Skincare

I like to subscribe to the Caroline Hirons method of skincare. Admittedly, it makes my skincare routine a helluva lot longer than it was a year or two ago, but the results for my skin make it 100% worth it. I thought I would take some time to explain my morning and evening skincare routines, which are more or less based on Caroline's, so that my reviews make a lot more sense in what I am actually looking for in a product.

Typical morning line-up

Morning:

1. Cleanser! I like to use a creamy, milky cleanser in the mornings that is light but will still get rid of any built-up sweat and gunk from overnight.
2. Hydrating toner to start the hydration process for my skin.
3. Eye cream. I apply this before serum so that it actually absorbs into the eye area.
4. Serum. I don't like to use an oil-based serum in the morning if I am going to be wearing makeup during the day as I find it doesn't sit as well on my skin. If I am staying home and not wearing makeup...bring on the oil! My skin can use all the extra hydration it can get.
5. Moisturiser. Because my skin is almost always dehydrated, I like to use a thick, creamy (not quite night cream level) moisturiser that will last the whole day.
6. SPF. Every day. It's Australia, you just cannot get away with not using an SPF.

Typical evening routine

Evening:

1. Double cleanse. My New Year's resolution is to try to do this as soon as I get home from work instead of letting my makeup sit on my skin until I'm ready to go to bed. More time for my skincare to do its work! My double cleansing method involves an oil-based makeup remover to get rid of eye makeup and the top layer of foundation and then a cream or oil-based (non-foaming) cleanser to massage the rest of the makeup and grime off my skin. Remove with a warm flannel.
2. Exfoliating acid toner. I use a mild exfoliating toner on a cotton pad swiped all over my face to keep my skin fresh rather than a traditional, manual scrubby exfoliator. Once in the evening is enough - using it in the morning as well can cause problems in my skin. I find chemical/acid exfoliating works much better for my skin, but if I'm out of my acid toner I will use a manual exfoliator two to three times a week.
3. Hydrating toner, as for the morning routine.
4. Eye cream.
5. Serum. Here I will layer a few treatments if my skin needs it. Water-based serums first and oil-based serums last.
6. Night cream. A nourishing layer of night cream or facial oil depending on how my skin is going. And, done!

Chemical vs. manual exfoliation products

There you go. Yes, it's a good few layers of skincare morning and night but the change in my skin since I've adopted a good routine is incredible. It's all worth it - even the boy has seen a lot of improvement in his skin after adding a few extra steps to his skincare routine as well ;) Again, all credit to Caroline Hirons for the basis of these routines and skincare tips. She's a genius and has definitely revolutionised the way I take care of my skin.

Nuxe Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm

Ah, the fabulous Nuxe Rêve de Miel... I was lucky enough to win one of these gorgeous little glass jars filled to the brim with golden, magical balm from the very generous Sophie of Born to Buy. And I love it just as much as I thought I would!

I always apply a lip balm as the last thing I do before I go to sleep and I have a little container filled with lip balms of all sorts on my bedside table. But this one is my favourite. It is thick, luxurious, and has the most wonderful scent of honey and grapefruit that I find really soothing. Its name literally means 'dream of honey'. Doesn't that just make you smile?

Sorry for the out of focus photo, yeesh

I find this balm to be very effective at making my lips soft and smooth the next morning. It tends to sort out any dry or peeling lip issues that I might have too. Even after a full night, there is a slight film on your lips after using this balm, which to me just shows how effective it is if it lasts all night! Because the first thing I do in the morning is wash my face, this isn't an issue at all for me but might feel a bit uncomfortable for some people. It's also great underneath lip products, as a thin layer provides a sort of matte film that lasts and lasts.

As much as a glass jar isn't the most convenient, safe or hygienic packaging, it's so darn classy that I'll forgive it for that. I love how this looks on my bedside table, especially because of my soft spot for the French language.

Nuxe claims this lip balm has 80% natural ingredients and no parabens. Included are beeswax (explains the thick, tacky texture), vegetable oil, sweet almond oil, shea butter, honey, grapefruit peel oil, soybean oil, vitamin E (tocopherol) and lemon peel oil. Annoyingly for me, it does contain some silicon in the form of dimethicone, which my skin never reacts well to in moisturisers and primers. One cool ingredient is ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (stay with me), a sunscreen agent that protects from UVB rays, so this baby is good for daytime too!

