Spring Clean your Skin
Spring Clean your skin! Much more fun than spring cleaning the house. And essential to your beauty routine. Cleansing is where it’s at, and we don’t just mean rubbing at your face half-heartedly with a wipe.
Spring Cleaning your skin is about proper cleansing. Double cleansing. Exfioliating. Using masks. And leaving no part of the face let out. Yep, that means cleansing your lips too. More on that later.
To start with, let’s look at deep cleaning. Exfoliating or using a peel is the best way to give your skin a great cleanse. Slough off those dead skin cells, and don’t just do this once a year. Do it at least once a week.
1.Guerlain’s Gommage de Beauté Skin Resurfacing Peel (£42.50, John Lewis) is the ideal complement to a cleansing routine. Use it once or twice a week to remove the dull veil that accumulates on a daily basis and you will see the difference in your skin. And, because this is a non-abrasive formula, there’s no pulling or rubbing at the skin. It contains nigella oil, an age-old ingredient known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. So it neutralises oxidative stress caused by urban pollution – perfect for city dwellers. It brightens the complexion, tightens pores, evens skintone.
2. Bobbi Brown’s Buffing Grains for Face (£32) made from Japanese Adzuki Bean Powder are bespoke skincare at its best. You just tap a few grains into the palm of your hand, and mix with water, or a cleansing lotion, and then use over your face, or on any patches that you think need more attention.
3. Benefit’s B.Right! Refined Finish Facial Polish (£20.50) contains natural clay and seaweed extract rich in minerals, nutrients and sugars, known to purify the skin. It isn’t overly grainy, and can be used a couple of times a week to super-cleanse the skin.
4. Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold Rose (£37.50, from end of May at QVC) is a new version of one of my favourite products. Read more about it here. It is a fantastic every-other-night cleanser/exfoliator. This new version is a lighter version of the original, and contains Rose, Scared Lotus, and Orchid Petal, along with the all-important Glycolic Acid. It really does make your skin glow. Try it, and you will never go back!
All of these products are additional to your daily cleansing routine, which should include a good cleanser in whatever form you like the best – oil, milk, balm, lotion, etc.
1.GlowBiotics Probiotic Nourishing Gel to Oil Cleanser (£30, Harvey Nichols) is a luxurious cleanser that transforms from gel into a light oil during use. Then, once you have added warm water, you get a milky emulsion that rinses off. I don’t love rinse off cleansers, but this does remove all your makeup, and impurities, and is cruelty free and free of phthalates, sulfates, parabens and more. It contains only good things, like rich fatty acics, tropical bioactives, and botanical oils.
2.Clinique’s Fresh Pressed Rewnewing Powder Vitamin C Cleanser (£25) is just so clever, I can’t stop talking abut it. Just use one of these sachets per day, mix with water and give your skin a boost. I would suggest using this after your regular cleanser, as an added cleanse in the morning. Read more on this one here.
3.Benefit’s B.Right! Foamingly Clean Facial Wash (£19.50) is a pretty simple cleanser – apply a small amount to damp skin, lather, and then rinse. I don’t love this, but it will cleanse your face well, and it does come in beautiful packaging! It’s best suited, I think, for younger skins, and for skin that isn’t dry. The product itself doesn’t dry your skin out, but it’s not hydration-giving, if that makes sense.
4. Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Milk (£32) is another that suggests you rinse clean, and that’s why I don’t love it. I do love their Soothing Cleansing Oil – but it’s rinse off too. I prefer to take a wet cotton pad, and ‘rinse’ thay way. So, this rich formula contains a blend of Sweet Almond, Jojoba and Avocado Oils, which break down makeup and remove impurities. Chia Seed Oil, a potent anti-inflammatory, helps soothe skin and reduce the appearance of redness, with the aid of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Narcissus and Lavender Flower Complex help promote overall skin health. It’s a gorgeous luxury cleanser.
5. Clarins Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser (£21) is a no-rinse cleanser. Great for dry skin, it contains coconut derivative, a gentle non-foaming cleansing agent, to dissolve surface grime and light makeup, moringa seed extract for detoxifying, peach essential eater for skin softness, and mint essential water to tone and reduce redness. Just soak a cotton wool pad, cleanse and go!
Face masks can be cleansing too – taking off the dead skin, revealing the luminosity underneath.
Bobbi Brown’s Radiance Boost Superfine Walnut Grain & Orange Oil Exfoliating Mask (£33) is an instant boost for glowing skin. Use it once a week, or whenever. You just leave this on for two to five minutes, so there’s no reason not to add this to your skincare cleansing routine a couple of times a week. The superfine walnut grains exfoliate. A combination of absorbent Kaolin Clay and super-moisturizing Algae Extract and Sodium Hyaluronate reduce excess oil, and the Orange Oil is a pick-me-up for tired skin.
GlamGlow masks are fun and effective. The PowerMud Dual Cleanse Treatment Mask (£39, Boots) is a perfect bi-weekly addition to your cleansing routine. So, you apply a thin layer, then leave for 5 to 10 minutes, then apply water, and use circular motions to transform the mud mask into a cleansing oil treatment. This gives extra deep cleansing to the skin – perfect after a week when your skin has perhaps had a lot of makeup on, or been in a polluted environment and needs double cleansing.
Finally, the lips! Yes, you do need to add a lip product to your skincare cleansing routine. Guerlain’s Super Lips Lip hero (£20.50, John Lewis) is a lip balm which rehydrates, plumps, smoothes and cleanses your lips. It is a blend of ultra-melting butters and oil, and French grape seed oil. Yes, it’s indulgent, but use it morning and night and your lips will feel wonderful!
What are your favourite cleansers?
