I spent last weekend at the Blue Mountains and ended up with two red angry pimples on my cheek. This is highly unusual for me as, these days, I rarely get pimples and if I do they are almost always the hormonal variety on my chin. There is only one plausible explanation as to why I got these pimples. You see, ordinarily I reside in an apartment on a busy highway in Sydney. My theory is that the pollution from the cars on the highway settles on my face forming a protective shield that bacteria cannot penetrate; therefore, no pimples. Then, when I left the security of my pollution laden apartment to the pristine mountain air, my protective shield was lost giving bacteria free reign on my skin. Makes sense, doesn't it. Okay, there is one other possible explanation - I ate like crap, got little sleep and was too lazy to cleanse before bed. Whatever the reason though, I had two angry new residents on my face that I now wanted evicted.
Now, like every woman on Earth (and probably every man as well if they actually gave it a chance), I love facials. But at 8.00pm on a Sunday night, very few beauty salons are open. So my only option was a D.I.Y facial. I had a few Jurlique products from the
Jurlique Bloggers event that I was busting to try, plus a few I already owned, so I decided that I would have a nice long bath (with a Lush bath ballistic!) and give myself a D.I.Y Jurlique facial. Before commencing my facial, I did extract the two angry residents (doesn't extract sound so much more professional and clinical than 'popped' or 'squeezed'!)
I started by cleansing with the
Daily Exfoliating Cream. This is a thick paste of oats that gently lifts away dead skin cells. It is incredibly gentle on the skin. It has a bit of a unique scent, almost ever so slightly fermented smelling, mixed with herbs, though interestingly this scent isn't at all offensive. I worked at a gift shop years ago that sold Jurlique products and attended a product training course. In this course we were taught not to rub the Daily Exfoliating Cream onto your skin, but to mix it with a little water to form a paste, then to press this paste into your skin. This lifts away the dead skin cells and debris without harsh exfoliation. So this is exactly how I used my Daily Exfoliating Cream. I did this for about a minute then rinsed it off with water.
Following on from the Daily Exfoliating Cream I then used the
Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator*, one of the products given to us at the
Jurlique Bloggers event. The Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator is a highly effective fruit-based facial treatment that exfoliates skin with natural enzymes and indigenous Australian extracts of Desert Lime, Quandong and Wattle. This has a watery, gel-like consistency - very similar to the Herbal Recovery Gel, and smells deliciously like citrus and honey. I applied about four pumps to my whole face and left it on for around five minutes. It tingled slightly on application but other than that I didn't feel a thing. I then laid back in the bath, read Body and Soul, and let the Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator work its magic, before rinsing it off with water.
I then felt that my skin really needed some TLC so I applied the
Nurturing Mask. I bought this mask when I was pregnant and suffering terribly from hormonal acne. This is a gentle purifying mask that leaves delicate skin feeling soft, pure and revitalised and is ideal for rebalancing sensitivity. It is a gorgeous silky mask that spreads easily over the skin. It doesn't dry rock hard like other clay based masks but is still somewhat flexible, which is just what sensitive skin needs. The only issue I have with this mask is the fragrance. Whilst I love the fragrance - very floral and herbal - it really stings my eyes. I wear glasses, and usually leave them on whilst I have the mask on, as I like to read as well. I am not sure whether the fragrance wafts up and gets caught under the glasses so directs it into my eyes, or what, but they always end up stinging so much that they water. This hasn't happened to me with any other Jurlique product so it is a bit strange. If I do take my glasses off and lie there with my eyes closed, then the stinging goes away...but I like reading too much to ever do that! The mask had been on for about 10 minutes when I heard the delightful sound of my baby crying. Nothing quite ruins the serenity of a D.I.Y facial than a crying baby, so that spelt the end of my pampering time. I quickly rinsed the mask off with water, then went to attend to the baby when I heard that Hubby was on the job - sweet, a few more precious pampering minutes!
I spritzed my face with the
Rosewater Balancing Mist*, which would have to be my all time favourite Jurlique product. It smells amazingly of roses and I find it so calming, both emotionally and to the skin. The mask had left my skin feeling a tiny bit tight and this completely relaxed my skin again, leaving it feeling really hydrated. I find that the Rosewater Balancing Mist is the perfect product to apply just before a moisturiser as it allows the moisturiser to spread more easily and seems to help it absorb better.
I finished off my D.I.Y Jurlique facial by applying the
Balancing Day Care Cream*. I know that by this time day was long gone over but I figured that as the cream didn't contain any SPF (I don't like applying SPF at night as 1. there is obviously no need for SPF at night and 2. I worry that it clogs my skin) it wouldn't matter if I used it at night. Jurlique promotes using a very light night cream to allow your skin to repair itself, so this was probably a bit heavier than they would recommend. I used one of Jurlique's Day Care Creams years ago (I can't remember which one) and it was incredibly greasy and oily on my skin. This was not the case with the Balancing Day Care Cream at all. I don't know whether Jurlique have changed the formulation, whether it was in fact a different Day Care Cream that I used, or whether my skin has changed in the years since I last used it but it instantly absorbed into my skin, leaving my skin feeling so soft, smooth and really quite radiant. There was not one hint of greasiness. I was so impressed!
Unfortunately my baby was still crying so it really was time to switch back into Mummy mode. This is why I prefer someone else to give me a facial than a D.I.Y job - at least with a professional facial the only crying you hear is that of the whales on the relaxing music they play - whales crying is a much more pleasant sound than babies crying! But even with the less than relaxing finish, my D.I.Y Jurlique facial did wonders to my skin. It was so smooth, soft and hydrated - and the best bit - by Tuesday the two angry residents had well and truly been evicted.
All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with Jurlique and received no remuneration for my comments. The products marked with * were provided to me at the Jurlique Bloggers event. Images are courtesy of Julique.
