Hello everyone,
Today I am going into skincare as I have been spending quite a lot of effort in trying and improving my routine in order to tackle the hot days over here, so I thought I would share it with you.
First of all let me tell you, anyone who has left Italy to go and live in the UK will agree with me: summer in Italy is beautiful. Sun, warm weather, weekends spent sunbathing on the seashore, lots of events, festivals and concerts, metereopathy going down the right path… It’s just really enjoyable.
HOWEVER, there’s ONE little thing that, especially here in the north, can make summer a bit of a struggle even for the biggest summer-lovers: damp. Even during the most shining days, the weather here can be so hot and humid that you will find yourself gasping while having a little walk in Venice even at 12.00 am, and generally it’s definitely hard to go through a whole summer without air-con. That’s why, I find that the right skincare can be quite of an ally particularly if you like me have combination skin.
MAKE UP REMOVER: LOZIONE STRUCCANTE CONTORNO OCCHI by KELEMATA
“Oil prevents oil” they say, as it will help the skin feel more hydrated and that’s why I always tend to use an oil as make up remover.
I must say this isn’t a proper oil, with its consistency being slightly more liquid and much less greasy than a normal oil. But this is the reason why I really like this product, as it doesn’t give me that feeling of an even more “buttery” layer on my skin, particularly after a whole day spent in the office or doing errands.
Also, its oily component makes it still good for removing all the make up by just gently rubbing with hands rather than using a cotton pad. Again, this is great as I always find that even if I do not have sensible skin cotton pads usually irritate my eyes and cause lash-fall out.
A little downside is that as the product is meant to be very delicate, I feel it won’t easily remove the boldest make up and certainly not any waterproof make up. I usually try and keep my make up quite natural (I avoid mascara in summer and prefer eye pencils to eye liners) so I am not too fussed about this, but I reckon this might be a con for many make up lovers. Also, even though delicate, if you have very sensible eyes this oil can irritate them so I would recommend to avoid rubbing a big quantity of product directly on the eyes or just try and use an even more delicate make up remover.
Main ingredients: hamamelis virginiana, chamomile and bluebottle
Where: well-refurbished beauty stores and drugstores
Price: €8.00-10.00
CLEANSER: PURE CLEAN FOAM by KIKO
A foamy, very soft cleanser – I love this product coming from the new Pure Skin collection just released by Kiko as it can be very gentle and yet remove all the layers that got built up on the skin during the day.
What I really like about it is that it isn’t one of those products that dry the skin with clay or aggressive ingredients. It soothes it instead and makes it feel fresh, regardless of whether I’ve just woken up or I have spent the whole day running from a place to the other side of the city. This is a big pro for me as by nature after a hot or very stressful day, I would probably scatter my whole face with toothpaste to remove that greasy feeling that comes with the last hours of the day (I haven’t tried though, I promise!). Therefore, having a product that can help me feel clean is an absolute must for me.
Note: Paraben free
Where: Kiko stores
Cost: €7.90
TONER: VISIBLE DIFFERENCE SKIN BALANCING TONER by ELIZABETH ARDEN
Being a very lazy person, I’ve always skipped the toner-step and guys, I was definitely wrong. I know, every beauty guru on the web has probably being saying it since a very long time… but for the miracle-skepticals like me it isn’t always easy to be persuaded on the importance of something that makes the routine longer!
I must admit though, using THIS toner has really helped out and the last few days spent travelling without having this product with me just confirmed it. Indeed, if usually I never benefitted from using a toner, when I skip this now in my routine my skin gets much oilier and much sooner than usual.
Its texture is really light and it dries very quickly leaving the skin clean and perfumed with a fresh and flowery fragrance (my obsession!). I apply it every morning and every night and, despite the fact that it isn’t the most bio-product ever, I am really satisfied with the result being not too aggressive on my skin and yet very efficient in fighting oils.
The only con is that it doesn’t have astringent qualities so it doesn’t really prevent clogged pores and spots. I guess this comes from the fact that it is studied to be a light product meant to respect the skin. Anyway I’d rather have a mask with a very strong effect once in a while rather than stressing out my skin every day, so I am pretty happy with using this product in my daily skincare.
Where: well-refurbished beauty stores
Cost: €16.00-23.00
MOISTURISER: CRÈME BIO.EQUILIBRANTE PH 5.5 by CBN
Finally one of the most exact birthday presents and a great discovery of the period given the fact that, particularly in summer, I’ve always hated any moisturiser even those meant for oily skin.
A bit on Cosmetique Bio Naturelle Suisse first: CBN is a Swiss organisation that operates in the high segment of the market. They are specialised in niche products that are highly-targeted for specific skin-issues and have a whole set of cosmetics thought for skins requiring specific beauty treatments, with main focus being Active Plant Germ Cell that helps sensitive skin to regenerate.
About Crème Bio.Equilibrante pH 5.5: the product comes as a very light-textured product and I use it every morning and every night to complete my everyday skincare. The company describes it as “pH balance normalizing cream with Active Plant Germ Cell- based formula. Suitable for all skin types, including the sensitive ones”.
For me, it does come perfect for my necessities: it has a very delicate smell, it doesn’t feel too greasy and once applied it only takes a minute to absorbe completely into the skin without ever having the feeling of having any lotion on your face throughout the day. I just love it!
Now this a high-end product (a 50cl jar costing around €80-100) but I can’t praise it enough. I would definitely recommend this product to all the girls constantly torn between the feeling that they aren’t cleaning their skin enough and the impression that everything they put on is over-texturised and very inadequate for their needs. If you ask me, this is definitely a great solution for combination skin.
Where: well refurbished or high-end beauty stores
Cost: €80.00-100.00
Note: Their basics include: a purifying milk (Lait-Bio Purifiant), a purifying gel (Gel Bio Purifiant), a cleansing cream (Crème Détersion), an exfoliating crea (Crème Exfoliante Bio Purifiante), a biphasic eye and lip makeup remover (Dérmaquillant pour les Yeux et les Lèvres), a toner (Tonique Actif) and the moisuriser (Crème Bio.Equilibrante pH 5.5)
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