Please help me sort my face

[Whereisthesunshine]

Hi all

Am going through a tough time personally but there is light at the end of the tunnel. All the crying, sleepless nights etc. are starting to show in my face, frown lines are starting to appear, dark circles under my eyes etc. I'm 35.

I've never had much of a skin care routine. Water and Nivea. Skin is ok except for the occasional hormonal spot on my chin. Some redness and shine on my nose. I hardly wear any makeup - some bourgeoise foundation to even out, mascara and sometimes benefit hoola lipgloss.

I'm clueless. I would like to look healthier and fresher, and would like a proper routine. I'm sorting my diet and have started to drink more water.

What can I do?

Bourjois. Damn you autocorrect.

I was like this a few months ago, just water then a bit of moisturiser and had decent skin so didn't take much notice. I had recently added in face wash and a better moisturiser but didn't know where to go from there. Then there was a thread like this a few weeks ago and someone recommended the Caroline Hirons routine Cheat Sheet :

www.carolinehirons.com/2013/06/routines-cheat-sheet.html

It's totally transformed my thinking about skin and given me a great routine - it felt like a lot and daunting at first, but I've got it down to 5 minutes twice a day now so it fits in great and my skin has never looked so good (I'm 33). I had to buy a few things as I had basically nothing but I didn't buy any one thing that was silly money. A lot of the products on the CH site are expensive but I just took the knowledge and googled around looking at reviews to find reasonable products. It took a couple of days research and now I know a lot more so am confident with looking for new things and learning what products target specific problems (dark eyes and frown lines are mine).

Sorry to hear you're going through a tough time OP I'd never have thought this but the 'self-care' aspect of looking after my skin and pampering myself for once has really been a nice experience, so it might be a boost to treat yourself.

Thank you merricats. A lot if information there. What kind of products are you using?

I got a good cleanser (Liz Earle Hot Cloth) and take it off with a warm washcloth (this is soooo nice, makes me feel really clean) and I have an acid toner for after that. The main one I wasn't doing which is apparently important is serum - there are tons of these and some are really expensive. I found one by The Ordinary, who are doing all the scientific skincare but without the high prices. Took a little reading on which does what but their website is informative. I got 'Buffet' from them which is an all-rounder serum and about 13 quid, it's working well so far.

I already had a decent moisturiser, but I'm trying a new one as well at different times of day. I also had an eye cream gel thing because I had a really dry eye area a couple of months back, it cleared them right up and now I wouldn't be without that. But I've got some other serums coming from The Ordinary to see if I can't wake my eyes up a bit! They are only about a fiver each so I'm happy to experiment a bit at that price.

I also have a wake-up skin spray and use night cream sometimes, but those are just treats for me and I wouldn't say they were necessary for the routine, the spray just feels and smells lovely and the night cream is not much more use than my thick normal moisturiser.

Get down to superdrug, but the naturally radiant hot cloth cleanser (just as good as liz earle) followed by glycolic acid pads and then a serum or moisturiser cottoning hylaraunic acid. rose oil is good for wrinkles too but probably best kept to an evening so it can soak in overnight.
Touche eclait or garnier under eye concelaer under your eyes, garnier bb cream with blur is really brightening for the face too!

My skin looks at its best when I regularly use Liz Earle hot cloth cleanse and polish, with the toner and a good moisturiser (Liz Earle superskin suits my skin and completely sorted my dry patches).

At night, I love the superskin night time concentrate, which smells amazing and helps me sleep better. It's pricey but you can try a small rollerball version to see if it suits you before buying a bigger pump dispenser version.

In the day, I can actually achieve a bit of a glow with a good eyebrow pencil for the slightly sparse areas, and Bobbi brown serum foundation. It gives me a sheer and dewy look while toning down redness, which is my main issue. Bobbi brown under eye brightener dabbed on gently sorts out any dark circles without looking opaque.

Hope you find some products that help, and that the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter!