Ditch The Foundation, Embrace Some Fantastic Skincare Instead!

[botemp]

Thread 1

Thread 2

Thread 3

Thread 4

For those who are taking a peek and wondering whether thread 1,2, 3, and 4 are worth reading, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients for our particular needs. Distinguishing the acid toners from the actives whilst avoiding the truly unimpressive and harmful ingredients with a hope to achieve a bit of anti-ageing, alleviate irritation and sensitivities with some idle chat in between. Deviations on this thread are mostly my fault.

If you're in need of some advice coming to grips with your skincare routine please don't hesitate to ask, we don't bite, only occasionally sting with a bit of Biologique Recherche P50 now and then . Just make sure to state clearly what your concerns and needs are in as much detail as possible, skincare is highly individual and a random recommendation for a 'good' product will be completely different from one person to the next.

Make sure you've read the earlier threads (or at the very least the first one) so we're not being asked to answer to previously raised questions. It takes a lot of time and effort to answer these queries and often the answers can be found in previous threads, but if you still have questions relating specifically to you, use the following form to make life easier on us. We generally answer one or to two people a day on a first come first served basis. Not everyone will have answers and sometimes we can't answer you at all. We're only a bunch of amateurs that can respond by suggesting what we would do in your place, for any severe conditions please seek out professional help.

Skin type:

Approx age (range):

Primary skin concern:

Routine :

AM :

PM :

Makeup : eg. no/light coverage/medium coverage/heavy coverage

Occasional treatments:

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results:

Things that are really working well for me now:

Any dietary/health concerns/pregnant:

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: eg. >£10, £10-20, £20-50, £50-100, no limits.

I specifically [want help with/am looking for a product to/am curious about trying]:

---

Ahem, and finally a little note on spending. I'm well aware these threads cause many to reach for their wallets and spend with wild abandon. There can sometimes be a bit of a frenzy surrounding the excitement around a newly discovered product or on the back of great improvements when someone reports back. This is all great, it doesn't however, mean everything that's a sudden miracle for one will be it for you. Usually, it's a light bulb moment for connecting the right skincare ingredient with an individual experiencing a specific problem. Take your time to mull over decisions and question whether it's right for you too. Skincare is highly individual, it's a slow game that should cost mostly in patience, input, education, and perseverance. Please don't make it cost you financially needlessly either.

Ok Wednesday it is! We can moan to each other (yep, first world problems... well, even the first world has a few HUGE problems now).
I also have bald patches on shins from epilating, but still.
Will also up the dry brushing, as I've been a bit lazy with that, though I don't have any KP this winter for some reason.

Philips totally needs to get on board with our 'social' campaign and match Lumea users up with a buddy so that they'll actually use it just PM me for my bank account details, Philips, this brief bit of consulting doesn't come cheap or for free

I'll play Aurora: is the first one more expensive? I wondered if the organic ingredients might push the price up. They look similar, although the second has more extra bits in which might be soothing (silica?) and the first looks a bit tingly with all that peppermint and rosemary...

Tsmummy good attempt! Any more guesses?? Watch this space - the truth will be revealed this evening!

--And they could include razors and a white eyeline, bo

Remembered I also have a couple of nude and beige eyeliners I never use. Have to check if they are visible on legs as they're bloody useless on eyes

Hi

bit of a lurker...coming out the shadows for some advice!

So last January my new years resolution was to sort my skincare routine and overhaul my diet a bit to help (rather than just another diet)!

I'm now barely any dairy and much less sugar and crap in general and I feel this has helped my skin enormously. I've made a conscious effort to eat much more healthy oils and fats and reduce my high gi carb intake a bit.

Skin type: (eczema as a child) now pretty normal and prone to deydration

Approx age (range): 35

Primary skin concern: anti aging . I get large under-the-skin spots around my chin which I'm pretty certain are hormonal but can pop up if my diet has been a bit off, especially too much dairy. These leave a large red mark which seem to take months to go away

Routine : much better than it used to be!

AM :
cleanse with Ren ever calm cleansing milk removed with facecloth
acid toner ( I vary between bravura purifying calendula toner, and Aveda kinetics exfoliant )
spritz with melvita damask rose floral water or LRP serozinc
then hylamide subQ or EL ANR
maybe some HA if I'm particularly dehydrated feeling (bravura)
moisturise with Kiehls panthenol protein (a pretty basic moisturiser but i really like it...now discontinued an UK so beg friends/family to bring me loads home their holidays!)

