Getting Party Ready with these Skincare Picks!

Getting prepped for the big parties ahead can sometimes be daunting for me… not because of the choice of makeup, but getting my skin in shape is often a challenge.  God knows all the stresses from finding the perfect gift for everyone, planning that magical Christmas dinner, and even the romanticism of a year-end getaway invariably ends up stressing my skin out more.  So, I have gathered together a half dozen of skincare picks that addresses everything from stressed-out looking skin, to perfecting that v-shaped face.  Today’s post is not so much about an in-depth review, because frankly I don’t have the time to sit down and write in detail and I’m guessing you don’t have the leisure to read through that either.  Rather, these are some of the things that I have found myself reaching for lately, and I would like to share them with you – enjoy!

For Dry and/or Dull Complexions in need of some picking up:

I was very touched when the lovely Cat of Cat’s Daily Living suggested me to the beautiful ladies at Rosalena (without my knowledge), and they very generously in turn reached out and offered to send me their precious Rock & Rose Face Oil and Goodness & Tonic Face Mist.    It’s a dog-eat-dog world as a blogger, and to have a friend so willing to share out of a genuine love for skincare, and a desire to spread the word on good products beyond her own platform, is rare indeed.  That, coupled with the fact that throughout my interactions with Rosalena, they have been more than patient with me, and genuinely interested to hear about my skin’s complexities; made these pair of face oil and mist even more special.

Rosalena Skincare hails from London, UK; and offers a range of high performance skincare that uses honest ingredients with transparent labelling.  The brand’s ethos revolves around offering affordable products that work and are a pleasure to use daily.  Their Rock & Rose Face Oil has saved my skin from a couple of overseas trips recently where I was exposed to cold, blustery winds and returned chapped and peeling.  It is formulated with several plant-based oils to deeply moisturise the skin, omega-3 & -6 as well as vitamin E and other antioxidants to prevent aging.  I love that it also contains Coenzyme Q10 which is a powerful skin regenerator, increasing cellular turnover and hence boosting skin repair, and prevents free radical damage.  For a full list of ingredients, please click here.  I found the oil to be lightweight, easily absorbed by my skin, and goes on well under makeup.  Please also pop over to Cat’s detailed review here.

Everybody loves a good face mist, but they are not all made equal.  Rosalina’s Goodness & Tonic Face Mist contains plant essential oils such as Melissa & Orange Blossom to stimulate and rejuvenate the skin.  Bergamot, Sweet Orange and Grapefruit oils also help to energize and reinvigorate.  I like to add a couple of spritzes of this on my beauty blender and brushes to blend out my foundation, and finish with another spritz at the end.  This helps perk up my tired complexion, and also helps me makeup go on smoother!  I love that Rosalena products are formulated without parabens, PEGS, phthalates, sulphates, synthetic colours, fragrances and preservatives.  You may shop both the Rock & Rose Face Oil and Goodness & Tonic Face Mist here.

For droopy and/or puffy eyes and puffy face:

I have been living off both of these gems from Clarins for a long time, as you can see from the sizeable dip in the mask and the faded print on the bottle.  The Clarins Enhancing Eye Lift Serum is 1 of only 2 eye serums that truly help lift my droopy and heavily hooded lids.  I love it so much because a tiny bit (less than half a pearl) is sufficient for both my eye areas, helping to lift the lids, tighten the contours, and keep my dry undereye hydrated – no separate eye cream needed!  This is the latest reformulated version, and contains Guarana to break down natural excess pockets of fats around the eye area, Zerumbet Ginger to depuff, and Organic Oats to lift the upper lids.  For a full list of ingredients, please click here.

The Clarins V-Facial Intensive Wrap has also been recently reformulated, and is meant to be a pre-event skin prep to help relieve puffiness, lift and tone the facial contours for that perfect v-shaped face, and brighten the complexion!  This is no ordinary facial mask, but is more akin to a spa wrap.  The texture is a thick mousse that stays in the same texture and consistency throughout, but does not drip nor slide off the face.  It works best if left to chill in the fridge before application, and is meant to be applied to the cheeks, jaw and neck (not the eye area and temples).  Leave on for 10 minutes, and finish with some simple lifting hand massages as shown here.  A full list of ingredients may be found here.  I’m generally cynical to any claims about lifting facial shape, but I did a half-faced experiment, and was surprised by the immediate difference this Clarins V-Facial Intensive Wrap made!

For dry lips & a tired looking complexion:

I don’t know about you, but I tend to pull out my most long-lasting lip stains for parties, because I hate touching up, and I often feel self-conscious when my lipstick wears off unevenly.  But all that comes at a price, and my lips are often left feeling chapped and uncomfortable.  Glamglow’s latest Poutmud range comes with several options to treat those lip ails.  The one I have here is a mini lip balm in a transparent shade (there is also a larger size and several tinted color options to choose from), housed in a cute silver round container that’s cool to tote around.  It is completely non-sticky, feels very comforting on the lips, and stays on well for hours.  I have slept with it, and woke up with it still on my lips (and no sticky stains on my sheets either!).  You may refer here for the full list of ingredients, but basically it contains a cocktail of super-powered plant oils to repair and hydrate, and also natural tea and mint leaves for a minty, refreshing kiss!

Glamglow makes some really cool masks, and the futuristic silver Gravitymud is no exception.  It comes with its own brush applicator which makes applying the mask a breeze, seriously one of the best mask brushes ever!  Leave it on for 20-30minutes to dry, and then simply peel it off.  I often find peel-off masks hard to get completely off, and was very happy to find Gravitymud comes off easily in 1 stroke!!  It only gets tricky if you get on the hairline, so just stay away or wear a hair band to keep hair off the face, and you’ll be fine.  After removing, I found my skin looking brighter, clearer, and tauter in a way that makes the surface of my skin look smoother and pores minimised!  I didn’t find it lifting my face the way the Clarins V-Facial Intensive Wrap did, but this Glamglow Gravitymud worked to tighten and tone in a way that I really do appreciate, especially for days when my skin just feel slack and listless.  Full list of ingredients here.

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So there you are, 6 skincare picks for just about any skincare woes you may find, to get you into party ready mode!  Let me know in the comments section below if you have any questions about any of them, and I will try to be as helpful as possible.  I’d also be curious to know if you’ve tried any of these, or if there are any you love that I must absolutely check out!  I will be back soon with some skincare picks for post-party SOS… so stay tuned!!

_{This post featured products that were all generously provided for my consideration.  Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.}