Are you ready for the final five days at the Unlock Your Style holiday camp?
Yes, that’s right. By the weekend you’ll have all the tools you need to really think each day about how you can make fashion and beauty choices that help you feel good.
I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have so many of you leave beautiful messages and emails telling me how this series has really helped you.
I know we’re not changing the world but if just a little bit of thought as to what you wear can lift your mood, then I’m all for the individual and collective result of that happening.
… let’s get on with today’s lesson, shall we?
It’s beauty related again and for me this is particularly a big one.
Our skin can give away so many secrets. And yes, we can employ some makeup tricks and shortcuts to camouflage some of those secrets but when it comes down to it, the best way to present a glowing face to the world is to care for the skin you’ve got.
For me, good skin has always relied on two things:
1. A consistent skincare regime. Yes, day and night cleansing and moisturising with a few “helping hands” products thrown in for good measure.
2. Wearing a sunscreen. Every. Day.
I’ve said it before and I’ll trot this line out every summer as long as I still have people listening … I’m a living, breathing scientific study into why sunscreen should be your number one skincare priority.
I’ve lived all my life in Queensland, half of that holidaying every school holiday time at the beach; the other half living at the beach.
Even in the days when sunscreen stung like nobody’s business and we got a giggle out of the Coppertone billboard at Surfers Paradise where the puppy pulled down the pants of the tanned kid to show a white bottom, I was wearing sunscreen.
Long before rashies were invented, mum had us wearing t-shirts over our swimsuits. Our childhood summer our clothes were permanently stained with zinc.
Did I think it was cool? Not on your life but when I “grew up” and was responsible for my own sunscreen, the habit was already in place. My face especially has always been covered up and slathered on.
The result: skin that’s not of a leather-like consistency. And so far no melanomas. Touch a very big hunk of wood on that one.
Not bad for a Queensland chick on the wrong side {just} of 45.
I don’t know what age you are or what your sun protection habits have been over the years but it’s never too late to embrace sunscreen. And if any teenagers or girls in their 20s are reading this, please, I implore you … that gorgeous flawless skin you have now? It won’t look so gorgeous post 30 if you don’t protect it.
It’s as simple as that.
UV rays will attack in two ways – UVB rays cause burning and can be blocked by the SPF in a sunscreen and UVA rays the silent by deadly assassins. These rays don’t make you burn {so you don’t know the harm they’re doing} but they reach into the layers of the skin and can cause long-term damage to cells and the immune system.
It’s these babies that bring on the wrinkles and skin cancer.
The great news is that it is SO easy to add sunscreen to your daily beauty routine – and then amp up the application {and choice of product} if you’re planning to be outside for any length of time.
Here’s the sunscreen prescription I recommend:
1. If you largely spend your days indoors and sun exposure is incidental, then I think it’s ok to choose a moisturiser, BB cream or foundation that includes a SPF.
2. If you spend a lot of time outdoors every day, then add sunscreen before anything else. Opt for 30 or 50+ and re-apply throughout the day, especially if you get sweaty.
3. If you’re heading to the beach or swimming in a pool, go hard. Go very hard. The extra reflection of the water will not help at all. You also need water resistance and frequent re-application.
Style work
Have a look at your current sunscreen supply. Have you got any in there that have passed their use-by-dates and need throwing out? Do you have the following?
1. A good sunscreen for your face. One that doesn’t make it feel icky but something you could wear everyday? I recommend: Dermalogica Super Sensitive Shield SPF 30+, Jane Iredale Glow Time Full Coverage Mineral BB Cream SPF 25+ and Invisible Zinc Environmental Skin Protector SPF 30+.
2. A good sunscreen for your body. One that offers protection and preferably something that can be shared among the whole family? I recommend: NIVEA Sun Light Feel Everyday Sun Lotion SPF 50+, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist SPF 30+ and SunSense Sensitive SPF 50+.
3. A good sunscreen for the beach or any kind of water play. One that offers great water resistance and will give you a little licence to cool off in the water on a hot day? I recommend: Ella Bache Great 50+ Sportsbloc, Neutrogena Wet Skin SPF 30+ {normal and kids version}, Woolworths Select Sports SPF 50+ and Zinc cream {especially under the eyes, tops of cheeks and across the nose}.
What’s your sunscreen wardrobe look like? Is caring for your skin always been a priority for you?
PS. Don’t forget if you want to share any of your progress along the way via photos, you can upload them in the comments or share via Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #unlockyourstyle and make sure you tag me so I can find it (@stylingyou). Facebook uploads to my page are welcome too.
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** The Styling You Holiday Style Camp {Unlock Your Style in 14 Days} is based on the Styling You Manifesto. If you don’t have your own, you can download it here. I’ll also be giving away a proper printed Styling You Manifesto from The Smile Collective every day to the reader who catches my eye with their comments and participation.
Unlock Your Style in 14 Days (Day 4 manifesto winner): Michelle Stedman. Michelle, could you please email me your postal address: nikki@stylingyou.com.au
