Looking for the hive mind of mumsnet to help me sort out my awful, aging, dull, saggy skin. I know I'm likely to get lots of individual product recommendations but hoping that one or two will start to shine through - much like I hope my skin will do - or at the very least, I can get a better idea of the type of products I need and then hone the specifics from there.
I am 38 and all the other women I know if this age seem to have clear, bright, healthy looking skin. Mine is old, saggy and dull looking. Most of the time, I can hide this well with make-up but for some reason, make-up does not tend to stay on me very well during the working week - I wonder if I subconsciously rub my face a lot with stress when I am working and end up rubbing it off. In any case, I don’t have time to keep reapplying during the day and at the end of the day, I look a fright. I'd also like to have the confidence to go make-up free or make-up light at times but this is where I need the radiant skin of my peers. I know I'm in a vicious circle of self-defeat by constantly covering up with make-up but a did, for a while, last year, conduct an experiment, wearing only bb cream and a very light mascara for almost three months. I was constantly told I didn’t look well and then the last straw came when I saw a photo of myself, so it was back to full coverage.
My current skincare regime is quite basic so I'm thinking there has to be some miracle product(s) out there which can help. I have had cleanse, tone and moisturise drummed into me since I was a teenager and currently wash with a dove bar, then use simple toner and light hydrating moisturiser. Until recently I only used all three in the morning and washed with dove only at night but for the last couple of months, I've started the full routine before bed. I also exfoliate twice a week with a homemade mixture of coconut oil and rock salt. When I was 16, I was given a gift set of the Clinique 3-step system which I loved as it was so grown-up and posh! I used that religiously until age 28. My skin had always been very red, sensitive and dry and I eventually started wondering if the Clinique products were too harsh. I had a facial where the therapist confirmed this and recommended using simple products. It took about a year but my skin became noticeably better, for at least a while. Then, I just seemed to wake up about a year ago with old saggy skin from out of the blue. I know it is vain and a first world problem but it is really getting me down now. I hate the way I look.
So I'm ready to give up on simple and go for something which will work harder for my skin but I've spend quite a bit of time going from shop to shop, beauty counter to beauty counter and there is so much out there, I don’t know where to start and am a bit too intimidated to speak to the assistants. Firstly, it seems I need to know my skin type. That sounds easy but I don’t have a clue. I've always thought of my skin as dry but I don’t think it necessarily is anymore. I do have rosacea and my skin does tend to break out - especially along my cheekbones with certain products. I feel I look very shiny, especially around the chin and t-zone area but I've tried the blot test with no result so maybe not all that oily? I do get large cyst-like spots around my chin and jaw-line on a regular basis. I eat loads of fruit and veg and oily fish and have never smoked. I probably don’t drink as much water as I should but am making a conscious effort to change this. I am a bit overweight, which doesn’t help but am also working on this - also, I see lots of overweight people with lovely healthy looking skin so perhaps not really linked? Somehow my skin manages so look both red and dull at the same time, which seems like a bit of a feat.
I don’t have a lot of money to spend on skincare products although can increase from the simple range. I'm probably looking at the no.7 price range, although not necessarily their products. I had an origins eye cream sample a while back which I loved (didn’t realise there was a problem around my eyes, until I started using it, and then stopped) but their stuff is a bit expensive and the range is completely overwhelming. Maybe one item from their with complementary products elsewhere? I expect I need some kind of cleanser or micellar water? A new toner and moisturiser? One thing I've found, looking around, is that there are not a lot of toners out there - is this really needed? Am I stuck in the 90s? Possibly some kind of serum (I see some places have redness reducing products) and a night cream?
Please help me uncover younger, more radiant, tighter skin with a more even tone/less redness and hopefully few breakouts. Is this impossible?