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Sian Victoria © - Boots Beauty, Vegan & Cruelty-free skincare

Best skincare tips & products to use

Honestly, I’ve missed being pampered at a spa while chatting all thing’s skincare during a deep pore facial treatment and leaving with glowing skin. But right now, it’s not essential. Don’t get me wrong I will be looking forward to booking an appointment when the time is right to support the beauty industry.

However, this time away from the salon has given me the nudge I needed to step up my skincare routine at home and to research what’s best for my skin type and ensure that I never skip an essential part of the routine that’s vital to my skin’s health and appearance.

Many of you may know that I’ve always relied on Boots for things like skincare and Christmas shopping. So, it felt right to join their ‘Summer Skin at Home’ Campaign to share with you why it’s so important to up your beauty game. Even more so during the summer months when our skin is most vulnerable and requires extra attention to protect it from the sun’s harmful rays by applying a facial SPF.

For taking part in the campaign I was provided with a £50 budget to pick the best skincare products suitable for my skin type.

Skincare tips for choosing products for oily combination skin

When it comes to choosing skincare for my oily-combination skin type, I’m extremely fussy after years of struggling with hormonal acne. So now that I finally have a relatively clear complexion, I’ve created myself a set of rules to ensure I maintain the progress of my skin by only using products that tick off my beauty checklist:

The beauty brand must be vegan and cruelty-free.
The product must be formulated with as many natural ingredient’s as possible so that they are safe and caring to my thin facial skin.
The ingredient list must be full of skin-loving vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to support skin health.
Ingredients must have a non-comedogenic rating of 0. Or if there’s a product I think will be beneficial to me the comedogenic rating can’t be any more than 1 or at a push 2. An ingredient with a comedogenic rating of 0 means it won't clog pores whereas a rating of 1 means there’s a possibility of blackheads and whiteheads and a rating of 2 or above means the skin is likely to breakout.

Thankfully, Boots have skincare that is perfect for me and ticks off all my beauty checklist. I’m especially pleased to see Boots has a growing range of vegan & cruelty-free beauty.

So now you know the types of products I prefer to use on thin, oily to combination skin I wanted to share a few expert skincare tips that I live by. These have been approved by the skincare professionals I have had the pleasure of chatting to during treatments. These can be applied to your everyday at-home skincare routine.

Sian Victoria © - Boots Beauty, Vegan & Cruelty-free skincare, Botanics, SuperFacialist & Nip + Fab

9 Expert-approved skincare tips to live by

Rain or shine, applying a facial SPF cream every day is essential regardless of the weather. Exposure to UV rays can cause sun damage, skin cancer and premature ageing. Apply an SPF every 2 hours especially if your spending time outdoors but also when you’re indoors using a digital device. The blue light emitted from screens can penetrate deeper than the suns UV rays. It helps to turn off the blue light in your brightness settings too. Plus, always apply SPF to your ears and scalp as these areas are most often missed.
As frustrating as it is. Never squeeze, pick or scratch spots, whiteheads, blackheads or scabs. The more you do the more you’ll get and you’re very likely to cause skin damage. Resist the urge and you’ll gradually see you’ll get less and less.
Instead of popping pores, use charcoal or clay masks 1-2 times a week to consistently keep on top of unclogging dirt and excess sebum from pores. Over time pores will be minimised. But it is important to always remove every trace of makeup to prevent build-up and to wash your face twice a day AM and PM. Having a clean pillow helps too as hair oils and greasy hand creams can contribute towards clogging pores.
Avoid using harsh exfoliants with irregularly shaped particles. For years I used apricot scrubs and eventually found out during a skincare consultation that they were causing micro-tears on the surface of my skin and gradually weakening the skin's barrier. Because of this, my skin is thin, more prone to dry, flaky patches, redness, and signs of sensitivity. To avoid the same scenario, use a liquid exfoliation containing glycolic acid instead.
Don’t use hot water on the skin. This includes the face, scalp and body as its damaging and can strip the skin (and hair!) of its natural oils making it dry and causing broken capillaries that will be visible on the skin's surface. This can happen when squeezing spots too. Instead use luke-warm water to open the pores and cold water to close, freshen and regenerate.

When choosing a cleanser find one that contains Salicylic acid to keep on top of unclogging your pores daily. For face masks use ones that are either charcoal or clay and contain AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) and BHA (beta hydroxy acid) as these are best for reducing textured skin, congestion, uneven skin tone and providing antibacterial properties to prevent spots.
Poor diet and lack of exercise can directly affect the skin too. For example, iron deficiency can cause pale skin and dark circles. Lack of vitamin A can encourage hormonal acne and a diet without enough vitamin C can reduce the skin's collagen and stop it from being smooth and supple. So, keep active and try to get plenty of nutrition from food and take a multivitamin to back you up, ideally a supplement that has the least unnecessary fillers and binders.
Nourish the skin inside and out. As well as adding essential nutrition to your diet add it to your skincare routine too. Serums and other lotions & potions containing vitamin A, C, D & E should be your best friend. Vitamin D is essential for cell growth, repair and for destroying free radicals that can cause premature ageing.
Hydrating the skin and body is essential. Try to consume at least 2 liters/8 cups a day. Alternatively infusing the water with lemons or berries will provide a vitamin C boost while making water more enjoyable.

If you’ve followed my skins journey over the past 3-4 years, you’ll know I live by these tips and they have completely transformed my skin during this time.

