The Facial kit/ added extras part 1: skincare

As you will now know I am a little bit obsessive about skin care. I come from a long line of women with amazing skin and whilst my mothers attitude to make up has always been at best ambivalent she instilled in me a skin care regime.

Her dressing table has always been adorned with a tray set out with her daily skin care essentials, a tradition I have kept. However I seem to ave expanded upon the daily regime and I love nothing more than carrying out a weekly facial on a Sunday night to prep my skin for the week ahead. There is something satisfyingly relaxing about watching Homeland whilst a face mask permeates through your skin. 

A facial should be both a luxury and a functional part of looking after your skin; it also gives you an opportunity to check your skin for an changes which might cause a concern for instance moles that have changed or lumps that are not going away.

The facial prescription;

1: Light a scented candle.
Why you may ask? Well to be honest because there is something indulgent about scented candles and they set the mood. I love Jo Malone Wild Bluebell and Pomegranate Noir Home Candles but they are  a real indulgence. The White company also do densely scented candles my favourite being Verveine which an uplifting citrusy mix of verbena, lemon, orange, clary sage, lemongrass and ceder wood. One of my recent discoveries is the Marks and Spencer La Maison de Senteurs range which is inspired by French scents and reasonably priced at £5 for a candle with around 40hours of burning time. My favourite is La Maison De Senteurs Fleur d'Orangier candle, which is pictured above.

2: Brush or Double Cleanse

As always a facial should start with cleansing. I personally do not see the need for a different cleanser to your day to day cleanser but when I am carrying out a facial I double cleanse to be certain I have removed all dirt. If you are using a cleansing brush, double cleansing is probably unnecessary and may be more damaging to your skin but if you are using a polishing cloth or removing the product with cotton wool it held you feel extra cleansed.

A facial or cleansing brush is to my mind a added extra. Pretty much every magazine that does a feature on skincare seems to think that it is an essential part of a cleansing routine but most cleansing brushes are anything but cheap. I have come a cross a few cheaper alternatives such as the Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Brush and a Soap and Glory Face massage mini mitt which can be used to give skin some gentler TLC.

3: Steaming
Using a muslin or flannel soaked in hot water, ring it out and whilst its still steaming place it over your face to steam and open your pores.

4: Face Mask
The type of mask you use should be guided by the type of skin you have. The majority of the time I will use a moisturising and plumping mask such as Temple Spa Quench or Sanctuary Spa Time Reversal Face Mask however if my skin is looking tired and dull I will use a peel off mask designed to dissolve the top layer of skin.

5: Toning
When I am indulging in a facial I like to use a proper toner rather than a mineral water facial mist such as Temple Spa Toning Essence which is for use by all skin types and can be used as a hydrating mist in its own right. Three squirts on a cotton pad is all you need for your whole face.

6: Serum
A serum is designed to give an added nutrient boost to your skin by sinking through the layers and feeding your skin. It's texture will be more watery and does not create the layer between your skin and the world that a moisturiser does. I tend to think of this as a booster shot to my skincare. I have tried a number of serums and my favourites are Temple Spa Be Strong and the more affordable Olay Anti-Wrinkle Instant Hydrating Serum.

7: Moisturiser
Moisturise your face in upward strokes going against gravity. Taking time to massage in the cream. As I often do a facial in the evening I will usually apply a thicker cream texture such as L'Occtaine's Angelica Hydrating cream or Temple Spa Repose which has the added benefit of aromatherapy to add your sleep. Eye cream should also be applied and if needed a separate neck cream. Moisturise lips with a balm such as This Works Turbo Balm.

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Lemon Blueberry pancakes

I am a big fan of brunch there is something incredibly satisfying about a mid morning meal where it is acceptable to pile your plate with both savoury dishes and desert.  This is one of my recently attempts at a brunch dish and is a twist on a tradition crepe. It needs a teaspoon of baking powder to try and grab the blueberries so that they sit in the batter.

