Lazy Girls Guide To Skin Care Tips and Tricks

As much as we all love good advice on skin care, tips and tricks, we're not all prepared to commit ourselves to a laborious and sometimes complicated skin care routine. Sometimes we don't have the time, the money or the energy but we'd like to do something good once in a while for our skin!

Head to your toiletry and make up bags and tips them out! Go through them and anything that hasn't been used in 3 months – throw it away! Anything that is open and older than 6 months – throw that away too! Anything you don't particularly like for whatever reason – throw them out too! Not only is it therapeutic to clear away clutter, but you're minimising your skin care options. The less bottles you have to decide between, the more efficiently you can make a choice the next time you reach for the bag!

Using old or out of date products can also have an adverse effect on your skin! Bacteria and germs can grown and build up around nozzles and openings in products and are transferred onto your face when you take out some of the product and use it. This can lead to skin breakouts and acne! So anything that's looking a little congealed or worse for wear you might want to add to the 'bin' pile too!

If you've heard it once, you've heard it a hundred thousand times but hopefully this will be the time it really sinks in! Drinking water helps to flush all the toxins and impurities from your body, helping to combat a whole host of skin problems! Drinking more water can help reduce and prevent acne, rehydrate skin and leave your skin looking glowing and healthy, and what effort is really required to drink 8 glasses a day?

Water isn't to every-ones taste, so find a way of drinking it that you enjoy! Herbal teas, fruits in your water, sugar free flavourings etc these all help add to your daily water intake goal. Try drinking 2liters of water a day for two weeks and tell me if you notice the difference in your skin!

Why not try some freshly pressed organic fruit juices too? You might not have the time to prepare and eat the fruit itself, but there's always time to drink it up in juice form! Just don't have too many as they can be high in sugars and damage your teeth. It's a great way to get a little pick me up through the day and brighten your complexion. Try mixed fruit smoothies for multi-fruit benefits.

Can sleep really improve your skin? Yes! It's one of the easiest things we can do to improve and take care of our skin, we all have to do it, so we might as well do it right and reap the extra benefits! Most studies suggest we need 7 – 9 hours sleep a night – are you getting yours?

When we sleep the cells throughout our body take this chance to repair and rejuvenate, and that goes for our skin cells too! The better rested we are the better we look, our skin will appear fresher and if we've had a really good nights sleep, puffy eyes and dark circles will be banished! We feel better after a good sleep and when we feel better we look better too, so give your skin a chance and hit the hay!

One of the best pieces of advice I ever read for getting a good nights sleep was to switch off at least an hour before bed, though the sooner the better! Switch off your television, computer, smart phone, tablet, any and all electronics. Read under a soft light for no more than 20minutes and then lay back and relax. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing (much like meditation), allowing yourself to drift off slowly into sleep.

Lazy or not, lets face it there is no excuse not to cleanse your face! Even if you don't wear much or any make up during the day, your skin is collecting all kinds of bacteria, impurities and dirt just for being out and about in the world! There's no free pass when it comes to face washing and a splash of water in the evening is not going to be enough to really get into those pores and get the grime out! Invest in a good quality cleanser specifically designed for your skin type and use it at least once a day, preferably in the evening to cleanse away the days grime!

You already have a cleanser – so why would you add another product to your bathroom cabinet? Exfoliation is a brilliant way to reinvigorate dull skin, deep clean the pores and smooth your overall complexion! Don’t want to have to buy two separate products? You can get great exfoliators now that are cream based, meaning they are more moisturising than regular exfoliators. They are not only kinder to your skin, but double up as a cleanser so can safely be used daily – however if you have sensitive or dry skin you’re going to want to exfoliate no more than twice a week!

Whatever your skin type, you need to moisturise! The world is not kind to your skin, and I’m not just talking about the world outside! We are constantly in buildings, offices, shops and others homes where the central heating or air conditioning is up full blast, drying out our skin. Outside we are being exposed to nature, the environment and pollution! Our poor skin takes a battering wherever we go!

Purchase a multi tasking moisturiser – that way one product does the job of several! BB creams can be a great solution here as they tend to combine hydrating moisturiser, concealer, foundation, skin brightener, age combatant, even skin tone and SPF all in one tube! Quick, easy and you will be ready in a flash with little to no effort!

If you have oily skin, BB creams are yet to become your best friend. From personal experience I’ve yet to find one that works as well on oily skin, as they do for other skin types. If you have oily skin you’ll want to stick to a matte day cream with added SPF – you can always mix in a little of you own foundation and create your own tinted moisturiser this way!

Mornings can be stressful enough without throwing in a 12-step skin care routine on top of everything else that needs to be sorted before you're out the door. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have those extra 20minutes in bed than have to get up early just to sort my skin out! Behold the bedtime ritual!

I have much more time in the evening before bed to look after my skin than I do first thing in the morning. I can take my time, I don't have to rush, and products are actually proven to work better as you sleep than they would as you go about your day to day routine! Product layering is a great way to pamper, treat and take care of your skin whilst your sitting in your pjs!

Be sure to buy products that are specifically designed to be used during the night. Night products tend to be stronger than day wear products, thicker in consistency and offer more repairing properties than their daily counterparts. Also, you'll wake up with such fresh looking happy skin you'll hardly have to do a thing to it in the morning – and you might even be able to catch a few more Zzs too!

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