As I often receive requests for a skincare routine post, I am sharing my autumn skincare routine today with you today. To cleanse my skin in the morning, I use Peaches and Clean from Soap and Glory. I only use it in the morning to cleanse my skin, as it doesn't remove my makeup at all (though they claim it does). It smells like fresh peaches which is refreshing in the morning, and does not strip the natural oils of the skin. Then I apply Organic Rose Skin Conditioner to balance out skin's pH balance. Though it's a very affordable product around 1,000yen mark, it's such a lovely lotion that moisturises my skin without making it greasy. I have been enjoying Superdefence SPF20 from Clinique since I got it in spring. It does leave a slightly oily feeling on the skin, so I blot with tissue before applying a makeup primer on top. It protects my skin from the sun damage and dryness, I love how it gets two jobs done within seconds! I use Superdefence SPF20 Eye Cream from Clinique to finish off my morning skincare routine. The formula separates for some reason and I need to shake the tube before use to mix the liquid and cream. It's kind of annoying that sometimes just liquid comes out and it makes a mess, but I still love this product because it hydrates the eye areas that tend to get dry, and creates a perfect base for concealers that I pile on later.
In the evening, I change up skincare products depending on my skin condition. To remove makeup / cleanse, I love using Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm from Clinique. It's very similar to the Chamomile Cleansing Butter from The Body Shop (and the Chamomile one smells divine whilst Clinique one is fragrance-free) but much more powerful in my opinion. You literally need a tiny bit to remove makeup, which makes this big jar last for ages. I use Badger Organic Beauty Balm Damascus Rosewhen I don't mind using a muslin cloth which I usually avoid. It smells divine and makes me feel relax.
After cleanse, I apply Even Better Essence Lotion from Clinique with the palm of my hands. It's moisturising yet not too heavy, I can literally feel that it makes my skin supple. It has an odd smell (very subtle though) which I am not a big fan of, but I still enjoy using it as it works really well. SK II Stempower Essence is a serum that I've been using for about 3 months now. It smells like tea to me! It's got a very silicone-y texture and makes my skin surface silky smooth. It claims to reduce the appearance of pores on the cheeks but to be honest, that hasn't happened. For a 16,500yen serum, I have to say that it's not worth it. I will try to use it up as it feels nice on the skin, but I don't think it's doing anything. Advanced Night Repair from Estee Lauder is much better! I choose a moisturiser depending on how dry my skin feels. When it feels very dry, which is rare, I use Dew Superior Concentrate Cream. It's a heavy moisturiser that felt too much in the warmer season. It melts on the skin and creates a barrier on the skin surface which protects it from dryness. It has collagen and hyaluronic acid to replenish the skin. It feels a little oily but my skin looks fresh and plumped in the morning! I'm on my second jar of CyberWhite HD Advanced Brightening Night Creme and I absolutely love it. I'm not sure about the brightening affect, but it's such a lovely moisturiser to use all year round! Not too heavy, not too light, glides on like whipped cream, smells divine...the only downside is the price and the heavy jar. When my skin needs an extra tender care, I add a couple of drops of Terracuore Damask Rose Dew Oil . If you love a rose scent, you will love this oil. I talked about this amazing facial oil HEREso I'm not going to ramble about it again but this has been my skin saviour! Lastly I apply an eye cream. You can use a serum instead but I recommend you to use an eye cream which is especially made for the skin around your eyes, if you are older than 25. I have tried many eye creams in my life as I have really bad dark circles and when the skin around there is dry, it looks super cakey and wrinkly when concealers are applied. I got a sample sachet of Midnight Recovery Eye from Kiehl's a few months ago and the shop assistant told me that it combats dark circles. But then I saw some YouTubers raving about Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado. I went back to the shop and asked what the difference was. She told me that the avocado one is for younger skin, especially for ones who don't have any specific concerns. It replenishes the skin around the eyes, which makes it look like the wrinkles are gone. She recommended Midnight Recovery Eye for my skin because of my concerns. And it works wonders. It definitely reduces the appearance of wrinkles and dark circles even when I'm lacking sleep. It smells lovely, feels very light yet moisturising, there's nothing to complain about this amazing eye cream.
It got much longer than I expected... Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoyed it!
Though my bathroom isn't as fancy as the ones I see in "Pamper Evening Routine" videos on YouTube, I still like having a long bath in autumn and winter. I have loads of bath soaks, bath salts and bath oils sitting on the shelf, but I needed to buy some bath bombs from LUSH when the Halloween and Christmas products came out.