PM :
remove makeup with LRP micellar water or Clinique ttdo balm if heavier makeup
cleanse with Ren ever calm cleansing milk removed with facecloth
acid toner ( I vary between bravura purifying calendula toner, and Aveda kinetics exfoliant )
spritz with melvita damask rose floral water or LRP serozinc

then either retinol ..i use PC 1% or LRP redermic R about 2 -3 nights a week
or..bravura 15% glycolic acid treatment gel about 2 nights a week
or.. hylamide subQ or EL ANR

moisturise with Kiehls panthenol protein (a pretty basic moisturiser but i really like it...now discontinued an UK so beg friends/family to bring me loads home their holidays!)

then pat in some clarins blue orchid oil maybe 1-2 nights a week if I'm parched lol

ive never really used an eyecream as they make my lower lids quite puffy I do have allergies so they can be puffy anyway) even with the tiniest amount patted on so i tend just to pat eucerin aquaphor on to damp skin to help with the dehydration lines

Makeup : medium coverage

Occasional treatments: kielhs algae mask about once a fortnight really only needed in winter

my skin seems to love chantecaille vital essence serum if its a bit irritated or particularly dehydrated feeling but i really ration this as it is sooo expensive, i just haven't found anything similar...yet

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results: no disasters but i think ive discovered my skin doesn't like shea butter

I'm a bit clog prone on my chin

Things that are really working well for me now: just a consistant routine

Any dietary/health concerns/pregnant: none

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: eg. >£10, £10-20, £20-50, £50-100, no limits.

as needed...skincare is important to me, but don't like to spend money where i think I'm just paying for the brand name

I specifically [want help with/am looking for a product to/am curious about trying]:

1. i don't routine use a spf in this country , although i religiously use factor 30 on holiday (piz buin allergy) as i feel it seem to clog me a bit daily here and doesn't always sit well under my makeup...so I'm looking for a daily SPF

2. I'm looking for something to help with the red marks after the massive spots! wasn't sure about vit c vs nia and tbh wasn't very sure how to incorporate them into my routine

3. in general I'm never very sure how to 'layer' my serums and what can and cant be used together so i tend to alternate nights

4)am intrigued by the corsyx snail slime stuff lol but not really sure what it really does!

phew...sorry and TIA x

Thank you Botemp! I'll read in more detail once I've got my 2 year old into bed

Will reply back properly later but wanted to say AuroraPolaris I'll have a go at the quiz once I am at home and kids are in bed! Had a few thoughts but easier to type and look at it on a PC!

This Wayne Goss video about photoshop filters on YT was enlightening.

Sorry if someone already posted it. My memory is really bad today.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1lovMzixm0

Memory worse than I thought. Of course it was in Bo's Sunday supplement. Sorry bo I watched it yesterday and then today completely forgot where I'd seen it.

Trouble with short term memory issues, you don't know you've forgotten something unless you remember it. 🤔🤦🏻‍♀️

Well thanks for forgetting and posting again enid as I didn't have time to watch yesterday and I forgot about it.
It wasn't really a surprise, as during the last couple of years I noticed the features of even trusted, favorite YT MU gurus getting more and blurred and "angelic", so much so that you actually can't see the features of their nose anymore (and no it can't just be their great studio lights), same as in magazine covers, when the nose almost disappears... but it's good to see it presented in such a clear way

Quiz first AuroraPolaris

I think the second one will be more expensive as there is a lot more in it. I think organic is often a smokescreen and that one has quite a bit of alcohol so could possibly be drying (for oily skin maybe). The second one has a few ingredients I have heard of but a lot I haven't but combined with the acids looks like it should do more, maybe a deep cleanse?

As for my Rosacea the GP was quite dismissive. I asked if I could see a dermatologist and he said the NHS wasn't made of money and was for serious health concerns. He then gave me an antibiotic cream on prescription but told me not to lose it as it was £22 a tube ...

I've not tried LRP Anthelios or the Bioderma Photoderm so will look these up now and probably try both over the next few months (unless I adore the first one I try). What do you think of Benefit Dreamscreen? My sister gave me a bottle to try but I don't know how effective it is.

I've not heard of Raynaud's Skinful.

I was looking at la Roche-Posay Rosalia UV moisturiser - any thoughts on its anti-redness efficiency?

Salty your GP sounds very rude!!! How annoying! Yong should come along and give you all the rosacea info as I think she's had a lot of success with her skin lately.

bo my Lumea arrived! Very fast shipping as I ordered on Saturday. Legs have been brushed, scrubbed and epilated in preparation for our IPL virtual party on Wednesday. Should I gr snacks and drinks?

Made my order from easypharmacie. All RP and kiddy stuff, but slipped in the Casmara hydrating blue mask as they were still out of the gold.

OK - QUIZ REVEAL!

The first mask is the Cattier green clay one, which in spite of the peppermint etc is super gentle, as we all know (and if you want a gentler option you can get the yellow or pink one).

To be "fair" I took both prices off Amazon - so that is around 10£ for 100ml, though here it's cheaper and on easypharmacie it's around 3£.

The second mask is from a newish Spanish brand called Sepai and the price is... 94£ for 50ml

salty I am so sorry (and cross on your behalf) that you had that experience with your GP. When I had my first (and only, so far) flare up of rosacea and seb derm it went on for about 3 months and I ended up feeling quite distraught and down. It was really sore and painful and I was very conscious of it. It started to affect my emotional well being and I stopped socialising (it was xmas). IMO it is a serious health concern and getting it under control is paramount. Can you see a second GP?

