The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Skincare

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base, clean, cleanse, combination, comedogenic, complexion, daily, dry, grime, hydration, make-up, normal, oily, perfect, pollution, primer, sensitive, skin type, skincare, SPF, spots, sun protection, sunscreen, unbalanced, water

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Whether you’re a young person who’s just started to take care of their skin, or an older person who’s steadfastly refused to deal with skincare before, being an absolute beginner can be a little intimidating, especially when you consider the vast amount of products available. We decided to put together some tips that we thing every skincare virgin should know, so that it doesn’t feel so daunting.

Take your make up off every day, no matter how tired you are

When you leave your make up on, not only are you leaving potentially comedogenic (that’s blackhead-forming, to you and me) products on your face, you’re also leaving the days dirt and grime. This can cause your skin to become dry, red, sensitised and generally unbalanced. Elemis Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser is a great cleanser for most skin types as it melts make-up and removes the daily pollutants that can dull the skin.

SUNSCREEN!

Baz Luhrmann said it years ago, and it’s still as true as ever – “ALWAYS wear sunscreen”! The fastest way to age your skin is with prolonged, unprotected sun exposure, and this can be highly damaging even beyond the signs of ageing. Decleor Anti-Pollution Hydrating Fluid SPF30 is the perfect daily SPF for normal to dry skin and leaves skin feeling hydrated and comfortable.

Barely anyone has ‘perfect’ skin

We know that the slew of airbrushed images that we’re bombarded with makes it easy to believe that loads of people have perfect skin, but it’s actually very rare and we guarantee that almost every single person you asked would say they have at least one bugbear with their own complexion. Using a primer is a good place to start to get a flawless base before you apply your make up, allowing you to fake it all the way!

Know your skin type

When it comes to skincare, using the right type for your skin type is hugely important. If you have dry skin and are using products for normal skin, they won’t be powerful enough to keep you hydrated. If you’ve got normal skin, products for oily skin could dry you out and if you’ve got sensitive skin, anything perfumed or too rich will have you red and itchy. Use our guide to work out your skin type before you buy anything.

Drink plenty of water

You can use all of the moisturisers and skin-fixing products you like, but if your body is severely dehydrated then the source of your dryness isn’t going to be fixed. The old ‘eight glasses a day’ thing isn’t necessarily the right amount for everyone, but if your urine is almost clear and the skin doesn’t feel papery, you’re probably hydrated to a decent level.

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Freshen Up After the Gym with Pure Beauty

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bacteria, BB Cream, blemishes, botanical, clean, cleanse, conditioning, decleor, Decleor BB Cream 24 Hour Hydration SPF15, Decleor Imperfections Roll-on, dermalogica, Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash, DOMS, Elemis, Elemis Deep Cleanse Facial Wash, Elemis Devils Mint Body Scrub, Elemis Men, essential oils, exercise, extracts, facial hair, fragrant, freshen, gym, hydrate, lather, milk protein base, muscle soreness, oak bark, Panthenol, peppermint, Pro-Vitamin B5, shower, spearmint, SPF, sweat, tension, workout

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Whether you’re a regular gym goer, an occasional class-taker or someone who’s just getting into the swing of fitness, having a post-gym freshen up is absolutely essential unless you want to smell less than pleasant. If you’ve worked up a real sweat, it may feel like your regular products don’t give you that just-washedQ feeling, so we’ve put together a list of products to use after your workouts to help you to feel as fresh as a daisy:

Dermalogica Conditioning Body Wash

Although this body wash from Dermalogica is completely soap-free, the unique blend of essential oils and moisturisers will not only leave your skin feeling and smelling clean, it will also soften and soothe your skin in the process. The fragrant botanical extracts provide a natural conditioning lather that gently cleanses and conditions the skin and it’s enriched with moisturising essential oils and panthenol (pro-vitamin B5) to leave skin smooth and supple.

Elemis Devils Mint Body Scrub

If your muscles are feeling fatigued, there’s a good chance that you’re going to be dealing with DOMS (that’s ‘delayed-onset muscle soreness’, in case you were wondering) for a couple of days. Giving your arms and legs a really thorough scrub and kneading while you’re in the shower can really help to reduce the amount of time you ache for and this invigorating scrub from Elemis will only improve things further.

Elemis Deep Cleanse Facial Wash

This facial wash from the Elemis Mens range is designed to deeply cleanse your face, getting rid of daily dirt and impurities and can even help to prevent ingrown hairs. The potent blend of oak bark, spearmint and peppermint in a unique milk protein base will leave your face feeling so clean that it tingles and it’s even great for keeping facial hair clean and soft, too.

