If your skin looks dull and tired, there are many ways on how to revive it! In today’s post I share with you plenty of tips… Now take a cup of tea and get yourself comfortable 🙂

My 45-year old skin doesn’t recuperate as fast as it did 20 years ago I’m ever so sorry to say… but I try to do heaps of things to make it look fresh and revived!

Here’s how:

1.Splash cold water in your face or use ice cubes!

Whenever my face looks puffy on a time that I really don’t want it to look puffy, I use the hard methods… I splash cold water on my face during several minutes and sometimes I even use ice cubes to get rid of the puffiness.

After you have done that, your skin will definitely feel fresh and awakened! Your face will look a bit red because of the cold, so just wait for a couple of minutes before you start your skincare routine… you could apply some body lotion in the meanwhile!

2.Hydrate!

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate… that must be the most crucial part of your skincare routine!!

You could use anti-aging products, but in the end hydration is far more important. If your skin looks a bit dull, apply one of those hydrating masks and I guarantee that you’ll look fresher in an instant!

Here you can read a review about a fabulous cream I am using. It’s like magic in a tube, because besides hydrating it does so much more!

And that brings me to number three…

3.Do a weekly facial!

I already did a more elaborate beauty post on my weekly facial, which you can read here. Usually, my facial consists of :

• a thorough cleanse (for instance with the Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean – review)
• a mild scrub (for instance the De Tuinen vitamins scrub – review)
• a face mask (preferably a hydrating mask as you see above, for instance the Hydra Bomb Tissue Mask from Garnier – review)
• a serum and a hydrating cream (for instance the Revitalift filler serum and cream – review)
• an eyecream (for instance the Visionnaire Eye on Correction – review)

I usually apply a face mask twice a week.

4.Watch what you drink!

Try to stay clear from alcohol and caffeine and take in heaps of water. You lose heaps of water daily, so you better make sure to keep that water level up!

Your skin is actually an organ, which is made from tiny little cells. These cells need heaps of water to function. If you do not drink enough water, your organs (so your skin as well!) will not function properly. Your skin wil turn dry, dull and wrinkly… take that in mind and drink that 1.5l bottle of water a day!

In this post you can read many tips on how to make sure you drink plenty of water each day.

5.Quit smoking!

(no picture here… “sorry’!)

Smoking is ever so bad for your skin… really! It ages your skin, If you haven’t quit just yet, please read on… I hope it gives you just that little push to leave those stinky fags for what they are!

Smoking has a negative effect on your skin:

• You’re more likely to have bags under the eyes.
• You’re exposed to premature aging.
• You lose your natural glow.
• You have a bigger chance of getting psoriasis.
• Smoking reduces the intake of several nutrients like vitamin C. When you have less vitamin C in your body, you are naturally less protected against the sun which will make you burn more easily. This obviously has its consequences for your skin!
• Smoking one cigarette actually means starving your skin from oxygen during 90 minutes… That means that if you smoke 16 cigarettes a day, you don’t allow your skin to breathe at all!!
• As you have less oxygen, you prevent circulation and breaking down collagen and elastin.
• As your blood isn’t flowing properly, you’re more prone to broken capillaries and veins.
• Dragging a cigarette will give you deeper lines around the mouth and between the eyebrows.
• When you exhale, a toxic cloud is floating on top of your face (not to mention the faces of others!!) which will make your skin more congested.
• Smoking affects the immune system which means that breakouts will take longer to clear up.
• You’re not only wasting your own skin, but als the skin of people near you…
• …
• …

Well… I guess I made my point here… BUT there’s good news!!! Once you stop smoking, your body immediately begins to heal itself. So no matter how long you’ve smoked, it always is a good thing to quit as it still will have its effects on your skin and your entire body!

(source: http://www.teenvogue.com/story/why-smoking-bad-for-skin)

6.Use a reflecting concealer!

Using a reflecting concealer could be your answer to look a bit more awake than you actually are…

Here are some tips on how to use a reflecting concealer:

• If you’ve got dark circles underneath your eyes, then use a concealer which gives good coverage first after which you blend in a bit of the reflecting concealer to give some brightness.
• Use the reflecting concealer as a highlighter and apply them on the places with a shadow in them (like the nasolabial folds).
• You could also use this concealer on your forehead (put a couple of vertical lines on your forehead and blend in).
• And you could also use it on your cheeks (put a couple of horizontal lines on your cheeks and blend in).

Try out these tips to see whether they work for you!

A good concealer which works on the radiance is the ‘Radiance Reveal Concealer’ from Bourjois (review). Even though I am not satisfied with the packaging (ok it looks sleek, but you can’t get all the product out of it which is such a waste!) I have bought this concealer again as I think it is a really good product!

7.Use a BB or a foundation!

A BB or a foundation can definitely make your skin look fresher?

Read these tips first though…

• Use a BB or a foundation which is very light in consistency (like this budget one from Catrice)
• Don’t go too dark! Take a shade that matches your natural skin colour. You’ll need a different shade in summer as opposed to winter!
• Blend in really well.
• Only use BB or foundation on the parts of your face that really need it. Sometimes it isn’t necessary to apply it all over your face.

8.Use a highlighter!

Using a highlighter can sometimes do the trick…

Here are just a few tips:

• Apply a bit of highlighter on the places where the light hits your face (cupid bow, upper cheekbones, just above and under the eyebrows,…)
• Less is more… don’t overdo it as you don’t want to end up like a discoball! You want a natural glow, believe me!
• When you’ve got little crow’s feet, make sure the highlighting powder doesn’t sit between those little wrinkles as it will emphasize them and we definitely don’t want that!

For more tips, I suggest you read the full review I did on the Mylène highlighter I like using!

9.Use a bit of blush!

And once again less is more… You want your blush to look natural! You might want to use a cream blush as that blends in more easily with your BB or foundation.

The best colour to use to give your skin a natural and fresh glow is soft pink, like this one from Essence. Use a soft pink colour as this will give your skin a natural and fresh glow.

10.Wear a bold lipstick!

Wearing a bold lipstick will instantly draw the attention to your lips… so this might be a final resolve… along with big shades 😀

Well my nearest and dearest, I really hope you have learned something today… now to put it to use… good luck and let me know how you go!

Love, Kathleen