Streamlined Skincare

As much as I love the luxury of an extended skincare routine, which often turns into a bit of a pamper; incorporating treatments, masks, enough lotions and potions to open a small apothecary and takes around 30 minutes – it’s not the most convenient for travel. I spent last week in the Lake District chilling out, gulping down some fresh air and being dragged up mountains by my parents. It was an annual holiday I swore I’d never do again once I turned 16, but by 23 I’ve softened and actually enjoyed a countryside jaunt. It was low-key and the glamest it got was a nightly trip to the local chippie so my beauty bumf was kept to a minimum and after much consideration I plumped for a streamlined, stripped-back skincare stash:

Makeup remover: Slap is usually sloughed off by a combination of the Clarins Instant Eye Makeup Remover and the Bioderma Crealine H20 Micellar Water, but given that makeup wearing was a bit thin on the ground, and most days I didn’t even bother with mascara I stuck with a dinky bottle of the water. Isn’t it adorable? 

Cleanser: Emma Hardie’s Amazing Face Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm decanted into a disused tub. Well that one was easy… 

Toner/Freshen-upper: now I have quite a few toners on rotation at the moment, so this was a toughie. In the end it came down to the one that was the smallest, Omorovicza’s Queen of Hungary Mist. A nice post-cleanse spritz, or a refreshing mist when things got a little hot. I know, it got hot. It was very exciting.

Serum: Survival of the smallest again here; Indeed Labs Hydraluron made the cut. I usually reserve this for morning use, and crack open the Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair in the evening, but this does a good enough job of whacking on the moisture for morn and eve when product numbers were restricted.

Moisturiser: Ah gawd, the hardest. I always find moisturiser the trickiest step to get right, and still have yet to find the puuuurfect one; so I plumped for Omorovicza’s Rejuventating Night Cream in the end. It said ‘night‘ in the title, but I smoothed it on AM and PM and had no problems. Perfectly rich and lightweight at the same time.

SPF: From going to none, I now have a fair few SPF’s swimming around in my drawers and pulled out the slickest packaged one to take on my travels – La Roche Posay’s Anthelios AC SPF 30. Amazing stuff, no grease or slip, and by the end of the holiday it was a family essential.

Extras: muslin cloths (obvs), a shedload of cotton pads and buds, an eye cream if you need it (I did end up caving and throwing the Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment* in) and maybe some kind of exfoliator if you’re going away for a week or so plus (I took a teenie 5ml sample of Alpha H’s Liquid Gold with me which came in very handy).

A much more slimmed-down regimen than my usual 20+ steps, but you know what – my skin was more than happy with it. Now it may have been due to the fresh air, long-ass walks *groans* or the fact I wasn’t gorging on my usual Ben & Jerry’s lunchtime meal, but this whole capsule edit has definitely got me sorted for when I next need to say bon voyage…

*PR Sample