A couple of weeks ago, my sister Elodie and a bunch of girlfriends came down to the Bay of Arcachon for a girls weekend. I made this delicious chocolate zucchini cake twice and tried a new anti-inflammatory green juice. We ate good healthy food, laughed a lot and talked about food, sugar intake, clean eating, skincare, make-up, ageing gravefully and single motherhood (3 out of 5 in our group).
We all came out of the weekend feeling energised and positive with so much to take from each other so I thought I would share with you all the skincare tips we exchanged.
Elodie (42 years old)
Having recently suffered from rosacea, Elodie was fresh from her appointment with her Dermatologist who had changed her whole skincare routine a few weeks before and her skin looked beautiful and fresh!
The products she is now using are Clarins hydraquench cream mask which she applies every night before going to bed (you are supposed to take the excess off but Elodie leaves it all night), Biotherm Blue therapy eye to reduce lines around the eyes and Eucerin hyaluron-filler cream. The Eucerin packaging is not as pretty as Aesop but it has a great texture and I’ve adopted it too.
Elodie, what are you top skincare and beauty tips?
1/I always start the day with a glass of freshly squeezed lemon in lukewarm water & vitamin C.
2/Like you, I’m passionate about nutritional therapy so I use as much as I can turmeric and ginger in juices, homemade soups, herbal teas and anything I make because of their inflammatory properties.
3/I also add a spoon of chia seeds and lindseed in everything I cook.
4/Previously a party animal, I now aim to sleep 9 hours and if I don’t feel I had my quota, I will nap at weekends the way dad used to.
5/I love the bright red Essie nail varnish no 62.
After the weekend, she ordered a Nutribullet …
Catherine (49 years old)
Contrary to the other girls who have been in my life for a good 30 years, I met Catherine about three years ago at a styling workshop. She was this tall, 40 something woman wearing leather trousers and bright red lipstick who exuded style and a fantastic sense of humour. We hit it off straight away and have been friends since then. As the Creative Director of Bison, one of the few leather workshop in Paris, she is too me the Jenna Lyons of leather…
Catherine swears by Filorga Meso+, an anti-wrinkles cream available from Marks & Spencer in the UK, which she loves for its thick texture. You can use it around the eyes too.
To look like she is coming back from a weekend by the French riviera, she regularly takes Oenobiol autobronzant tablets to tan inside out without the negative effects of the sun on her skin and uses Clarins Concentré Eclat auto-bronzant on her skin. As she suffers from adult acne, she also uses Filorga Sleep & Peel Resurfacing night cream every other night. This illuminates her skin but doesn’t hydrate.
Catherine, what are your skincare & beauty tips?
6/When I was working in theatre fifteen years ago, I was advised by make-up artists to use Bioderma Sensibio H20 micellar water cleanser, which is great for sensitive, dry-skin. I have been using it since then and use it to clean my skin every morning and evening. It’s also great to get rid of heavy make-up.
7/Another thing I have been using for the past ten years is Maybelline 24Hours Stay lipstick. I usually have two or three lipsticks in my make-up bag which I apply together depending on my mood and outfit. Inexpensive, this lipstick has the advantage of staying on even after a meal and hydrates my lips (both Perrine & I tested it and bought it since then).
8/I also cream my hands every night with an organic calendula cream (Gosh I never do this! do you!??)
9/I drink 1 Lt of green tea per day and always have a cup of lukewarm water before going to bed to detoxify my body like women do in Asia.
10/For breakfast, I always have something packed with omega 3 and good fats like half an avocado, oil sardines and whatever herbs I can find in the fridge with a preference for coriander.Perrine (47 years old)
I met Perrine when we were sixteen years old and we’ve been through quite a few life events together. Now a Dancer, Singer and Choregrapher, she has a beautiful, toned body that she has been looking after for years and like a lot of African women, she has no wrinkles. Seriously, her skin is as soft and smooth as a baby skin. Perrine uses Clarins Capital Lumiere in wintertime, Clarins Gelée Eclat du Jour in Summertime and Topicrem body lotion to keep her skin moisturised.
Perrine, what are your skincare & beauty tips?
11/I always drink a glass of water when I wake up followed by a glass of freshly squeezed lemon in lukewarm water
12/I cook everything with organic olive oil and use a lot of spices like garlic (good for your heart), parsley, onion, ginger, nutmeg and pepper.
12/Besides dancing which I do every day, I also swim, bike and do yoga regularly to release stress and keep my body in good condition.
