My 30 Year Old Skin

For me, it seems to have taken me to the age of 30 to discover what works for my skin. All those younger youtubers seem to have it sussed and lots of their skin seems pretty perfect. In my early 20s I didn't give my skin much notice. I was lucky that in comparison to my siblings I got off lightly in the spots department. Hey I still had/ have them, but quite mildly really when I look back. I have little damage from spots, but I have had, and always seem to have had blackheads. Again though, never greasy or red, I just have them. I used to be really into any product that had tea tree in. That always seemed to work well and the hugely teen advertised brands like Clearasil never did anything. I think they made my skin worse.
 As I grew up I remember my mum getting me an Olay beauty fluid, you know, their iconic pink bottle, but again, that use was few and far between as a lot of the time it left my skin quite greasy. 

If I were to say I had a type of skin it would be spotty/blackhead heavy with a dryness and monthly redness thrown in. I always had spots and have had until recently, but that was before I developed such a great routine which I put my now clear skin down to. 

Having tried a million different brands, usually getting ones that were in some kind of supermarket deal I decided to try the much talked about micellar water. So about 3 years ago, when I was into blogging I was seeing La Roche Posay everywhere. I spent what seemed like a fortune on some. It was expensive, I thought, but buying into what was on instagram was an easy thing to do! You've all done it, seen someone has it and decided to try for yourself. I used it to take off the daily struggles and it started to clear my skin. I don't think the clarity really started to kick in until I started using more of the same products.

 I got their Effaclar duo; a base layer to moisturise and clean pores. Then I got the foaming face wash so my skin got more of a clean than just using the micellar water. In the last 6 months I started using their Effaclar duo unifant as a foundation meaning that, especially in the summer months, I was wearing less makeup but still feeling like I had great coverage. I now use their Effaclar k+ to give me a bit more moisture which goes on overnight, then again in the morning and, with these all now so firmly in my routine, my spot count has pretty much diminished. I myself can't get over the clarity of my skin and spots are now only a menstrual visitor. I think this is all to do with consistency. Maybe age as well but let's not talk about that! 

I feel though that it takes time for products to work. Within a week you are not going to know if something is right! Well, obviously you would if you had a reaction, but it takes up to six months for skin to respond to a new face wash. But now having been with the same brand and products for so long I can see the results and I love it! I find that they last well and even the brand La Roche Posay encourage you to use small amounts which I think is really good. I find they go a long way and it is months between buying products. 

What I am really pleased with though is the fact that I now see the benefit. It seems like I got to 30 and my skin decided to grow up. 

My broken down skin routine and products;

Morning; 

Cotton wool clean with Micellar Solution

Moisturise with Effaclar K+ moisturiser

Wear as a foundation or base on a night out Effaclar Duo

Clean all off with Effaclar foaming wash

And then a wipe over with Micellar Solution

For my body I use Lipikar Surgras

And this is a miracle worker on eczema, I have on my foot Lipikar AP stick.

I also have my eye on some more products which I would love like the Lipikar Cleansing Oil for extra moisture as I find the Lipikar really is nice as a post shave balm.

This brand works for me. I have never had my skin respond so well to a soap but for me I have found this really suits. It's nice eventually finding something that gives me more confidence to wear less makeup!