…and general stressed-out skin tips
I have (touch-wood) managed to muddle through life so far without too much hassle in the skin department. I used to have the odd monthly spot, here and there, dab on a little concealer and be done with it. In recent months though a switch-a-rooney of medication has turned my chin into its own little danger zone that likes to rage hell pretty much constantly. Instead of the intermittent eruptions, I’ve had one after the other of painful, pus-filled pimples and I can now see what a huge pain in the ass spots really are. Thank you pores – you can sort yourselves out now – I’ve learnt my lesson!
I’m thankful that it’s confined to the chin-zone and should now be on its way out the door thanks to a change back to my original medication, but after travelling recently, combined with a bit of stress and the copious amounts of suncream I applied whilst I was away, there seems be a bit of a party going on right now on my jaw area. I’ve got a few events coming up soon and don’t much fancy looking like I’m concealing some skittles that have stuck to my chin (which is what they currently resemble), so I’m pulling out every trick in the book in order to boot ’em off pronto…
The Boring Stuff
You’ve heard it a million times before, but I noticed it especially this week when I really thought about what I’d been eating. The night before I’d had a Domino’s for dinner and had grazed on chocolate biscuits for the whole day. Yeah. Not fab. So I’ve been forcing some fruit and veggies down and upping my water intake, which had got a bit measley as I hide from builders all day in the front room. Instead I’ve been pouring out huge bottles of water, downing them and then dashing to my parent’s for a wee. The lengths we have to go to, eh?
Mask It Up
Zoe and Caroline corned Lily and I at a party recently and sung the praises of the May Lindstrom The Problem Solver for spot-busting and for just being all-round amazing. I’m never one to just sit on that kind of recommendation, so of course I had to try it out for myself and I can concur that yes, it’s pretty awesome stuff. It’s a powder formula that when mixed with equal parts water, turns into a mousse texture to be used as a mask. It’s pricey but all the ingredients in May’s line are organic, vegan, wild-crafted and sustainably sourced. It’s the good egg of skincare. I must say though that this tub is huge. Either it will last you forever or if your mate is also skincare obsessed, go halfs on it and decant it out.
I’m not sure what the official word is on how often it’s advised to use it, but I’ve been going in with the stuff every other day. One – because I find that it’s a relaxing routine to do before bed. I apply this, go on my Bed of Nails Mat for 20 minutes or so, do some stretching/sit on my phone depending on if I feel like being a rebel and just scrolling through Instagram. Then I remove it and pile on the May Lindstorm Blue Cocoon Beauty Balm (more on that later). Two – because my skin seems to love it. It doesn’t dry my complexion out like other masks and despite the tingling sensation when it’s actually on my face, I don’t get any redness from it and afterwards my skin looks brighter, clearer and any spots that I do have seem dulled (in a good way).
Hydrate & Aerate
I know the natural reaction when it comes to spots is to stave them of all moisture, but actually a bit of oil on the affected area can work wonders. I like to hydrate and aerate; giving some TLC to my spots in the forms of balms and oils and going lighter on the makeup, using none at all if possible to avoid contaminating products and brushes and just generally avoiding the need to touch my face unnecessarily.
Hydrators that I’ve been loving include the aforementioned May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon Beauty Balm that I ran to purchase after Caroline used it on me during one of her facials and I fell in love. It leaves this beautiful gloss to the skin, but absorbs well and helps to tune down any redness I’ve got going on. Oh and it smells like chocolate. I’m still enjoying the KYPRIS Antioxidant Dew and Beauty Elixir I as my serum and oil duo in the evenings and in the mornings too, if I’m not using makeup. Then of course there are the overnight leave-on masks, which sometimes I like to use too during the mask step. If I don’t want to use something detoxifying over my whole face, I’ll do the whole multi-mask thing and use a hydrating mask just on my drier areas. For that and for just leaving on overnight if I can’t be bothered to throw a whole routine on, I love the Kiehl’s Cilantro & Orange Pollutant Defending Masque and the Origins Drink-Up Intensive Overnight Mask – both of which smell like sweets. Bring on the Haribo cravings…
Photos by Lauren Shipley
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