Five Autumn Changes to Your Skincare Routine

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Photo by Andre Furtado on Unsplash

While most of us are still enjoying the late summer weather, here in the UK, autumn is just around the corner and it won’t be long before we’re swapping shorts and sandals for scarves and gloves. While the change in clothes is inevitable, changing your skincare routine could also offer numerous benefits, so we’ve put together five key tips for making your daily skincare routine more autumn-friendly:

Exfoliate Regularly In Autumn

To save your skin from becoming dull, lackluster and dehydrated during the autumn months, up your exfoliation to twice a week. Exfoliating regularly, helps to increase cellular regeneration and removes dead skin cells that can hinder the absorption of any moisturisers or serums. For your face, we recommend Murad Vita-C Triple Exfoliating Facial while your body would benefit hugely from investing in Medik8 Smooth Body Exfoliating Kit. 

Inject More Moisture

You’ve probably been using a lightweight, oil-free moisturiser during the summer months, but the autumn usually requires something a little thicker. It’s time to bulk up with a heftier hydrator, preferably containing essential fatty acids, which are needed more when the weather gets colder. Dermalogica PowerBright Overnight Cream is an nourishing nighttime cream that optimises skin moisture recovery and helps restore luminosity. Niacinamide and hexylresorcinol help fade the appearance of dark spots, and it even contains the ultimate autumnal ingredient – pumpkin enzyme, which smoothes and evens skin texture!

Don’t Forget Lip Care

One of the first things that we usually notice when summer becomes autumn is that our lips start to dry out, thanks to the combination of the colder weather and putting the heating on indoors. Bloom and Blossom Lip Service Nourishing Lip Balm contains four powerful ingredients that together heal, hydrate and soften lips, giving them a deep boost of moisture and helping to protect them against the elements. It contains lanolin, which easily absorbs deeply into your skin, as well as coconut oil, passionflower oil and glycerin. 

Help Out Your Hands

Another body part which is often problematic as the temperature plummets is the hands, which suffer from a lack of moisture thanks to the dry, cool air. This Works Perfect Hands Intense Moisture is a powerfully hydrating, non-greasy cream that helps keep hands looking their finest. Daily use will help to maintain supple, youthful, hydrated and beautifully fragranced hands and allow you to emerge in the springtime with healthy hands. 

Calm Away Redness

It’s not uncommon for people with sensitive skin to experience flare ups once autumn comes around. In the colder part of autumn, when we move from the chillier outdoors to the warm indoors, it’s not uncommon to notice the tell-tale redness occurring more frequently, which is why it’s important to add something like SkinCeuticals Redness Neutralizer into your routine, to help strengthen the skin’s protective barrier and soothe the feeling of irritation.

Don’t let hay fever get you down

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The sun is shining, the sky is blue, off the shoulder dresses are on trend and everyone is happy.

Well, nearly everyone.

With an estimated one in five people suffering with this common allergic condition during their life, summer can be unbearable for many.

In a nutshell, pollen from grass, flowers, plants and trees can cause sneezing, runny or blocked nose and itchy eyes and it can be both painful and frustrating as there is no known cure.

Of course, the most effective way to keep hay fever under control is to avoid pollen exposure. This, however, it’s difficult and impractical, so we have some tips and tricks to help keep it at bay so you can enjoy your summer as much as everyone else.

Medicines
Hay fever can be controlled with conventional, over-the-counter medicines on sale at your chemist. Antihistamines help prevent allergic reactions and corticosteroids ease inflammation and swelling. If you try these and they aren’t helping it is worth speaking to your GP to see if prescription medication is needed.

Diet
Eat organic food where possible as this helps avoid pesticides and additives. Low-allergen foods such as brown rice, quinoa, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, leeks, peas, pears, apples and papaya are all good options and of course will aid general peak health.

Mushrooms
Mushrooms aren’t just for breakfast and can really help regulate the immune response. A good quality organic extract from Reishi mushrooms is a good option and worth investing in if you are serious about dealing with hay fever for once and all.

Drinking
Keep your water drinking up and reduce your alcohol intake. Beer, wine and spirits all contain histamine, which is the chemical that sets off allergy symptoms in your body so as well as making you more sensitive to pollen, alcohol also dehydrates you, making your symptoms seem worse.

