An Expert Facialist Shares Her AM & PM Routines
@OliviaFrancescaSkin
AM:
After I wake up, I’ll hop in the shower and wash my body with Naturium’s The Glow Getter; it’s so gentle, which is ideal for me as I’m prone to sensitivity. My skin type is slightly difficult – I have combination skin that runs dry but it can also get quite congested. As the water’s running, I’ll cleanse my face with Bioeffect’s gel-milk, which is lovely and calming, or sometimes Youth To The People’s Superfood. I like a slightly foamy consistency but this isn’t at all stripping. Instead, it leaves your skin feeling nice and balanced.
Once I’m out the shower I’ll apply the Bioeffect EGF Essence for a hydration boost. I’m actually skipping vitamin C at the moment – the Medik8 C-Tetra is usually my go-to but as an ingredient, it can be quite acidic. All skins tolerate vitamin C differently and I have a lot of clients who have issues with it, so at the moment I’m testing a few hyaluronic acid serums to see what could work for them instead. QMS Medicosmetics Day Collagen Serum is one I’m really liking; it has a glycerin base and contains aloe vera so it’s really calming and gives your skin a plump, dewy look. Aside from daily SPF, my best skincare tip is to use a serum – this is the stage where you want to be treating your main concerns. It delivers actives directly to the skin, penetrating deeper than a moisturiser can.
I then pop on some eye cream and follow up with SPF; I wear it on my face every single day. There are two I flit between – iS Clinical Extreme Protect SPF40 and Intradermology Synergy 6 NX-Gen SPF50. Both are quite thick, so they double up as moisturiser and sun protection. Plus, the Intradermology has a slightly blurring effect, so it reduces the appearance of pores and smooths over an uneven texture. I personally advocate for a bit of vitamin D, so I won’t actually apply SPF to my body until I’m directly in the sun.
Before I leave the house, I always make sure I’ve taken my vitamins. Epetōme by Emily English is a gut supplement I like – it’s essentially a pro and prebiotic in one. The others I take daily are omega-3, which is great for supporting the skin, as well as electrolytes and milk thistle.
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PM:
The most elaborate part of my routine takes place in the evening at the weekend when I’m getting ready for an event. I double cleanse with the Susanne Kaufmann Deep Cleansing Oil and Reome Three Suns Balm – if I’m feeling really indulgent, I’ll actually use Therabody’s new Depuffing Wand on the heat mode to relax my facial muscles. After that I do a bit of massage for five minutes, I use my knuckles to ease any tension, moving my fingertips in a flicking motion to stimulate blood flow and then targeting the pressure points to depuff and sculpt. Then I use what I feel is the best microcurrent device on the market, Déesse Pro Sculpta. It’s really powerful and works by combining electrical muscle stimulation, radiofrequency and LED light therapy to make your skin appear renewed and bouncy. After that, I like to flood my skin with moisture using the 111SKIN Rose Gold sheet mask and Reome Active Recovery Broth. Finally, I seal in the moisture with a lightweight barrier cream. I also massage a fragranced body cream into my skin. The one I’m obsessed with is Dior’s Jasmin Des Anges which feels especially apt now we’re heading into spring.
On weekdays, my evening skincare routine is more pared-back. I usually cleanse with something I’ve used in the morning, or the Reome if I’ve been wearing make-up. Before vitamin A, I apply a light layer of hyaluronic acid to my skin, just for some extra hydration. My favourite retinol is by iS Clinical. It’s ultra-gentle and a little goes a long way. In the first few weeks you can actually see your dead skin cells coming away but there’s no major purge stage. I’ll then follow up with Naturium’s Multi-Peptide Moisturiser or, more likely, an oil. I love an oil, massaging it into the skin just feels so therapeutic. The one I love most is by Ishga; it’s a beautiful Scottish brand that uses seaweed extract as its hero ingredient.
I don’t actually exfoliate my skin daily – I leave that for when I do a facial on myself which tends to be every four to six weeks. There are a few different steps that I’ll use to treat my skin: dermaplaning, a mild chemical peel, some Hydrafacial around the T-zone, followed by LED light therapy, a hydration mask and finishing with some oxygen therapy.
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@OliviaFrancescaSkin
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