Tag: Clarins

Skincare: The Basics

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Hey dolls,

This week I’m going to be trying to demystify all things skincare after a chat with my lovely friend Beth. Quick disclaimer, I’m not a dermatologist, I’m just sharing what works for me and what I’ve learnt.

So this post is going to be going back to basics from a morning routine to evening routine.

Let’s start with the morning! You might not think it but cleansing your face in the morning is just as important as the evening, but I want something quick so tend to opt for cleansing pads. The Nip ‘n’ Fab ones are my favourites, just sweep all over your face and you are good to go!

Then onto moisturising my face, if you take away one thing from this post let it be this- SPF! Now we’re in spring/summer it’s super important to use a facial SPF every day. Not only does SPF protect your skin from UVA/UVB rays but it also helps to prevent wrinkles and ageing. I’ve been loving the Dermalogica SPF daily moisturiser. It’s super lightweight and sits nicely under makeup. I also use an eye cream to hydrate and brighten my under eyes every morning.

skincare spf

My evening routine is slightly longer but doesn’t take more than 10 minutes!

Step 1: Cleansing/Make-up remover

First of all, ditch the makeup wipes! They are full of drying ingredients, of course fine for a one off but avoid using them everyday.

I love cleansing/removing my makeup with balms or cream cleansers. They remove all the everything from the day and leave your skin feeling fresh. Double cleansing is a great way to make sure your skin is completely clean, you can use the same cleanser twice or a makeup remover followed by a cleanser. La Roche Posay and Liz Earle are my favourite cleanser brands.

Step 2: Toner

This is a step a lot of people will skip, but it’s possibly my favourite part. Using a toner helps to ensure your skin is clean, remove impurities, close pores and restore PH balance. I love the La Roche Posay soothing lotion and Pixi tonics.

Step 3: Serum/Oil (optional)

Serums and oils offer an extra punch to your skincare routine, they way they are made means the ingredients can better penetrate your skin. These are great for anti-ageing, hydration and whole other host of skincare benefits. There are serums that help with pretty much every skincare concern, so my advice here would be do your research!

Step 4: Moisturiser

Moisturising you skin is vital to rehydrate, repair and prevent ageing. Once again there are a range of moisturisers out there for oily, combination and dry skin. My favourite brands are Lancome, La Roche Posay, Clarins and Elizabeth Arden.

Step 5: Eye Cream and lip balm

Keeping your undereyes hydrated is so important as it is a super delicate area and prone to wrinkles. Again there are all sorts of eye creams available, I tend to opt for a brighting cream as I have dark undereyes. My favourite brands are Estee Lauder, Origins and Kielhs. Keeping your lips hydrated is also key, so grab your fave lip balm and pop a good layer on before bed!

Right so that’s every night sorted, now onto your 2 or 3 times a week bits of skincare!

skincare f and e

Exfoliating

Exfoliating your skin removes dead skin cells, removes impurities and boosts circulation and a tonne of other benefits. Doing this a couple of times a week will keep your skin looking fresh, be warned if you don’t usually exfoliate you may break out as your face gets rid of the bad stuff. My go to brand for exfoliator is Nip ‘n’ Fab, they are affordable and do the job!

Face masks

This is your pamper time! There are tonnes of face masks out there, all offering different benefits. I try to use a clarifying/detoxing mask once a week and then a hydrating mask once a week. I love the Glam Glow masks (supermud doubles as a great spot treatment!), L’Oreal and Origins masks. Whether you pick up a sheet mask or a pot, choose products that help with your skincare concerns.

Wow, that was a lot to cover! I hope this helps you out, the importance of skincare has been drummed into me since I was young (thanks Mum!) and as she says you only have one face so need to look after it!

Ciao Bellas,

S

xxx

 

Simple Summer Makeup

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Hey Dolls,

Today I’m going to give you the lowdown on my simple quick summer makeup to give you that natural glow. This look takes me 5-10 minutes and I’m done.

