Photographed by Ziga Mihelcic.
With the party season’s long days and longer nights, ensure your skin gets the care it needs to avoid a mid-month slump.
CLEANUP CREW
Statement makeup means you have to cleanse thoroughly each night. Dirt, oil, pollutants, old skin cells, and bacteria can leave the dermis looking dull, while preventing products from penetrating the skin. “Small particles or chemicals in makeup can let dirt collect, clog pores, and stop sebum production,” explains Dr Shawana Vali, founder of LMS Wellness Clinic in London. “This creates an environment for bacteria to grow, which can result in breakouts.” Use gentle, soap-and paraben-free cleansers suitable for your skin type and take care not to over-cleanse. “Using harsh detergents on your face strips your skin of its natural moisture barrier, which causes oil glands to produce even more oil to protect your skin,” says Dr Vali.
Originally printed in the December 2018 issue of Vogue Arabia.
THE MASK
Sheet masks are the perfect solution for injecting nutrient-packed serums into your dermis. “Slow down, celebrate time out, and indulge in some serious at-home spa-grade pampering,” advises Lejla Cas, founder of Knesko Skin. Its collagen gel masks are celebrity favorites – the Kardashians and Jessica Alba have all used them for their purported skin-calming effects. “Clinical actives work on your skin and gemstones and reiki work on your spirit,” explains Cas.
SLEEPING BEAUTY
The key to surviving the party season? Sleep. “During the day, your body is busy defending you from UV rays and pollution, digesting food, burning energy, and running on the stress hormones of life,” says Dr Vali. Nighttime is when your body sets about restoring itself. “When you sleep, your entire body goes into repair mode. Skin is no exception,” she explains. “During sleep, your skin’s natural repair processes kick into gear. UV overexposure is healed, impurities are detoxified, and the moisture barrier is rebuilt.” Make sure to get seven hours of shut-eye every evening at a minimum, even if it means hanging up your dancing shoes a little bit earlier.
ONE-HIT WONDERS
Ampoules – small, hermetically sealed vials used for medicine – have entered the beauty mainstream as tiny vessels for transformative serums. The single-dose capsules hold super-charged concentrates, such as in the Royal Fern Phytoactive Illuminating Ampoules and the Rituals Firming Ampoule Boosters. Use for a week or 10 days as an intensive treatment, or occasionally to inject extra nutrients into your routine.
EYE ON ILLUMINATION
Without adequate recovery time, your eyes will show the signs of fatigue first. “The skin tires quickly and suffers from deficiencies that render it dull and irregular due to the changes in season, stress, and lack of sleep,” says Edouard Mauvais-Jarvis, environmental and scientific communications director at Christian Dior Parfums. Add in pollution, sun exposure, and factors like air conditioning and humidity, and you have a recipe for tired-looking eyes. It’s difficult to disguise puffiness, dark circles, and a loss of radiance with makeup, which is where technologically advanced skincare can come to the rescue. Enter Dior Prestige La Micro-Huile de Rose, which promises to awaken and energize the eye area.
The Rose de Granville – discovered 15 years ago by Dior’s scientific researchers close to Christian Dior’s childhood home on the cliffs at Granville – is essential to its latest formula. Its 20 micronutrients have been found to be key to skin strength. “A cutting-edge phytochemical analysis has enabled Dior Science to precisely identify each of the molecules at the heart of the Rose de Granville: minerals, trace elements, phytonutrients, aspartic acid, antioxidant vitamins B3, B5, and E, and omegas 6 ,3, and 9 fatty acids,” says Dr Jan Frank from the Institute of Biological Chemistry and Nutritional Science at the University of Hohenheim in Germany.
By harvesting the fruit only once a year when it’s at its ripest, Dior can produce the highest concentration of high energy phyto-nutrients. “For our Prestige range, we start with a slow and controlled dual extraction process, which makes it possible to extract all the rose’s micronutrients,” Mauvais-Jarvis explains. “Then micro-encapsulation restores their power in the formula with a new-generation texture composed of rose micro-pearls.”
For the eyes specifically, Dior Prestige Le MicroSérum De Rose Yeux can be massaged into the skin using the applicator’s 10 rotating ceramic balls. It can be smoothed along the lower eyelid to decongest the area, as well as gliding it along the inner hollow and eyelid to revive and soothe the area. The results are instant, with dark circles and puffiness visibly reduced. After four weeks of continuous use, the eye area looks rested and illuminated, even after an evening of event-hopping.
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