amazing faces-join our quiche and watch the years roll back!

[bigbuttons]

sorry for rubbish title, it's been a very long day!

I do have to say that my skin started to look a LOT better once I started giving it proper attention - even before the Retin A and I was just using Olay Regenerist stuff (the night serum has glycolic acid) and cleansing with the No 7 brush, my skin looked a LOT better.

I'm 35 with oily skin, on a quest for beautiful smooth and dewy skin.. No wrinkles apart from 1! NL fold which I would be glad to get rid of!

My routine:

AM
Cleanser: Emma Hardie moringa or Elemis pro-radiance
Acid tone: nip fab glycolic fix pads, fab radiance pads or pixiglow toner
Eye cream: bare minerals firming or Aldi Lacura eye cream
Serum: Aldi Lacura or balance youth serum
Cream: revival moisturising renewal or elemis marine cream or Aldi lacura

PM:
Garnier Micellar water
Elemis or Emma hardie hot cloth cleanser
Acid tone as above
Eye cream: Avon anew eye lift
Serum: skin doctor vitamin C or Clinique turnaround
Cream: Aldi or elemis marine or Emma hardie age support

Suncream: currently la Roche posay going to try ultrasun 50

I'm happy with my creams and cleansers but once current ones have run out will look for new eye serum, and face serum. Also will try peels again

I like CH's blog but I've tended to follow Paula Beguin as I've read her books for decades and generally trust her judgement. However, her reviews are primarily on American products so sometimes I struggle to get a clear idea of what a particular product in the UK is really like. I think both ladies are very sincere and knowledgable even if they sometimes have different opinions. And with both of them, you can stop falling for sales pitches and buying jars of useless, overpriced crap.

I am 40. I am a former smoker. I have never really had a proper skincare routine prior to this. I have never had acne. I have massive pores. My mum and my grandma both blessed with youthful skin so I am hopeful.

Cleanser: Clinique take the day off balm (Caroline Hirons recommended. 4 stars on beautypedia)
Acid Toner: Clinique mild clarifying lotion (Caroline Hirons recommended. 0.5% salicylic acid)
Non acid toner: Liz Earle
Serum: Olay regenerist regenerating serum (3% niacinamide. Peptides. 4 stars on beautypedia.
Moisturiser: Liz Earle basic one, day. Simple vitamin E one, night. Being replaced in two weeks with Cerave PM moisturiser (recommended by hot and flashy) and Clinique super rescue moisturiser (4 stars on beautypedia).
Treatments: tretinoin 0.025 every other night with simple moisturiser over top. Glycolic 30% peel every few weeks (bravura).
Sunblock: Clinique city block SPF 40.

No vitamin c added yet.

DD is 14 and has acne.

Cleanser: Clinique take the day off balm.
Toner: Clinique mild clarifying lotion (to be replaced with a bravura one when the order appears)
Moisturiser: Liz Earle light.
Sunblock: clinique city block 40 spf.
Treatments: Benzoyl peroxide 2.5

Have ordered 4 different bravura acids. Not sure how I am going to add them in.

BigButtons I love the Emma Harsie stuff, it smells lovely, is gentle but shifts make up and lasts ages as you don't need much. I confess mine came free with a magazine subscription, for some reason I got sent two so gave one to my 15 year old who convinced me to use the other one. I've to,d her if she keeps it up she won't look like me when she's 45.

Could someone please tell me which 30% Glycolic Acid whatever to buy?

I have heard many good things about the Neil's yard frankincense oil. I bought the super frankincense cream once, the expensive version. I could see no difference whatsoever. I wonder what is in the frankincense oil that makes it so good? Off to google...

I'm going to join in too as I loved the other thread. I have never ever cared about my skin before and now I am utterly obsessed. I might even post some pics as I have no idea what my skin problems are, just know that it doesn't look that great. I've spent my life thinking I had great skin but since having kids its not been so good, and since I started reading these threads I have looked closer than ever before and its not good!

Am 33, I have nasty visible pores, combination skin but not very spotty, just hormonal pimples on my chin occasionally. I'm fair but with middle eastern heritage so I don't burn easily, I don't really tan a huge amount either - so I've always been slap dash with SPF. I have a few pigmentation spots on my forehead and around my mouth, and frown lines which I hate. I think my skin is dehydrated as its pretty dull. And I have redness around my nose in the creases. And I'm pretty clueless! So last week I spent loads - here is my new routine:

AM- cleanse with REN rose cleansing gel
REN clarimatte toner
No7 protect and perfect serum
Botanics vit A,C,E eye cream
REN vita mineral day cream
Clinique city block
makeup

PM- hot cloth cleanse with Eve Lom followed by REN as above
Nip and Fab glycolic pad
LRP Redermic R
Botanics eye cream
REN frankinscense night cream

I also have the REN AHA concentrate which I'm going to use a few times a week instead of the pads and redermic.

