Why You Should Update your Skincare Routine for Autumn

Your skincare routine in many ways is a little bit like your wardrobe - as the seasons change, we should switch out the pieces that don't fit for the changing temperature, as much as we swap our shorts for our jumpers, we should be swapping our moisturisers and serums for something a little more weather appropriate too.

For many, sticking to one moisturiser all year round seems like the safest option when you think you've found 'the one', but not only does the weather change in autumn, but so does our skin and how it reacts to the change in temperature, and even our hormones, so it's important to pick out new products for different seasons. So what should you do to transform your beauty regime from the summer warmth to the autumn crisp chill?

1. Personalise your Skincare Routine!

When putting together a new skincare routine, consider your age, the climate you live in (humid? urban?) your skin type, and how your skin reacts to new products. As a 23 year old living in central London with combination skin that's easily agitated, I need a cleanser that not only will thoroughly remove the dirt and buildup from days when I'm in the city centre, but also be calming to my skin which during the transition between Summer and Autumn always tends to flare up at the slightest change in ingredients. I've been using Sunday Riley's Blue Moon Cleanser - it's a pale blue hard balm in the midnight blue pot, but after warming between your fingers it melts on the skin into a soft balm, lifting away all my makeup and impurities - even on my eyes and lashes. It's perfect if your skin gets a little dry in Autumn, or if, like me, your skin becomes extra sensitised and irritated as it isn't stripping or drying - quite the opposite in fact. The Blue Tansy ingredient which gives the balm it's colour is also used to reduce irritation, so if chilly winds and central heating have stressed out your skin then this balm will soothe, nourish and hydrate - and with the heavenly smell it feels like a pampering treatment every time you use it.

Get Your Beauty Sleep

As skin can become agitated during the change in seasons, its more important than ever that we let skin recover at night. You don't need me to remind you that choosing a night cream, oil or serum that suits your skin type makes an incredible impact on the skin that you wake up with, so spend some time considering the best product for your skin's needs. A product which everyone, I mean everyone was raving about over the Summer months is Sunday Riley's Luna oil, and while I sometimes found it too powerful for Summer, my skin is craving it's skin perfecting abilities now that the temperature is changing. Also containing Blue Tansy like the cleansing balm, it battles any redness in the skin overnight, and your skin drinks in the oils also including Avocado and Chia leaving you with a glowing complexion the following morning. 

Up your Eye Game

Some eye products are just too powerful for the delicate under eye area during the warmer months, but in Autumn, brisk temperatures and often biting winds mean that your eye cream needs to seriously deliver. I've switched to the power-packed Premier Cru Eye Cream from Caudalie - it has revitalising and renewing effects on the delicate eye area and it combats by dark circles and puffiness with the signature blend of highly concentrated ingredients. The evenings drawing in and grey mornings may leave us feeling a little energy zapped, but at least our eyes won't be the tell-tale sign!

Give your Skin What It Wants

Your skin is pretty good at telling you what it wants and needs, and choosing a face mask to target those needs is often the quickest way of giving your skin the pick up that it needs. Clay masks are my favourite and I've been alternating between two recently - first, the L'Occitane Rebalancing Face Mask - the one to try if you want to give your skin a deep cleanse but don't love the tightness of clay masks. With a blend of vegetal and mineral powders, it removes impurities and tightens pores but the essential oils also rejuvenate skin and leave your skin feeling radiant and sebum free.

A mask which packs even more punch is the Chantecaille Detox Face Mask. When my skin is seriously stressed, I treat myself to this heavenly scented black clay mask, which noticeable improves skin tone and tightens pores but again without tightening or stripping skin. This one isn't cheap so I save it for times when my skin is in desperate need of a pick-me-up, and boy does this one deliver.

How do you update your skin for Autumn?

xoxo

LFW | Orla Kiely & Emilia Wickstead Beauty

London Fashion Week kicked off last week in a new location, no longer at the picturesque Somerset House, but instead the streets of SoHo - it was more about the industry itself rather than the glossy image. But look a little closer and the glamour is there, along with the blood sweat and tears of the designers and teams who work so incredibly hard to make Fashion Week happen.

This year I was overwhelmed to be invited backstage at some of the most fabulous shows that LFW has to offer, to catch a glimpse of the collection before it sashayed down the catwalk, and to discover the makeup and hair trends that we will all be lusting for in Spring Summer '16.

I absolutely couldn't miss the Orla Kiely presentation, the collections are always teeming with beautiful prints and textures, and the presentation is always astoundingly creative; in previous years we've seen the models dance through 60s offices or exploring a Safari park, but this season, an entire mini crazy golf course had been set up in one of West London's most fabulous venues.