Wash your hair
Did you know pollen can stick to your hair? Well it can and when you go to bed it transfers to your pillow and will affect you as you try to sleep. If you have been out for the day, it is a good idea to have a shower and change your clothes before going into your bedroom and sprinkling pollen around and making life harder.

Go for sunglasses
As well as shades protecting your precious peepers, they are also a great way of stopping pollen from getting into your eyes. Go for a decent wrap around pair to create a barrier and to ensure your eyes are less red and itchy.

Housekeeping
We aren’t saying you don’t clean but given that pollen can easily get into your carpets it is a good idea to vacuum regularly and sweep it away. Try not to have the windows open too much and dust with a wet cloth so pollen doesn’t unknowingly spread around your house

Barrier
It is said that applying a little Vaseline (petroleum gel) around your nose can stop pollen getting into your system.

Home comforts
This isn’t going to happen every day but if the pollen count is high (over 50 grains per cubic metre of air) you might want to stay at home or visit a shopping centre, cinema or museum rather than being outdoors and at risk of symptoms getting worse.

Spice up your life
Garlic, ginger, red onions and other spices are all brilliant ways to help clear sinuses and ease congestion. Add them to curries, salads, stir fries and BBQs to keep your pain away.

Honey
Pop some honey on your toast or in your green tea and let the bee pollen in it desensitise your body to the plant pollens that cause the hay fever grief.

We hope you find a way to keep your hay fever under control this summer, and if you have a top tip, would love to know what it is.

Team Pure Beauty

The quick coffee ordering guide

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Walk along any High Street and between the supermarkets, chemists and boutiques you will find a plethora of coffee shops.

Chains and independents are both on the rise but if you are used to nothing more than an instant with milk, the fancy names and tricky terms might get you in fluster.

So, let’s go with a quick guide about getting it right when it comes to ordering the coffee the barista way, and no that doesn’t include ‘frappuccinos’.

Espresso (ehs-press-soh)
This is a full-flavored, concentrated form of coffee that come in pure ‘shots’. The shots are made by forcing pressurised hot water through finely ground coffee beans and the result can be drunk as a one hit wonder of used as the base for other drinks.

Americano (uh-meh-ri-kan-no)
One part espresso, three parts hot water, this is a diluted espresso shot and can be drunk black or with milk depending on your taste buds.

Macchiato (mah-kee-ya-to)
Quite simply, this is an espresso topped with a large spoon of milk foam.

Cappuccino (cap-ooh-chee-no)
This continental coffee cocktail is one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk and finally, one-third froth. The key to this drink that when the milk is being stretched (steamed) the barista will add more air, which creates more foam which results in a strong but delicate drink.

Caffe latte (kaf-fey lah-tay)
The general rule of thumb is that a latte will be served with espresso, steamed milk and about 1cm of milk froth will settle on the top of the drink. A skilled barista can generate micro foam when stretching the milk and if you are really lucky there will be a little bit of art on the top of your drink. This is perfect for coffee fans who love milk and like their coffee experience to last a little longer.

Flat White
The flat white is becoming increasingly popular as it is strong and smooth but less milky that a latte. It is made with milk that hasn’t had air add to it while being stretched so it’s more about the coffee than the froth and fluff.

Mocha (mo-kah)
An espresso shot mixed with steamed milk, chocolate syrup and a whipped cream topping if you so desire. The delicious combination of rich chocolate and bold coffee is a sweet, indulgent treat perfect when catching up with friends.

You have the coffees sorted but there’s a bit more jargon that comes with the whole ordering scenario.

Skinny is when a coffee is made with skimmed milk.

Ristretto is a short espresso shot that takes twelve seconds to create and one that is sweeter than a full shot which takes twenty seconds – yes coffee-making is an art and science.

Decaf shots are made using decaffeinated coffee beans, so you don’t get that ‘caffeine hit’.

Half-caf is one shot of regular coffee and one shot of decaf.

Wet is when you have the maximum milk the can fit in the cup and can be requested when ordering a latte or cappuccino.

Remember you can get drinks to stay or to go, in small, medium or large sizes. You get points for your purchase and can even take your own travel mug and get money off.

Happy coffee guys and let us know what you go for, and where!

Team Pure Beauty