Looking good with Ilia Georgiou

Give yourself a skin-brightening facial

You don’t need a degree in cosmetic chemistry to give yourself a great face treatment. All you need is 30 to 40 minutes and a few well chosen products

STEP ONE: CLEANSE

Cleanse the face and neck with a milky cleanser if you have normal, dry or combination skin; or a facial wash if you have quite oily skin, acne or blackheads. You will also need a toner suited to your skin type. For cleansers and toners, try Guinot (from your beautician), Korres (pharmacies and department stores) or Roc and Bioderma (both from pharmacies). Good washes for combination skin are Lancome, Nivea Visage and Rosveda (from selected therapists) and for oily, acne and problem skins, Avene (pharmacies), Australian Body Care and Roc.

Apply cleanser and work over face and neck for a few seconds then tissue or cotton wool it off. Wipe face with cotton pad soaked in toner. If using wash, apply to damp face, work over skin and rinse thoroughly.

STEP TWO: EXFOLIATE

Use a grainy scrub or, if you are very sensitive, choose a gentle enzyme peel with no gritty bits. The gentlest one I know is Guinot’s Gommage Biologique. If you have severe acne, it’s best not to scrub over those areas. Great scrubs to try are Clinique Face Scrub, St Ives (from supermarkets), Rosveda Honey and Apricot or Bridal Scrub, or La Prairie (from beauty stores). For grainy scrubs, simply dampen face and work some scrub gently all over face and neck for a minute or so using circular movements. Rinse off thoroughly and dry face.

STEP THREE: STEAM (Optional)

Pour some boiling water into a large bowl and sprinkle with some fresh or dried mint, rosemary, lavender or chamomile flowers (split open a herbal tea bag!), lean your face over and cover your head with a towel to trap the steam. Your face should feel a gentle heat, not a burning heat so gauge how far you should be from the bowl and steam for five to ten minutes. Dry face with tissues.

STEP FOUR: EXTRACT (Optional)

You can squeeze the odd blackhead only if it will come out without you having to really squeeze hard, otherwise you will cause damage. If it doesn’t want to budge, leave it alone! Wrap a tissue so that it is ‘four ply’ around each index finger and give the blackhead a gentle squeeze on each side. Only attempt the odd few, if you have lots, it is better to let a professional deal with them. When you have done this, wipe face with cotton wool dampened with water and a few drops of toner.

STEP FIVE: MASSAGE

Your skin will love this if it is dry, dull, sun parched or mature and tired. If you’re in the oily clan, you could use a quality aloe vera gel instead (such as Rosveda) or try an oil free serum. Try Est?e Lauder or Guinot. For drier or mature skins, use either a commercially available facial oil – Decleor, Jurlique, Darphin and Clarins have lovely ones – or make your own. You’ll need a base oil such as almond, argan, calendula, olive, jojoba, avocado or similar into which you add your own favourite essential oils (Appivita from pharmacies or Jurlique from The Facewiz 99 548338). Add a maximum of two drops of essential oil to a palm full of base oil. Choose from lavender, chamomile, jasmine, mandarin, palmarosa, carrot seed, ylang ylang and use singularly or use two to four different essential oils at the same time.
Massage blended oils, serum or gels into face and neck for five to ten minutes, using circular and stroking movements. Do not remove.

STEP SIX: MASK

If your skin is normally quite dry or dehydrated from too much sun, choose a soft moisturising formulation. Try Korres’ great new Thyme Honey Mask, Guinot’s Hydra Beaute or Masque Essential. If skin is oily or large pored with blackheads, go for a setting clay mask. Good ones are Shiseido Purifying Mask (from Shiseido shops or Debenhams) or Rosveda Honey and Apricot Mask. If your skin is very sensitive but oily, go for a gel formulation, such as Crabtree and Evelyn’s Rejuvenating Mask or Rosveda’s Aloe Vera Gel. If it is very sensitive but normal to dry, try Guinot Masque Hydrallergic, or use mashed banana, natural yoghurt, or honey as a mask. Apivita has a good selection of masks in clever double sachets which are an economical way to try out their various formulations. Apply your chosen mask quite generously over face and neck. Leave on for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove with water or wet cotton wool. You can use toner after this step if you wish, especially if you feel a bit greasy. Dry face.

STEP SEVEN: MOISTURISE

Apply a moisturiser to suit your skin type and massage in till absorbed. Use moisturisers from one of the ranges mentioned above.
 
Your face should feel rested and refreshed, and your skin should look smoother and brighter. If it feels at all sensitive or looks quite red, then you have overdone it. Maybe give the steam or scrub a miss next time.

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