Monday, November 5, 2012

7 Days of Skincare - Day 1 - Darkest Before the Dawn

For the next few days I plan on detailing my skincare overhaul - which is still on-going, but I'm going to get started before it spirals out of control!

I discussed this in a previous post - but unfortunately my skin has since changed. This happens. Also, this routine was obviously lacking something my skin needed.

I learned this the hard way (or what I perceive to be the hard way at least) when I was caught up having a foundation tested on me and as the assistant was applying it she said "Eh ... what are you using on your skin?" and that was when it dawned on me. I knew my skin wasn't great, but I never thought there was something wrong.




Let me paint you a picture. I always knew I had dry skin, especially on my cheeks, nose and forehead. I also have very dry skin on my legs (which still needs fixing), the back of my arms and frequently get dry lips. While I would gently exfoliate this - most days, not every day, to remove the flakeyness, I would also get small breakouts in the same areas. I was beginning to think I had combination skin as it appeared to be both dry and oily - also the skin was flushed, meaning foundation and concealer were heavily involved to cover the almost-constant redness.

Not long after my first makeup artist encounter  I was sat in front of another discussing how I had had such a wakeup call and having a face of makeup applied. We applied a toner and moisturiser and the foundation was sitting nicely until we were halfway through the eyes when he noted the foundation was just rolling off my skin (an issue I had often come across at home). My heart sank. I had stopped using what I had thought was the offending product, I didn't know what else I could do.

I changed up some of my routine, and there was an improvement, but I was still a bit away from being completely happy.

Third makeup artist. Spur of the moment opportunity to speak to a top makeup artist who asked "What's your biggest concern?" Like she couldn't tell - but boy did she have me pegged!

My skin is dehydrated. Fair, Irish skin is more delicate - think of it as being slightly thinner. It can't take as much abuse as other skin types - this includes laser treatments, chemicals, heavy cosmetics and especially exfoliating. Just because you notice dryness, doesn't necessarily mean you're in need of rigorous exfoliating, your skin needs hydration. When your skin flushes because of heat, embarrassment or exercise - it's irritated, and that's because it's loosing moisture. Through big scary words she told me my skin looses water that bit quicker. Brilliant.

So what did I do?



Tune in and I'll share everything I've learned so far! Hopefully it will be of help to anyone out there plagued with awkward dry skin or looking for a little extra help for the colder months.

Lots of love
Lisa
xXx

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