Wednesday 18 September 2013

The Seasons Are Changing And So Should Your Skincare!

I love summer! I love the sunshine, the trips to the beach, barbecues, exciting outdoor festivals and lets not even talk about the exhibition parks. I turn into a 12 year old girl almost instantly.

Despite the fact that summers obviously have all kinds of attractive qualities, my notorious fickle nature starts pining for the different kind of warmth only autumn can bring and daydreaming about chestnuts and rich jewel-toned colors develops pretty quickly after that.
Lets face it, the hot muggy weather and constant "perspiration", loses its very charm quickly when it comes to a girly girl like me. By the time September rolls around I am more than ready for a change!

With the season rotation the beauty connoisseur in me gets pretty excited about making the switch to a more fall-appropriate makeup color palette, treating the whole transition process like some kind of a "lifestyle makeover" and relishing each new discovery to its fullest.
As my beauty experience evolved I began to recognize that my skincare concerns were also affected by the upcoming temperature and environmental changes which naturally progressed to a shift in those routines as well. You would be surprised just how big of a difference a few formulation changes can make when it comes to skin happiness and more importantly, the ever elusive comfort factor. 

The warmer summer temperatures called for refreshingly light and usually gel-like textures, all of which will prove to be insufficient once the cold weather comes around. Those of you with drier skin will agree with me right away but I am sure that everyone would benefit from a little richer and creamier formulas once the cold starts setting in. The go-to summer products start under-performing but luckily I already have amazing back-ups to supplement my beauty regiment well before the Canadian weather starts playing around.

Today you guys get to witness yet another glimpse in to my beauty saturated world. It can get pretty ridiculous but try to bear with me - I promise there is definitively a method to my madness! 

Cleansing Procedures 

When choosing a cleanser for the fall or winter season the thing I always look for is that wondrous combination of "creaminess" and the "gentle factor". The summer may have vied for the "cooling effect" but in the cooler weather my bigger concern and end result is always all about efficiency without any kind of stripping or over-drying. In fact all of my "wintery" picks focus on adding things in to the skin as opposed to taking things out, which is something that can be a little tricky when it comes to the cleansing step. Essentially the cleanser needs to be able to effectively but gently clean my skin and enrich & hydrate all at once. Needless to say my love affair with cleansing balms becomes even more evident around this time because their balmy formulas when it comes to the concept of cleansing hydration.
My favorite transitional cleansers are: Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser ($70.00 for 6.8 oz), Suki Creamy Foaming Cleanser ($32.95 for 4 oz) and Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm ($35.00 for 3.8 oz).

Exfoliating my dry and sometimes flaky complexion is accomplished by an even more regular use of my Clarisonic Mia Cleansing System ($139.00), which coupled with my choice chemical exfoliants keeps everything smooth and in-check without over-drying and further irritation. When my skin needs happens to need a little bit extra scrubbing TLC then I reach for some substantially creamy and function targeted facial scrubs, which do the job quickly and swiftly in a manner of just a few minutes.
The most important thing about these scrubs is that they hydrate my skin without being greasy or clog-worthy!
Some of the best are: Michael Todd True Organics Tropical Fruit Enzyme Exfoliant Scrub ($18.00 for 3.4 oz), Aveda Tourmaline Charged Radiant Skin Refiner ($40.00 for 3.5 oz) and Juara Rice Facial Scrub ($29.00 for 4.75 oz).

The Toning and Treatment Step

The debate whether or not a skincare routine really needs a toner completely ended for me when I discovered the genius nature of chemical exfoliants and I really haven't looked back. Swiping a saturated cotton pad over your face takes mere seconds and the difference that short amount of time has had on my skin texture and appearance is more than amazing. For me that has solidified the toning step and I really can't imagine me ever cutting it out. The only thing that is important is choosing a formula that is gentle and low in alcohol content in order to minimize any over-stripping and drying, which is especially important during the winter months when vast amounts of time is spent in artificially heated environments.
My firm favorites still include Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner ($34.00 for 120 ml), Biologique Recherche P50 ($89.00 for 8.5 oz) and the new Korres Pomegranate Toner ($26.00 for 6.75 oz).

No skincare routine is complete without a treatment serum, which is basically souped up, targeted health supplement for your skin. The beauty of serums lies in the fact that depending on the formulation you choose you can treat any specific concern or problem your very own skin requires - nothing beats personalization when it comes to beauty routines and including one of these in yours is a sure-fire way to whatever your little heart desires.
Since I am a proud Canadian, our wonderfully cold winters and my own dry skin require highly hydrating, soothing and protective potions to help me acclimatize to the ridiculously fluctuating temperatures.
Serums that get the most play in my bathroom are: Aesop Damascan Rose Facial Treatment ($80.00 for .81 oz), Murad Sensitive Skin Soothing Serum ($63.00 for 1 oz) and my trusty Clarins Bi-Phase HydraQuench Intensive Serum ($58.00 for 1 oz).

More and More Hydration

Keeping up with the hydration theme I am sure you can predict that my moisturization is going to be even more important during this transition phase and as the winter months get closer it will gradually intensify even more. My skin is definitively on the drier end of the spectrum but its also easily irritated and prone to clogging, which makes choosing a richer moisturizer a little trickier than usual. The formula needs to be deeply hydrating, soothing and rejuvenating but can't be filled with traditionally clog-prone ingredients such as mineral oil and the various "butter" variants.
The all stars in my skincare arsenal include: Tatcha Moisture Rich Silk Cream ($150.00 for 1.7 oz) and my new favorite MuLondon Organic White Chocolate Truffle Moisturizer ($24.00 for 2 oz). The MuLondon Skincare is probably one of the greatest discoveries of the summer for me so expect in-depth reviews very soon.

Another way I hydrate and pamper my skin pretty much year round is by including regular facial mask sessions each week and making sure to choose hydrating, luxurious formulas for maximum effect and best results. My favorite time to use them is right after a shower or hot bath on clean, warm and damp skin, leaving them to do their magic as I busy myself with body lotions, creams and rich moisturizing oils. Nothing beats beauty multi-tasking!
My new discoveries include: Rodial Dragons Blood Hyaluronic Mask ($45.00 for 50 ml), KORA Organics Hydrating Mask ($49.95 for 100 ml) and my new-found obsession Tarte Amazonian Clay Double Detox Facial System ($46.00 for the set!).

Just glancing at my blog and the over abundance of blog posts such as this one clearly illustrates the fact that I take my skincare very seriously so much as that I continuously invent reasons to talk about my over-planned regiments. With that in mind, its obvious that a lot of the products I introduce are not necessarily must-haves in a regular persons skincare routine however I can't deny the fact that all of these really do make a difference in the way my own skin looks and feels.
I firmly believe that investing in good skincare products, expensive or not, is important to every beauty queen out there - after all those beautiful fall makeup color palettes will never get to shine with their full potential is your complexion is lacking that healthy, radiant glow!

Do you change your skincare products with each season? Any favorites I need to know about?

Thank you for the reading :)

XOXO

ANJA

P.S. If you enjoyed this post and want some more Princeza Beauty Musings, please consider following me through GFC, Bloglovin, Pinterest or Twitter! Insert "happy dance" here :-)


2 comments:

  1. Hello,

    As a fellow Canadian myself, I often have difficulty finding products. Where did you buy the p50 toner from? I went to shoprescuespa.com but there wasn't a place to put "canada" in when I wanted to check out. I emailed the store and they said they didn't ship to Canada. Any thoughts?

    Thanks :)

    ReplyDelete