13/I also visit an Osteopathe and an Acupuncturist three times a year.
14/I always end my morning shower with cold water to activate blood circulation and tone my skin.
15/My favourite thing to feel good is laughing as much as I can and spend meaningful time with the people I love like this weekend. I also try to travel through life with awareness and to give something to people through my songs.
Marion, what are your skincare & beauty tips?
Well, I really don’t have much to offer in terms of skincare advice but I try to have good habits in the kitchen.
16/I drink 1.5 Lt of water a day, plus green tea and coffee (too much)
17/I use spices in everything I eat like chilly pepper, turmeric, coriander, cumin and mint.
18/and I always try to have healthy snacks in my fridge like carrots, radish and cauliflower to munch on before diner time but our girls weekend changed a lot of things for me. I have also ordered a Nutribullet, Elodie’s Clarins hydraquench cream mask and a toner adapted to my skin.
I now moisturise my face every morning and evening and apply body lotion every day. I can’t wait to see the results when we do our next girls weekend!
So what are my skincare & beauty tips?
19/First I take all my supplements first thing in the morning with a large glass of water so they go straight into my liver to deliver the goods: Omega 3-6-9, Triple Strength Hyaluronic Acid tablets for my skin and vitamins C and D3.
20/I also drink a freshly squeeze lemon in lukewarm water most mornings to cleanse my organism.
21/I have been drinking between 1.5Lt and 2 Lt of water a day for the past ten years and now, I add a tea bag of organic green tea to add some flavour and kill two birds with one stone. Yes I do spend my time in the toilet but it’s a small price to pay for a clear skin and it keeps me full too.
22/I use organic olive oil or organic coconut oil (adds a delicious flavour when making an omelette or cooking chicken breasts).
23/I stay away from gluten because I just balloon like I’m 9 months pregnant.
24/As a rule of thumb, I only eat now “living food” (i.e. fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, things that will perish in a few days). If it comes in a pack and has a long shelf life, I don’t buy it.
25/Milk these days is really not good for our bodies so switch to organic vegetal milks (rice or almond) or at least goat milk.
I hope you find this VERY long post interesting :-))
How about you? What are your skincare and beauty tips?
SHOP THE STORY:
brilliant post, i’m taking a few tips for creams etc. Thank you! x
I have been coming back to this post, really good:) it’s so interesting what other people use or do to look/feel good. I start my day with half a litre of warm water, and coffee, every day is pretty much the same I eat homemade ‘granola’, which is full of nuts, seeds etc. but not sugar or honey with almond milk. I try to drink loads of warm water throughout a day. I find warm water much easier to drink and I can drink one pint in one go, if the water is cold I could only sip it. Another good thing which helped with my digestion is to drink before I eat. So I have large glass of water before I start to eat, but not with meal. I even try to do it when I go to restaurants have two large glasses of water before I go and then I can only sip water or wine while I eat. At the moment I take quiet a few tablets/supplement. Morning – omega 3, vitamin B12 or B complex, and probiotics. In the evening – magnesium. I used to also take N-A-C and Colostrum when I was ‘restarting’ my digestive system. But good sleep and exercise works for me the best. Nine hours would be lovely but I’m glad for my seven at the moment after sleeping 4-6 hours for a few years. Running works for me brilliantly. thanks again and have a brilliant day!
Thanks Veronika! I drink water at room temperature but try it with a organic green tea bag, it’s really nice and refreshing and make water intake a bit more interesting.
I went to bed last night drinking a glass of lukewarm water and had 2 this morning when I woke up. I still bloat but I think my guts need some major TLC so I will keep pushing.
Not fan of the cold shower like Perrine does though :-)))
Super interesting, merci Karine!
I am particularly interested in your sister’s story as i too, at 43, have started having rosacea. Seems like a lot of hydration is what is making her skin better. I am currently obsessed with oils though so will need to find some that are particularly hydrating…
Thanks for sharing!
Yes, Elodie suffered from adrenal fatigue a few months ago and her skin looked tired and dry but last weekend, she looked really good. Her skin was soft, fresh and she looked fab.
I had skin issues a few months ago too (really really dry) and taking Hyaluronic Acid tablets has really helped my skin to be soft again and from what I gather with wrinkles, if we go down the natural way of looking after them, a well-moisturised skin shows lines less than a dry skin
another point – am always a bit unsure about fake tan/capsules such as oenobiol as wondering whether it doesn’t damage the skin. Interesting that Catherine goes for both (and she does look fab!)
Yes i’m not convinced on these yet.
