The New Northerner Guest Post - Summer Skin Care Routine

I am on holiday from 17th August until 24th August so I have arranged for some guest posts from some fabulous bloggers. Next up is the lovely Lucy who I recently met at the #ManchesterMeetUp. I hope you enjoy this post.

Rachel x

Hi! My name is Lucy and I have a little blog called The New Northerner where I write all about my life and loves, from beauty to yummy food!

Today I'm writing a guest post for Rachel to share with you - my everyday skincare routine during the summer. 

Morning routine 

I have a slightly different routine, depending on whether it is morning or evening.

In the morning, I wash my face with the Nivea Daily Essentials Refreshing Facial Wash Gel. This is just a really simple basic cleanser that does a great job of waking me up in the morning and refreshing my skin without leaving it feeling stripped. 

Once I've patted my face dry, I use the No 7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum. Now this is a product that has received a lot of hype over the years. And yes, I've bought right into it! I'm only in my twenties so I'm not a wrinkly old lady yet, but I use this in the hope that it might prevent / delay the wrinklies. I don't use it all over my face; I just use it on my forehead and around my eyes as I figure that those are the areas that are most likely to develop any wrinkles. 

As a contrast to anti-ageing, I also always have a spot treatment on hand, in case I get the attack of any blemish nasties. I recently picked up the Grease Lightning Spot Treatment from Lush when I was on the Manchester Blogger Meet Up (which is incidentally the first time I met Rachel!). I've seen a lot of people talking about this in the blogger community so I was keen to give a shot. It’s full of tea tree and witch hazel, aiming to get rid of any spots before they show themselves. So far I'm pretty impressed and I do think that it has made a difference. I don’t have bad skin by any means, but I am prone to the odd blemish around my chin area every now and again, and I do think that this has reduced the size of any blemishes I've had. The only downside to this product is the pump. Whilst it makes the product very hygienic, I feel that it dispenses too much product at a time, which would be fine if you wanted to use it over a large area, but not if you only want a small amount. 

Then for moisturising, during the summer months I use the L'Occitane Angelica UV Shield as my moisturiser. I'm super pale so an SPF is essential for me and this product has SPF 40 which is perfect. It contains organic angelica water and essential oils so it has a lovely light, smooth texture when you apply it, but doesn't leave the skin feeling at all oily. It just leaves a lovely radiant finish. I have bought multiple bottles of this and am totally hooked! 

Evening routine 

In the evening, I obviously don't need any SPF, plus I look for a slightly more intensive cleanser to remove my make up. 

To take off the grime of the day, I use the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, which I know is also one of Rachel’s favourites. This is a product that is definitely worth the hype; I absolutely love it. It leaves my face feeling so clean and smooth. It's a really rich cream that you massage into your dry skin and then use the muslin cloths that come with it to gently polish off the cream, followed by rinsing your face off with water. It has a really herby smell which must come from the rosemary in it. Using the muslin cloths is great because it gives you a bit of an exfoliation as well as a cleanse. Once I've dried my skin, I'll pop on some of my No 7 serum and the Grease Lightning if I need any. 

Then it’s time to get down to moisturising. I use the Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser. This does what it says on the tin and is just a simple moisturiser that I have bought time and time again. It doesn't feel as luxurious as the L'Occitane, but then again, what do you expect when you're paying only about 10% of the price! 

My final step is the Eve Lom Eye Cream. This is a really thick eye cream so I only use it at night as it can be a bit rich to try and apply make up on top when I'm in a rush in the mornings. This feels really luxurious, and so it should do for the price tag! 

About once a week, if I fancy a treat, I will pop on a face mask. The ones I'm using currently are from the Avon Planet Spa Face Mask Gift Set which comes with three different types of masks, all in little individual sachets. With face masks, I often find that sachets contain too much product, but these contain just the right amount. You get the Mediterranean Olive Oil Hydrating Face Mask, Japanese Sake and Rice Smoothing Face Mask and the Dead Sea Minerals Facial Mud Mask. My favourite is the mud mask as it just leaves my face feeling so clean. I'll put one onto a freshly cleansed face and even though it’s really thick, it dries in about five minutes. To remove it I use a wet flannel and then give my face a clean with the Liz Earle to make sure that I've removed all of the product. This is a fun, inexpensive set to try if you're looking to try out a few different face masks. 

So there you have it – my current skincare routine! I'm pretty happy with it right now, but if you have any product recommendations for me, please let me know!

Lucy x