I believe life is all about BALANCE, there is no fun in living base line basic 24/7, we need to treat ourselves in some way!
Ask anyone, and their definition of Luxury is usually ” something EXPENSIVE!” …..
….. in my experience, expensive is not always better. You need to learn what your skin likes and dislikes before investing in high end cosmetics. How many products have you bought that you had high hopes of that cost a pretty penny but are now sitting in a drawer because it doesn’t work for you.
The Internets definitions of Luxury:
” a pleasure obtained only rarely. “
” something adding to pleasure or comfort but not absolutely necessary. an indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction, or ease.”
“a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense.”
Now I like the sound of those!
So how can we have a touch of luxury without breaking the bank…….
So with a more luxurious skin care routine, it’s not about buying the most expensive cream. It’s about taking the time to add a couple of additional steps into your routine rarely, once or twice a week, or changing the step to a different step from the day before, or once a month having a full on self care evening – I feel like self-care days were really big in 2023! But the stress of doing self-care every other day beats the object of self-care!
If we HAD to do full winded luxurious routines every day, we just wouldn’t do it!
Here are my favourite ways of enhancing my Basic Skin care routine into a more Luxurious Skin Care Routine.
- Cleansing your skin, whether it’s in the bath or just before bed when you have some time to yourself, get yourself your favourite candle and get that lit whilst you are enjoying some you-time! Smell memories are big for me and although I can’t wear fragranced cosmetics on my skin I love to smell perfumes, reed diffusers, candles or even fragranced hand wash to give me a little luxury.
- After Cleansing your skin, comes exfoliating. Step up, or introduce into your routine if you don’t already, an exfoliating Acid something like a Glycolic Acid or Retinol / Tretinoin to target those fine lines more intensely than just using a toner or lactic acid. Just be careful & follow your dermatologists instructions OR use once or twice a week.
- Moisturising & Face Oils or Serums. Give yourself some extra time to really massage those creams & oils into your skin. Feel that luxury by using a Gua Sha & follow a diagram to reduce puffiness, brighten complexion, and stimulate lymphatic drainage.
- Layer up your moisturizing products here for an extra indulgence, hyaluronic acid serum AND a face oil AND a face cream after your massage.
- To Me a Face Mask screams Luxury! Laying in bed, chilling on the sofa, relaxing to some music or reading a book…… once in a blue moon, is just dreamy. There are so many Face masks out there that all cater to different needs. READ THE INGREDIENTS & INSTRUCTIONS! Please don’t use your acid exfoliators and then use a “Glow face mask” that contains more exfoliators.
- Don’t forget Lip balm or Lip sleeping masks, I LOVE Laneige, so gorgeous & comfortable to wear. My favourite flavour is Berry, have you tried it?
I’ll throw a disclaimer here, Skin is a mind field. That is why there are dermatologists who train, for YEARS, to learn and are still discovering new things about our skin, and how our hormones affect our skin, and how medicine can help with issues.
If you are troubled by your skin, if you are acne prone, or suffer from rosacea please reach out to a doctor or a private dermatologist to seek help. I had to see a dermatologist for MONTHS for my skin and was prescribed light therapy & medical grade creams. That’s another blog for another day!
If you can’t see a doctor, or a private dermatologist is out of the question, then have you heard of Skin & Me or Dermatica. These companies are both backed by dermatologists who review your skin month on month & your needs to prescribe you the correct ingredients & products for you, it’s not a one and done product, the ingredients are altered as your time with them grows to ensure you are getting the best out of that product.
You can trial run Dermatica for £2.90 on your first month & 10% off your second month, usually £24.99
just click here to start your consultation. ( I will make a very small commission from this link )
I am also a BIG fan of The Ordinary Products and you can use their website to build a skin care regime, just click the link below.
https://theordinary.com/en-gb/regimen-builder.html
I have very sensitive, reactive skin and (undiagnosed) fungal acne breakouts from products. If you feel like your skin breaks out after using a product, then there is an underlying allergy or you have fungal acne. There are many lists, blogs and ingredient checkers that will tell you if a product is fungal acne safe such as the following below….
So just remember, a Daily Basic Skin care is important and a Weekly Luxurious Skin care routine is good for the soul!
