Autumn skincare…..

Things that scream Autumn to me; pumpkins, crunchy leaves, crisp cold mornings and my skin suddenly getting more needy. I’ve really noticed over the past few years that during the colder months I need to ramp up the levels of moisture and hydration, both in the products I use and the environment I’m in.

When it comes to adding in increased hydration there is one sure fast way of doing this – hyaluronic acid. The science part….(not my strength!)….hyaluronic acid is basically the equivalent of a large glass of water for your skin. It’s a hydrating molecule found naturally in our bodies, with 50% of it being found in our skin. As we age our natural hyaluronic acid levels start to deplete, which in turns causes our skin to become more dehydrated, fine lines to look more pronounced and skin to lose its glow.

Luckily the skincare industry has our backs! When applied to the skin topically through products, hyaluronic acid has the ability to draw moisture into the top layers of the skin, resulting in a plumper, dewier appearance. Read on for my top picks to stop your skin from being so thirsty;

Superdrug Hydrating Serum –  The most budget friendly of all the products but by no means any poorer for it. This is a skin care hero which went viral a few years ago when Sali Hughes wrote about it and the hype is real. It’s a brilliant entry point to see how your skin responds to HA and can be applied after cleansing, and before moisturising day and night. Being fragrance free it’s unlikely to cause sensitive skin sufferers any issues, and for those with super dry skin you can slather this on safe in the knowledge that a replacement isn’t going to break the bank (£2.99 to be exact!). It’s also great at calming skin if you’ve had an adverse reaction to a product – definitely one to always have in the cupboard.

 

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% – Similar to the Superdrug serum in function, but runnier in consistency and texture, this is another thumbs up from The Ordinary range. Again it’s cost effective, non fragranced and very utilitarian in its job. This delivers a shot of moisture right where it’s needed and nothing else. Unlike the Superdrug serum, which has more of a moisturiser quality to it, this one sinks in quickly and can leave your skin feeling desperate for more moisture. This is when you slather on a moisturiser and enjoy increased hydration throughout the day due to the hyaluronic acid locking the moisture firmly in place. Word of warning, I find this can ‘pile’ under certain moisturisers or make up and because of this I tend to only use it in the evening.

 

Pixi Retinol Tonic – In contrast to the first two products this is an all round multitasker. I am a long time fan of the Pixi Glow Tonic, however in the winter my skin can dry out from regular use of glycolic acid and need additional moisture added back in. This new product from Pixi solves that problem. Rather than Glycolic Acid, the stand out ingredient in this toner is time released retinol, which is my current skincare obsession. Similar in function to Glycolic Acid, Retinol encourages skin cell turnover to reveal brighter, glowy skin. What makes this product stand out to me is the inclusion of Sodium Hyaluronate and Glycerine, the first being a derivative of HA (and does the same job) and the latter being anther key ingredient in skincare to prevent dryness. These therefore balance out any drying effect from the Retinol (albeit the retinol concentration is not huge)and leaves my skin feeling hydrated and soft, meaning it can be used every day with no adverse effects.

I couldn’t not mention a skincare gem which I discovered a few weeks ago. Wow You Beauty is a new skincare company producing natural products for all skin types, with a brand focus on self care and taking time out for you – something I’m a huge advocate of. They sent me some products to try and I was instantly drawn to the Mask and Chill Charcoal and Liquorice root face mask. I’m not usually a huge fan of mud face masks as I find they are too drying and tight on my skin, and I invariably end up removing it before its really had time to do its job. However they definitely have their place in any skincare routine to keep spots at bay! This was a delight to use, whilst it’s mud based it didn’t dry out on my skin and I happily left it on whilst in the bath for a good 30 minutes (possibly longer……) On removal my skin was hydrated and glowing as well as feeling like it had been seriously detoxed. I’m not sure how they have produced such skincare wizardry but this is going to be a staple year round product for me now.

Hopefully if you suffer from dry or dehydrated skin the above will point you in the right direction. Wow You Beauty have kindly given me a 20% discount code to share if you fancy trying the mask, or any other of their products out, abrunetteedit20 (and there is free UK shipping on orders over £20).

 

Jess X

The lovely people at Wow You Beauty sent me some products to try however I was under no obligation to review or feature them on my blog. I will only ever feature products that I truly think are worth investing in.