Your tan has officially faded, your skin is flakey, and your tresses are frizzy – these are the unfortunate “Fs” that mark the fall season. While this may be your current reality, your natural glow needn’t vanish like your summer fling — yet another “F.” Follow our fall skin care regime, and avoid living out those unfriendly “F” words during the transition into the colder months.
When the November winds start howling, collars may turn up, but our precious faces remain exposed to the damaging chill. To prep skin for the drop in temperature, begin by polishing off the dulling reminders of the change in season (i.e. those flakes that keep coming back to plague your nose and cheeks), and dive into a new routine centred around proactive skin care.
Start with Sephora’s Triple Action Cleansing Water to rinse off makeup. This product’s melon scent makes the quick wash especially pleasant. In our trials, we’ve found that the cleanser removes even the heaviest of moisturizing creams.
Now it’s time to exfoliate. Look to Shiseido for an alternative to your normal scrubs; their Bio-Performance Super Exfoliating Disc (packaged individually) is a cushioned pad with two different textured sides, allowing you to massage away dead skin cells with one side, and then polish them away using the flip smoother side. Be sure to wet the disc, and squeeze gently so the vital liquid inside surfaces.
Once skin is anew, an application of the Rose Face Mask by Fresh will hydrate and tone your face. During the treatment the skin opens and absorbs the benefits of the mask’s soothing rose petals; dry skin is soothed after 5-10 minutes. While the scent may be a little too fragrant for some, it’s worth growing accustomed to in order to reap the benefits of the product. Follow up the mask with Lancôme’s Tonique Radiance to clarify and tone. The mild floral scent is as calming as the formula itself.
After an intense face cleanse such as this, skin will feel taunt without finishing off the routine with a well-balanced moisturizer. We like the following options 1.) Sephora’s Ultimate Moisture Serum with Skin Booster, this serum in a nice substitute to your average cream. Don’t be deceived by the ultra-feminine pink container, this product could penetrate the skin of the toughest gent’s skin. 2.) Clinique’s Moisture Surge Intense Fortifying Hydrator is a heavier formula, perfect for those with dry skin, or, coat face in a thicker layer, and leave it on overnight, and it becomes a superb moisturizing mask for all skin types. 3) Shiseido’s Bio-Performance Advanced Super Restoring Cream is another heavy moisturizer; this one’s Tri-Dynamic formula reshapes, firms, and smoothes wrinkles. With its age fighting technology, the cream can repair the most severe damage left over from the summer months.
And finally, when retaining one’s youthful appearance, the eyes say it all. For this area, we recommend Kiehl’s Rose Artica Eye cream. Grease-free, the product glides effortlessly onto the contours of your eye and stays put, never threatening to irritate your peepers should you give them a rub.
Finally, as skin gets tighter due to colder weather and turned up radiators, pores become clogged from surface dry skin, which can result in unpleasant blemishes. A drop of The Body Shop’s Tea Tree Oil to problem spots at the end of your p.m. beauty routine will help eliminate the issue. Natural antibacterial properties in the oil work fast, but with a gentle touch that won’t drain the moisture out of sensitive skin.
It can be easy to forget that your body demands as much care as your face, but dry skin isn’t pleasant whether it’s hidden by tights or not! When temperatures change, skin all over your body tends towards the scaly side, and for this, a good exfoliation is the remedy. We’ve found two prime choices to aid you in your effort to remove dead skin, depending on the level of scrub action you are hoping to achieve. The first, Original Brown Sugar Polish by Fresh, will provide you with a coarse body cleanse, removing that layer of dry skin causing that itch you can’t seem to stop scratching. The sugar crystals are seeped in an oiler base for those weary of losing too much moisture from a dry rub. Our second suggestion is Kiehl’s Crème de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Body Polish with luffa fruit and jojoba butter. The subtly sweet vanilla almond milk scent of this one calms as the product sands away the top layer of dry skin with its gentle formula, ideal for those with sensitive skin.
Remember, exfoliating isn’t an everyday practice, it’s most effective when used one to two times a week. On off days try Sephora’s Creamy Body Wash Caps for supple skin. These cute little capsules (perfect for travel) come in scents ranging from coconut and green tea to lagoon and mango. The pleasant fragrances linger ever so softly on your skin hours after a shower, enough so that perfume isn’t necessary.
While pores are still open from your hot shower, apply a generous layer of Aveda Replenishing Body Moisturizer to damp skin, and seal in maximum amounts of moisture. A classic that is hard to beat, this body moisturizer will become a staple of your beauty arsenal upon first use.
During the summer months, whether you coloured your hair at the salon or the sun naturally lightened it, your tresses took a beating. Now is the time to treat locks with care before the shock of the dry winter air gets to it. Begin with a wash, we like the healthy sheen Klorane’s Nourishing Treatment Shampoo and Conditioner with Mango Butter provides, then move on to the treatments. René Furterer Highlighted Bleached Hair Okara is a light activating leave-in fluid with natural honey extract fitting for colour-treated hair. The serum moisturizes, and is feather light. Even if you massage into your locks dry, hair doesn’t appear greasy. For those with naturally dry hair, René Furterer also has a solution, its Karite Damaged, Very Dry Hair Ends serum. The fluid tames ends, and adds a little bit of texture as it separates and defines shiny tresses.
Published November 13, 2012