CLARINS

My Latest Skincare Routine

October 24, 2012

My updated skincare routine as requested by my readers. To recap, my skin is dehydrated inside but can look oily outside. My main skin concern is dehydration and skin congestion around the t-zone area. I am also at a sad old age where my skin metabolism rate has gone downhill – as it takes forever for any scar to heal. I do get occasional breakout so I always incorporate a powerful serum which increases and stimulates the cell turnover rate as it is vital to speed up the skin renewal process so it helps to clear up my scars within a short time.

MORNING:

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I always use a gentle, non-foaming cleanser to cleanse my skin in the morning. At the moment I am using the Lancôme Galateis Douceur Gentle Softening Cleansing Fluid. I bought the jumbo size (400ml) so I can use a generous amount of it everyday with a special massage tool. It’s gentle and makes my skin super soft after washing, and in conjunction with the massage tool it helps to eliminate the water retention of my morning puffy face. Followed by Lancôme HYDRA ZEN Anti-Stress Moisturizing Aqua Gel which is just an average hydrating gel-to-water type toner. It comes out like gel and transforms into water upon touching the skin. The Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Serum is my absolute must-have for the morning – I have gone through tubes and tubes of it. The smell is relaxing and it helps to lift and sharpen the facial contours. Dr Brandt Pore Effect is applied over the t-zone (reviewed here). The last step is to apply a thick layer of my all time favorite moisturizer Dr. CiLabo Aqua Collagen Gel. For those of you who haven’t heard of the brand – Dr CiLabo is a celebrity dermatologist in Japan. The collagen gel is the signature product of his line, and the story behind the product was that he was very frustrated that he could not find a perfect moisturizer for his elite clients so he developed his own! It was so good so he started selling this to the general public. I got hooked on since it was first released which was 10 years ago! It is lightweight, absorbs instantly, plumping up my skin, stimulate collagen and most importantly keeps my skin staying hydrated all day long. Clinique All About Eyes feels quite soothing to the eyes and moisturizes as well.

NIGHT:

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The cleanser and toner used are the same as my morning routine. The Lancôme Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector is my recent favorite anti-aging serum. The patent ingredient is the LR 2414 (aka jasmonic acid) which enhances the skin’s natural self renewal processes. It minimizes skin imperfections, pore sizes and improves skin’s overall texture. I really love it because it works for clearing up my scars. With this serum the new scar forms a scab and then comes off with a faded mark within days. La Mer’s Crème de La Mer Moisturizing Cream is another all time favorite moisturizer. If Dr CiLabo Collagen Gel is the perfect hydrator, then La Mer is one level up for giving me an incredible luminous complexion. The key to using this moisturizer effectively is to activate the ingredient by emulsifying this thick cream. I found that the enclosed instruction never worked for me. Here is a little discovery I made – warm up the cream when there is still some Lancome Visionnaire remnant  left in the palm. Within seconds this moisturizer turns into a fluid elixir-like texture so it absorbs into the skin immediately. The combination works like a dream, and I really love the way my skin looks every morning – clear and luminous 🙂 For the eyes I use La Prarie’s Cellular Eye Contour Cream.

WEEKLY TREATMENTS:

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SKII Facial Treatment Mask once a week, and SKII Sign’s Eye Mask once every fortnight.

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Hi everyone, it’s a been a long time since my last post! And I miss you all! Thanks to all of you who dropped me a message/comment during my absence – I am well. I just came back from my 4 weeks holiday in Europe. I was in Paris and London most of the time enjoying the food and shopping there, and I also went to Vienna and Prague for the first time which I will probably share my shopping/traveling experiences in my future posts.

Today’s post is about the skincare products I packed for long-haul flights as well as for long vacations. I won’t say I am a light traveler as I tend to bring more clothes and shoes than I would wear. But when it comes to skincare and makeup I try to only bring the bare minimum as they can get heavy and take up a lot of space. I would normally start to ‘save’ the sample skincare of my ‘tested and trusted’ brands months before the trip so I would have enough to bring.

Products I used during long-haul flights – they are mainly for hydration

YSL cleansing water: I don’t wear makeup on flights , so I only needed a gentle cleanser (rinsing not required).

Caudalie Beauty Elixir – I then spray my face with this after cleansing – it’s very soothing and calming (great for flights!) for the skin and the mind 🙂

SKII Repair C Serum – One of the best hydrating serums I’ve used so I always bring some samples of this with me for holiday use.

Jurlique Skin Balancing Face Oil: This is a second layer for hydration. I only use 2 drops of it and mix it with the Caudalie Beauty Elixir . The cabin air gets extremely dry so I like to supply some good oil to my skin.

Naruko Rose & Snow Fungus Hydrating Night Jelly: The last step is to lock in all the moisturizing products I applied. I personally prefer sleeping mask over heavy cream. I slather a thick layer of it all over my face and wash it off before landing. It really is a key product to keep my skin staying plumped and hydrated after a 12 hour long flight.

Elizabeth Arden 24 hours Cream (not in the picture)- I apply a thick layer of it on my lips every few hours. Don’t like the smell but it works.

Skincare Products I used during the Holiday:

My main goal is to keep my skin clear and moisturized, so I brought sample sized products mostly from La Mer and Shu Uemura. I have been using these brands for years so I know they will do a good job without breaking my skin.

Cleansers: Shu Cleansing Oil as the makeup remover, and Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam as my daytime cleanser.

Toner: Caudalie Beauty Elixir

Exfoliate: La Mer the refining facial

Moisturizer: La Mer Moisturizing gel-cream and Shu Vitalizing Rejuvenating Cream

Eye Cream: La Mer Eye Balm Intense

Blemish Treatment: Peter Thomas Roth Acne Spot Treatment just in case I get blemishes.

I know I will be taking lots of pictures during the holiday so I also brought some Clarins products from the Facial lift line . The Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Serum (full-sized) is my go-to face product for anti-water retention, and along with the new Shaping Facial Lift Wrap Mask, they really help to keep the puffiness at bay and enhance the facial contour even after eating fatty and sodium rich foods everyday.

Oups how could I forget to mention sun protection for a summer holiday! I like to wear the Shiseido Anessa Perfect Essence Sunscreen when I’m frequently outdoors. It is SPF50+ and PA+++, so it offers the maximum sun protection and also ideal if you don’t want to get tanned. I also brought many packets of Silk Whitia Anti-Oxidation Whitening Mask which I used every few days for brightening and moisturizing purposes.

Pictures of these products were taken before the trip and I have managed to use all of them up by the end of trip! (Yay) I will be doing a part 2 for makeup.

Hope you are all well 🙂

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