Summer skincare discoveries

My skin doesn’t like summer (neither do I, really).  It over-reacts to everything in warmer weather.  Creams and sunscreens that I use the rest of the year all of a sudden start causing problems.  I get frequent breakouts and red patches, and the overall tone and texture of my skin looks worse.   The pores on my nose, cheeks, and chin get congested, and my T-zone acts like a T-eenager.  The only solution for me is to use a good exfoliating product with lactic or glycolic acid to increase cell turnover.  I never use scrubby physical exfoliators; they do my skin more harm than good.

I’ve written about the Ren 1-minute facial  a few times before;  it really is one of my favourite skin care products.  I never travel without it because my skin always decides to misbehave when I’m away.  A few times a month, I wheel out the big guns and use the Ren Glycolactic radiance renewal mask.  This hoovers out all of my junky pores, whisks off that top layer of dead skin cells, and leaves my skin fresh and prepped for a good serum.  It is stronger than the 1-minute facial, but especially in summer, I need it.

Recently, John Lewis sent me a selection of products to try, and after using them for a month, a few have made it into my summertime rotation alongside the two Ren facials.   My favourite was the Rodial Super Acids exfoliating glycolic cleanser.  I knew I was going to love this after just one use and a quick glance at the ingredient list.  It contains my beloved glycolic acid and  lactic acid as well as some fruit acids and enzymes.  For summer, this has now replaced my morning and evening cleanser.  The second star product is the Rodial X-treme pore shrink cleansing pads.  I’m not sure everyone will rave about this as much as I do, but it addresses precisely my skin’s summertime issues.  These pads contain salicylic acid (excellent for spots), amino acid, as well as olive oil and some probiotics for softening and strengthening.  These are ever so slightly hydrating and don’t leave my skin feeling tight or stripped at all.  I could see an improvement in my skin within just a few days of using both of these.  I addressed the issue of midlife breakouts before in this post.  These two products from Rodial’s Super Acids range (and perhaps a few other things that I’ve not yet tried?) are quite effective for the breakout-prone amongst us.   I also tried the Rodial Bee Venom day cream with SPF 30.  On a hot summer day, this is too moisturising for my skin, but the rest of the year it should be fine.  It didn’t break me out, but in the heat it gives me more glow and sheen than I’d like.  Also, in the summer I prefer a higher SPF than 30.  It contains some expensive and high-powered ingredients which I’m keen to try on my skin in cooler weather.

I was also (luckily!) sent several products which I happen to be a big fan of already:

One is Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm, which is the only lip balm I use.  I buy several at a time so I can keep one beside my bed, one in the bathroom, one in my handbag, one in the kitchen, and one in my office.  I am very loyal to it because it works better than any other lip balm I’ve tried.   It is neither too matte nor too glossy, and it has a pleasing faint citrus scent.  Since it is always in my bag, I even use it as an emergency eye cream if the skin under my eyes starts to look dry!

This Works Deep Sleep pillow spray is another lovely product.  It is mostly lavender, but it is softened with wild camomile and vetivert, so it isn’t overly astringent.  The scent is so relaxing.  I sometimes spray it on my clothes if I know I have a stressful day ahead.  I’ve never been disappointed in any product by This Works.  Their Perfect Legs Skin Miracle is a staple for me; I’ve probably been through about 5 bottles now.   It gives a natural colour to my pale skin (not just legs, I use it anywhere exposed).  It doesn’t rub off on light coloured clothes, and it washes off.   I’m wearing it in nearly all of my blog photos, in fact.  I was also sent This Works In Transit Camera Close-up, a ‘mask, moisturiser, and primer in one’.  I’ve only tried it twice because with my skin freaking out recently, I was nervous to use anything with the word ‘moisturiser’ on the label.  It contains some plant oils and  hyaluronic acid, which is a great moisture-binding ingredient.   My skin seems to approve   You know who else approves?  Victoria Beckham!  Apparently, she is a fan of this.

Another product I like which happened to be included in the skin care box was Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir.  This facial mist was recommended by Lisa Eldridge a few years ago, and I’ve been using it on my skin ever since.  It is water fragranced with bitter orange flower, rosemary, peppermint, and rose.  Honestly, it doesn’t do anything, it just feels and smells really gorgeous.  When you’re sitting on a plane or in a car for a long time, sometimes that’s enough!

There were several other products which I didn’t mention here, because I haven’t used them enough to be able to give a proper review.  I’ll include those in a future post if they impress me as much as the products I’ve mentioned here did.

If you want any more info or have any questions about any of these products, feel free to ask in the comments.  Also, if you have any great summer skin recommendations, let me know.

Disclosure: This is not a paid post.  A big thank you to John Lewis for sending me these products to try.

Linking up to: honest mum,