If you go to see a personal trainer once a week in the lead up to you wedding, how much good will that one session do you if you don’t exercise in between? A bit, but not a lot. It is better to exercise a bit every day to keep your body as healthy as possible. The same is true for your skin. If you go for a facial once a fortnight it will help a little, but by far the best strategy to ensure your skin is in the best condition is to exfoliate and cleanse your skin daily. This is true for every day, not just leading up to your wedding, but better skin preparation will make your wedding make-up that much better.
Your skin naturally produces sebum, which is a slightly sticky, oily substance which attracts dirt and particles from the environment which then clogs the pores. This is what we don’t want, and water-based products simply won’t remove sebum effectively. You need to use an oil-based cleanser or balm to remove the oily sebum.
Skin Cleansing with Eve Lom Cleanser
I want to introduce you to a product and technique that is magic for cleansing your skin and unclogging pores — Eve Lom Cleanser. This is on the pricey side, but after testing many other products on the market I keep coming back to it as there simply isn’t anything that works as well. You can buy it from Space NK, John Lewis, or order it online. For those who are a bit sceptical about the price, I suggest you try it for 30 days, and I assure you that your skin condition will improve by at least 50%.
I was fortunate enough to meet Eve Lom a few years ago, and in the 10 minutes I had with her she shared with me how she uses this product. I tell you, it is MAGIC, and I am going to share it with you now.
Step 1: Application
Take a heaped teaspoon of the balm in you fingers and apply it to your face, neck and décolletage. Also ensure that you apply it in the inner corner of your eye on the bridge of your nose. This area is often forgotten about and ignored, but really benefits from cleansing, especially if you struggle with dark circles. You don’t need to apply it thickly.
Step 2: Leave it to Work
I use this product twice a day. In the morning I leave it on for only a few minutes before removing it straight away. In the evening I leave it on for 30 minutes. This has the same effect to your skin a soak would to your cuticles at the start of a manicure.
Step 3: Rubber Gloves
Fear not, I am not going crazy, this is where the magic happens, and this is the best tip for using this product.
Get a pair of standard kitchen marigolds and fill a bowl with hot water from the tap, as hot as it will go! Two cloths come in the Eve Lom packet with the cleanser — take one (whilst wearing your gloves so you don’t get scalded), soak it in the water, then wring it out and immediately open and place on your face.
When it has cooled, remove and rinse your cloth in the hot water, wring it out and place on your face again. Repeat this process six times. The heat steams the face and cleanser, and works to remove all the Sebum and clear out your pores.
Step 4: Removal
Using the cloth make gentle movements and massage your face, neck and décolletage. You don’t need to press hard or scrub your face at all. Wipe the cloth across your forehead from the top of your nose, smoothing out to the side, across your cheeks from your chin and up at at 45 degree angle to your cheek bones. Then wrap the cloth around your finger and work at the inner corner of your eye, until you’ve removed all of the product and your skin is beautifully cleansed!
There will always be certain processes that people cannot do themselves at home because they need an expert. But for at home Eve Lom is by far the best cleanser to use, and is well worth the investment to prepare your skin for your wedding day, and every day after.
Guest post by Lina Cameron
Image from Eve Lom
