I get asked about my beauty, skin care and hair care regimes a lot. All the time. And whenever I write about beauty the posts are always really popular. So why don’t I do it more often I got to thinking?! If you like this post then please let me know, I don’t like to deviate too much from general fashion but I am obsessed with beauty so I could be onto something!

I digress, in this post I thought I’d share with you what I’ve been using on my skin for the last couple of months, and give you a review of some products that have been sent to me, or that I’ve bought. Straight out this isn’t a sponsored post, I’m just sharing with y’all what I do/don’t like.

Let’s go!

SKIN

Okay so turning 30 not so long ago got me thinking SERIOUSLY about what my skin was going to look like when I’m 40. Since the age of 20 I’ve used SPF 30+ on my skin daily (even when I lived in rainy London) and have largely avoided being in the sun.

From the outset I also need to say that I don’t smoke, drink 1-2 lts of water a day, run and eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I truly believe that as your skin is an organ,  you have to  give it the best start by considering what you put into your body every other day.

Don’t worry, I eat bread and drink white white every other day of the week. See:

Anyhow, late last year I went to Miss Fox and had a skin analysis done. It was fabulous because it highlighted where my skin was at, and what it potentially needed. While my skin tends to err of the oily side, it was still dehydrated and I had pigmentation developing under the upper layers of dermis.

Plus I wanted to just generally ‘glow,’ and start a course of action that would keep my skin looking ’30’ for as long as humanly possible.

Sarah who did my analysis put together this regime of Cosmedix products specifically for my skin. Cosmedix is a cosmeceutical line that works to enhance the physiology of the skin through the use of only the most purified, chirally correct and effective ingredients that are safe and beneficial for the skin. As they are medical grade and used by dermatologists, physicians and aestheticians it’s not something you can just buy over the counter at your local Priceline.

But I left with very strict and clear instructions on how to use the products and have since been in for a follow up consultation. It has taken a couple of months but I can most definitely see a difference in my skin since starting to use them in December last year.

They aren’t cheap and you really need to be shown how to use them, but if you are about investment in your skin care then I couldn’t recommend Cosmedix more highly. I am now absolutely hooked on the products and love how they make my skin look and feel.

The ‘Define‘ cream above is my favourite product, night time only and you absolutely have to wear an SPF 30+ as it has  unique blend of gentle acids and 2% of CosMedix’s proprietary retinol complex. Below is my skin specific regime as prescribed by Sarah of Miss Fox.

Since December I’ve also had a RENEWAL PEEL (unbuffered Lactic Acid 30%, 40% or 60%) and a TIMELESS PEEL combining 30% AGP Complex with lactic acid. These were suggested as part of using the Cosmedix products and I’ve had two over the past 4 months. To be completely honest I really didn’t notice any difference after the Renewal Peel, but the Timeless Peel was something else. It felt stronger and warmer on my skin, and these photos have been taken two weeks afterwards when you really start to see the results. I have another two to go in my course of treatments, and so far I LOVE THEM!

Check out Miss Fox’s detailed page on what they offer in terms of skin peels.

About four weeks ago I had a Vibradermabrasion done at Vitruvius, other fabulous Melbourne cosmetic clinic. The clinic employs renowned cosmetic doctors and nurses who are passionate experts in injecting, skincare and dermal treatments and I found that Kristine who did my treatment was knowledgeable and honest about what they could do for my skin. There is nothing worse than going to a salon and being up-sold on the products or being told that you MUST have ‘X’ product in order for your skin to improve.

Vibradermabrasion is basically deep exfoliation to help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, sun damage, acne and acne scarring done with using disposable personal treatment paddles as seen above.

I found the treatment completely non invasive and relaxing, I’m hoping that it will help reduce the chicken spot scar you can see on my forehead in these pictures, and the fine frown line that’s beginning to develop between my eyes.

I have another treatment booked in next week so stay tuned for the results of that one!

MAKEUP

I use either Natio mineral makeup foundation, or Innoxa as they are both great for sensitive skin and feel lovely and light. Because of that I usually turn down offers to try foundations but for some reason when Vapour Organic got in touch with the offer to try their Atmosphere Soft Focus Foundation I said, ‘What the hell!’

When you first apply it, it feels oily but not greasy. That immediately made me think, ‘oh no!’ but it very quickly becomes silky under your finger tips. I just apply all over my face and neck with my fingers and once it’s set, it finishes with a dewy appearance as you can see from these photos. I have come to really love this product, the only downside is that there is no SPF element which I do like in my makeup, however its light weight and breathable and provides beautiful coverage.

In this post I’m also trying out some new makeup from Natio. On my cheeks I’ve used the Sheer Delight Blush and Bronzer which gives off a nice dewy, light colour. The cream eyeshadow in ‘Cinnamon’ below is ok, I had to apply about three coats to get the best coverage. I’m not really a fan of cream eye shadow, while I admire it’s benefits, it just gets stuck in the creases of my eye lid and I never seem to be able to get the consistency like I can with a brush and powder.

My cat-eye look eye liner was done with Natio’s new Pen Eyeliner which is a fabulous size and really easy to handle. I didn’t find that it was as dense as I usually like, but that said it is from the ‘Sheer Delights’ range! I’m looking forward to using it more and getting to know the product better.

And finally on my lips in this post I’m wearing Maybelline’s ‘Pink Me Up,’ #045 with two lashes of Natio’s Colour Creme Gloss in ‘Calm.’ I love both of them separately, as they are almost the same colour for the purpose of this post and to get a really lovely, deep colour I just layered them.

So there you go folks a nice, long, bumper post of what I use on my skin at the moment!

If you have any questions about the products, or suggestions on what else you’d like me to write about beauty wise just let me know, I know I really enjoyed doing this post.