My skincare selects and practices

16 Nov 2017 | Body Image + Food

My skincare selects and practices — the full loot by Vienda Maria
 
I’ve spent most of today creatively wrestling with myself: I have a couple of articles to complete that arise from a more serious and deeper note, but all I really want to share with you is my skincare selects and practices. There’s something intriguing about looking into the intimate aspects of another’s beauty rituals — what their biggest vanities and superficial dreads are — and what magic creams and potions they use to calm, treat and care for their skin and most importantly, their face. The one area of our body that leads the rest of us and endures the most evaluation and judgement.
 
Instead of suppressing my desire to reveal my own habits and practices, I am flamboyantly sharing them with you today, including my thoughts on ageing, adult acne, sun damage, and all.
 
In truth, I suspect that real beauty, the kind that lifts eyes and turns heads, comes from within. It’s an energetic thing, and the more we become clear channels for our inner beauty to sparkle outwards, the more we glow, look and feel healthy and beautiful. This kind of beauty comes from a soul at peace with itself, that knows it is on a journey in a human body and takes care of itself at every level. Which includes, of course, skin care.
 
I notice that, when I am truly in tune with myself, self-care and self-love become a priority and so taking care of my appearance is an easy and fun aspect of that. The more I love myself, the more I take care of myself, which is reflected in the way that I carry and present myself. Essentially, when I feel good, I look good, and I take time out to care for myself.
 
While the products and practices I have, change with the seasons, this is what I’ve been loving so far, this year.
 
 

Cleansers I tend towards drier skin so using creamy, nourishing, nurturing cleaners is really important to me, especially now that I’m living in a desert between the Rocky Mountain and the Atlantic Ocean that gets both bone-dry and super cold. I like to use 3 different options, that I generally apply intuitively based on how I feel and my skin is feeling. One, I use the Australian brand Sukin’s Cream Cleanser because it feels and smells so good, and always gets all my makeup off, if I’m wearing any. I tend to smear it all over my face rubbing it into the skin and then wash it off in the sink or when I get into the shower. Two, I just use virgin coconut oil, in exactly the same way. I like to take coconut oil travelling with me because it’s multi-purpose and perfect for warmer, balmier locations. Three, when I’m not wearing any makeup and I want to nourish my face I use Lush’s Ultrabland, almost like a mask: I smear it on and let it soften into my skin while I shower and then when I get out, wipe it off with a hot washcloth. It always leaves my skin feeling really soft, supple and ready for some serums or oils.

 
 
Oils, serums and creams Again, depending on how I feel and how my skin feels, and if it’s morning or night and if I’m going to wear makeup or I have been, I do one of the two: I use the Maritime Naturals Vit C skin serum, mostly at night but there aren’t any rules really, in an effort to erase the entire decade of my twenties spent chasing the sun under the assumption that ageing is a myth, and that it would never happen to me. Ha! Now I have a tender little sprinkling of sun damage on my forehead and on the sides of my face that I’m faithfully performing damage control on. And, I’m happy to say, with a combination of spending much less time in the sun (thank you Canada) and a few little, bottled miracle-workers, it’s visibly getting better. The serum is then always followed up with the hydrating Retinol Moisturiser accoutrement. Otherwise, I choose my much trusted Sukin Certified Organic Rosehip Oil that always leaves my skin looking hydrated and glowing and apparently also heals any skin damage, followed by the simple and delicious-smelling Sukin Facial Moisturiser to lock all the goodness in. I’m a big fan of finding a healthy balance between natural and effective. Let’s be honest: we’ve all bought natural products that sound amazing, but really don’t do anything helpful at all. I’m interested in finding the middle path when it comes to skin-care.

 
 
 
 
Masks
I expect 3 basic results from my masks: detoxify, exfoliate and nourish, not all in the one package, however.
Subtle Energies is a dry aryuvedic blend that I just have to add water to, to turn it into a clay mask. It smells amazing, and I’ve never had a face mask that is soooo jam-packed with natural, healing ingredients have such a positive, immediate impact on my skin as this one. It takes away redness and inflammation, clears up spots and generally makes me feel good.
Sukin Detoxifying Clay Mask does what it says it will, and I tend to use it when I have hormonal acne. I always thought spots, were a thing of puberty, but it turns out that they determindely reemerge whenever my body is a little bit out of balance. I actually appreciate them as I see them as my body communicating with me when I need to rest more or generally take care of myself.
Lush’s Bunny Moon is a recent addition to my collection and I love it because it nurtures my skin and hydrates it like nothing else, leaving my face feeling softer than anything. In these harsh conditions, it’s good to have a mask like this to fall back on.
REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask is a hard worker in that it exfoliates my skin removing all the dead, old debris and cells that are stopping my skin from renewing, while also clearing away sun damage and skin spots. I use this one once per week, and often before a photoshoot because it leaves my skin looking clear and radiant.
REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial is also a little miracle worker — it really only takes 1 minute — and forms and tones my skin. I notice that it does tend to dry out my skin and leave me a little flaky, due to its tendency to exfoliate, so I’ll often follow it up with Weleda’s Skin Food. I think Skin Food is meant for hands, elbows and other dry patches, but I use it as a sort of rescue remedy for any part of my body, including my face.
 
That concludes my skincare selects and practices. I like to keep it simple and potent, without cluttering my life and bathroom with too many products. I’m also a bit of a stickler around finishing what I have before I buy more, in an effort to be a conscientious consumer. Now that I have this topic out of my system, perhaps I can focus on the psychology and spirituality-based topics that I have ahead of me. Or… I might just distract myself and write up a makeup version of this rendition, instead. Would you like that?
 

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