I finally have a day off, with literally NOTHING on! So I am using the time wisely and getting some much requested blog posts done.

Skincare is often a HUGE topic on my social medias, in particular snapchat (@sineaddeblogger).

The whole ‘no makeup look’ has become a huge trend, and people want softer glowy makeup. A good place start however, is with your skin.

Skincare is a habit. Some maybe blessed with good genes, I however suffered with t-zone redness and spots through my teens. I still do get breakouts from time to time. In my opinion skincare involves a certain extent of effort and responsibility. Many of my pals don’t cleanse, tone, moisturise, apply serum every night as they feels it’s too much effort and takes too much time. Which is fair enough. If you are exhausted after a day’s work it’s an effort to get into my your pj’s never mind doing a skincare routine.

A good skincare routine however is VITAL. Once you start a routine I promise the rest becomes easier. I have a full blog post on what I use to cleanse, tone moisturise etc, you can find that here, this blog is some little extra tips & tricks I have picked up along the way!

Water.

You literally can’t drink enough of this stuff.  Since the age of 16 I incorporated water into my diet and lifestyle. I drink at LEAST a litre and a half of water PER day now. When I am excercising I sometimes take up to 2.5 – 3 litres a day. The benefits to drinking lots of water are endless, but more so in relation to skincare. It keeps skin supple, hydrated and long term can prevent fine lines and wrinkles.

It also flushes out toxins, i.e. some of the bad food which is not helping our skin. We all know at this stage that my profession is nursing. On the wards there is CONSTANT air con and heat, this is something which plays havoc in drying out your skin. Drinking good amounts of water will help to get the balance.

The Cleanse Off Mitt

I am sure we are all familiar with the cleanse off mitt (COM) at this stage. Some of you may use it for makeup removal, some for cleansing. I LOVE this product, and in recent months have incorporated it into my skincare routine. I have used it in the initial stage of removing make up (it even gets off Inglot gel liner, which is something that does not budge!). Now, I use cotton pads and Micellar Water to remove make up – there is a reason for this, this is part and parcel of the ‘double cleanse’. After removing make up I then opt for my COM, dampening it and adding some of my cleanser. For me the COM and the cleanser is so kind on the skin and I just love the feeling of the gentle mit and cleanser together! The COM also ensures you can get the cleanser into every nook and cranny of the face as you can use your hands and fingers to work in the product! You’ll get those hard to clean areas like the sides of your nose, your chin (areas where black hides hide) and in particular around your eyes.

The eye area contains the LEAST amount of skin on the face.  Hence it is such a delicate and precious area, skin care specialists always advise us to be gentle around this area. The cleanse of mit is so delicate you can’t possible do any damage here. For an absolute steal the COM retails at just €5, it’s machine washable. I have three now and they are as good as new even after washing. The genius behind this is the gorgeous Jennifer Rock!

Diet

I am a FIRM beliver that diet has a huge part to play in skincare. As a nurse, I am pretty fascinated by the body and how it works. What we feed ourselves with is our FUEL. Compare your body to a car, if you put the wrong fuel in, it simply does not work or function as well. Sounds crazy but your body IS a temple. I’ve had my fair shares of ups and downs through the years, suffered years of bullying in secondary school. So I have researched a lot into looking after yourself and your body.

I’ll be honest here and say I do have a good diet. Only because I FEEL better in so many ways when I do eat the right foods. It shows in lots of ways, my mood, energy levels AND my skin. Lots of fruit and veg, cutting out the sugar and reducing your tea and coffee to one or two cups a day, I promise you, you’ll see a huge difference.

Uriage thermal water spray

This little spray is a GEM! I haven’t used this near enough as I should but I have made a promise to myself to bring it in my handbag to work and use it a couple of times a day in particular in work!

This is a gorgeous light mist spray, which simply does what it says on the tin, re-hydrates and gives skin a glowy dew. I refer back to work and heating, this will help to keep skin hydrated with a few sprays throughout the day.

Exfoliating & Hydrating masks.

Sometimes I feel we under-estimate the importance of an exfoliator. I often forget to exfoliate, but it really helps to brighten skin, and rids old skin cells. I tend to exfoliate twice a week. One I am LOVING presently is the anti-aging treatment boosting cleanser from the Prevage Elizeabth Arden range, this brand however is on the expensive side. Though this says cleanser have been using it as an exfoliator as my skin tends to be slightly more on the drier side.

Hydrating masks.

My FAVOURITE aspect to skincare is a hydrating mask. There’s a couple which I LOVE. The first is the Biotrade Hydro Mask, this is thick so just a little is needed. It retails at €38. I especially love this mask after a night shift. Between 2 and 5 am, are skin is most dehydrated, as our body is so used to sleeping. On the other hand people who work nights are running around working at this hour of the morning. Shift workers need the EXTRA pick me up in skin re-hydration. This will work the trick.

The other mask I would recommend trying out is The Body Shop Drops of Youth, bouncy sleeping mask. This mask certainly reduces lines as you sleep in it, not long term however. It just helps to soften de-hydrated skin. It retails at approx. €35. It definitely gives the illusion of plumper skin too the next day!

The last and biggest change I’ve noticed which has helped my skin is switching to mineral based foundations. I am a HUGE fan of Blush Mineral Liquid Powder foundation. Mineral liquid means skin can breathe, it contains an SPF of 15 and it contains natural minerals so it nourishes the skin.

So there you have it. I REALLY hope this helps. I am no expert but I’ve certainly learnt a bit along the way. In particular from my mum who, from a teen always taught me about the importance of a good skin care routine.

Remember. Good skin, good make up!

Sinead x