dry skin during the winter I up my
exfoliating routine from 2 times a week to 3 or even 4 times. I have recently
purchased Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting BHA liquid which is basically a liquid
exfoliant as it contains Salicyclic Acid. This is really impressing me as it
also calms down inflammation as well as ridding me of dead skin cells. I just
have to dab a few drops onto a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face and the
dry, dead skin just disappears. I have also found a new Cleansing Oil for using
to take off my make up. Bare Minerals Mineralixirs is actually magic. 2 cotton
pads with 1 pump of the oil on each pad and all eye make up is removed and a
further 2 pumps covers the face. I don’t even need to moisturise after using
this as it leaves my skin looking really healthy.
At least……lips. Do not neglect those little beauties when the
winter is approaching as they can get so dry and sore and nobody wants a kiss
under the mistletoe from the chapped lip horror. To be honest any balm will do
the job but as well as the PawPaw balm in the picture, my favourites are Carmex
and Blistex Cream.
So get cracking with the Autumn / Winter skin prep and
hopefully it will prevent any damage in the longterm. As an extra tip remember
to continue to apply an SPF to the face as although the sun is not worth
worshiping, it is still there behind the clouds and can cause real harm to your
skin. I will be back on Friday with a review of my recent make up purchases so
see you then.