What makes you switch skincare regimes or brands?
Are you seduced by advertising, the promise of flawless skin?
Or do you seek out a change when your skin or lifestyle changes?
Questions, questions … I know. I’m hitting you up with the big ones early today.
It’s something I’ve been thinking about over the last six weeks or so as I’ve gone about trialling four skincare ranges.
Now, these ranges are not necessarily new out there on the shelf in beauty land. They’re just new to my beauty shelf.
Each is quite different from the other and each brings something to the skincare table that will suit a range of different skins, lifestyle and budgets.
When it comes to skincare, I have some pretty basic rules that would probably get me thrown out of beauty school 
The first is: Just do it.
Do something, regularly, preferably twice a day to care and nourish your skin. It’s that consistency that will pay off over time. Just look to your grandma … mine is 96 and still putting Ponds cream on her hands and face every night. And her skin is amazing.
The second is: Wear sunscreen.
Cracked record, I know. But seriously, the older I get I’m a bit of a living and breathing example of what consistent sunscreen application can do to support your skin. I grew up in Queensland spending summers at the beach and have lived at the beach in Queensland for half my life. Yes, I have wrinkles but not of the tough, leather variety.
So, how do you find the products that best suit you? The ones that you know you can be consistent with their application?
1. Consider your age. I don’t like to pinpoint skin needs purely based on age because sometimes lifestyle factors will have a greater determination about what your skin needs. Age can be a factor when our blessed hormones are having a party in our system. That might cause you to have adult acne on one hand or dry and wrinkle-prone skin on the other. If you’re really lucky, it will be both.
2. Consider your lifestyle. Do you live at the beach? In a super cold climate? Do you spend a lot of time outdoors or does your job see you spend too much time indoors? This can play a huge factor in determining what your skin needs. Either way – your skin is looking for nourishment. Is your current skincare regime providing enough for your lifestyle?
3. Consider your budget. This is a biggie. Some people will think nothing of dropping hundreds of dollars on an eye cream; for others, a $30 moisturiser will be snuck tightly woven into a family’s grocery budget. Either is fine. Whatever floats your skincare boat, there is a product to suit in any budget range. Consistently, I use a range of budget and mid-priced skincare products. Delivered results have never solely been reflective of the price I’ve paid for a product and nothing excites me more than finding a reasonably priced product that brings results without breaking the bank.
4. Trial and error. Yes, you can get all the clinical advice in the world but until you try the products on your skin and in your lifestyle, you are only guessing as to how it’s going to work for you. Trial and error is not such a difficult task if you’re grabbing something from the supermarket shelf – if it doesn’t work, you haven’t wasted a whole lot of money. If you’re looking at a range at a beauty counter, in a salon or medical clinic, then ask if they have free samples or travel sizes you can buy at a cheaper price before you invest in full-sized products. How long you trial a product for will depend on your skin – you might have an adverse reaction the first day. If no reaction, give the new products at least two weeks.
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Four skincare ranges I’ve been testing
What: Ujene Switzerland, a luxe anti-ageing skincare range that harnesses Swiss ingredients and delivers results without this list of chemical ingredients.
Price range: $USD56-105 each
Try it because: You’re looking for solutions to ageing skin that include active ingredients aimed at boosting the collagen in your skin without additives and chemicals.
What: NIVEA Visage Q10, a budget, results-driven range that is simple to understand and use.
Price range: $19 each
Try it because: You can pick it up at the supermarket; it’s as easy as remembering to put one cream on at night time, one in the morning; and the products work to give ageing skin a lovely boost in just a couple of weeks.
What: La Mav, Australia’s first certified organic, 100% naturally derived, anti-ageing skin care range.
Price range: $39.95-99.95
Try it because: You’ve not only made a conscious decision to use organic products on your face or body, you’re looking for science behind them to make sure they deliver.
What: Aspect Dr, an Australian owned Physician’s Only range based on independent research, incorporating ingredients with maximum percentages proven by clinical trials.
Price range: $99 for the starter kit. It’s available through GPs, skin aestheticians and specialists.
Try it because: You’re wanting to explore skincare under the guidance of medical or trained aestheticians who can pinpoint the exact product combination of serums and creams that will work to help ageing skin and are seeking products free from chemical additives.
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What worked best for my skin?
The NIVEA Visage Q10 creams and the Aspect Dr starter kit. With both, I felt and saw results in a very short period of time. For you, it might be different.
It really does get back to weighing up whether you’re happy with what you’re using now versus taking time and spending a little money on trialling something new.
If your skin is glowing then don’t fix what ain’t broke but if you’re thinking that the reflection looking back at you in the mirror could use a bit of a helping hand, then it’s probably time to try something new.
Either way, consistency is the key.
What did your skin tell you when you looked in the mirror this morning?
* The above products were gifted to me for editorial consideration (except for Aspect Dr … my girlfriend who owns a doctors’ surgery asked me to trial her new range for a second opinion) in accordance with my disclosure policy.
