Tag: skinceuticals

05
Sep

Skin care I’m packing for a summer holiday.

Next week I am off Greece and Italy but NOT Iceland, for those who keep asking.

It will be warm but not violently hot, we will be swimming a lot, and I will eat tonnes of feta. All of this thrills me.

I used to pack 74329 cosmetics and toiletries for these trips;  there would be a bag of face skin care, one for body, one for hair, and one just of makeup. I would take a tong and my ghd, as well as several brushes. And there would STILL be space for one bikini and my passport – amazing!

These days I have streamlined it considerably, in large part due to my own skin care line being so dang perfectly useful (which is why I made it), and having a baby whose accoutrements soak up most of my packing space.

So here’s the skin care I’m taking because it’s:

A) useful information for those wishing to protect and look after their skin while travelling to warm climes,

B) pervy knowing what other people use,

C) a wonderful way to extoll the virtues of a well-curated toiletries bag, and

D) less stressful than actually packing them.

 

So! We have…

1 x Go-To Properly Clean cleanser cos it takes off all my makeup and sunblock real good. One full bottle will get me around 30 days.

Go-Properly-Clean-2995.jpg1 x SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF antioxidant serum to wear under sunblock each day to help prevent UV damage and premmo ageing. This anti-oxidant step (onto clean skin, first after cleansing) is important. We should all be doing this every day, in my opinion, holidaying or not.

skinceuticals-phloretin-cf

1 x Aspect Pigment Punch pigment prohibiting serum to stop hyperpigmentation before it even really begins, rather than getting smashed by it and working on it doubly hard when I get home. (I will book a lactic peel for the week I get back all the same. I will go to Brooke at Me Skin and Body in South Yarra cos she knows her shit.)

1 x Invisible Zinc SPF 50+ water resistant physical sunscreen to wear on top of serums to thoroughly, physically protect my face and neck, even while swimming. I will make husband wear this every day also. Here are my thoughts on physical vs chemical sun protection.

1 x Go-To Very Useful Face Cream to wear at night because it’s lovely and hydrating and full of antioxidants to heal any UV damage I collected somehow through the day, and halt the free radical damage that occurs for up to 72 hours after sun damage, NOT that I would ever get any of course, cos I am a wild control freak about that and wear big hats to prove it.

1 x Go-To Exfoliating Swipeys… except I am just taking a little stack of them in a re-usable makeup jar for space saving. Being a thorough, chemical exfoliant, this will give my sunscreened skin a deep clean every few days, and you really want that, trust me.

2 x SK-II Facial Treatment masks as well as sample sachets of Elemis Fruit Active Rejuvenating Mask and Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Mask for a hydrating boost every five days or so. Full size tubes and jars of mask are way to big and space thievey for me.

SKIImask

 

I will buy my body sunscreen and body lotion and after sun (full of antioxidants like vitamin E at the least) stuff over there cos they’re way too heavy and space consuming to pack at this end.

Also, I bloody love an overseas pharmacy visit. Last time I was in Mykonos I found a bruise healing cream that, to be crude, defecated all over Hirudoid in terms of effectiveness.

No, I did not bruise myself dancing on tables, how dare you.

I was dancing on a podium obviously.

 

Responses to this drivel: 10 Comments
06
Mar

Serum layering: It’s very much allowed.

Over the past few days I’ve had the delight of meeting many of you on my book tour. (… And have you purchasing the very first round of Go-To in our sold-out, 48-hour pre-sale. THANK YOU!! I was completely taken aback with your enthusiasm and support. You gorgeous bloody bastards. My goodness.)

Invariably during these events a few beauty questions will arise, for the same reason I always have furniture questions around interior designers, and food questions around nutritionists and kneepad questions around rollerbladers.

One that struck me as being a great one to clarify and confirm for all fruits was: Can you layer serums, or is that too much for the skin, and you should just use one?

And as I told sweet Alice fruit on Monday night: Yes! For the love of lactic acid, yes. I layer my serums every single day.

JUST REGARDING SERUMS:

They are treatment products. They are concentrated, far more active and effective than skin creams, and tend to cost more because they have more potent ingredients and you use less of them. So, think about it: what exactly do you need to treat? Which area does your skin need help? Dehydration? Acne? Dryness? Sagging and loss of firmness? Big pores? Pigmentation?

Choose your serum(s) on this basis, and keep in mind what you use should change according to your skin’s needs, the seasons and hormonal changes, like the pill and pregnancy. There are do-it-all serums, (such as Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair) which are great for skin that is relatively normal and not yelling for attention in any area, and of course a good rosehip oil with anti-oxidants can act as a great serum, but if you have specific issues, I say go for specific serums.

As an example of layering and the reasoning behind it, here’s what I do each morning as a pregnant woman waging war against hyperpigmentation:

1. Cleanse

2. Apply five drops of Skinceuticals Phloretin CF, which features a filthy amount of potent anti-oxidants (Phloretin and Ferulic acid) to protect my skin from free radical damage (“premature ageing”) which also brightens the skin (thanks to the Vitamin C). It’s non-sticky and far more pleasant to use than Skinceutical’s cult serum, CE Ferulic I reckon.

SkinCeuticals-Phloretin-CF

 

3. Apply some Aspect Pigment Punch serum, which helps to stop pigmentation from coming up in the first place.

4. Apply a zinc-based physical sunscreen, such as O Cosmedics Mineral Pro Tint, which by now you all know I adore. Physical sunscreens go on TOP of serums, remember. Chemical sunscreens, by comparison, go first and onto clean skin… making it hard to get serums to penetrate, and another great reason to make the switch to a physical.

OcosmedicsMineralProSPF30

5. Slap on Smashbox CC cream for a lightweight, glowy look but still medium coverage.

OR! if it’s a fancy day and I need to do a full face of makeup:

5. Tom Ford Illuminating Protective Primer (INSTANT FACIAL IN A BOTTLE, but best left to those with dry, not oily skin.)

Tom-Ford-Illuminating-Primer

6. MAC Face and Body foundation and then colour makeup.

At night, I cleanse, apply Pigment Punch, then a beautiful hydrating and nourishing Sodashi face oil (that is almost but not yet available to buy, I’m sorry), and then an anti-oxidant filled moisturiser that just happens to be from my own line.

So, as you can see, I definitely layer my serums.

I do this to ensure in the morning I am going out into the world fully defended and ready to prevent UV damage from causing the signs of ageing and also pigmentation, and at night to confirm my pigmentation has been “punched” and then add some lovely deep hydration and more anti-oxidants for all-round skin health and healing.

Others might use something for controlling congestion and oily pores followed by an anti-oxidant broth, or even a very active Vitamin C serum coupled with a hydrating, juicy one for a day where bright, glowing, plump skin is needed more than plain old treatment solutions. It all depends.

Things to note:

– Layering two is fine; three is probably the limit… bit much for your skin, and probably a sign you need a more all-round serum.

– Not all serums are good for night AND day – retinols or retinoids and AHAs, for example should be saved for PM use.

– Make sure your serums aren’t fighting each other, or you’re doubling up on ingredients or benefits, or the cumulation of the ingredients doesn’t mean you’re basically giving yourself a mini chemical peel each day. In other words, get professional advice before you embark.

– Serums cannot rollerblade very well and will be embarrassed if you ask them about the best kneepads to buy.

Responses to this drivel: 45 Comments