In good order
You don’t put on your socks after your shoes; it’s precisely the same with cosmetics. Thus, once the toilet is complete, after having sprayed thermal water or vegetable water on your skin, you apply the other products in this order: first the active lotion, then the serum, and finally the cream. The first because it increases the effectiveness of the active ingredients applied afterward, the second because it penetrates immediately, and finally, the third because its rich texture would prevent the penetration of anything that could be put on later. Regarding make-up, we will apply what is liquid first (foundation, tinted cream) and what is powder last (powder, blush); otherwise, it will fluff.
Neither too much nor too little
We all have the impression that the more cream we put on, the more effective it is, but we are wrong: the skin only absorbs what it needs; the rest is not valid. Thus for a serum, a drop on the forehead, the chin, and each cheek is enough to treat the face, the neck, and the beginning of the décolleté—two hazelnuts for a day or night cream, four walnuts for body milk. A tip to make your products last longer: apply them to slightly damp skin; you will use less.
The right timing
Scrubs and masks have an immediate effect, moisturizing creams too. If your skin is still tight during the day because the formula doesn’t suit you after two days of use, change it! Serums and anti-aging creams? It is necessary to wait at least three weeks of service for the first results to be noticeable, the time required for a complete renewal cycle of the skin cells. Same for serums. On the other hand, with treatments intended to reduce pigment spots, you have to be patient: one to three months are needed to observe an improvement, provided you do not get a tan in the meantime. As for slimming products, also count one to three months of twice-daily application to measure progress, subject to a stable weight.
Keep them well
Although most cosmetics contain preservatives to prevent the proliferation of microbes, once opened, they can still deteriorate and thus become less effective, whether in contact with the air which oxidizes, hands which contaminate, or under the effect of heat which denatures the formula. The solutions: soap your hands before applying skincare and make-up, recap tubes and bottles after each use (including pencils), and keep them away from light, in a cupboard, and from heat. And too bad for the perfumes that we love to display on a shelf. If you want to prevent them from “swirling” too quickly, keeping them in their box, away from a heat source, is better. Better, do like the perfumery professionals who possess the juices between 4 and 5 ° C, the refrigerator’s temperature. This can extend their lifespan by a year or two.
