Beauty

Howdy Y’all!

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween, ours was fantastic Little L really enjoyed herself, it was such a pleasure to see her so excited every time she knocked on the door. I don’t know about you but this time of year is so busy, for me the last quarter is always the busiest. Halloween, Little L’s birthday, Thanksgiving and then Christmas. With so much planning and organizing as well as regular life, time for me or making time for me is such a low priority. Many years ago I attended a British Airways flight safety training (you are thinking where is this going?!) During the training the trainer explained that it was imperative that in case of an incident you put your own mask upon your face before helping others, including children. I thought this was ludicrous. He explained that if you didn’t care for yourself first what use could you be to anyone else? This whole mindset was totally alien to how I had been raised, although being a mother now I am beginning to understand the wise words more and more. I love being a mum, I love my daughter to bits but if I had one criticism of myself it is that I did not take or make enough time for me, I felt I had to be all to her every need. It is only recently as she started school I have discovered the benefit of me time and how much I was needing it. I am also aware that we can’t all have it.

Over the past three years I have tried where possible to make the most of the limited time I had, doing something for me that would make me feel and look better. For some that might be a facial for others reading. Over the next few weeks I wanted to show you some small ways you can “make time” for yourself. Today for example I start with an at home facial. I read somewhere by some expert that you should get a decent facial bi-weekly or monthly, if you have the time and finances for that all power to you. As someone who does like beauty things a facial for me is a twice yearly activity mainly because time is precious and I want to prioritize it in other ways. I will say this, if you are looking to have a facial, if it is your first time or a new area, try and find a facialist with a good reputation who is not necessarily associated with a particular brand. It does drive me insane when I have a facial and that facialist spends the time on the hard sell. Plus an independent facialist will have a better idea of brands/products suited to your skin. (I digress.) I am a believer that an amazing facial can transform your skin and how you feel. What I do at home is not in any way as good as a spa facial but it come close in allowing me the time to focus on my skin and RELAX.

Please be kind! I am being so brave putting a close up or my bare face on the blog.

This is a too close up of me after twelve hours of makeup wearing. Time to clean and care for this dry and tired complexion.

If I have been wearing makeup I love to remove it with an oil based cleanser and I love The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil. It is gentle on skin and breaks down even thick makeup. I love it because it is gentle on my eyes and great for my sensitive skin. I do take a couple of mins to work it into the skin. I also use a clean cleansing cloth daily.

Now the majority of the makeup is removed, I used a beautiful cleanser which is a treat for the skin. At the moment I am loving the Emma Hardie’s Cleansing Balm. It starts as a balm which you work into the skin. It lathers when water is applied. I use a clean flannel to remove the remains. It really cleanses the skin and leaves it feeling smooth, plus it smell divine. If Emma Hardie is a little more than you like to spend, please click here I did a post on a variety of cleansers some of which are more affordable.

After the cleansing is finished, I decided to exfoliate, sometimes I use an exfoliator like this Tata Harper if I have not used the Clarisonic when cleansing. Both would be too rough for my skin. If Tata Harper is a little expensive I also really love St Ives Facial Scrub, which is cheap and effective.

After exfoliating I decide what type of mask my skin needs. I tend to alternate between a deep cleansing clay mask and a hydrating one. Today my skin was feeling dry after exfoliating so I decided to apply First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Oatmeal Mask. I apply this to all areas of my face except the eyes. I find this so calming and nourishing for my skin.  As I age it is my eye area which needs TLC and so I like to use eye masks. This is Sephora Lotus eye mask. These work so well and can be thrown away afterwards. I also like that you don’t get product to close to the eyes.

This is me after mask. To echo that I was short on time, I cleansed and exfoliated before dinner and then applied the masks and went and cooked family dinner. I did look sexy. I wore the masks for longer than the recommended time to fit in with family life.

With everyone happy and fed I removed the mask and decided to apply a serum and eye cream. Today I choose Sunday Riley Good Genes, I love to give this product time to sink in. I also applied First Aid Beauty eye cream. My eyes love this stuff. I think I mentioned before that for me the serum is the best place to invest when it comes to skincare and makeup. A good serum is worth its weight, buy the best you can afford.

An hour or so later (after sorting the house for Monday) I applied Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate for night, it smells divine and gives my skin that final boost of moisture. If your skin feels great after the serum application you could skip this step or alternatively apply your regular moisturizer. I find my skin appreciates a night oil. I know I look greasy and sexy lucky Mr L!!

I will be honest and say that my skin always feels great the next day and it does effect the amount of makeup I need to wear. I also feel heaps better if I get a good night sleep and have drunk plenty of water. Trust me when I say this takes very little time and you can fit it around running the family, just pray the neighbors do not require a jug of milk. Do you have any questions? Any products you love? I have had lots of questions about eyes and eye creams so going to do a post soon.

Ta Ta for now,

TLL x