How To Prime Your Skin For The Party Season (2025)

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• Do you feel like your already-supersized-pores are growing by the minute? They're not. But itmight feel like they are...

  Pores are the foundation of healthy skin. Of course, collagen makes your skin strong, supple and plump. And yes, elastin gives it that all-important bouncebackability. But without pores, your skin would be a dry, shrivelled up shadow of its former self. Not to mention the fact that your entire body would lose its ability to regulate its own body temperature.

  As a quick reminder, pores are tiny, microscopic openings found at the surface of your skin right at the top of your hair follicles and sweat glands. They exist to allow important liquids (as well as other particles and gases) to pass through the surface of your skin. The human body has two types of pores: sweat pores which help regulate body temperature; and oil-producing poresthat are found at the top of your hair follicles where they release sebum to moisturize and lubricate the surface of the skin. The good thing about sweat pores is that they’re so small you can’t see them making them of very little concern in the grand scheme of things.

  Oil-producing pores, on the other hand, are just so annoyingly visible. So why?

  What Determines The Size Of Your Pores?

  Like your height, skin tone and color of your hair, the size of your pores is largely shaped by genetics. This means that yes, you can blame your parents, and yes, the size of your pores is pretty much fixed.

  Of course, this is great news if you have almost invisible pores. Not so much if yours feel like they take over your entire face. But let’s get one thing straight: no matter how enlarged you believe your pores are when you study them in the mirror, they’re rarely as bad as you think. Because the truth is, nobody else scrutinizes your skin on the same level as do you.

  Do Pores Get Bigger Over Time?

  Yes and no. The size of your pores never really changes on a physiological level. So yes, all those half-truths about being able to ‘shrink’ your pores with alcohol-heavy toners or freezing cold water is a bit of a con. But there’s a little bit of truth in there because while the actual size of your pores doesn’t alter, their walls can stretch and expand, making them appear more pronounced.

  Penny drops.

  What Causes Pores To Stretch WithAge?

  Many things happen to your skin throughout your life that can cause the walls of your pores to become damaged and loose. Of course, regular aging plays the most obvious role as your collagen levels naturally decrease over time. Sadly, there’s not a huge amount you can do about your biological clock (there’s those genes doing their worst again!) but there are many other factorsof which you can control that contribute to the rate at whichyour pores become slack.

  Sun Damage

  Gosh, the sun gets blamed for a lot of skin issues. But we don’t apologize for that because it really is one of the worst things for the condition of your skin. UV radiationbreaks down important proteins like collagen and elastin thanks to a build-up of free radicals. This weakens the collagen fibers that give your skin its structure, thus allowing the walls of your pores to become slack, weak and kind of baggy-looking. AKA more visible!

  Picking Your Skin

  If you have a tendency to pick or squeeze your skin, this not only irritates your skin as a whole, but it can seriously mess with the collagen and elastin fibers that keep your skin firm and supple. Scarring is the most obvious possibility from picking your skin, but you pores will also suffer as a consequence.

  Excess Sebum

  After puberty sebum production usually levels out to a somewhat more ‘normal’ rate. However, things can get messy again during significant hormonal changes in your life. Menstruation, pregnancy, the menopause, all of these periods in your life cause your hormones to become unbalanced and your sebum levels to fluctuate. And when sebum production increases it fills up your pores causing them to expand, stretch and appear bigger.

  Slow Cell Turnover

  When you’re in your 20s each skin cell has a life cycle of around 28 days in which time it isformed at the lower levels, moves up to the surface and then sheds. As with most biological functions, however, cell turnover slows down as you mature, causing dead cells to hang around longer than necessary at the surface of your skin. Like excess sebum, these dead cells have nowhere else to go but to clog up your pores. And clogged pores = saggy, enlarged-looking pores.

  Bad Makeup Choices

  Certain foundations and face cosmetics that contain heavy oils and thick butters can also block your pores, causing them to expand and become more noticeable. Make sure you scan the labels of your favorite makeup formulations to ensure they’re non-comedogenic. Non-comedogenic means they’re way less likely to block your pores (comedone is the fancy term for pore, if you didn’t know).

  The Best Ways To Keep Your Pores Tight

  After reading the above you can probably guess what you need to do to avoid your pores becoming damaged and saggy. But we’ll lay it out for you anyway, just to drive the point home!

  1. First up, wear sunscreen. This is the best thing you can do to conserve the collagen you’ve already got while ensuring you’re still making quality fresh stuff. Apply SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C every morning as par for the course, and do your skin even more of a solid by doubling up your protection with an antioxidant serum underneath sunscreen. Niacinamide is a very good ingredient for smoother, more resilient skin so try our Niacinamide (B3) Facial Serum.

  2. Don’t pick your skin. Pimples or no pimples. Nothing good can come of this.

  3. Balance sebum by gently cleansing and lightly moisturizing your skin come what may. It’s super important to keep your skin clean morning and night so that oils don’t build up at the surface. We love Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ which harnesses the power of tea tree oil to clarify the skin without leaving it feeling parched. Just remember, it’s equally as vital to follow with moisturizer so your skin doesn’t think it’s dry and overcompensate with more oil than you started with!