I must have missed the bit about Raynaud's. Just went looking for it. I've suspected that I have it for years, but this was definitely confirmed whilst skiing this year. One day I was in severe pain which brought me to tears. Like a thousand needles in my fingers. Wasn't even that cold during the holiday, but on this particular day we had skied over into Italy and it was very windy and exposed. I was in agony and it really took me by surprise.

That GP sounds horrid, Salty! I'm quite scared to ask you all after your average NHS experiences but almost feel obliged to get a basic understanding of it as I do think it's important that those that need it seek professional help. I've come across some rather unpleasant medics enough but more an unpleasant manner or dismissive of concerns, nothing like that.

Benefit Dreamscreen will probably make for an OK sunscreen that works as a primer but for you not really of interest. You have the Biore for the daily which will be more pleasant to wear and I doubt it would hold up through a decent amount of exercise.

I'd go for the photoderm over the anthelios as it's unfragranced. I also think for rosacea it's more interesting to look at a serum to tackle this than a moisturiser (the LRP Toleriane Fluide or Eucerin AntiRedness Soothing Care for normal to combination skin a good one for sensitive rosacea despite not outright advertising as such). I do keep an eye out for the rosacea/hypersensitive sufferers since there are so many of you on here, recently struck upon the Paula's Choice Calm Redness Repairing Serum which looks to be a really good contender for keeping irritation at a minimum with beneficial restorative ingredients and NO colourant! without the usual silicone heavy ingredients PC is known for. It really tackles it on both fronts, most anti-redness/rosacea OTC products tend to only do one or the other. No travel size but you can buy samples and I think you can buy up to like 17 of the same sample (or some random number like that) and I believe it includes the postage.

Azelaic acid is beneficial too but I'd hold off on getting into that if you're able to see a derm or more helpful GP.

No snacks needed, Aurora, never need any after dinner. Do we need Dutch liquid courage for this? It's supposed to be painless, isn't it? Tell me it's painless, please? I need to order with EPP too, blue hydrating Casmara you say

Whomever is waiting on a response to their form and I promised to get to today, I'll get to you tomorrow. The rest will just have to wait their turn and it might be longer than normal as I'm away this weekend.

We eat at 18h cause of kids so by 22h I'm starving, but I eat quite a small dinner usually as I feel full pretty fast.
I don't need Dutch courage, but a nice wine could just dull the boredom
I don't think hope not it hurts, but I'm not too fussed about that. I have a high pain threshold seeing I have some kind of pain almost every single day

Forgot to say I was looking into that Sepai stuff after someone I met told me she has been getting into it and switched from La Prairie to that , plus she gets light therapy once a month. She was very elegant and nicely dressed, but had a lot of spots/ pigmentation and her foundation was totally flaky, so I was curious, because she said she really likes what she is using...
(Not a criticism of anyone with these issues obvs, it just aroused my curiosity as to what she was using).

Let me know if you want more INCI quizzes

I bet Trinny uses that video filter. I take what she says with a pinch of salt but her Instagram vids make me LOL.

My hair feels very soft having been using new shampoo and conditioner for a few days. Feels a bit odd, but I think it's just that I'm not used to it feeling this way. Or perhaps I'm not very intuitive when it comes to skin and hair. I am in awe of ppl who notice small changes.

Marking place to read the earlier threads then become the beautiful babe I was always meant to be!

Ooh a new thread, thanks Bo! Have quickly scanned it but will have a proper read later.

Just a quick thank you to Enid first, for the colourphlex instructions and also the Cicaplast tip a couple of weeks ago. I was ordering some dermocleanser at the time so as it was 1/3 off and cheap I ordered the Cicaplast too to try on my PIH. For someone who's been using Vit C and Nia for months now with no real effect on these marks, I'd like to report that I've experienced the same, almost overnight, improvement. Bloody amazed!

I'd like to add that I've gone back to square one with my routine (dermocleanser, Kiehls serum, Cerave PM, Biore watery essence) and haven't used Vit C or Nia since applying the Cicaplast in

salty forgive me, I'm laid up in bed with yet another virus so can't summon up the energy to trawl, but are you the poster who posted a picture of your nose with some very angry looking red patches, and said you also had some itching which had been diagnosed as psoriasis?
And if you are, have you now received a separate diagnosis of rosacea? Has seborrhoiec dermatitis been mentioned at all, alongside this?
If I've remembered rightly, let me know and I'll happily give you any rosacea info that's been helpful to me...if not, ditto!

salty you need to change GP. How rude. Raynauds is poor circulation to extremities where toes,fingers etc go numb,white,blue and can be very very painful. I also get chilblains on my toes.
Will return later as off to pick up youngest from playgroup

Aurora Bloody hell, £94 for a face mask?!! Fun game though :)

Apparently I have a deciem parcel suspect it may be the 9 million £1 serums I ordered when they were on offer...