Spring Clean Your Skin - The Wexfordian Magazine Article, May 2012

This is an article I have written for The Wexfordian a terrific online magazine... Please check it out!!

Ok, spring is now upon us...hallelujah!! We’re all looking tired and forlorn from a long.. long winter and recession hasn’t exactly helped.  Lets look at the season as a new beginning and just like those cupboards give your skin a good clean out and get ready for summer.

EXFOLIATE

First step is to start at the very foundation and that is to get rid of dead skin cells, rejuvenate and refresh. My advice is to go forth and exfoliate, out with the old (skin) and in with the new! There are many fantastic products out there but what ever one you choose do not get big grained heavy duty exfoliators that may cause thread veins and soreness,  choose a nice fine grained cream or an enzyme peel perhaps.  Élemis have a beautiful Papaya Enzyme Peel  that smells divine and should start you off on the right path. You can purchase in salons around the country or online.  It may seem a little pricy but it works really well, brightens skin and as you don’t exfoliate every day it does go a long, long way. 

CLEAN

Get the right cleanser. I often think of the skin as a fine and luxurious piece of leather! Ok, that doesn’t sound great, but when you think about it, it’s perfectly apt. When sun-abused, it gets wrinkled and badly pigmented and fragile. When overworked it can become patchy, with oily or dry spots that give an overall ashen or reddened appearance. So to maintain your beautiful bespoke piece of leather (yeah it still sounds bad) it’s simple.....keep it clean.  Use products sparingly but wisely and hydrate without resorting to product overkill. Whatever cleanser you choose, I think a formula that cleans right away without need for lots of toner is the best way to go. Those of you who know me, know that I adore Shu Uemera Cleansing Oils   which are available online or in Brown Thomas. Dr.Hauska also have fabulous products are natural (in fact edible!) and are the staple of Super Models around the globe.  Dr.Hauska Cleansing Cream has almond meal to exfoliate gently (hey, 2 in 1) and remove oils with a host of herbal tinctures to soothe and remove impurities also. I’ll be honest with you, the smell is funny.. but I LOVE this cleansing cream.  Dr. Hauska products are available online, in health food shops and pharmacies nationwide.

HYDRATE

Once you have revealed your better skin, it’s time to maintain and pump all the goodness into that fresh layer.  Moisturise like you’ve never moisturised before. At the risk of sounding boring, this most definitely starts from the inside out, so drink plenty of water.  carry a bottle with you at all times and sip throughout the day. Not only will your skin look younger, plumper but your eyes will also brighten. Cheap as chips. But don’t stop there. You need a great topical cream to hydrate the top layer also. I find a lot of people spend big bucks on very expensive, heavy creams that just clog the skin and leave you with those hard white pimples that everyone hates. From a personal point of view I would choose a light formula that “hydrates” the skin but use it on clean skin often. Roc have a great range for all skin types (including sensitive skin).  I like to use the Hydra Zen  where I can feel my skin thanking me straight away, my skin just drinks it in.   Again, it is widely available in pharmacies. Oilatum face cream is fabulous for very thirsty skin.... j’adore!  Dr.Hauska have a fabulous range of moisturisers and still to this day their Day cream or Rose Cream is so hard to beat.  Whatever you choose make sure it absorbs into the skin well and doesn’t leave a greasy residue.  Also a new vibe of moisturising oils are hitting the UK and Ireland right now. For makeup artists this used to be a complete no no as makeup would slide all over the place with an oil base. However, new formulas are proving that thinking to be redundant. I like Décleor Aromessence Ylang Ylang Oil for my skin.  Massage in to the skin and leave to absorb and while you’re at it breath deeply to get hedonistic with that fragrance. There are plenty in the range including anti-ageing serums and oils for your skin type. Again, not cheap, but remember this is for your spring clean of your skin... so why not kick start with a bang! The Décleor range is available in pharmacies nationwide and for our Wexford readers you can get this beauty in Shaws where the girls will give you a thorough guide to the gorgeous oils. Other great moisturising oils are available from Irish brand Biofresh Skincare, a fantastic ethical and natural brand who's mission is to bring non toxic based premium skincare to the masses in Ireland, the prices are savvy and well worth a check

LIPS

Our poor chapped and dried out lips need some attention too after a winter of festive snogging, drinking and heating the poor aul things need the love. So don’t forget your toothbrush and give your smackers a light rub with a dry toothbrush or facecloth until you have removed the dry skin. Now bathe them with a moisturising balm. I like the cliched but proven Elizabeth Arden 8hour Cream for my lips and dry skin patches. Burts Bees tinted lip balms are gorgeous and I have even used them on my cheeks!  They really give a “fake-it” natural blush. Both of these products are available nationally and in Wexford both items are available in Sam McCauleys and Shaws.