We munched on golf-ball cake pops as the models stylishly putted their way through the course, laughing and smiling from hole to hole, and perfectly showing off the vibrant collection. The range had a psychedelic 60s / 70s vibe, with pastel details mixed with some earthy tones, and details including lace, leather, and larger than life collars.

Backstage at Emilia Wickstead, I witnessed the girls being prepped and primed ready for their moment on the catwalk. Models skin is often stressed and agitated after constant makeup changes and lack of a proper skincare routine, so Sunday Riley gave the girls a mini facial to bring back their glow before the makeup was applied.

Using products from their new Pro range, firstly the skin was cleansed with the brand new Blue Moon Cleansing balm to remove any makeup traces and impurities from the skin, before a second cleanse using the new floral cleanser, and finished with the matching toner. Depending on the model's skin type, the makeup artists then chose from Sunday Riley's range of oils and serums to give a luminous and healthy finish to their skin.

The collection itself was a blend of apricot, tobacco and strawberry hues, with clusters of beaded embroidery in the shape of an eye - a definite nod to 50's femininity. Girly silhouettes were created with buttoned-up shirt dresses, ladylike blouson overcoats and an enlarged collars were worn with matching pointed-toe flat shoes. Perfect for a lady who lunches!

More daily coverage of London Fashion Week is coming your way, as well as what I wore on each day, be sure to let me know in the comments if this is something you enjoy seeing on Fashion Mumblr!

xoxo

Discovering Sunday Riley

A word of warning; this post may make you want to head to the nearest Space NK and buy things. Buy Sunday Riley things in particular. I've not tried the entire range, but over the past couple of months I've been using a few of their hero offerings, and, I'm in love. The three things that I've been using are the Artemis Hydroactive Face Oil, the Good Genes Treatment and the Ceramic Slip Cleanser. None of them are particularly cheap, but skincare is an area of investment, and this brand is certainly worth saving the pennies for.

Looking at the packaging, I was unsure what to expect before I first tried the products. Of course, I'd heard the  rumours that the oils in particular did magical things, but could something this lovely-looking really create such an impact on my complexion? Well in short, yes.

Let's start with the oil, as that's the first product that I tried from the range. I began testing after finishing off my Darphin Revitalizing oil, and my skin seemed to love oils so I swiftly moved on to Artemis next. Sunday Riley say that this particular facial oil is ideal for 'Split Personality Skin' - that's combination skin that can be oily, sensitive, aggravated, dry... and that pretty much sums up my own complexion. I'm sure by now the myth that oils are to be avoided if you have oily skin has been abolished, and certainly with Artemis it's a wonderful way of balancing and toning the skin. In comparison to Darphin's oil which I was previously using, it's no where near as light, so you can feel it on your skin for some time after application, making before bed an ideal time for use. The results? As well as a lavish experience when you apply it, skin is softened and incredibly plump and calm. My skin has a lovely 'lit from within' glow but without the associated spots, and after 5 weeks of use it seems I've barely made a dent in the stubby bottle - thank god because at �60 a bottle, it's one which you'd hope would last a while!

Next up, convinced that Sunday Riley was sent from above to bring me Angel like skin, I switched my usual cleanser to the Ceramic Slip Cleanser  I didn't think I could love a SR product more than the oil, but this cleanser is something really special. If you love clay masks then this one is for you, equally if you like your pores clear and skin spot-free (so that's everyone then) then you'll love this. Without the waiting time of a mask, this sludge like cleanser - isn't that a lovely thought, but there's no other way to describe the consistency! - just massages on, and is washed off. The immediate effect  is quite tightening on the skin, and for my oily combination skin - it's dreamy. Perfect for 'hormonal' skin or if you do have an oiler complexion, but if your skin is dry, I'd probably choose something else. It's �35 for a bottle but as you need far less of it that you do of most other cleansers, it doesn't work out too painfully expensive in the long run.

Last, but most definitely not least, Good Genes. As you may guess from the name, this product has the end result of looking like you were born with it. Skin that naturally glows and looks just overall, really fab. It's a leave-on treatment that boosts the circulation in your skin while exfoliating and plumping. It's enhanced with lactic acid, so yep, it tingles. It tingles a lot, but if you can tolerate chemical exfoliants then this is definitely one to add to your DIY facial kit. Again only a small amount is needed, and I have only used this four or five times - once a week, but the exceptional glow lasts for days. You could apply before bed as a serum (I only dared this the last time I used it) but I'd highly recommend you test a small patch before you cover your face in this stuff, because it really is powerful. You can shop this, and the rest of the Sunday Riley range at Space NK, or Cult Beauty as well as in store.

Have you discovered Sunday Riley yet?

xoxo

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