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New Year, New You, New Skin
Finally. The holidays are over, turkeys have been eaten, champagne has been drunk, and a quick glance in the mirror reminds you of those “New Year, New Me” gym resolutions. While we’re not equipped to motivate you to hop on the elliptical, we are qualified on helping you get that skin back into tip top shape post-Christmas hangovers.
As you may already know, our diet plays a major role on the health and appearance of our skin. What might be news, is that certain foods have a larger impact on conditions such as cellulite, rough texture, and even epidermal skin dryness.
If you had an extra slice or two of cake this past holiday period, you might notice the effects appearing as a ripple down your thigh, or a few breakouts on your back. Here at Embassy of Beauty, we’re all for embracing the skin you’re in, but we also believe insecurities should be acknowledged and dealt with however you see fit.
Prepping Your Skin
The first step to any effective regimen though, is ensuring your skin is properly prepped. Firstly, we recommend soaking in a warm bath to open up your pores, thus enabling your body to detoxify all that built-up alcohol and sugar.
Bath oils are a wonderful way to help facilitate this process. You just need to ensure they contain the right ingredients to get the job done properly.
Aman’s Grounding Amethyst Bath & Shower Oil is the perfect companion for your new year de-stressing bath. It features a blend of calming oils that not only soothe the senses, but also provide skin with replenishing benefits. Take for example, sandalwood oil. This ancient remedy has been used for centuries to improve elasticity, while providing nourishing and astringent benefits to the skin. Also featuring amethyst crystal, this gem contains properties that go beyond its aura cleansing attributes. When applied to the skin, it reduces redness and swelling, effectively soothing the body and mind in one fell swoop.
Just before you hop out the bath, a nice buff can round off this luxuriant self-care ritual. The Nourishing Jade Scrub & Soak, also from Aman, utilises Himalayan salt to exfoliate built up dead skin cells. It gently but effectively rids you of dull skin, while stimulating circulation, leaving you with a refreshed, rejuvenated glow. Sweet almond oil and shea butter replenish the moisture barrier, resulting in an immediate improvement in hydration to even the most delipidated skin types.
Grounding Amethyst Bath & Shower Oil
AMAN
Nourishing Jade Scrub & Soak
AMAN
Effortless Detox & Glow on the Go
For those of us who are just too busy for a soak, fear not, Ayuna’s Spirulite cleansing bar provides both detoxifying and exfoliating benefits in a simple, but highly effective package. Spirulina, a green alga, is chock full of vitamins, nutrients and also amino acids.
These work to rejuvenate and rebalance the skin, whilst aiding the prevention of acne and breakouts. Natural luffa fibers work to smooth rough, bumpy texture and calendula flower pairs with sunflower seed oil to calm redness.
Spirulite
AYUNA
Indulge Your Skin
Now that we’ve prepped our skin. It’s time to apply the leave on products. Yaay!!
We don’t know about you, but we’re definitely body moisturiser crazy here at the Embassy. So much so, it seems that we have a body product for all skin types and their individual concerns on our shelves. Because just like the skin on the face, the skin on the body requires different forms of treatment depending on its condition.
That’s why we reach for Liposculpt AC on days when we’re starting to feel a little bit TOO much texture on our lower extremities. This offering from Biologique Recherche is a lymphatic drainage massage in a tube. A blend of active ingredients and plant extracts work hand in hand to visibly improve the “orange peel” effect on skin. This condition occurs when fat cells increase under skin, thereby creating a dimpling appearance, commonly known as cellulite. Liposculpt AC contains lipolytic agents in the form of red seaweed and corallina extracts.
This simply means they’re capable of breaking down pockets of fat, the sort of which can cause cellulite in the first place. While effective, they shouldn’t replace an active lifestyle or a healthy diet, but rather compliment them and accentuate their results. Caffeine and artichoke also feature in Liposculpt AC. They work to improve the drainage of fluid, which if left unchecked can lead to a heavy feeling in the legs. Caffeine is a natural diuretic, that helps to reduce water retention. Please don’t go chugging gallons of coffee though.
Liposculpt AC
BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE
Firming, Toning & Hydration
For further silhouette slimming benefits, look no further than Biologique Recherche Crème Matricielle. This decadent cream is filled with hydration boosting natural moisturising factors and skin softening shea butter. It also utilises firming lipopeptides that provide an “anti-gravity” effect to the skin, working to tighten, lift and tone. Matrixial Lipopeptide in particular works by sending signals to skin cells, helping muscles to relax, thereby gradually tightening skin over continued use. To wrap things off, marine coral plant extract is added to provide skin with restructuring benefits. High in natural zinc and copper minerals, it instantly rejuvenates skin, and works to improve its appearance.
Pairing either Liposculpt AC or Crème Matricielle with Biologique Recherche's Body Glove can enhance their results quite significantly. Made of sturdy antibacterial silicone, it features soft spikes on both sides that deliver multiple benefits to the skin. The thickly spiked side prepares skin and allows the increased penetration of active ingredients. While the other side is covered with fine spikes that loosen and eliminate stubborn accumulated fat, stimulating lymphatic drainage. Pick this up to simultaneously speed up the rejuvenation process and treat yourself to a quick, mini self-massage.
Creme Matricielle
BIOLOGIQUE RECHERCHE
Body Glove
Biologique Recherche
Winter Rescue
Often times, the drop in temperature in the winter can leave your skin feeling dryer and more delipidated than it usually would be. If you’re prone to intense dryness during this season of the year, we recommend picking up a pot of Crème Dermo RL Corps. An intensely hydrating and lipid protective moisturiser, it creates an immediate boost of moisture and comfort to dry, tight skin. Blackcurrant butter and raspberry seed oil recondition the skin, feeding cells with essential fatty acids and boosting its ability to properly hydrate itself. While sugar derivatives, xylitol and anhydroxylitol, create a protective barrier, perfect for shielding your skin from the harsh wind of winter.
Even though moisturisers are all usually called, well moisturisers, some work more to hydrate rather than actually moisturise. The difference between the two benefits is that while hydration is the state of having water in the skin, moisture involves the adequate balance of lipids. In other words, oils, waxes and butters. When skin feels coarse, rather than tight, then a body butter such as Aman’s Grounding Smoked Body Butter is definitely a wonderful option.
Featuring hydrating and nourishing murumuru butter, it is more moisturising than shea, without being as greasy. Grounding Smoked Butter instantly melts into skin, calming and relieving anxiety with amber’s natural de-stressing properties. We recommend this luxurious treatment for skin needing an extra layer of lipid enfoldment. Also great for dry knees, elbows and feet, it absorbs quite well, immediately leaving behind softer skin.
Creme Dermo-RL
Biologique Recherche
Grounding Smoked Body Butter
Aman
Happy 2024!
As the new year begins, we hope you find inspiration all around you, to better all areas in your life. While we can’t help you out with the gym memberships, we hope this list leads you to healthier, smoother and more resilient skin.
Happy 2024, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
By Natalie Kingsley-Fieldgrass
05 JAN 2024