Decleor Imperfections Roll-on

Working up a heavy sweat can play havoc with your complexion and sometimes even the best cleansing regime can’t keep blemishes at bay. This roll-on product from Decleor is designed to reduce the appearance of blemishes, kill the spot causing bacteria and soothe the skin, leaving it feeling purified and clean.

Decleor BB Cream 24 Hour Hydration SPF15

If you don’t want to slap on a full face of make-up after your post-gym shower but equally don’t want to go make-up free, this BB cream is a great alternative. As well as containing an SPF and ingredients which will hydrate your skin, it will give a light wash of colour and re-texturising effect like a primer, to give your skin a flawless appearance without feeling too made-up.

Five Skincare MUSTS For Your Thirties

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30’s, ageing, anti ageing, brighter, broad spectrum, cells, cream, dead cells, Decleor 24 Hour Hydrating Light Cream, delicate, Dermalogica Antioxidant HydraMist, Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant, Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift, Elemis Liquid Layer SPF30, exfoliate, exfoliating, Eyes, firming, flash-firming, hyaluronic acid, hydration, imbalance, moisture, moisturise, moisturiser, night, oily, protection, repair, repair-mode, sensitive, skincare, SPF, stress, sun, thirties, tiredness

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Your thirties can be a real in-between time for skincare; you’re probably not dealing with acne or sports anymore, and your party days are petering out, but you’re also not at that hardcore wrinkle-fighting stage yet, either. In fact, we often find from our customers that skin is neglected MOST when women hit their thirties for a number of reasons. There are, however, several things you should be doing if you want to reach your forties with skin which is still in good shape. Here’s a few of them:

NEVER MISS SUNSCREEN

If you’re in your thirties, there’s a good chance that ‘time spent in the sun’ revolves around watching the kids while they practice their divebombs in the pool, but distraction is no excuse and you should be taking extra time to ensure that your skin is adequately protected from the sun’s harmful rays. We say protect against the signs of ageing now so you won’t need to reverse them later. Elemis Liquid Layer SPF30 is a broad spectrum, water-resistant physical barrier sunscreen protects against sun’s harmful rays.

ADD MORE MOISTURE

A mistake that many women make is thinking that they only need to moisturise their skin if it’s dry in the first place, but this simply isn’t true. All skin needs added moisture, and in fact oily skin is often that way because of an imbalance and lack of moisture making the skin over-produce Decleor 24 Hour Hydrating Light Cream is a light moisturiser which offers 24hr hydration and protection to all skin types.

THINK ABOUT ANTI AGEING

Something we see really often here at Pure Beauty is women who only start to use anti-ageing products once the signs of ageing have already started, but in fact using them preemptively is so much more advantageous as they can stop ageing in it’s tracks. Opting for products containing hyaluronic acid like Dermalogica Antioxidant HydraMist with its intense hydration and flash-firming properties will help you to look younger for longer.

DON’T FORGET YOUR EYES

Many women use an all-over facial moisturiser (probably because they’re short on time) and totally forget about their eyes, but this is a mistake. The skin around the eyes is delicate and prone to collagen loss, which means it’s usually the first place to age. Treat yourself to a tube of Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift which will help to remove all signs of stress and tiredness, keeping the skin around your eyes in top condition.

EXFOLIATE AT NIGHT

Changing hormones and the ageing process can mean that your skin starts to change in your thirties, maybe feeling a little more delicate than before. Exfoliation is an important step in your skincare routine but once you hit your thirties you should try to only do it at night. Skin goes into repair-mode as we sleep, so exfoliating away all the dead skin cells before your skin repairs itself at night will give you the best chance of waking up with a brighter complexion. Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant is a gentle exfoliator, suitable for most skin types.

Clean up your make-up act

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Baby shampoo, bag, bar, base, bathroom, beauty staples, bin, brushes, change colour, clear, cool, cream-based foundations, crumble, dark, day, die, dry, dry naturally, dry up, evening, eye, eye infection, formula, G&T, game over, gentle liquid soap, good to go, life is busy, light reflecting particles, lip liners, lipstick, make-up bag, Mascara, mix, nail varnish, prone to clumping, Pure Beauty, re-infection, replaced, shake, share, sheer, smell, smoothly, SPF, synthetic, tip, winter

We use our make-up bags every day, often more than once, but how often do you clean it and clear it out?

Made you think, didn’t we?

The reality is, life is busy, time is short and with a G&T with your name on it at the bar, you don’t want to spend your time sorting out old mascaras, but you need to.

Today we are looking at just how long you should keep your beauty staples, before throwing them in the bin and replacing them with something shiny and new.

First things first, take everything out of your bag, clean and dry it and if it has seen better days, buy a new one. This is also the perfect time to wash your brushes. Baby shampoo is brilliant for natural hair brushes and a gentle liquid soap does the job for the synthetic ones. Brushes really can be a breeding ground for germs, so wash them once a week to be safe. Rather than storing them in the bottom of your bag, keep brushes tip up in pot and allow them to dry naturally.

