Since coming home from our European holiday, my skin has not been the best and I haven't had very good sleep. My skin is so much drier in the Sydney climate, and probably isn't helped with my severe hay fever allergies which also spurs some occasional eczema. And then I guess some of my anxieties are creeping into my head during my sleep. Happiness from being carefree of a 9-5 comes with the cost of feeling unsettled with insecurities about where my next direction will head. But I'm slowly getting there and working on a plan!
One thing that I've noticed that has helped my skin settle a bit are facial massages, done right in the comfort of my own home! I'm loving this technique as part of my night time skincare routine where I massage in my Korres Wild Rose Overnight Sleeping Facial cream (now called Advanced Repair Sleeping Facial - a new discovery from Athens for me) on my face until it's fully absorbed or for just 5 minutes before bed. I can truly feel the blood rush to the surface of my skin, which gives nice warm sensation and is instantly calming too.
(1) Dot your cream of choice on your cheeks, chin, nose and forehead. My current night cream of choice is the Korres Overnight Sleeping Facial cream, and my day cream of choice is a switch up between the Korres 24 Hour Moisturising & Brightening Cream and the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream if I'm about to put on some makeup. Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentrate is also a wonderful cheaper alternative (you can buy that here).
(2) Jawline: pinch your chin by placing your thumb under your chin and either just the index finger or the index finger plus your middle finger above your chin, and pinch along your jawline in one long stroke from the chin up to the end of the jawbone under your ears. Alternatively hold your chin between thumb and index finger in one hand and spread your thumb and fingers in a V shape up the jawline.
(3) Cheek bones: Massage the cream in circular motions on your cheekbones then using your thumb or index and middle finger, lightly push under the cheek bones towards the temple in long even strokes.
(5) Tap Tap Tap!
I usually like to finish off any massage, face or body, with a light tapping (or brushing) along the skin with my fingers. For the face, I like to do one or a combo of the following techniques:
(a) Using all four fingers of both hands, place the left fingers along the left cheek highlight area under the eyes, and do the same with your right fingers on the right cheek highlight area under the eyes. Then tap your fingers quite swiftly in that position as if you're playing the piano
(b) Do the same as in (a) but using only your index and middle fingers running along the cheek highlight area under the eyes.
(c) Using just the index and middle fingers of both hands again, and lightly tap your finger tips or finger pads starting from the edge of the nose and work up the cheekbone highlight area towards your temple.
(d) Just a light brushing or tapping all over the face from temple down to the chin and then tap back up.
And you're done!
Remember this is meant to be a calming 5 minutes to your day so don't go prodding crazy. Deep breaths and relax. It has been a game changer for me and my fluctuating anxieties. Sometimes I just do the tap tap tap technique while I'm reading a book in bed!
Facial massages trigger lymphatic drainage, which encourages blood circulation around the face, reduce sinuses, plumps up the skin and works the cream product better into your skin.
During a master class with world renowned Ozzie Rae Morris, she encouraged makeup artists to give their clients/models a bit of facial massage as a nice pre makeup application treat. And since then, I've done exactly that on anyone I've practised makeup on or actual clients too! This is a double whammy in that it calms the other person and makes foundation base application so much easier when the skin is prepped and warm.
I hope you enjoy these steps! For a more in depth facial oil massage, check out the techniques shared by Into The Gloss! And also Charlotte Tilbury's technique pre makeup application here.
As for my current anxieties, I read recently that often fear is the same emotion as excitement, so I'm just keeping that thought at bay and trying not to worry too much.
X
p.s. I'll report back on how the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream performs in a couple of months :)
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