One of my abiding memories from Japan is getting invited to a salon with some ladies who worked with Skimble and them poking fun at her for not having a skincare/beauty regime. Then explaining that it was delightful I was proud of mine (cleanse, tone, moisturise, use a witch-hazel stick on my spots) but that I really needed it to grow-up into an adult woman’s regime. (As a result it became cleanse, tone, moisturise using the facial massage technique they taught me, apply witch-hazel when needed – hurrah for no longer being a teenager – and do a face mask once a week).
Obviously of late I’ve been noticing The Happy Midwife increasingly talking about Korean skincare products and I’ve largely ignored it. I got seriously into make-up whilst I was in Japan and ended up with the most extensive collection I’ve ever had outside of purely LARP or Lolita reasons but I didn’t get into Japanese skincare products. The simple reason for that is my eczema. Adding in skincare products when they’re often perfumed or just contain a buttload of random chemicals has always been a surefire way to skin-hell for me. So back in Japan it was tried and tested products sent over from the UK by The Jellicle (mostly Boots Own, Simple and Witch ranges) plus treats from The Body Shop. Luckily they had a Body Shop in Kofu – it even accepted my points card!
I cannot tell you how much I hated The Body Shop being bought by L’Oreal, suddenly all the things that I knew I could put on my skin started changing, some almost immediately and some after time passed. I know a lot of people will tell me that the recipes didn’t change but they really did, my skin doesn’t react that psychosomatically!
Anyway, my routine for ages has been basically that, with a professional facial every three to six months. Since Simple have started adding things to their range I’ve taken to trying them out and am pretty happy with how that’s going. Then I discovered that it’s not just Japanese women who are SERIOUSLY into their facial skincare, the reason peeople are going ga-ga for SoKo products is because as far as I can tell East Asian women are all really into it. So, given my skin problems I’m more interested in the methodology and adapting the hows to products I can use.
I’ve extended a little from 2004, Superdrug’s B range is mostly usable and Boot’s Botanics are generally good too. I even had good results with Garnier’s MoistureBomb Tissue Mask – which is frankly amazing as I really, really avoid the big names because often they’re really bad for stuff that sets my skin off. But discovering cleansing oil, essences, tissue-masks and the double cleanse as part of the 10 step methodology has been really quite good fun.
So, my current routine:
Daily
AM –
Cleanse;
Simple Micellar Water
Simple Purifying Cleansing Lotion
Tone;
Simple Pore Minimising Toning Cleanser
Simple Toner
Treat;
Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Blemish Stick where needed
Simple Rapid Action Spot Zapper where needed
Simple Age Resisting Eye Cream
Simple Revitalising Eye Roll-On
Eumovate Cream
Moisturise;
Simple Age-Resisting Moisturiser Day Cream
Simple Illuminating Radiance Cream (SPF 15)
Double Base
PM –
Cleanse;
Simple Cleansing Oil
Simple Age Resisting Facial Wash
Tone;
Simple Toner
Treat;
Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Blemish Stick where needed
Simple Rapid Action Spot Zapper where needed
Botanics Triple Age Renewal Hydrating Eye Serum
Eumovate Cream
Moisturise;
Simple Age-Resisting Moisturiser Night Cream
Double Base
Twice Weekly
Simple Deep Cleansing Face Mask
Weekly
Biore Self-Heating Charcoal Facemask
Garnier Moisture Bomb Tissue Mask
Every Three to Six Months
Facial at 154 Beauty