The Skin Project: Toning review

Posted on Sunday, at bought • 304 views

The Skin Project is a blog project showcasing bloggers' skin and skincare routines. It was started by Lianne over at UK beauty blog The Brunette Says. Posts go live every Sunday from December 1 2013 to January 26 2014. Want to see more posts? Look on Twitter for the hashtag #TheSkinProject.

The Skin Project: Toning

Thanks to the joy of email filters, I'm actually a day late posting this smile I've posted about skincare before, in my Beauty Basics tutorial series; but that was kind of generalized advice with a few bits of personal experience. This series is specifically about my skin and skincare routine.

I'm 44 years old. I didn't start wearing makeup regularly until I was in my very late 30s. That may have contributed slightly toward my generally pretty-nice-looking skin, in that Less Stuff Was Done to it; but I think that genetics also plays a role. My mother didn't start looking like she was in her 50s until she was in her 60s. My skintone is fair with cool undertones (MAC Pro Longwear Foundation NW20, BE Fair, Meow Cosmetics' Frisky Chausie, Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream #13) and I sometimes wear foundation that's half a shade darker in the summer months.

I have combination skin that gets drier in winter. I wear SPF 70 very zealously on my face, hands, arms and neck because I've had several family members who've dealt with melanoma. I don't currently have breakouts aside from the very occasional (every few months) spot, but I had stereotypical teen-density acne when I was a teen and in my 20s; and the evidence still shows a bit. (Keepen handzen off der facen is life advice that caught on a bit too late.) My pores are not gigantic, but they're visible; and part of my no longer having breakouts is due to keeping my skin clean and gently exfoliated.

I'm a big fan of inexpensive moisturizing body washes, and Bath and Body Works' sugar scrubs and scented body creams. (I'd be so happy if BBW would just stop discontinuing scents once I fall in love with them!) I spend a lot of time at the computer, and so the skin on my elbows is extra dry and gets a little more abuse from being propped on the chair arms. I also regularly use lanolin on my heels to keep that skin soft - or I go through stockings like nobody's business.

Another way that I'm fortunate is that I seem to have no chemical sensitivities. I'm more likely to not wear a lotion or foundation because it feels too heavy or too greasy, rather than because it causes breakouts or rashes.

I have some faint issues with reddened skin around my nose, but with a little bit of color-correction I'm fine. I have some light freckling that shows up when I wear tinted moisturizer and no foundation (my ‘no-makeup' day makeup.) I have the beginnings of smile lines and laugh lines at the corners of my eyes that are, of course, far more pronounced when I actually smile or laugh; and slight bags that are easily handled with moisturizing serum. I'm not too worried about getting rid of the smile and laugh lines, because they're still extremely faint; and if I'm in my 50s and beyond and don't have faint smile and/or laugh lines, I would wonder how I've wasted half a century not enjoying my life. Though I will admit that I'd probably feel differently if they were this visible and I was 18 years old.

I'm seeing more signs of ageing - dry skin, wrinkling, and age spots - on my hands and arms than on my face or neck. Probably because I wash my hands frequently, but have not ever been in the habit of using hand cream as much; and because in warmer weather I wear short sleeves, but while I always remember to put SPF on my face and neck (and usually the backs of my hands) I don't always remember my arms. I've started using hand cream more conscientiously in the past few years, but I still have to remind myself.

All in all, I'm fairly happy with my skin, and don't have to do much apart from my normal skincare routine to keep my skin healthy.

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