So first comes the base, I start with Clarins Beauty Flash Balm all over my face after moisturising to not only give my makeup a base but also give me a healthy glow, if you wanted to create a look with more coverage you could add a BB cream or light weight foundation but I don’t. Next up I use a Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to buff Chanel Soleil Tan cream bronzer to give that bronzed summer goddess look. Before I conceal and set my face I apply a cream highlight two I have been loving are the Topshop Glow Pot and Collection Speedy Highlight Chubby Stick, the reason I do this before concealer is because my concealer creases fast because of the way my eyes are and cream products always look better before any powder is applied.

Now the only part of this look that gives coverage is the concealer, I use Nars Creamy Concealer in ‘Vanilla’ under my eyes to make me look more awake, as well as on my eyelid to form a base for eyeshadow and ‘Custard’ on any spots or redness as it is a similar colour to my skin. I blend the concealer out with a damp Beauty Blender to make sure there is no caking and then set my entire face with the Laura Mercier Loose setting powder in ‘Translucent’ avoiding the highlight because we do not wanna dull that glow!

The final part of this look is eyes and lips, so let’s finish off! For my eyes I use any shimmery shade from the Bobbi Brown Deluxe Lip and Eye kit, all the shades are super pretty and I just apply it all over my lid with any brush, I then curl my lashes using the Shu Umera lash curlers (the best ones I’ve ever used in my life, so worth the price tag!!) and apply Benefit’s Roller Lash or They’re Real Mascara. Time for brows- for my brows I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer in ‘Soft Brown’ and focus on the tail and arch to give a more natural look and then I use the spoolie on the other end to brush the product through the front of my brow, setting them with Benefit Gimme Brow (now in different packaging since their brow relaunch) and applying the lights shimmer shade from the same palette to my brow bone. For lips I use my ride or die lip balm- Elizabeth Arden 8Hour Lip Treatment and for a natural look the Clarins Instant Light Lip Perfector in the colour ’05’.

Final step is to set the look with whatever setting spray I’m using at the time and you are good to go!

Remember darlings don’t let anyone dull your sparkle!

Ciao Bellas

S

xxx

All About Skin Care

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Hey Dolls,

It’s Skin care routine time!!

I am a massive advocate of a good skincare routine, I think you should start young! So here is my daily and once a week skincare routine. Most of the products I use are Clarins because they work well for my skin but I do use a couple of other brands!

 

So at the end of the day the first thing I do when I get in is tie my hair up and get that makeup off! I begin using the Garnier Micellar water with cotton pads to remove the majority of my makeup. Next up comes the cleanse, I personally like to double cleanse so I can ensure my skin is super clean. My first cleanse is the one which I use all over my face and eyes to make sure their is no mascara left, I swear by this cleanser and am on my 3rd pot of the biggest size! Its the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm and OMG it is like magic, I mix a pea size amount with a little water, rub it all over my face then rinse it using the cloth is comes with and warm water. The second cleanse is my deep clean, I apply a pea size amount of the Clarins Gentle Foaming cleanser to my palm and mix it with water before putting it all over my face but not my eyes as they are super delicate and can have 1 cleanse. Then I take my Magnitone Cleansing Brush under the tap to get it nice and wet, the thing I love about this brush is that it takes no time to use and beeps when that section of your face is done! The final part of the cleaning is  to scrub my lips with any lush lip scrub to remove any leftover lipstick and ensure soft smooth lips!

Time to moisturise! I start with the Pore Minimising Serum in my T-Zone then use the Hydraquench Moisturiser all over my face. Next on my ring finger I apply the Kiehl’s avocado eye cream all around my eye area as otherwise my eyes get super dry. Finally I apply my holy grail Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour lip balm. And that’s the daily cleanse done! (takes around 10-15mins but so worth it in the long term)

Once a week, I will extend this routine to a super cleanse! So after doing all of the above except for the moisturising I grab my Orange Extract face scrub and get rid off all the dead skin on my face! I then apply the Pure and  Radiant Mask and relax for 10 minutes. After washing that off I use some toning lotion before applying a face oil and letting it sink in for 5-10minutes. Then I follow my normal moisturising routine.IMG_0290

Compared to my friends who don’t have a skincare routine, I have much better skin, I hardly ever get breakouts (only if I’m stressed or its that time) and will happily go out with no makeup on! You only have one face girls so invest in it!!

Ciao Bellas

S

xxx