Lemon and blueberry pancakes

Makes 6-8

Ingredients
1 tbsp of caster sugar
2 eggs
110g plain flour
400ml semi skimmed milk
1 tsp baking powder
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Frozen blue berries (defrosted) quantity to preference
Lemon juice to taste

1. Sift the dry ingredients and lemon rind together
2. Add the eggs and milk and beat together until the batter is smooth
3. Add the blueberries to the batter and distribute evenly thought the batter, if they are mixed in too well the the pancakes will turn out a blue colour rather than a buttery colour with distinctive blueberries.
4. Heat a crepe or non stick frying pan and grease with a few sprays of a low calorie spray. Pour in a ladles worth of batter and tilt the pan in a circular motion until the bottom of the pan is covered. Once the surface of the crepe pits flip over the crepe and cook the other side.
5. Once cooked stack the pancakes layering with lemon juice to soak in and serve.

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The basics: skincare

When I reached my tween years Santa Claus became more inventive in his stocking choices, he moved away from oranges, brightly coloured stationary, totes socks and marzipan mice and skin are products started creeping in amongst the chocolate coins. At first he brought Simple moisturiser, cotton pads, body shop body lotion and white musk perfume. 

Ever since I first slathered on scented body lotion I have been fascinated with skincare. Well if I'm honest this probably predates my stocking stockpile, my mother will happily tell her friends about the time I poured oil of Olay all over a boy called Sam when I was about 3, apparently he has amazing soft hair for weeks afterwards. 

Over the years I have played with different formulas and combinations of products and whilst I will still mix things up every once in a while I have created a three collection of products; daily basics, the facial kit/ added extras and the travel kit. 

The daily basics should cater for your general skin type. This is usually categorised as dry, normal, combination and oily. You may also have another skin concern such as fine line, puffy eyes, dullness, age spots etc, however in my experience if you get your basics to address the moisture levels in you skin you can use additional products to address specific concerns as well. 

There are various ways of checking what your skin type but if you take a tissue and wipe it on your nose, if a greasy mark is left you are likely to have oily skin or skin with an oily t zone. If you often get a dull tone or flaky skin you are more likely to fit into the dry category. Personally my skin falls in the dry category but I find that heavy creams cause me to break out so I look for hydrating rather than emollient products.  

Essentially you want to think about removing dirt from your skin (cleansing),removing the traces of your cleanser (toning) adding moisture (moisturiser) and shielding harmful damage (SPF).  When thinking about the level of sun protection you need it is advisable to consider how prone your skin is to sun damage. I have very pale blue toned skin with freckles so I try and wear a high level of SPF even in the grim north where I live an actively avoid tanning in summer. The majority of advice I have seen suggests as a minimum you should wear factor 15. 

Personally I like a wash off cleanser which you can use either with a hot cloth or a facial cleansing brush and I switch between either the Sanctuary Spa polishing hot cloth cleanser or No7 Beautiful Skin Melting gel Cleanser . I have in the past tried cleansers which you remove with cotton wool and I use La Roche-posey toleraine dermo-cleanser when my skin is feeling sensitive and needs to be removed gently. 

The verdict seems to be out as to whether toners are necessary but my rule is if your skin feels tight after cleansing you probably should. Again there are many different toners you can use and I generally find that if I use a wash off cleanser I do not need a toner but for those days when I do I prefer to use a thermal water spray such as La Roche-Posay Thermal Water Spray. 

The cleansing a toning part of my daily skin care routine remains the same regardless of whether it is day or night but I differ according to the time of day when dealing with moisturiser. During the day I favour l'occtaine's angelica range. I cannot rave enough about how hydrating this range is without being heavy or cloying which is often a problem with products designed for dehydrated skin. Personally I used either Angelica Hydration Cream or the Angelica UV shield SPF 40. It does smell quite herby when you first apply it but that quickly disappears. 

As for eye cream, I do not separate this from the normal moisturising its just a bit more specific for more delicate skin. Currently I am using Temple spa windows of the soul which seems to tighten everything up. 

At night I use facial oil for an extra boost of moisture when you can look oily. The best value facial oil have discovered is Botanics 100% organic facial oil with rosehip oil which is only £9.99 but as a boots own brand product is often on offer. Sanctuary spa also do an amazing facial oil but is to mind beat in price by Botanics. I find oil is too greasy to wear during the day but if you smear it lightly across your cheekbones it gives you a dewy complexion all day. 

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