Hello readers and followers of my online journal. Over the years, I have really enjoyed writing articles for this site and talking about fashion, make-up, alternative trends, and having a healthy mind, soul, and body. One of the top concerns us women have is how to stay youthful; not only the way to do it, but finding a healthy, natural way. Yes, it is possible and I will tell you what works for me.
My kid is 14 years old now, and I had him my third year in Art College. If you do the math, you can imagine how old I actually am. I will not give a number, but most people cannot believe I am his mom! I’ve been asked if he is my cousin, my brother, my nephew. So many guesses, but mom is not really one of them. I raised him on my own since he was four, living in a small apartment in the west end of Toronto, and I had my shares of ups and downs, good times, and bad times, great boyfriends, and bad ones. And I’ll admit one of the first secrets of staying young is attitude. Always be positive, try not to stress out, and accept yourself, and others for who they are. Be at peace, find religion and God. And remember, you get what you give.
And after the inner work, comes the outer work. Cosmetics and skin care can only enhance and reflect what you already do have. So treating your body and skin with the respect it deserves is key. If your skin is dry, moisturize, if it is oily, tone it. Listen to what it wants, and always understand that there is no turning point when skin is damaged. So prevention is most important. Stay out of the sun or use sunblock all times.
My 5 step night routine is where all the voodoo happens:
- Cleanse your skin. My skin is very dry, so I use a mild liquid castile soap to do the job. Castile soap goes back in time to the days when soap was simple. Just oils and lye mixed together to make soap. If you wear lots of make-up and have oily skin, you may need something stronger, like a specialty face soap, but for me, I have been loving my castile soap, as it cleanses my skin thoroughly without over drying.
- Coconut oil. Virgin, cold pressed and smelling like roasted coconuts is the way to go. After cleaning, I slather a light amount all over my face to soften and prepare it for vitamin E absorption. Because vitamin E and other antioxidant oils are usually thick, the coconut oil increases the spread-ability of the vitamin E.
- Vitamin E oil: the promised land!!! Anti oxidants are naturally ANTI WRINKLE! I spread a layer of this stuff on problem areas first; such as the corners of your mouth/ smile lines, the corners of your eyes and high cheeks, the forehead and even under the chin. After years of smiling, crying and just being human, our emotions try to carve out “character” in our faces by leaving lines. Let emotions do that? I say, no.
- Use an anti-wrinkle balm/cream: I make an awesome anti aging balm called “Face Tight”, that not only aims to prevent wrinkles, but also aims to prevent the skin sagging that is often the giver away of age. If your face stays tight, you stay young! I apply “Face Tight” after the vitamin E application. (Between each step, I give time for my skin to absorb each oil before slathering on another. For me about 30 mins is usually good, but feel for yourself how long it takes for your skin to be ready for the next treatment.)
- Finish with a night cream–light or heavy, whatever you need. Just before I go to bed, I like to put a thin layer of night cream to top off all of my treatments for extra protection. During the night, your skin loses so much moisture, so I find the night cream seals all the goodness in and lets me wake up with benefits only.
So these are the 5 products I use nightly! it’s a lot, but don’t knock what works: (left to right) liquid castile soap, virgin coconut oil, vitamin E, anti-age balm, night cream.
So that is my nightly skincare routine! I’ve been doing my face this way for years now, and I find it the way for me to prevent and heal fine lines that want to creep up. I also find this is how to keep collagen and face elasticity up, during the years when your face becomes tired and wants to sag a bit. So gear up and fight this!
Dreamy Reveries: a journal of make-up and fashion 