New products keep your skin moist and glowing

It looks like summer is really here, and skincare routines need updating!

Anyone who is on drugs (medicinal ones that is), can’t afford to relax for one moment.  Even in summer drugs are still churning up nasty rough patches, losing moisture and producing wrinkles, unless we continue to zap them.

So the cleanse, tone and moisturise routine is  still important – and here are some new products that will help lift your skincare and give you lots of new benefits, because good skincare is constantly evolving and being updated.

As so many of us shop online today, I have included current cheapest price on the net, but can’t guarantee they will stay – although they should.

If  ‘Googling’ a company or product, don’t forget that many are international, so UK addresses will usually end in co.uk, rather than .com – which can lead to US dollar prices and a hefty postage bill!

Cleansing

Anyone who watches the QVC Channel knows what a boon online shopping is when you are stuck at home.

The channel are now promoting ARK skincare, who have a brilliant cleanser which they call ‘skin clear cleanser’.  It definitely wakes up skin, and is so easy to use:  just one  drop smoothed over your face, then rinse off.

Toner

I love the Clarins products, and currently am using the Extra-Comfort Toning Lotion.

No nasties, it is alcohol-free so doesn’t sting, is very gentle, and lasts and last  -

at a gentle price online of £10.

Eye Care

Winter often leaves us with fine lines around the eyes, not helped by drug-induced dry, dry skin.  I have been trying out two new creams – one under the right and the other the left.  And I have to say that the one I am using on the left-hand side is streets better:  it’s Augen, a product that QVC are about to launch, so am waiting for price.  It’s way ahead of a Japanese product which sells at £80 – so if you have fine lines ask QVC for price and I bet it’s lower than the £80 product.

Serums

Serums are the success story of skincare today,

and I am using Elemis’s Visible Brilliance every morning.

Most serums are to be used at night, but this is light enough to be worn during the daytime, so helps give dried-out skins a double whammy of TLC.

When using, they should be smoothed or patted on after the toner, and before you use a moisturiser or cream.  Cheapest price online £35.

At night-time I prefer to use an oil, and Living Nature has a brilliant Radiance Night Oil.  Not only does one wake up with a gorgeous smooth skin, but there is no oily patch on the pillow.

This is a tiny little bottle, but a minuscule amount goes a long, long way and packs a real punch when it comes to moisturising one’s face .  £44.45

Moisturiser

Final layer should be a cream;  either a light day cream, possibly one with an SPF factor of at least 30 if you are going out in the sun, or a rich one for night-time.

Because drugs try their best to ruin my skin, I believe in the double-whammy principle:  a moisturiser AND a cream with an SPF factor just before I go out.

Avene are a French company noted for skincare.  They have an extremely rich compensating cream which I use every morning, and although it is rich, it sinks in and protects my skin all day.  In France Avene have a medical treatment spa which is noted for its skincare;  (I have been told that NHS patients have managed to have funded  treatments paid for there).  £16.50.

At night, I use Clinique Comfort on Call ‘relief cream’, which seems to repair my skin overnight and leaves it well moisturised.    You can use this all day, especially if drugs have played havoc with your skin, and you want to give it a boost.  £35.

Skin protection

Elsewhere I go in to SPFs etc., but you should be looking for a minimum SPF 30 to wear outdoors all summer long, even on days when the sky is overcast.

One of my favourite products is Clinique’s Super City Block.  It’s oil-free, which means it doesn’t slide off during the day, and not only protects my face from sun AND pollution, but also leaves my skin beautifully soft all day long.

It’s slightly tinted, and is SPF 40   £15.50.

Fake Tan that doesn’t look fake

The media is full of photos of the Middleton family, especially the females, and even more especially their legs.  Look carefully, and you will see that they are generally tanned, which makes them look even more gorgeous!  Having a light tan makes legs look slimmer, too.

I want to look tanned, without the dreadful leathery skin, so have been investigating the newest ‘fake’ tan, which will help slim down legs, and have been using a new product, St. Moriz (sic).

This is fake tanning mousse is brilliant on my skin.      No streaks, no hard lines, it glides on and gives me a very realistic tan effect without having to wait hours.

Only thing to watch is the mousse is very light, so make sure your hand is steady and you don’t flick it around.   And it doesn’t smell (for some reason my skin used to smell awful with other fake tans – probably aided by the drugs I am on).

I couldn’t believe how smoothly St. Moriz glided on, and the colour stays for several days. I use it about once a week now, unless I want a deeper tan, in which case I put it on two or three times a week.  Best to exfoliate and moisturise beforehand, then it looks even better, and of course wash your hands after applying.  £4.99 .

And now comes St.Moriz Instant Self-Tanning Lotion, for those of you who prefer this type of application.  I have been using both mousse and lotion;  they are equally brilliant, and give a really natural-looking tan.

WARNING – fake tans generally do NOT provide sun protection.    You will need to slap on an SPF product afterwards:  look under SKIN FACTS category on this site.

And to finish off the look, St. Moriz now makes Bronzing Powders.  You brush these onto your face (no need for foundation or powder) and these give you a healthy, ‘sunkissed’ look.  I tried this out for the first time at a press party, and other journos were coming up and saying “you do look well” – two even wanted me to email them withe name of the Bronzer.  So when journos actually ASK for info from another journo, you know you are on to something good.  I am using the Light Bronzer, but there is a darker one too for when you get browner.

Incidentally this is useful for shading, as well as giving a shimmer, so I shall use it in the winter to give me a glow, and to add as a blusher.

Living Nature has come up with a range of lipsticks;  I particularly like Summer Rain and Coral Sea.  It is far better to go for coral and deep pink tones,  which these are, and are much more flattering to our skins.  They last (even when licking an ice-cream) and friends say ‘you do look well’ .Beware though!

Beward fashionable dark shades;  they  can make you look really washed out.  Our skins suffer from drug side effects, and we often look paler than before.  Slap on vampire black, and you realy do look like you are ill!

N. B. These summer products are generally cheaper than the products I recommend for winter;  this is because our skins don’t need quite as much protection from the harsh winds during the cold season.

However, if you are going to go sailing then go back to using ‘winter’ creams at night, and slap on the day creams several times a day.  If you are out on the water, where sun’s rays are magnified, and wind is strong, then a once-a-day slather is NOT enough.  It needs to be every two-three hours.