Because I own a skin clinic, people expect me to have amazing glowing skin all of the time, but just like most people, I have good days and bad days. Last Friday was a bad day, which is just so typical, because it was the night that I was finally going out with some mums from my kids’ school. But I had had a really busy week, I was tired and I hadn’t had the time to give my skin some extra lovin’, so it looked dull and lifeless.
Because I am at work most of the time, if I go out on a weeknight, I usually leave straight from work. I am sure that a lot of people do this, especially those who travel a long way to get home. Getting ready to go out after work on a Friday night just reminded me of when I was in my 20’s. My friend and I used to leave work, walk down to the Myer cosmetics counter. We’d do our make-up with all their testers then spray ourselves with some perfume on the way out!! Oh the good old days.
Nowadays I still want to look good when I go out and the most instant way to look good is to have glowing skin! And the number one thing to do to get glowing skin? Remove the old dead skin and plump up the new!
Ready for Glowing Skin Yourself?
Exfoliate Your Way To A Smooth Start
I am such a fan of exfoliating. My skin is pretty tough, so I like to use an abrasive exfoliant as well as an enzyme exfoliant. The difference? An abrasive exfoliant (the ones that feel like a sand scrub) work to remove the superficial layers of dead skin by getting underneath and pushing them off. An enzyme exfoliant kind of dissolves the ‘glue’ that sticks dead skin cells together, so it almost just melts off. I use both one after the other, because I like to make sure I get every last bit. If you have sensitive or dry skin though, it’s best you just stick to the enzyme exfoliators.
Plumping Equals Youthful Skin
Once you have baby smooth skin, and you will – it’s time to plump that up!! Plump skin = youthful looking skin. It irons out the fine lines and gives you a nice even texture. I am obsessed with Hyaluronic Acid in my skin care routine (it holds 1000 times its weight in water!!). I apply this liberally all over my face straight after exfoliating.
Continuing with the plumping, I then apply a B vitamin serum. This plumps and brightens! What’s not to love???
Then I use a night cream. The reason I use a night cream over an every day moisturiser is because they are generally thicker, hold more moisture and makeup just glides on perfectly, giving that smooth glow.
Not forgetting the eye area, as this is where we get those fine lines, I dot an eye cream under my eye and just under my brow bone. The eye cream that I use leaves a slight shimmer which is why I apply it under the brow bone – to slightly highlight that area.
What else looks good when plumped? Lips!! Don’t forget to exfoliate these babies! I use a lip exfoliator for this which also has a lip plumper attached!
Glamming Up Your Confidence
Once all this is done, it feels kinda wrong to cover all that glow with heavy makeup, so I just use a light CC cream. CC – standing for Colour Correcting) offers a light coverage but completely evens out the tone.
A little blush, mascara and a plumping lipstick is all I use to finish off.
Cheat Sheet
This whole process of getting ready for going out only takes me about 20 minutes! So if you want a quick glow, here’s what I use:
- Cleanse (I use Osmosis MD Purify, but you can use what you have)
- Exfoliate with Aspect Illuminating Polish
- Enzyme exfoliate with Aspect Fruit Enzyme Mask
- Plump with Societe Skin Hydration Complex
- Brighten with Medik8 Hydra8 B5 Intense
- Moisturise with Osmosis MD Enrich Restorative Night Cream
- Get the eyes shimmering and plumped with CosMedix Opti Crystals
- Exfoliate and plump the kissers with Jane Iredale Sugar and Butter (a 2-in-1 exfoliator and plumper)
- Osmosis CC Cream in warm (neutral for fairer skin, warm for tanned skin)
- Jane Iredale Mascara, blush and lip drink!
It’s a pretty simple ‘glowing out’ routine, and of course you can use / swap similar products that you have with the ones I suggest, but if you can only have a couple of products – it’s the exfoliators and the Societe Skin Hydration Complex for the win.
Now of course, for many of you, masks are a must have when going outside. Don’t forget that you can give your whole skin a warm glow using a gradual tanning moisturiser. Too easy! We love Three Warriors Gradual Tan and Eco Tan Winter Skin for those with pale skin.
Still not sure?
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