Right, blog number 2…I’m gonna hit y’all up with a bit of beauty now and we’re going deep…skin deep, sure you can’t start painting until the canvas is sorted, so to speak. So here are my top, in-depth tips, do’s, don’t’s and products for getting the clear, glowing skin that all brides want for their big day. And you don’t have to be a bride of course, I’m single for crying out loud, but I still want that regal, bridal beauty look going on. Oh yeah!
Tip #1: Let’s get the obvious ones out the way, we all know them: Stay away from the cigarettes – obvious reasons, go easy on the alcohol – it’s very dehydrating, stay away from the sunbeds, – they could literally kill you and slap on a bit of SPF to protect yourself from those harmful UVA and UVB rays. For those of you who don’t know, UVB rays are the ones responsible for sunburn and redness, especially if you’ve got the typical Irish pale skin, holla! UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB rays, and are the ones responsible for those pesky wrinkles, lines, dark spots, signs of ageing and skin cancer. UVA rays can penetrate clouds and glass, so wearing a moisturiser and foundation with an SPF is a great way to protect yourself from these harmful rays. However….for the big day itself, you want to stay away from SPF in your moisturiser and makeup as that is what gives you the white flash-face look in photos. Using an SPF-free moisturiser and something like Makeup Forever HD foundation, or any of the foundations with HD in it for that matter, will give you a great, flawless complexion without blanking out your features under the flashbulb, you know, the photos where you look like you have no nose or cheekbones…
Tip #2: Get some sleep, some good-quality beauty sleep. There’s a saying that 1 hour’s sleep before midnight is worth 2 hours after midnight. There’s lots of different theories on why this is true, but true it is. Even if you get a good amount of sleep – between 7 and 9 hours, going to bed late is likely to lead to a large amount of your sleep being highly inefficient. There is no better way to combat those bags under your eyes than getting consistent good nights’ sleep. Alternatively, soak a green or white tea bag and freeze to use as necessary to soothe tired, puffy eyes and get rid of the bags! Liz Earle has a great one, Eyebright Soothing Lotion.If you would like to be in with a chance of winning a bottle of Liz Earle Eyebright, keep reading as more details are at the end of this blog. Here’s another fun fact: there is an interesting paper recently published showing that people who don’t get enough sleep don’t appear as attractive as those who do. There you go now, need I say more?
Tip #3: Another one we all know but many of us do it anyway: never, ever go to sleep with makeup on. Leaving dirt, grime, pollution, oil and dead skin cells on your face overnight is like marinading your skin with damaging, free radicals that cause signs and appearance of ageing to your skin. Now I know when you’ve had a few too many drinks the last thing you want to do it start whipping out the cleansing pads, but don’t use facial wipes either, as they’re not much better for your skin. I recommend the multi award-winning Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser from Liz Earle, one or two pumps onto dry skin, rub it in – eye make up ‘n all, then wet the muslin cloth that comes with it and wipe it all off! Simple and easy as that! Also, a good splash of water to the face will help the onset of any hangover, I find. Liz Earle counters can be found in Boots in Blanchardstown and Liffey Valley and they also have constant deals on their website including free shipping to Ireland and other freebies, so definitely check them out. I love, love, LOVE this brand and can’t recommend them highly enough and for my American beauties out there, you can order Liz Earle online too!
Tip #4: Get yourself in the habit of a regular skincare regime and stick to it. Try to be consistent in the products you use, and how often you use them as chopping and changing from brand to brand can lead to sensitive skin. It’s a complete myth that if your skin gets used to a product, the product becomes less effective. The only reason to change things up is if your skin reacts badly to a product or if your skin’s requirements change such as dryness during winter, ageing as you get older etc. Try to remember that your skin needs protection during the day from the sun – those pesky UVA rays mentioned above, pollution etc and then focus on repair and treatment during the night, especially if you are using a retinol or vitamin c product as both of these are broken down by daylight. A natural oil I find amazing is Rosa Mosquetta Oil, otherwise known as Rosehip Oil; it’s beneficial in tissue repair and regeneration for conditions such as burns, wrinkles, stretch marks, scars, sun damage, and redness. It clears and evens out your complexion as well as leaving it feeling thoroughly replenished. My skin actually feels thirsty if I don’t use it for a while. Hydraluron is another great product to be used under your moisturiser, it’s full of hyaluronic acid and holds up to 1,000 times it’s weight in water, however, you can’t use it under an oil. Exclusive to Boots, you can find it here and as of March 2015 it’s currently on offer. For a cheap-as-chips toner, I’m not sure you can beat the witch hazel/rose water combo. Less than €4 in chemists, it is fantastic as a toner, but also, if you’ve got any blemishes or spots on your skin, a sweep of this stuff on a cotton pad morning and evening will get rid of it in a day or two. If you can’t find any, you can buy them seperately and mix them yourself, use more Witch Hazel if you’ve got combination, oily or acne-prone skin, and use more Rosewater if you’ve got dry and sensitive skin or suffer from rosacea.
Tip #5: After getting to grips with tip #4, don’t get too carried away. Tip #5 is don’t overdo it, don’t over cleanse, peel or scrub your skin. Keeping a really healthy skin barrier, made up of our skin’s natural oils, makes the difference between having good skin, and problem skin. A good barrier keeps the moisture in, and the damaging, ageing pollution and radicals out.
Tip #6: What goes in, must come out. Drink plenty of water, but also eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, or better yet, literally eat your way through your water intake. Say what now?? Yes, that’s right, eat your water in the form of raw fruit and veg. Would you believe, your body will actually hold onto the water for longer this way?! And go colourful, you may have heard before, the darker the colour of fruit and veg, the better they are for protection against the harmful effects of the sun on your skin. If you are taking any supplements such as Coconut Oil by mouth, it actually takes 3 months for the benefits to reach your skin, as essentially it’s the final frontier as, taken by mouth, these supplements will work from the inside out. However, it’s not all about digesting supplements, using a skin-brightening and collagen-boosting vitamin c product on your skin is 200 times more potent, and therefore effective, than taking it as a tablet, according to dermatologist Dr. Dennis Gross. You can pop into any health food shop and have a chat with the staff who will be able to advise you on what is best for your skin’s requirements and the best way to achieve smooth, clear, glowing skin. Natural is often best for these things I find.
So there we have it, my guide to achieving healthy, glowing skin from the inside out. But remember, we’re humans not barbie dolls, and our skin changes over time; it’s just about adapting your products, regimes, habits and lifestyle to make sure that no matter what age, our skin is looking fresh and youthful. Just to be on the safe side though, keep your receipts for any anti-ageing products you buy, so if you don’t look like a youthful twenty something when you’re hitting your late fifties, you can march back up to the beauty counters and demand a refund! Ha Ha. Only kidding, please don’t do that….
Would you like to win a free Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Lotion? All you have to do is like and share my page on Facebook and follow me on Instagram. Winner will be announced on March 31st 2015.
(Love you lots like) jelly tots,
Gabriella x
Also, I couldn’t be more delighted with all the lovely compliments, kind words and encouragement I received on my first blog post, and I was delighted to see that some readers were lucky enough to have booked a few of the featured suppliers from my Knightsbrook Wedding Fair post. If you follow me on Facebook (click here if you haven’t liked my page already) you will know that I have a slight obsession with vintage harmony group, The Apple Blossoms, and for Saint Patrick’s Day I made a guest appearance as one of their dancers! During the week I also discovered I am on the Tankardstown House website, that’s me sipping a cup of tea after wolfing down a piece of their gorgeous carrot cake in the Tea Gardens.
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