Those of you who follow my Instagram stories, may already have seen this, but last Thursday morning I headed along to a breakfast beauty masterclass with skincare expert and blogger Caroline Hirons and Red magazine’s Beauty Director Annabel Meggeson at 6th@Soho. Anyone who knows Caroline or is a fan of her blog or YouTube channel, won’t be surprised to hear that she had us all in fits of laughter with her honest and feisty humour. It was such a fun start to the day but also really informative. Caroline Hirons knows her stuff and I came away with a lot of skin care tips and knowledge, which I thought I’d share with you. Here’s the lowdown:
Flannels are better than muslin cloths
Caroline told us muslin cloths were made popular by Eve Lom and then Liz Earle and well they seemed more glamorous then a good ole flannel (my Mum’s been raving about flannels since forever). However muslin cloths are light and don’t really retain heat in the way a good cotton flannel does. You don’t get the same warm, compress effect which not only doesn’t feel as good but also doesn’t remove cleanser and all the grime as well as a flannel. For Caroline, muslin cloths can just be a bit too flimsy and she prefers a flannel as she likes to ‘feel something firm in my hand'. Keep it clean guys.
Caroline told us muslin cloths were made popular by Eve Lom and then Liz Earle and well they seemed more glamorous then a good ole flannel (my Mum’s been raving about flannels since forever). However muslin cloths are light and don’t really retain heat in the way a good cotton flannel does. You don’t get the same warm, compress effect which not only doesn’t feel as good but also doesn’t remove cleanser and all the grime as well as a flannel. For Caroline, muslin cloths can just be a bit too flimsy and she prefers a flannel as she likes to ‘feel something firm in my hand'. Keep it clean guys.
Tips for long-haul travel
For short flights, Caroline says, go as you are (wearing make-up is ok and there’s no need to worry too much about your skin during a short flight). Long haul flights however are different as I’m sure many of us know how dehydrating they can be. One of my ‘light bulb’ moments during the beauty masterclass was Caroline saying long haul travel can be treatment time as it’s a chance to sit back and treat your skin. She stated she doesn’t wear makeup on long haul flights as she isn’t worried about looking glamorous on arrival, instead she alternates ‘between a few drops of facial oil or serum on bare skin and a hydrating mist’. Also top tip, put a little hand cream up your nostrils, honestly. Flying dehydrates the nostril hair, which loses its ability to protect fully against germs so the hand cream keeps the hair hydrated, letting it do its job and helping to stop you getting sick from the aircon and re-churned air on flights. Funnily enough when I mentioned this to my Mum, she said she’d been doing this for years but with Vaseline especially during hayfever season and it works a treat so there you go. I wonder if it'd work on the London Underground...hmmm?
Skin pigmentation
This was another topic I was all ears on, as I find my Asian skin can be quite prone to pigmentation. I was keen to know what Caroline recommends to keep this at bay and she had lots of tips. Caroline stressed sun protection is the key to prevention and in weather like this, a high SPF is crucial and to reapply hourly when out in the sun. For existing pigmentation Caroline recommended giving DCL C scape Vitamin C booster or The Ordinary Vitamin C suspension (a bargain at £4.90 for 30 ml) a go which was good to know as I’ve been keen to try out products from The Ordinary.
Everyone should be on acid
I was especially interested in this, as when it comes to skincare and acid I’ve been quite mystified and haven’t known where to start or how to incorporate it into my skincare routine. Ooh to clarify, by acid, Caroline basically means a toner with glycolic or salicylic acid in it to use after cleansing to exfoliate and refine the skin and encourage a fresh turnover of cells. Turns out I’ve already been on acid as I use Pixi Glow Tonic (yay me!) so it isn’t as scary as I thought it was. One of the women at the event asked what Caroline would recommend for someone who is keen to try acids but is on a budget as some acids can be pricey. Caroline’s suggestion was to alternate between Biologique Recherché Lotion P50, which is about £50-£100, but is one of her favourites, with something like Pixi Glow Lotion (£18) or glycolic pads (Caroline recommends Nip and Fab glycolic pads and got Pixi Glow Tonic to Go pads in our goodie bag £20 for 60 pads).
Proper cleansing is the key
Fans of Caroline will know cleansing properly is something she is very serious about. Caroline is not a fan of old-school foaming cleansers as they don’t always cleanse skin thoroughly enough and in part led to Caroline developing her sought after Double Cleanse product. Caroline remarked how from her skincare experience, lots of women don’t cleanse round their hairline, ‘It’s usually the ladies who love blow dries and don’t want to mess up their hair, but if that’s the case, use a cotton wool pad afterwards to carefully remove make-up and dirt from the areas you didn’t dare go near with your wet cleanse.'
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| Lovely goodie bag from the masterclass |
At the end of the masterclass I got to do my fangirl thing again, as I got to meet Caroline and Annabel. They were both was super lovely and Caroline gave me some really good advice on dealing with pigmentation from knocks and cuts which Asian skin can be prone to (pigmentation that is, not knocks and cuts, that's just my clumsy ways). All in all it was a lovely event and a great way to start my day.
Jx
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