EYE PUFFINESS

Ok so the skin is looking brighter and smoother... what next? The eyes of course. Puffy, grey/blue and looking most definitely worse for wear if you’re anything like me? First things first... de-puff! Cucumbers and tea bags are still in fashion when it comes to fighting the eye bulge! But why not try antioxidating green tea bags instead? Dip the tea bags in cold water  and place on the lids as usual, lie back and let those babies work. If you are on your way out to an event you could freeze some green tea, wrap the cubes in some cloth and work it into the bags under your eyes. You should see a resounding difference although short lived it will last for the night in question. Some of the rolling action sticks à la Garnier and the like, are good also, but I often wonder if the product within them is in fact doing anything or if it’s just the massage action? So, moisten your fingers (with eye cream so as not to irritate) and using your ring fingers work from the inside out along the socket bone and apply pressure all the way along to the ear (not too hard mind, should be firm but gentle and don’t pull the skin), this should help with lymphatic drainage. One of the roller ball stick eye applicators I use is by Trilogy (who’s entire range is fantastic).  Available in most pharmacies and health food shops across the country.

DARK/DISCOLOURED EYES

Now we get down to the nitty gritty. So you’ve buffed and de-puffed. But you will still have the hangover of uneven skin tone and blueness or discolouration under the eyes?  Ok, so the only next conclusion is to turn to makeup. I think everyone lady in the land should posses a colour wheel. This is an essential tool for all makeup artists starting out and should be in every woman’s makeup kit too. A colour wheel can demonstrate complimentary and opposing colours. It can guide you to select colours harmoniously and either neutralise problematic areas and tones or enhance eye colour and other areas to taste. For example under the eye you might suffer from blue-ness which a lot of us do, so you would refer to your colour wheel and choose a concealer colour opposing blue (orange). This cancels out the blue leaving you with a neutral palette to work from. Same goes for redness... choose a more yellow or green to cancel the red then work from there. A thing to remember is that the stronger the blue/purple/red under the eye (or blemish) the stronger the opposing colour should be. You must blend well and then apply your own perfectly matched (to your skin) foundation on top of this to make it seamless! It may seem strange and takes a bit for your head to get around but believe me this works!! But sshhh, it’s a makeup artists secret!!

Now make sure your don’t apply too much product under the eye... this is completely unnecessary and will just enhance any wrinkles that may be lurking there. If you do have a lot of sagging skin under the eyes chose a nice light formula for under that delicate eye area. I like MAC select moisture cover, they come in a fantastic range of colours of which you can get a more orange one to colour correct and then also purchase one that is your natural skin colour to place on top of that. Dior nude skin do a nice range also which is available in Sam McCauleys in Redmond Square, Wexford, as is the Clinique airbrush concealer also a nice light formula but a little expensive. Younger, more forgiving skin can take more paste-like concealers/sticks. Apply with a brush or your finger gently with these as they will drag the skin.  I like these: MAC Studio Finish, or Laura Mercier secret camouflage (this one is great as it has two colours in one, a light and darker set,great for custom blending) both available in Brown Thomas, Vichy Dermablend is a cult classic now and is designed to cover a wide range of sins, the Dermablend range is available in Sam McCauley's, Wexford. With all of these make sure to work it well at the back of your hand to warm them up and soften slightly before using.  

I think every town in the world has women using the next recommendation, Yves Saint Laurent’s major success story that is Touche Éclat! The single biggest mistake is that everyone thinks this is a concealer, totally wrong. If used incorrectly it will enhance the bits you want to hide and give you new problems! Use Touche or similar radiating products after or before concealing and before powder. Givenchy Mr.Light is also great and there are tonnes of other products now out there too. But whichever one you choose to use, remember this..... if you want to flatten an area or push out a sagging area this is where best to use a reflecting highlighter right in the crevice and dab lightly with your finger or blend with a soft small fluffy brush. These products bounce the light and will give the illusion of pushing forward. So do not colour or conceal with these, you could very well end up looking like you’ve been wearing snow goggles especially where flash photography has been used! Use sparingly and wisely and this will go a long long way!

So now you can emerge from the cocoon of groggy winter with a shiny new coat of loveliness!!!! Next up is Summer....Woo hoo!!!