Skincare: Getting Back to Normal

Ok, so I've been pretty ill over the last few days which has prevented me from any blogging or computer-related activities so I've mostly been confined to my bed whimpering 'Oh, woe is me!' over and over again (because when people are ill, they should most definitely quote a line from Hamlet.  Don't blame me, blame Shakespeare.).  Without going into too much detail, my illness/virus/bug/whatever-you-want-to-call-it was very much reminiscent of a certain scene from The Exorcist.....I think you know where I'm going with this.......let's just say there was some nausea involved and leave it at that so I that can stick to this ladylike façade of mine.

Now that I'm feeling a little better and can actually keep food down (woohoo! COME AT ME DRY CRACKERS!) I'm just about to begin the process of getting my skin back to normal.  I'm still in the early stages of rehydrating myself and drinking bucketloads of water just to stop my incessant dreams about juicy grapes, peaches and strawberries - for some reason, that's all I dream about when I'm ill and dehydrated.  Great, now I can't stop thinking about juicy fruit.  This dehydration has affected my skin and left it in a pretty unhappy state and it hasn't helped that by being ill, my daily skincare routine has fallen by the wayside.

 

So I'm now ready to tackle my poorly skin and get it back to it's normal, healthy state.  This doesn't mean going full force, I always think it's best to just go back to using my standard products as anything too strong or too heavy could upset it (oh, the joys of having sensitive skin!) plus I kind of think it's best to gently coax you skin back to normal rather than aggressively ambushing it unnecessarily! 

I've always believed that you don't need to spend loads of money on skin products, it's just a case of knowing what ingredients you're after and what works for your skin.  I'm someone that suffers from oily/combination skin with the occasional hint of dryness throw in (wahey!) so my morning routine always includes Neutrogena's Visibly Clear Oil-Free Facial Wash (£4.49 for 200ml).  This is a great cleanser for oily skin as it contains salicylic acid which is an amazing exfoliating agent for oily/greasy skin and it was actually recommended to me by a dermatologist and you really can't argue with a skin expert!

When it comes to toner, I've always used Simple Kind To Skin Soothing Facial Toner (£3.29 for 200ml) however recently I decided to branch out when I saw that Boots had a half price offer on their Simply Sensitive range which resulted in me spending a not-so-whopping £1.34 (normally £2.69) on a bottle of their Gently Refreshing Toner (200ml).  I have to say that there is little difference between this toner and the Simple toner, it removes any leftover makeup and your skin feels incredibly clean afterwards.  Also, even at its full price of £2.69, the Boots Simply Sensitive toner is still cheaper than the Simple toner which makes it even more attractive!

Now to the moisturising and the most expensive product in my skincare routine - Olay Essentials Complete Care Day Fluid for normal/oily skin.  I love love LOVE this moisturiser, it's light enough for oily skin but still leaves your skin feeling hydrated and soft which is exactly what I'm after from a moisturiser.  It's a little pricey at £9.99 for a 200ml bottle but they also offer a 100ml for £5.99 - plus you'll often find that there is half price offers on this range in Superdrug or Boots so I normally purchase the 200ml bottle when it's half price and by the time I run out (it lasts a long time!) then there's normally another offer on.  They also offer a sensitive version of this product which is mighty handy!

Focussing on the moisturising situation, now would be the time that I would crack out my Chapstick......but I lost it and I have NO idea where it is so instead as my backup I've got Palmer's Lip Balm Cocoa Butter Formula with Vitamin E (£1.89 for 4g) which I love, just not as much as Chapstick but it's a solid second best.

I pretty much use the above products that I've just spoken about every morning in that order and stick with it for my night time routine as well, with only a few added extras which are mentioned below!

Before I go to bed and after I've moisturised my face and my lips, I like to use a little bit of Quinoderm 10 (£2.65 for 25g), which is an acne cream.  Now, I don't have acne but like most people, I get the occasional blemish so what I like to do is pop a little bit of the cream onto a cotton bud and apply it to the blemish and rub it in.  This product was recommended to me by the same dermatologist mentioned earlier in this post as the cream is strong enough to dry out spots (or pimples if you're American!) but it's not overly strong that it's going to leave dry patches on your skin.  I normally have to get this from the actual pharmacy section in Boots or Sainsbury's but you don't need a prescription for it so it's pretty easy to get hold of.  Also, this cream is available in varying strengths, I believe that you can also get Quinoderm 5 which is a weaker composition of the cream but I don't I find this as effective at blemish removal for my skin as Quinoderm 10.

Finally, if I have any sneaky little dry patches on my skin then I like to use Vaseline Original Pure Petroleum Jelly (£2.15 for 100g) on these patches.  I find that this classic product works much better when used on actual dry skin as opposed to on my lips as it ALWAYS dries my lips out and from speaking to other people, I know that I am not the only one that this happens to.  Weird, huh?

Right, so that's my standard day and night skin care routine and it's also what I'm going to be throwing at my skin in order to get it back to its former glory, wish me luck and also let me know of any other products that you can recommend to help my skin recovery or if you're a fan of any of the products mentioned in this post!