I tried Oenobiol once and I didn’t see anything major happening on my skin plus I came across this article and now I’m questioning their integrity
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218944/Coca-Cola-claims-new-beauty-drink-Beautific-Oenobiol-help-lose-weight.html
uhm… not encouraging indeed!
Thanks for the hyaluronic acid tablets tip – i’ll look out for them
and where do you find this HA tablets?
I got mine from Amazon. I got the ones from SOLGAR
I can’t do the cold showers either:) I had various problems last couple of years, from bladder to digestion to anxiety but have been seeing a lady who specialise in Nutrition and Herbal Medicine for last six months and she helped me massively. Take it easy, I was told if I didn’t treat my body nicely for so many years I can’t expect to be heeled in a year. It takes years to get it back, hopefully sooner then later:). I will try the cake this weekend!
Yes Elodie told me the same…If I take into account 10 years of stress, it’s going to take a while but I find it hugely frustrating. I have taken out all the crap, processed food, gluten, dairy out of my diet but my guts are still playing up. I’m seeing an homeopath at the end of the month so maybe he can help me to restore the guts
I assume you had food intolerances checked? I had all sorts of test done by this lady and she basically found I have few of those, plus had almost no good bacteria inside my digestive system and that was a year after I started eating really healthy, so she went even more radical – I went onto extremely strong probiotics for a week, cut out wheat and anything possibly remotely unhealthy from my diet for couple of months, did liver cleanse for 3 weeks, took colostrum and N-A-C. After that I was given herbs which I took for 2 months and now I’m on drops. Things have improved from last year and me being at ease with things helped as well. I’m naturally doer and when I’m into something I do it 150% so I was the same with the food and getting better. It has to be done quick and effectively, but our body doesn’t work like that, certainly not mine:) and stress is a killer.
Yes I have and I’m seeing an homeopath on Friday in France but if this doesn’t go anywhere I will email you to get the details of this lady.
Very interesting post!Since 12 years, we do the same with the same nine girls!!! It’S always so fun and energizing!!! We eat, ski, eat, dance, eat, talk and one night we echange clothes, book, shoes. It’S always a lot of fun because we always share why we let go those clothes and why we want to share that book, etc. A lot a lot of fun!!!
My beauty product; i always clean my skin and then put some organic argan oil and spray rose water!!! And then hydrate my skin body during the winter with a lot organic body cream with karite oil. For the summer, i hate sunscreen so i use a hat and clothes to portect myself because i love gardening…. I’m almost 50 years old and i think really that a good alimentation with less meat, hydratation of your skin and body and protection from the sun is the best anti-wrickle technic.
Have a beautiful day!!!!
Thank you Clara, I’m glad you liked it! Do you put organic argan oil as a day skincare?
Hello again, yes i put organic argan oil as a day skincare. It will nourrish not only you skin but your eyebrow and eyelash too. It would feel a bit greasy at firts but after a few minutes it dissapear or you can took what wasn’t absorb by your skin.I use it also to take off waterproof mascara!!! I try other daycare, cheap and expansive one and i always go back to argan oil. If i will recommend one, it will be the one from melvita.
Cheers)))
Thanks! I will look into this
I love posts like these and find them really interesting. I actually started taking a ten second burst of cold shower this week….it gets easier!!! Your girly weekend looks and sounds great and you have had a positive impact on Marion, although she has healthy habits of her own! XX
Fab post. Such useful information! I am 48 & nearly 2 years ago my optician told me I had early but slight macular degeneration so my nutritional health journey began with a nutribullet, juicer & supplements. I take Solgar’s wild salmon oil omegas, astaxanthin & a multi vit in the winter – my DM has not got any worse & all have really helped my skin too. I’m rubbish at drinking enough water & reading this really hit home how good you all are at drinking it – going to increase my intake & love the green teabag idea! Thank you!
Hi Sarah, I’m really glad you found it useful. Drinking 1.5 lt is hard to start with but it becomes quickly an habit. As you are into health supplements like me, try Triple Strength Hyaluronic Acid tablets, I’m on the 3rd month and they really did wonder for my skin and fine lines
Thanks, I will give them a try too – what brand do you use? I also discovered Caudelie’s Divine Oil last summer which I love. I spritz it on my face each night – you can use it on body and hair too but it’s so precious! I stock up at Bordeaux airport when I can.
Sorry Karine, just had a look on line and realised the brand is Triple Strength! Thank you.
yes it was but my first box was from Solgar and it was good too
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