Glowing, fresh skin is a sign of health and youth. It can take years off your perceived age and make you feel a million dollars. I don’t know about you, but when my skin glows I feel better about myself and I don’t feel like I need to put much make-up on. Post winter, tired skin can look dull. Add a hectic lifestyle or lack of sleep and you have not only dull skin, but dark circles and a dry complexion to boot. I want to share with you my trusted routine to brighten your skin – quickly!
What can we do when our skin doesn’t glow?
Luckily there’s plenty of fabulous skincare products to help you bring that inner glow back to your skin. I have fair skin, that quickly shows the signs of fatigue and tiredness. I have now put in place a tried and tested formula, which can quickly turn my skin around.
5 things you can use when your skin turns grey and dull.
- Exfoliate and Scrub. First exfoliate your skin before starting any treatment to ensure that skin is fresh and absorbs other products you’ll use after, better. This way they’ll bring results quicker. Exfoliation helps to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. This process alone makes your skin a little more radiant. I love using Fresh Beauty Sugar Face Polish as it combines both enzymes and a manual type of peel. It contains brown sugar and crushed strawberry seeds. It’s gentle but very effective. Fresh Beauty are known for their amazing face masks, so if you haven’t had a chance to discover this brand yet, have a look at Sugar Face Polish here. My other favourite is Nude Detox Brightening Fizzy Face Wash. I’ve been using it for nearly a year, and will certainly be re-stocking when I run out. It’s fantastic for anyone with congested skin, effective and not too obtrusive, plus it also combines enzymes and a manual peel, however it’s primarily enzymes that do the job. This type of peel works by ‘melting’ dead skin cells rather than buffing them away.
- Use a powerful mask. I swear by Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque. Packed with vitamins A, C, E and F. AGE Smart™ Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque helps to repair and restore damaged skin. Oat kernel acts as an anti-inflammatory moisturiser, it soothes and calms skin. Increasing elasticity and aiding in collagen synthesis, it also helps restore suppleness; amazingly this power treatment contains no artificial fragrance or colour! It really does make a massive difference to how my skin looks. I like to use it as a rescue product rather than a weekly splurge. This way I alway see a massive improvement to my skin.
- Brighten your skin with a toner. You can’t exfoliate more than twice a week as this will simply irritate your skin but using gentle exfoliation to keep getting rid of those dry and grey skin cells will make a big difference to the appearance of your skin. I swear by Clarins Brightening toner, infused with gentle fruit acids it just gently helps to brighten your skin day by day, gently removing dead skin cells from the surface of your skin. When my skin gets dull and grey I’d use it daily in the morning and evening for about a week and later I’d only use it a few times a week. This is a fantastic product for those who find most enzyme peels too strong and irritating. I’ve fallen in love with it since it was used on me for the first time doing a Clarins facial at one of Clarins Beauty Bars.
- Energise and Boost your skin. I have two products that I use daily to add a kick to my regular moisturiser. The Seaberry Skin Nourishing Booster from Fresh Beauty which is full of anti-oxidants and camellia seed oil. Not only is it a fantastic anti-ageing product, but it’s packed with antioxidants it will immediately give your skin a brighter more radiant appearance – and it can be used daily. I’ve been using it for over a year and it never disappoints me. Second is a new addition to my collection, Energy Booster from Clarins, which has quickly become one of my favourite products. I’ve been using it for a week now and absolutely love the results. Both products come in tiny bottles, so if you’re like me and often on the go, they’re easy to take away and you can still use your favourite moisturiser. No need to change your skincare routine.
- Fake some glow with a radiance-boosting base. Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal. It’s not a new product but noting adds glow to the skin quite like this shimmering base. Use a tiny dot mixed with your moisturiser or blend on the highest points of your cheek bones, forehead and nose and apply your make-up on top as usual. Less is more with this product, so be light handed with it.