Start off with a nice steam - you can use chamomile or something else herbal you have hanging around the house or make it really easy on yourself with: LUSH Moon and Sun Steamer Tab - $2.95 - a blend of oils for the mind and skin that will steam clean your face while you inhale the mood adjusting essential oils. Neroli oil brings you a blast of its mood lifting power, while lavender oil balances and soothes the skin.
Just drop a tab into a bowl of hot water put your face over it and drape a towel around your head to make your own mini sauna! Word of warning - do NOT do this over a pot on the stove (especially with the element still on) - I know someone who set their hair on fire this way!
After steaming is a great time to slap on a mask! You can use any type suited to your skin but even my combination skin feels dried out after a night of drinking so I prefer something more moisturizing like: StriVectin-SH Dermal Infusion Mask - 120ml - $75 - alleviates dry, tired skin by quickly infusing skin cells with moisture and nutrients to help renew skin from the inside out with ingredients including: Sweet Almond Oil, Rice Bran Oil and Omega-6 Fatty Acid - to seal in intensive moisture while conditioning and softening skin for a suppler, more luminous complexion; A proprietary blend of skin-identical Ceramides to help boost the skin's moisture retention and surface smoothness; an exclusive blend of Goji Berry, Bearberry and Blueberry antioxidants to help reduce free radical damage; and a patented NIA-114 molecule to help strengthen skin layers to allow skin to better retain natural moisture for more tones, radiant skin.
Available at The Bay and online at The Shopping Channel - www.theshoppingchannel.com.
When my skin looks tired, my go-to ingredient is Vitamin C - nothing is better for perking my skin up quick! A good one is Elizabeth Grant Vitamin C Day Treatment - 50ml - $40 - with Vitamin C and Torricelumn to leave the skin looking clearer, brighter, smoother and more radiant.
Available online at www.elizabethgrant.com
Nothing feels better on puffy, overpartied eyes then a nice cool eye roller like: The Body Shop Natrulift Refreshing Eye Roll-On - 10ml - $26 - cools, hydrates, softens the appearance of wrinkles and targets puffiness with organic pomegranate seed oil, pomegranate peel and pomegranate pulp, plus Community Fair Trade organic aloe vera from Guatemala.
Available in-store or online at www.thebodyshop.ca
Most of all, you will need water, lots and lots of water! Drink it out of the tap if you like or get fancy with Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water - an exceptionally pure, carbon-neutral water with an optimal mineral balance. You may be interested to know that Icelandic Glacial will be the exclusive hydration method used in the new DIORSNOW product line from Dior, which will launch in the first quarter of 2012 throughout the Asian market. If it's good enough for Dior, it's good enough for me!
Available across Canada and the US in specialty food stores.
I hope you have a great night tonight and a relaxing day of pampering tomorrow - Happy New Year!
- Lisamarie -