Somewhere in February, I lost my glow. Perhaps it was that the Christmas holidays were over, that rush of the year year done and busyness kicking in at once. Needless to say I am on a hunt to get my glowing skin back and I think I’ve found a way to get it back. When I looked in the mirror at myself lately, I’ve had dark circles, tired-looking skin and imperfections. It was time to stop, take a moment and get back on track! I’ve been testing out some new products lately and I feel that I am on my way. So if you are like me and have lost your glow somewhere in the past few weeks, come along and get your glow back!
Fresh know a thing or two about taking it back to basics. I’ve got a selection of simple and beautiful products from their Rose collection. I have been having a thing with roses lately – it might be their fresh scent or age-old skin saviour qualities but either way, I am loving them at the moment.
Let’s start with treatments. When your skin is tired and dull, there is nothing like a treatment to perk it up. I love the Fresh Rose Face Mask.
I’m not sure if it’s the real rose petals in the formula or the feeling of the product on my skin but what I really love the most about this product is the smell. It is like inhaling in a bouquet of fresh roses. It makes me feel good so that’s why I like it. The gel formula is cooling and great for skin that is tired because it feels really hydrating. There is quite a bit of joy that you will feel when using this beautiful product that will start to help you get your glow back!
I generally skip toning but lately I’ve gotten back into it and I think it is because of Fresh! This Rose Floral Toner is so refreshing and feels so lovely on the skin and it is really mood lifting. For my irritated skin, I felt this was very soothing, helping to soothe and clear imperfections.
Cleansing is so important for getting skin that glows. We live in cities and are exposed to pollutants and environmental aggressors all the time. It’s really critical to wash that all off in the evening. The key is to use something that will get all of this off but not strip your skin in the process. I used to prefer really strong cleansers but I’ve moved to the more gentle. The more gentle I treat my skin, the more glow I get back from it. This Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is super gentle and gets rid of gunk as well. It’s a gel formula so feels cool and soothing to irritated and tired skin.
Another thing that I’ve found that helps me keep my glow throughout the day is a hydrating mist which I keep deskside and spritz throughout the day. I love this Black Chicken Remedies Hydrate My Face Toning Mist (from Cult Beauty). This is a lovely and gentle spritz that won’t ruin make-up and has soothing lavender in it so it’s perfect for stressful days at work! It’s a great pick-me-up and I’ve found that sometimes it’s better than a cup of coffee for waking me up.
Again, I am a huge believer in treatments to get your glow back. Another treatment I LOVE is from Erborian, the French/Korean brand who also have an amazing BB Creme. This treatment is the Pate Au Ginseng which is a black concentrated ginseng mask.
This is a tightening mask which I find is quite useful when I am tired and lost my glow because my skin slackens and looks haggard. Ginseng has always been a star ingredient of both Korean diets and skincare and this product really takes that hero ingredient and puts the entire focus on it. Ginseng has a natural tensor effect so this helps your skin to feel firmer and smooths it out. So it’s great for tired skin!
I love the texture of it – it’s cooling and soothing and I love the way it feels on my face. It’s a gel formula so it’s refreshing as well.
Okay so now we have worked on getting our glow back through treatments, cleansing and toning but what about daily skincare and also additional extremities like hands and hair (is hair an extremity? It is to me!).
The winter has really made my skin look dull and I’m pretty ready for some sun and summer (although it seems so far away). For an instant glow while we wait I am loving This Works Energy Bank Sun Flash.
This is like a multi-vitamin shot to skin with the added benefit of a tint of colour. The formula contains vitamins, caffeine and natural caramel to add a healthy glow so this is an INSTANT fix for a girl with glow problems! I like this because it’s an anti-ageing cream while being an instant fix at the same time.
This Works also makes an Energy Bank Hand Makeover which I found really interesting because I don’t know about you but the winter wrecks my hands! So I find it’s really important to take care of them and make sure they are getting moisturised too. This Works Energy Bank Hand Makeover is brilliant for a quick fix!
I found it to be both hydrating and a quick fix at the same time. The Hand Makeover cream is not greasy at all and sinks into hands within seconds. So if you don’t like greasy hand creams, this one is for you. The cream also smells really good, like fresh botanicals. The reason I think this sinks in so deeply and doesn’t leave a greasy feel is because the formula contains soft focus powders along with vitamin E, Blackcurrent oil and shea butter to nourish, tighten and brighten.
I did a little test and put the Hand Makeover on one hand and not the other to see if I could tell a difference. Can you tell which hand has had a makeover? I literally dabbed this on and took the photo right after. If you cannot tell it’s the left hand that has had the makeover!
Okay what about hair care? My hair again has been wrecked my old man winter. My ends are dry and my roots are oily and split ends are beginning to haunt me. I have naturally wavy hair as well and don’t like using heavy styling products but have liked smoothing the cream wax from natural hair care brand Rahua on the ends of my hair to refresh the waves on no-wash days. Rahua is actually the name of a nut from the Amazon rainforest that has been used by the Quechua-Shuar tribe for centuries. The Rahua oil molecule, unlike other oils that just coat, actually penetrate into the hair cortex to deeply nourish.
I really like this 100% organic shampoo and conditioner from Rahua as well. I found it worked really well with my fine hair and also noticed my roots were not getting as oily as usual and instead of washing my hair every other day I could then wash it every two days (using dry shampoo on the roots only).
The conditioner I found to be really light as well which is good for fine hair as it doesn’t weigh it down. You can also use it as a styling cream which I do use on the ends of my hair to refresh waves on no-wash days and it works brilliantly. I like the fact that it is 100% organic because I don’t like to use chemical hair products on my hair as I don’t wash it every single day and don’t want any nasties sitting in it overnight.
Last but not least there is no better way of brightening your entire face than through lipstick. I am really impressed with these new Leighton Denny Lip Dual Lipsticks and Stains. On one end, you get a lovely light and natural stain and on the other end a beautiful lipstick. For staying power I like using the stain first and then topping it with the lipstick for really long-lasting wear.
I’ve got two colours – the one below is In The Nude which is a light pink nude, great for everyday and just a hint of colour on the lips.
Or you can go for the Ravishing Red (right side) which is a bold red for a night out or a power lunch. I will let you decide but honestly both will brighten up your face in a different way.
What are your tips for getting your glow back?
