How the heck are we feeling the creep of a winter chill already? Only seems like yesterday that I was loving all the Cornish spring hedgerows and marvelling at how beautiful nature truly is.
Yet here we are, in early October somehow, with the onset of snuffles and distinct chill in the air.
Despite the snuffles, I do love the Autumn. The palpable slowing down of everthing is one of my favourite times of the year. But I also know that as the seasons move into the Autumn / Winter we need to look after our skin a little more.
For many this means moving away from creams and moving towards more potent oil based products to help banish any Autumn / Winter dryness as the change in weather can take it's toll. Wind, and heating, and being more chilly: all seem to ramp up the possibility for dry skin patches.
As well as eliminating dry skin patches there's something uniquely beautiful and sensual about using a face oil - part beauty routine, part inner beauty ritual. The sensual motion of smoothing oil across a face immediately taps into an inner sense of wellbeing and mindfulness. The process is slow - there's no quick-rub-fix to get that golden elixir to sink into your skin, and in the ritual of slowness a little bit of quietness and calming is often found.
TOP FACTS FOR FACE OILS:
- Face creams contain upto 90% less of the oil and essential oil goodness that you get with a super rich face oil or oil based serum, as they contain water and emulsifiers. Moisturisers are great for a mattifying daytime finish, but oils/serums are the rich skin boost you need for the evening / night time
- Applying face oils/serums encourages you to massage your face, use small circular and upwards sweeping motions. Face massage is a naturally anti-aging and lovely daily practice, particuarlly if done mindfully while deeply inhaling the therapeutic essential oils at the same time.
- Face oils/serums are great for all skin types, including oily. If you have oily skin and use a light face oil in the evening it can naturally reduce the sebum levels produced by your skin and actually help reduce oiliness over time.
- For dry or mature skin some of the best oils/serums to apply neat to the face include macadamia, argan, evening primrose, rosehip, olive, avocado and jojoba
- For oilier skins the best oils to use in face oils include oils which have a high linoleic acid content - hemp, jojoba, camellia seed, argan, evening primrose, rosehip,
- If you aren't keen on using a face oil in the morning, then don't worry! If you use one at night it's a positive choice as your skin is more adept at absorbing any goodness that is rubbed into it than during the day. All of the mineral and vitamin richness of the oils is fully felt, and it also doesn't mean that you have to wait an age for the oil to absorb before applying any surface make-up that you might wear on a daily basis.
It's really simple to make a face oil yourself and I'v elisted out some recipes below for different skin types. Make sure you use a clean bottle, ideally one that has a pipette or dropper to allow you to dispense small amounts of oil for use. When applying the oil use your fingertips and start with small circular massage motions, before finishing with upward sweeping motions. Don't forget to include your neck.
But if you aren't a keen home 'cook' then check out our expertly formulated Timeless Repair Serum for mature / aging skins which is formulated with over 20 active and potent botancials. Or try our Revive Face Oil for mature/dry skin or our Replenish Face Oil for all skin type. They all smell amazing, but more importantly are totally effective at rejuvinating your skin and giving you an inner and outer glow!
TO MAKE A 30ml bottle of face oil
DRY / MATURE SKIN - FACE OIL RECIPE
10ml organic jojoba oil
8 ml organic argan oil
6ml organic evening primrose oil
6ml organic avocado oil
3 drops frankincense essential oil
3 drops rose or neroli essential oil
OILY SKIN - FACE OIL RECIPE
10ml organic grapeseed oil
8 ml organic argan oil
6ml organic jojoba oil
6ml organic camellia seed oil
3 drops ho leaf essential oil
3 drops palmarosa essential oil
SENSITVE SKIN - FACE OIL RECIPE
10ml organic sunflower oil
8 ml organic argan oil
6ml organic jojoba oil
6ml organic camellia seed oil
3 drops roman chamomile essential oil
3 drops lavender essential oil
NORMAL SKIN - FACE OIL RECIPE
10ml organic olive oil
8 ml organic rosehip oil
6ml organic jojoba oil
6ml organic argan seed oil
3 drops geranium essential oil
3 drops patchouli essential oil
Let me know how you get on if you decide to make any of the oils mentioned above. And if creating from scratch isn't your 'thing' you can always buy some ready made face oil here and indulge in some ritual face massage that smells divine.
Much love Marie xx