Next, sort out the products in front of you and anything that you haven’t used for a while, that is past its best or has had the top left off, should be replaced. It is also worth noting, if you’ve had an eye infection it’s a good idea to throw out make-up that could cause a re-infection. Oh, and if you want your stuff to last, don’t store it in the bathroom but somewhere cool, dark and dry.

The shelf life for foundation changes depending on the formula, but generally cream-based foundations last between six months to a year, and if there’s an SPF it tends to be less. Always pay attention to how your foundation looks and feels on your skin and if you notice that is starts to change colour or smell, it is time to ditch it. Also remember, as we head towards winter, you might want to swap your lighter sheer foundation for a stronger base but go for a product with light reflecting particles.

Ideally a mascara is good to go for around four months. After this time, they tend to become dry and prone to clumping, and using the same brush over and over can increase the risk of eye infections.

We all tend to have a different lipstick in every bag, ones for day, others for evening and ones we never even wear. This is totally fine but just make sure you keep them clean and if you come across one that is past it’s best, chuck it away and use another one. Oh, and don’t share them!

Eye and lip liners can last up to three years but it is likely you will use them before that, or they will dry up and crumble. Again, don’t pass these around on a night out and at the first sign of dehydration, bin and buy a new one.

Nail varnish is one of those products that never seems to die, but shake it and if the colour doesn’t completely mix or the varnish is too sticky to apply smoothly, it’s game over.

Got a tip we have missed, then get in touch and let us know.

Team Pure Beauty

The Beauty of a Good Education

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abrasions, acne, anti ageing, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, bacteria, base, breakout, brighter, Calming, clean, clear, college, complexion, cuts, dermalogica, Dermalogica All Over Toner, Dermalogica Breakout Control, Dermalogica UltraCalming Redness Relief Primer SPF20, Elemis, Elemis Tea Tree S.O.S. Spray, Elemis White Brightening Even Tone Cleanser, formulation, foundation, illuminated, impurities, mattified, mattify, oil, over-sensitised, primer, redness, school, sebum, sensitised, sensitive, September, skin, smoother, SPF, spot, spots, student, study, sun, teenager, Toner, university

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It’s the end of August which means that Autumn is on it’s way, school will be restarting again soon and the lazy summer days will be replaced with routine and structure, especially for those in education. Whether you’re starting a new school, college or university, you’ll want to be doing so with the best skin possible, so we’re going to show you five products which can help:

Dermalogica UltraCalming Redness Relief Primer SPF20

Sensitised skin can be difficult to control, and many products will add to the problem. This primer from Dermalogica is designed to minimise redness, mattify the skin by controlling sebum production and provide a good base on which to put make-up, giving you the confidence of knowing that your foundation will stay in place all day. It contains a green tint which counteracts redness and an SPF which protects the skin from the sun’s harmful rays.

Elemis Tea Tree S.O.S. Spray

This S.O.S. Spray from Elemis might not be a lifesaver, as such, but it’s definitely a SKIN saver – the cooling teat tree will help to soothe over-sensitised skin while the anti-bacterial properties will kill spot-causing bacteria, helping you to cut the cause of breakouts before they even occur. It can be sprayed directly onto the face to help speed up the healing process if you’ve already had a breakout, and can even be used on other cuts and abrasions for an antibacterial and antiviral barrier.

Dermalogica Breakout Control

If your skin is prone to acne or hormonal breakouts, it can be tricky to know when breakouts are going to happen and treat them before the fact. This lotion from Dermalogica is a fast-but-gentle formulation which is designed to target the bacteria which causes breakouts to halt them in their tracks, and contains natural sponges to absorb sebum which can make the skin oily. It contains soothing ingredients which help to calm the skin and reduce sebum production and is gentle enough to be used daily, under your normal moisturiser.

Elemis White Brightening Even Tone Cleanser

Keeping your skin super clean is the first step to staying breakout-free but that can be tricky as some cleansers irritate the skin and make spots worse. This cleanser from Elemis has been designed for daily use and gently removes impurities, reduces the appearance of excess oil and reveals a super-clean and mattified complexion. Skin is left smoother, brighter and naturally illuminated, as well as being clean and clear.

Dermalogica All Over Toner

This toner is the perfect product for keeping in your school bag as it provides a much-needed spritz of cooling toner, right when your skin needs it the most. It calms redness, kills spot-causing bacteria and helps to keep spot and acne prone skin under control. It’s perfect for teenage skin and can either be sprayed directly onto the face, or wiped onto problematic area with a cotton pad.