Price: $19.99 (Priceline)
Rate: effective, luxurious, ingredients, name, sun protection
Hate: glass jar packaging (but not a lot of hate), silicon
Verdict: would repurchase again, and again

Lancôme Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector [LR 2412 4%]

I never thought I would see the day when I thought forking out $97 for a serum for my face was a rational thing to do. Well, the day has come. And let's just say that every single dollar was worth it!

Yep, Lancôme Visionnaire is the love of my skincare life right now. I was able to try out a sample from The Parcel by Marie Claire and that 7mL was enough to convince me that I needed more in my life. So a full size 30mL turquoise bottle of this lovely, pump-packaged serum was soon taking pride of place on my dressing table.

I'm not sure how it does it, but this serum manages to smooth, brighten and soften my skin. Within a week of starting to use it, I saw less breakouts and overall my skin looked healthier, more hydrated. I've been using every morning and night for about two to three months now and I've not noticed any radical changes over time - just that fantastically smooth and plump skin that it created originally. However, I'm sure if I stopped using it, the difference would be noticeable!

With my full size purchase, I managed to buy the older serum rather than the second generation which is more concentrated in its main ingredient LR 2412 (derived from the jasmine plant). I would have preferred the second generation serum - there is not so much of a noticeable scent and I think I would see better results.

The instructions say to use three pumps day and night, but I am only using one pump. I can't bear to see it disappear so quickly! It is easy to smooth over your face with a lovely silky texture (hmm, silicon...) and sinks in very quickly so that you can apply moisturiser or night cream over the top. Like I mentioned, there is a bit of a scent to it that I'm not sure how to describe - a little chemically but not in a bad way!

The only downside to the serum (besides the price) is the amount of alcohol contained in it. I'm not sure if this is doing good or bad things for my acne, because alcohol can be inflammatory despite the other benefits of the serum. It also contains silicons, which explains the silky texture, and are unfortunately my skins number one hate (though I haven't noticed any drying out from using the serum).

So there is good and bad to this serum, despite the great results I've seen using it!

Price: $97.00 (Myer or David Jones) [$3.23/mL]
Rate: effective, easy to use, great pump packaging, sinks in quickly
Hate: price, amount of alcohol in formula, silicon
Verdict: may repurchase sometime in the future if I don't find something better (in terms of ingredients, not performance)

Burt's Bees Sensitive Night Cream

I have always loved Burt's Bees products, especially their lip balms, and the gorgeous retro-style packaging. Their products always have a homely feel. Whenever I'm running low on Burt's Bees, I will jump on one of their Grab Bag promotions, which include a big range of products at a discounted price. They actually have two of these running on their Australian site at the moment which you can check out here.

I received their Sensitive Night Cream in a Grab Bag I purchased in winter and have been using it ever since. It's not a very thick cream, fragrance free and absorbs into the skin really quickly. One thing that I did love about this night cream was that it never caused any redness in my skin straight after application, which tends to be a common occurrence with other products.

My skin tends to be really dry and can be flakey with the changes between seasons. I prefer to use a much thicker night cream to keep my skin nourished and avoid any dryness, so whilst this night cream is really gentle and nourishing, it isn't the best suited to my skin type. I would definitely recommend it to anyone with oily skin or for someone looking for a lighter option over summer.

A downside to this night cream is the packaging. Given the runny texture of the cream (more of a lotion), I would have liked to see it in pump packaging. So much more hygienic and you always distribute the exact right amount. Although, the glass jar does look very classy sitting on my dressing table.

In terms of ingredients, this night cream has a really lovely base of natural ingredients including sunflower seed oil, cotton flower extract, aloe vera, and shea butter. It doesn't contain SLS, mineral oil or synthetic fragrance (winning!) but it does have small amounts of phenoxyethanol (a synthetic preservative) that can be toxic in high concentrations, though I'm not worried about the amount in this, just something to be aware of.

Price: $29.95 (Burt's Bees website) [$0.60/g]
Rate: fragrance free, gentle, natural ingredients
Hate: thin texture, glass jar packaging
Verdict: would not repurchase, as it does not suit my skin type