As my skin doesn't agree with the bubble bars, I picked up bath bombs only. The first one I put in my basket was Luxury Lush Pud. It smelt divine and reminded me of some other Lush bath bombs. Then a shop assistant told me that it was exactly the same scent as Twilightand I thought "Right, that's it!". It smells sweet and calming with Lavender and Ylang Ylang.
Another limited bath bomb I picked up is Northern Lights. It smells absolutely amazing, although I usually don't like Jasmine and Ylang Ylang at all, this bath bomb instantly takes me to heaven whenever I sniff it. I also love the shape of it as it's easier to break. My bathtub is not big and a half or quarter of a bath bomb is enough at one bath.
Avobath was the first ever Lush product I bought when I was in high school. I didn't like Lush at that time because the smell of the shop was overpowering. But when I saw this "best selling bath bomb" and smelt it, I fell in love. Since then I have been a big fan of the brand. Avobath has a subtle lemongrass and bergamot scent which is zingy and energizing yet relaxing at the same time. If I remember correctly, it's got glitter particles.
And then this is Think Pink which is smaller than other ones. The blend of Lavender, Vanilla and Neroli smells absolutely beautiful. It smells of Lavender when you sniff it, but when it's dissolved it smells more like sweets with a hint of the floral scent. Not overpowering at all and perfect for the colder season. It's got rice paper confetti hearts that look so pretty in the bath.
Last but not least, my winter skincare staple Let The Good Times Roll.It looks and smells like cookie dough. It's a super moisturising cleanser with fine scrubbing particles, which is definitely not suitable for my combination skin during summer. But in the colder season, it's a must-have. It leaves my hands and face smelling yummy which is the main reason why I love it, and also gently exfoliates my skin and makes it silky smooth. Recently Lush Japan came out with the body lotions that have popular scents such as American Cream, Comforter, Tramp and Olive Branch. I am dying to try the Olive Branch Body Lotion as this is my favourite scent ever. But the annoying thing is that it's online exclusive. It's also limited and I have no idea until when it will be sold. I might as well just purchase it online (it's about 2,000yen) and give it a go. I hope it smells as good as the shower gel! I will write a review when it's arrived.
Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes When I discovered that there was a new beauty book coming out back in September, I pre-ordered without hesitation. I am shameless enough to admit that I had no idea who Sali was, but by reading reviews on some bloggers who had a chance to get it before it came out, I assumed it was a great book.
It's such a thick book (it's got 336 pages!) and I'm still reading page 60 as it's too heavy to carry around that I don't have enough time to sit and read at home, but I can tell you this book is brilliant.
It covers various topics related to beauty, from skincare to makeup to occasional events such as wedding or pregnancy. It's definitely a book that you "read" using your brain, not a kind that you flip a page and look at pretty pictures and enjoy. It's got loads of information but because she doesn't ramble at all and always gets to the point, it doesn't feel overwhelming. You start seeing her as your girl friend who has an incredible knowledge about beauty.
She says "It's pointless" to a pointless thing, and "It's useless" to a useless thing. There are some things that I don't agree with her because clearly we have different habits and cultures, but I still enjoy her philosophy and appreciate the fact she is sharing her experiences and knowledge with us.
If you love beauty, I'm sure you will enjoy this book. It doesn't matter how much knowledge you already have, whether you just started loving beauty recently, or you have been a beauty addict for decades, there is something you enjoy in this book. One downside is that she doesn't recommend any specific products although she mentions the names of brands. She writes like "I like concealers from ***, *** and ***" but do not mention which particular ones they are. If she didn't want to recommend any products, she shouldn't have mentioned the brands either in my opinion because it feels pointless. Well, it's just my opinion but I would have enjoyed much more if she could recommend some products too, because I personally want to know her favourites. Overall this is such a fun book to read for a beauty junkie like me. It's like a must-have beauty bible. I would love to give this book as a Christmas gift if I had a friend who is into beauty. If you are not sure whether you should buy it or not, check out Amazon.co.uk where you can read a few pages. And now it's 11 pound on Amazon.co.uk instead of the normal retail price which is 22 pound for some reason. (Not fair that it's 4,000yen on Amazon.co.jp though!) so now is the time to purchase if you are interested! :)
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