1. Apply a face mask weekly. Preferably on a Sunday. For at least 60 minutes. This simply extracts all of the week’s built up impurities. Key ingredients that you should look for when buying a mask are: clays – Rassoul, Kaolin or you can DIY with your flour of choice. For a home made mask, add two teaspoons of salt and sugar and vegetable oil. Then add boiling water, gradually, so it’s not too runny.
Best masks: Premae Plush Therapy Masque (£17.99/100ml) with kaolin clay and superfood cocoa butter for 45 minutes to remove blackheads. 3107-Skincare’s Deep Cleansing Makeup Remover (£34.99/ 60ml) used as a mask is beautifully infused with apricot and jojoba oils, which lift off impurities helping to nourish the epidermis. I tried this with a face steamer and loved it!
2. Cleanse with a face oil. Hold up, what?! Did you just ask me to cleanse my black girl, oil-prone skin with more oil? Hell no! Well, hell yes! actually. Did you know that oily skin is a sure sign of skin dehydration? By cleansing day and night with your chosen face oil, you encourage the skin to not produce excess oil to stay nourished. You can use pure base oils like: grapeseed, sunflower and mix with your favourite essential oils.
Best Face Cleansing Oils: Premae Pretty Parched Nourishing Cleanser (£29/ 120ml), for dry skin, contains ginger oil and unrefined safflower oil. Antonia Burrell’s Natural Glow Cleansing Oil (£50/100ml) comes highly recommended: ‘I’m a cleansing oil junkie and it’s a mission to find an all natural cleansing oil that also washes off. On days when I want to give my skin a treat, the herbal scent soothes the senses and it truly does leave the skin clean and glowing.’ Lynda D’aboh, Founder, Wonderlusting
3. Invest in a powerful eye cream. The eyes. The window to the soul. It’s not secret that you will be tired leading up to and on your wedding day. To keep the under eyes looking bright and fresh you should invest in a good eye cream at least three months before you say, ‘I do’. Apply it after moisturising the whole face. Gently tap it into the corner of the eye socket, all the way around to the outer edge. Where possible, try not to rub your eyes when you wake up. Gently pat the eyes with a clean cold wet flannel to stimulate the blood flow. My old faithful is Bobbi Brown’s Extra Repair Eye Creme (£44/15ml).
4. Change your pillow cases. An old fisherman’s wife tale, but I’ve definitely noticed the difference. By switching from a cotton to a silk pillowcase, I seem to retain more of the moisturiser and my skin feels a lot smoother to touch.
5. Don’t have a facial. People love to try and visit me at Harley Street in the month of their wedding and I simply turn them away. I insist in seeing clients as early as four months, but not later than six weeks prior to the big day. Simply put, the skin will detoxify for at least two weeks after the facial, which means you may breakout, have white/black -heads seeping from pores while the skin administers its own ‘waste removal’ especially after one of my Plush Therapy Extraction Facials (£75 for 60mins/ £125). Prioritise and plan your treatments in advance so you don’t have to cover up imperfections on the day or wear concealer because you’ve just waxed and your pores are red and pronounced.
That being said, I wish you the very best with your pre- and post- nuptial skin. Drink lots of water (I find using Acquablend’s Fruit Infusion Bottle, £25, makes it fun and easy to consume different freshly squeezed water of your choice on the go), www.acquablend.com
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