Starting off: Skincare

So its week one of The Starting Off Project :) I'm so excited to share with you some of the products I love to use. I still experiment quite a lot with my skincare routine and have tried a lot of products over the last few years ranging from drugstore to high end.

As this project is help to newbies and young teens looking to start using beauty and make up products, I have tried to show you some of the products I love that aren't to expensive. hopefully as you experiment with different products you will start to see what suits your skin and can then start to try out the more high end products.

So first things first. I'm not a fan of face wipes. Sorry to any lovers of them, but I just find they irritate my skin and in order to get any eye make up off you have to really scrub, which just isn't great for your delicate eye area. 

At the end of a long day, there is no better feeling than taking off your face of make up and letting your skin breath. The product I absolutely love and rarely stray away from is the Johnsons daily Essentials Nourishing Cream Wash 

As you can see I lather this up on my face and then rinse. When I'm wearing a lot of eye make up I use a bit more once my face is clear. Be careful not to rub your eyes to much, I tend to sweep my finger down over my top lashes and then gently do the same under my eye. I was a little wary at first because the product is advertised for dry skin and my skin isn't dry, however I was so pleasantly surprised by how great this is for removing make up and that it hasnt ever made me break out, that I have repurchased this again and again. I just love it!

Next is a product that is really down to personal preference, I like to use it just to make sure that all products are removed from my skin. It's the Caudalie Cleansing Water. However it is more on the pricey side, so you could always experiment with more affordable products first. With cleansers I apply a small amount to a cotton pad and sweep it over my skin.

I've never really had acne, but my skin does go through stages. When I was a teenager and going through puberty, I did get the odd spot but used to pick them and make them 10x worse. Now I do try to not pick at my face. Which I fail at miserably most of the time (we all know how difficult it is to resist) but I have found a product range that really helps to clear them up quicker than leaving them.

The Freederm range is really great. When my skin decides to have a break out I do the following:

• Apply the fast track spot treatment to any spots I have. I dab it on and then leave to dry.
• Then I use 1 pump of the overnight clearing serum and apply this to my problem areas, usually my chin, forehead and cheeks.
• finally I use the moisturiser and apply this all over my face, except for around my eyes 

When my skin is clear instead of the above I just apply moisturiser. The one I've been loving at the moment is the Ayuuri Natural Sandlewood Face Cream its super hydrating and after using it for a few months, I havnt had any breakouts which I do tend to get with a lot of moisturisers.

Finally I apply an eye cream. This is something I think is very important. Through lots of research I discovered that applying moisturiser to your under eye area can actually create puffiness. So with that said, when applying your moisturiser, try to avoid the eye area. the eye cream I've been using for a while now is from revitol. Again it is quite a pricey product, but I'ts something personally I am happy to spend more money on. It also last for ages. You can pick a more affordable eye cream when your just starting out, and again once you know what suits you, you can invest in a high end product if you wish.  

As you can see from the above, I apply my eye cream on the dark circles and above my eyelid. I find if I apply it to my eyelid it can slip into my eye, which isn't cool ha. Try not to rub your under eye and to gently pat it into your skin. I'm very heavy handed so I use my ring finger to ensure I'm as gentle as possible.

And there you have my skin care routine, the products I love using and how I apply them.

I hope this post has been useful and may have introduced you to some new products for you to try. There are lots of other bloggers taking part in this project so be sure check them out. you can join in the conversation on twitter using hashtag #theSOproject.

Be sure to check back next Tuesday at 6 pm (GMT) for another starting off post on concealer.

Have you tried any of these  products?

Let me know in the comments below :)

Thanks for reading 

Lots of love

Sophie

xxx