So in a week my skin feels smoother but thats about it. I had hoped for instant results! What am I missing and what could I do better. Maybe Vit C serum? Salycilic acid?

What is this CH of which you speak? I'm curious.

Fabulassie, the 30% Glycolic I have is Bravura and is a peel.

Unlike some glycolic acids, it is not partially neutralised, so you have to time how many minutes you put it on for and then take it off with a neutraliser (basically bicarbonate of soda).

bravura now only sell it to professionals, but apparently you can still buy it from ebay. It is supposed to be used once a week, but I am doing less than that while getting used to the retin a.

I read that many people find it hard to combine strong glycolics and retin a in one routine, and the retin a is more important to use. Opinion on here seems to be that retinol and glycolics are fine to combine, so the issue is strong glycolics and retin a.

Strong glycolic acid and retin a combining advice here:

www.drbaileyskincare.com/blog/how-do-you-combine-tretinoin-retin-a-and-glycolic-acid-products-for-anti-aging-skin-care/

Really enjoying these threads :)
I'm 37 combination/ dehydrated skin prone to breakouts, have/had bad pigmentation.
I'm a real skin care junkie and change about a fair bit but always do a morning & evening routine.
Currently:
Am - philosophy great mystery, liz Earle cleanse & polish, elemis pro radiance
Tone - Liz Earle instant boost
Ultrasun SPF 30
Serum -Bravura Hylauronic serum, aldi q10, Superdrug pure hydrating serum (bought the other day and loving so far!)
Day cream - needs to be fairly moisturising can't bear oil free products as they give me breakouts at the moment either Liz Earle or superdrug vit e.

PM
Always double cleanse and hands down the best skincare 'thing' I've ever done & made the biggest difference.
Cleanse 1 - elemis balm, sweet almond oil, cleanse & polish, philosophy purity
Cleanse 2 - cleanse & polish (or superdrug version) purity made simple
Acid tone: only on non liquid gold nights - pixi glow tonic, bravura ginseng, bravura calendula
Tone: liz Earle
Oil: AD Skin Synergy
Moisturiser: superdrug vit e, elemis pro collagen night cream, aldi q10

On liquid gold nights I don't acid tone or use anything afterwards. I've used liquid gold a long time & have found its best twice a week for me. It's not just the glycolic it's the other ingredients & the ph level so you can't compare on a strength basis really.
Sorry that's so long!

Oh and a couple of questions if anyone can help?
I've not yet found a vit c serum that doesn't cause me to breakout - any recs?
Lastly Cetaphil, it has a huge following and good reviews but it seems to be everything I always thought I should avoid - alcohol, foaming agent & parabens and not really much else, why is it so highly recommended/thought of??
Thanks

For me I always have ask a nice member of boots staff for Cetaphil, I swear they move it it coaxe me in, today bought some and indeed Hydrolation sheet masks, because they were in a funky pink box and looked cool, I need st start buying on line - so much more restrained!!! Will report on the sheet maskes after reading the reviews I have big hope, now looking at everything my night time is way more than morning - must rectify!!

I also wondered that about Cetaphil, Shop. It seems contrary to CH's advice.

The Cetaphil cleanser doesn't foam. It's like a lotion, almost. It can just be tissued off with no water, if you like (although most people rinse it off.)

Maybe Cetaphil have another cleanser that does foam - but the stuff I've always known (Paula Beguin recommended it way back in the 90's) was what I got at Boots today. It's like a lotion. (Not to be confused with the Cetaphil lotion that sits next to it and looks very much like it.)

I had an actual face to face consultation with CH about 18 months ago - she told me not to use my Cetaphil (I'm 50) and to give it to my teenage DD. Also not to bother with the liquid gold. I must admit, I do sometimes use LG on the odd spot that I feel coming, and it stops them developing.

Just looked up the cetaphil on their own website and ingredients do list SLS, alcohol, parabens etc - in all their facial cleansers? Which is the recommended one, the daily or the gentle?

www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia-skin-care-reviews/by-brand/cetaphil/_/Gentle-Skin-Cleanser

I was looking at this. It has SLS in it (the foam creating stuff). Are people on here using a different, SLS free cetaphil?

I am also totally confused about the inclusion of alcohol in lots of stuff, as some of it under some names is okay, but not others. Which alcohol names on ingredients lists are we supposed to avoid?

That's the one I've been looking at Almond, reading that link confirms what I was thinking. There must be another one people are using that is SLS free.

Euphemia well done on quitting smoking
Nigella tell all, how did you arrange a consultation? Did you find it useful? What new products did you try after etc etc

I live overseas so anxiously awaiting my orders to come so I can join in. In the meantime just washing my face with a hot flannel has made a difference - turns out Granny was on to something ...

I would like a cleanser suitable for DD's teen skin, because I'm struggling to find one that is not mostly for drier skins or has SLS in it.