Lets talk about skin care. And big butts

Yes please Santa

I am not going to lie, I am a little bit grumpy tonight. I am also a little bit hungry, which is never a good combination. I am also a little bit mad at my daughter because she told me she doesn't like bacon. Which is just outrageous. 
I have decided to talk about skin and skin care. I think I need to go back to the beginning. I had an amazing Grandmother. Her name was Dora and I adored her. Her death a couple of years ago came as a complete shock and I'm not going to lie, broke me for a while there. I was really mad with her because I wanted her to come to my 40th birthday party (she died a few weeks before) so I could show her off because for her age she looked AMAZING. And because I also never got to say goodbye and tell her how much I loved her. But enough about that.

Any way Dora gave me two things- 
1. The ridiculous German body shape that is a small top half and large hips and butt. It is the bane of my life and the reason I get heart palpitations when I have to go and buy jeans and 2. Good skin.

The good old 3 Step

My skin is not flawless but it is good enough that I did have a argument with one of my students who refused to believe that I have not had botox. Not that I am ruling it out, but I haven't had it yet. I am a teacher. I rely on"The Look". You know "The Look" every teacher has one. I would be concerned that a frozen face would mean a new form of class room management.

I think in a crazy kind of way I was blessed to have pimples as a teenager because it got me in the habit from the age of 13 to clean my skin, morning and night. My starting point was the good old Clinique 3 step. I still think it is pretty awesome but as you get older you need more.
I think to keep you skin looking good you need to follow some basic rules, and here they are.

 Emma's golden skin care rules.

1. Cleanse your face morning and night. I use a brush to clean mine, Clarisonic is good, but I am using one I got from Priceline that is Olay and only $25. Before that I just used my electric toothbrush. Seriously.
2. Exfoliate. If you are using a brush to cleanse you don't need a separate scrub, but aim to exfoliate twice a week. It gets rid of dead skin cells. Your skin when you are young renews itself every 28 days (as you get older its slows down) but you need to get those dead things off. It makes your complexion smoother and unclogs pores.
3. Tone. Yes that old chestnut. Some say not to bother but I like it. It makes my skin feel good. And on nights when I am lazy (or have had too much to drink) I just give my face a nice wipe over. All time fav is Clinique Clarifying Lotion. It is actually a chemical exfoliate but we will call it a toner. Currently I am using SK-II.
4. Serum or Facial Essence. This is like your anti-aging boost. They can be a serum which is sort of like an oil, or in the case of the one I use SK-II it is like a water. The SK-II one is AMAZING.
5. Moisturiser- Take your pick, one that suits your skin and feels nice. Olay, L'Oreal are all good affordable ones. I'm using- yes you guessed it- SK-II Stempower

   

   This one is pretty good. I may have appeared in an Advertisement for it

6. Eye cream- So important. Once again you can go cheap or expensive. I am using a Lancome one that my mum gave me. Just not too close to your actual eye or it will go puffy and pat, don't rub
7. Sunscreen. This is the most important step. I cannot emphasis enough how important it is. Put it on. I even put it on at 5am when I am going for a run (and a hat) I am currently using Neutrogena but I really like Invisable Zinc.

   

   If you buy Marie Claire from a newsagent this month you get a really good size sample. I have been known to buy two or three copies of a mag if the sample is good.

So there you have it. I don't really think it matters if you use expensive or cheap. Although in saying that my current love affair with SK-II is sending me broke, but my skin is looking rather good. Just use something.  And in the words of Cate Blanchett- "Botox doesn't make you look younger- it just makes you look different." Unless you are Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts. It made them look the same

Step away from the Botox