Now onto the vegan & cruelty-free skincare, I picked out from Boots. The following products will make you feel like you’ve had a mini professional facial at home so the skin will be clean, bright, soft, hydrated and protected.

Step 1: Pre-Cleanse

Sian Victoria © - Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil

When I have facials, beauty therapists tend to use a pre-cleansing oil to gently massage into the face and neck to remove makeup, dirt and oil on the surface of the skin. This always feels luxurious, so I picked out the Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil along with the Botanics 100% Organic Muslin Cloths to wipe away the grime.

The Superfacialist oil contains Vitamin C to provide the skin with a collagen boost making it appear more youthful, with a healthy glow and smoother by reducing bumpy skin texture. It’s also infused with Sunflower, Olive, Grapeseed, Rosehip, Raspberry and Cucumber oil to truly nourish and beautify the skin.

To use the lightweight cleansing oil, pour a few drops onto hands and massage the oil into the face and neck. Then add water for it to transform into a milky texture. Follow by removing with a damp muslin cloth.

Now the face is free from makeup, I recommend doing a double cleanse so that the ingredients can focus on cleaning the skin more deeply now that it can get to your pores more freely. This will ensure the face is squeaky clean. To cleanse either use your usual cleanser or one that contains salicylic acid like this Super Facialist Salicylic Acid Purifying Cleansing Wash.

Step 2: Exfoliate

Sian Victoria © - Nip+Fab Extreme Glycolic Fix Night Pads

Avoid exfoliating creams with bits in like the plague. Instead, choose a more effective method of exfoliation that won't damage the surface of the skin. The Nip+Fab Extreme Glycolic Fix Night Pads has been my go-to for almost a year now so these were not picked within the £50 skincare budget. However, I just had to share them with you as they are my beauty essential for removing dead skin to reveal a glowing complexion thanks to its concentrated blend of AHAs + BHAs.

The Nip+Fab night exfoliate tub contains 3 of the best exfoliating ingredients’ in one pre-soaked pad. The 5% glycolic acid solution aids natural skin exfoliation to refine the texture of the skin. While salicylic acid helps to unclog congested pores along with lactic acid that gently weakens the bonds holding the dead skin cells together.

Only ever use these 2-3 times a week at night, or once a week if you have sensitive skin like me. The following day you must wear an SPF in the morning as they’ll make your skin extra vulnerable to the sun.

Step 3: Tone

Sian Victoria © - Botanics Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz

To soothe, purify, refresh and ensure the pores are closed spray Botanics Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz generously over the face and neck after cleansing. The toner contains the essential oils from the Rosa Damascena flower which has a pH balance of 7 meaning it is considered pure.

The spray also contains Glycerin sourced from plants. This helps to moisturize the skin by seeking moisture from the air to trap it in the skin.

Rosewater is beneficial to the skin for its anti-inflammatory properties helping to soothe irritated red skin and calm skin problems such as eczema, dermatitis and acne.

Step 4: Dark circles eye cream

Sian Victoria © - Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Dark Circles Eye Cream

To fade those ghoulish looking dark circles caused by far too many late nights (or in some cases, it can be caused by an iron deficiency and liver problems) use the Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Dark Circles Eye Cream to brighten and revive the delicate undereye area.

The dark circle's eye cream is infused with vitamin C to brighten, caffeine to stimulate and a proven anti-dark circle peptide. This formula helps to improve the look of fine lines by making the area smoother, firmer and brighter.

Apply a tiny amount of cream morning and night by gently tapping it along the eye contour. Don’t rub or drag as the area is very delicate and don’t apply too close to the lash line either as this can make tiny particles get into the lashes and then into the eyes making them sore and irritated.

Step 5: Restore & Nourish

Sian Victoria © - Botanics Organic Overnight Facial Oil

Now the skin is clean and refreshed apply a skin-loving serum such as Botanics Organic Overnight Facial Oil to nourish the skin by feeding it vitamins to absorb throughout the night so that the skin can restore itself while you sleep.

The serum is also infused with calming essential oils such as lavender, geranium and chamomile. These natural ingredients are not only beautifying to the skin but also encourage a sense of relaxation to help you unwind ready for sleep.

The first ingredient listed on the serum is sweet almond oil. This is beneficial by helping to reverse sun damage to the skin, improve complexion, skin tone, fade scars and reduce under-eye puffiness and dark circles.

The list is followed by olive oil which is great for improving sun damage too. Lavender oil for reducing wrinkles. Jojoba oil for its anti-inflammatory properties, helping to calm stressed red skin and encouraging skin repair. Finally, Rosehip oil is perfect for encouraging cell regeneration and reducing scars and fine lines.

At night apply the serum by warming a few drops in your hands, patting it onto the face and neck but avoiding the eye area then gently massage into the skin in a circular motion.

Step 6: SPF Protection

Sian Victoria © - Botanics Hydration Burst Day Lotion SPF15

In the morning after steps 1, 3 and 4. Protect, hydrate and moisturise the skin during the day by applying a facial cream or lotion that contains an SPF like the Botanics Hydration Burst Day Lotion SPF15. It contains a nourishing formula of Clary Sage extract to comfort and soothe dehydrated and sensitive skin.

The lotion is lightweight and absorbs quickly so won't feel heavy or greasy on the skin and will provide medium SPF/UVB 15 protection for when your outdoors or using digital devices.

To conclude

That’s it the summer skincare routine is complete. Hopefully, this post has inspired you to create yourself a mini spa-like facial regime to enjoy at home every day and to protect your skin during the summer and beyond.

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