Well dear Reader, the one thing that is certain in life we are all getting older with each day that passes! I am a great planner and apply logic to most situations to find a solution to circumstances whenever possible. So if skin is aging daily – it makes perfect sense to look after it – daily!
Welcome to this post which is the fourth one in my Series Tales from the Dressing Table. The title for this post came to me in a light bulb moment as I pondered on why skin care matters so much to me. The routine I follow is interwoven into my days and provides a major part of the framework that shapes every day. I do not fear the march of time because I take care of myself and try to make the most of what I have at each stage of life. It is my belief that women become more fascinating as they age.
May I ask do you have a skin care routine? If you do, it would be lovely to chat in the comments. If this is something you have yet to work out, please feel free to get in touch any time and I would love to help in any way – I urge you to start, now.
I should say I work to a budget with my skin care and believe that the discipline of following the routine that you settle on is as important as the products you like to use.
If I want to find out about something I will search the internet but also I will get a book, read it and take from it the useful bits and apply them. I have done this with reading beauty books and am always learning and finding out different information about skin care specifically.
This book published in 1994, has been my “skin care go to” ever since finding it in a charity shop about 15 years ago. There are recipes for home made skin creams and wonderful advice about looking after your skin and how to keep it smooth. I am continuously dipping into it and using the helpful tips. I started mixing my own variations on my skin creams and hand creams by mixing them 50% skin cream and 50% Vaseline because of this book.
Mixing a night cream this way gives a heavier cream for the top lip and dry skin patches or all over for extra moisturising in the nights before a special event.
This book published in 2008 was a Christmas present to myself that year. Twiggy is world famous and looks wonderful as she is getting older. It is a good read and for me the advice I heeded most was about the need to moisturise more as skin gets older.
Again a book that is not new – it was published in 2002 – but a great read and Chapter One especially is informative and full of great tips. Kathleen Baird-Murray is a beauty editor so she really knows what she is writing about!
Please check my Books page for some of my favourite beauty books that have shaped the regime I use currently.
The thing that prompted this post was actually the photographs in the post on vintage hair. I noticed that my skin looked better now than in some of the earlier photographs which did not really surprise me. Latterly I have tweaked my skin care routine and the changes have brought better overall moisturising and texture to the skin on my face, neck and décolleté.
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Changes to my skin care routine are often prompted by a special occasion that I want to look my best for. The most profound change came because of my granddaughters wedding in 2013. This is when I started to use Almond Oil as a morning cleanser. I also introduced a heavier night cream for my top lip and the skin around my mouth.
So what is my skin care routine?
Here it is –
Morning
Cleanse
I use almond oil generously all over my face neck and décolleté. Creating a good “slip” I massage my face daily for a few minutes. I then rinse it off with a clean face flannel 3 times so that the skin feels clean and soft and free of oil and night cream. I put my hair in a shower cap so it is held back but not squashed and keep the shower cap on until my makeup is complete.
I have been doing this daily since 2013 and believe it is one of the reasons why my skin looks more smooth and moisturised now. In my early 50’s I did not do this – I would use a foaming face wash in the morning.
Moisturise
- Eye cream – I use L’Oreal Age Perfect
- Serum – I like Boots No. 7 Lift and Illuminate triple action serum
- Day skin cream L’Oreal Age perfect Day with SPF 15
- Primer – to prepare for makeup -L’Oreal Lumi Magique
Evening
- Remove eye makeup – Simple Eye make up Remover
- Remove make up with homemade skin lotion cleanser
- Refresh skin with 50% witch hazel and 50% cooled boiled water
- Apply Eye cream
- Apply Night cream
- Apply heavier cream to top lip
- Apply hand cream 50% Atrixo and 50% Vaseline
My homemade skin Cleanser is very easy to make 500ml:
- mix equal parts pink and white baby lotion to get a soft pink mixture
- add rosewater and glycerine to thin the mixture so it will work in a pump bottle
- Add extra glycerine 1 – 2 tbs (or more as desired) to increase the moisturising effect.
By experimenting with the amount of glycerine added it is possible to get a mixture that removes make up when applied on a cotton wool pad and leaves the skin feeling soft. I have used the witch hazel mixture for years. It is not expensive to make.
I am working hard to keep the vertical lines around the mouth at bay. These can be reduced with heavier moisturiser used at night. For this I blend 50% night cream with 50% Vaseline and apply it to my top lip. I have been doing this since turning 50 years old. I have used eye cream in the morning all through my 20’s, 30’s and 40’s and 50’s. In this 60th decade I am using it at night too and seeing a difference in the way my make up goes on in the morning.
For skin problems I turn to Bepanthen which is a nappy cream!
After reading in Harper’s Bazaar that Helena Christensen had been advised by a dermatologist to apply it to dry skin on her face I decided to give it a try. It works for me dear Reader and seems to sort out small spots and red patches overnight very well!
I have followed the basic cleanse, tone and moisturise skin care routine since I was a teenager. during my 30’s I chose lighter moisturisers and after 40 years old used heavier ones. Using products for mature skin ahead of time have helped my skin to stay smoother. It is important to try out creams and assess the results. Drinking water daily has helped me – I aim for 2 -3 litres a day.
I will end this post with a quote from Kathleen Baird-Murray:
“AND FINALLY: HOW TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL SKIN
Drink lots of water. Get lots of sleep. Try to be happy. Cleanse. Moisturise. And try not to worry too much about getting old. It happens to us all.”
Thank you for joining me on Gloriously Vintage! A big thank you to Glenn for taking the photographs.
Gloriously Vintage 