Beauty Routines

I've never really been someone who has had a strict beauty routine.  My adherence to such a thing has been very sporadic and hit and miss at best.  In the last few years however, I have taken a little more care of my skin and have actually stuck to using a moisturiser for the first time in my life.  Foolish, I know, for not doing this years before, but I never liked the feel of moisturiser on my face as it tended to make it feel oily, so I never bothered.  I simply used a facial wash, which varied according to what I could find.  I used Tesco's own brand for many years and still do occasionally.  I would follow this up with using Distilled Witchhazel as a toner and that was basically it.  To a large extent it still is, but I have now added in a moisturiser at long last and wish I had done it many years ago.

I think I began when I was in my thirties and thought,  hang on, I should be doing something to at least try to preserve some semblence of youth.  It was around the time that Boots Protect and Perfect serums hit the market and caused a bit of a stir, so I decided to give it a go once the fuss had died down and I could get my hands on some.  I found it really light and easy to use and moisturising sort of snook into my routine. 

I only added regular hand cream use to my routine in recent years and now really enjoy applying it every day.  I probably should do it more, after every handwash, but never remember to be honest.  I do love it though when you go the lavatory in some big stores and they have lovely expensive handcreams there by the basin for customers to use after they've washed their hands.  It feels like such luxury compared to your average public toilet.  I now make a beeline for the nice department stores when I'm in London and need the toilet, as it seems so much more civilised.

Back to the subject of moisturisers, since I started moisturising, I've used various brands as I can't always afford to spend a lot.  I am currently using a moisturising fluid I bought from Approved Foods, believe it or not.   It's a de-identified brand, possibly a supermarket brand, but it is light  and it feels fresh on my skin.   It  contains witchhazel and tea tree essential oil, which is one of the reasons I like it.  Before trying this I had bought some more of the Boots range for older skin, but unfortunately I found it made me break out when I used it, so I had to find an alternative and not wanting to waste large sums in the process opted for some inexpensive items from AF.  This particular one was markedly less expensive  at 2 for £1.50 or something similar and I love it. Sadly it is no longer in stock so  I've since bought various brands from Approved foods to try and am working my way through them.  To be honest I haven't found one I don't like yet which is fantastic, considering that when I tried a sample from a very famous French fashion house, that came free in a magazine the other day, my skin felt dreadful and sticky.

I've recently been reading quite a few blogs where writers review beauty products and the book I'm reading at the moment called 'Grown up Glamour' also reviews various very popular beauty products for the more mature skin shall we say.  Another New Day is a great blog for beauty reviews and I am starting to take more interest now.  Probably like shutting the stable door and all that but better late than never, to quote another cliche.  I like the feeling that it gives me to look after myself a little now.  I think if you are good to yourself you feel better in yourself and  it does show in your appearance, so I do try to make a bit more effort these days and am learning to look after myself more and more.  Next addition to my beauty routine I think will be an eye cream as I notice that I have lots of fine lines under my eyes.  I'm currently, as of today, trying a sample REN product which feels and smells very nice.  Twenty years of smoking probably didn't help in this regard, but for the past 10 years I've been smoke free and would probably look a lot worse if I hadn't given up, so I'm thankful for small mercies.

Do you have a particular beauty routine that you follow on a daily basis?