  4.Exfoliate to boost cellular turnover. But don’t overdo it. Listen to your skin and exfoliate just once or twice a week if that’s all it needs. Our Vitamin C Gentle Face Scrub (which just won an industry award may we add!) is a fantastic way to keep your skin bright, clean and dead skin cell-free. Plus, it’s kind to your skin. Which is super important, at any age.

  5. Finally, don't underestimate the powers of retinol.Retinol is an incredible way to boost collagen AND encourage healthy cellular turnover. That's great news for your pores. And for controlling acne. And for reducing the appearance of wrinkles. And... well, you get the picture. Try our classic Retinol Facial Serum once or twice a week to begin with, building up to nightly as your skin acclimates.

  Collagen

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• Incoming… under-the-tree beauty treats and skin-tastic stocking fillers, oh my!

  December is here and the clock is ticking to crush the perfect gift for everyone in your life. So if you’re still making your list and checking it twice, we’ve put together a fabulous bunch of beauty must-haves to get you set up for gifting success. Because skincare is ideal for anyone who has skin and wants to look after it. So, yes, that’ll be your entire gift list.

  Looking for a fun stocking filler for your significant other? NP. Want to put a smile on mom’s face and a pep in her step with a gorgeous bundle of skin-rejuvenating greats? We’ve got your back. In fact we defy you not to know someone to love every single one of the below. And heck, when in doubt, who better to gift than your good self? Go on, you deserve it!

  Caffeine Facial Serum

  You know ‘that’ person who has to have the latest products and always embraces the newest trends? Maybe that’s you, maybe it’s your bestie, but whoever it is, our new Caffeine Facial Serum has their name all over it.

  Great for giving skin a much-needed energy zap (which is essential over the holidays when things can get a little stressful!), this facial serum helps boost collagen, improve blood flow to the skin’s surface, reduce inflammation and kicks some serious free radical butt. Caffeine is obviously it’s main mo, but it also contains niacinamide to help strengthen and fortify your skin’s very important barrier function; matcha tea and EGCG for antioxidant protection, and ginseng which offers further energizing powers to truly double down on flagging skin.

  Soothing Cleansing Milk

  A cleanser might not be the obvious gifting choice for the holidays but, trust us, our Soothing Cleansing Milk will bring joy to anyone on your gift list. The perfect cleanser for this time of year, its careful combination of oat and rice milk not only soothes and nourishes dry, winter skin, but it also contains tons of minerals, vitamins, gentle acids and antioxidants to encourage healthycell turnover and even healthier skin as a result.

  To say we’re huge fans of this baby would be the understatement of the year. So if you’re wondering what to get us this holidays. Ha, we joke, of course. Or do we?...

  Age-Defying 3-Pack Bundle

  Aging is both a privilege and a total pain in the butt. Most importantly, getting older should be embraced because not everyone has such luck. But when you look in the mirror and get annoyed by your ever increasing wrinkles or pesky sun spots it can be hard not to wish you could turn back time.

  Full disclosure, we can’t turn back time. But, and it’s a big but, one of the best gifts you can give anyone who cares about defying the laws of skin aging is our Age Defying 3-Pack. This incredible trio includes the award-winning Vitamin C Facial Serum for daily antioxidant protection and amazing brightening powers, plus two of its best friends: Retinol Facial Serum for overnight rejuvenation and Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum to hydrate and provide your skin with the nutrients it needs to stay youthful-looking, for longer.

  Vitamin C Gentle Facial Scrub

  Who doesn’t love a good face scrub? Answer: nobody. The thing with scrubs, however, is that some of them are just no good. Whether they’re made with crushed up nutshells that can cause micro tears in the skin (eek!) or they come packed with harsh alcohol that dries up your skin lightning fast (ditto!), finding a scrub that a) does the job, but b) cares for your skin is no mean feat.

  Our Vitamin C Gentle Facial Scrub, however, is literally one of the best. How so? Because it’s packed with skin-loving ingredients like antioxidant-rich yuzu lemon and hydrating aloe vera and uses ultra-fine Bora Bora white sand to exfoliate skin gently but effectively. It’s fast becoming one of our biggest sellers and firmly deserves a place in every holiday stocking.

  Longevity Regimen Bundle

  Around a year ago we launched an entire new range to help the skin age healthily and beautifully. And we called it Longevity. Because, well, the name speaks for itself, right? Chock full of game-changing ingredients like bakuchiol (nature’s kinder-to-skin alternative to retinol), plus coffeeberry and lingonberry stem cells which are both so rich in antioxidants they’re almost too good to be true, the range included an eye cream, moisturizer and serum to give the skin a complete regimen of goodness. And it quickly became a mega hit.

  Truth is, who’s your absolute favorite person on your gift list? Because whoever that is, they deserve to receive this gorgeous Longevity Regimen Bundle which includes all three formulas under the tree.

  6% AHA, BHA + PHA Liquid Exfoliant

  Do you have someone on your list who’s bang on it when it comes to skincare ingredients and can recite the exact difference between AHAs and BHAs without taking a breath? Then 6% AHA, BHA + PHA Liquid Exfoliant is the stocking stuffer for them.

  Launched back in 2022, this leave-on exfoliating toner harnesses the powers of glycolic acid (the AHA), salicylic acid (the BHA) and a lesser-known PHA called gluconolactone. Together, these create a little bit of exfoliating magic, helping to improve skin turnover, encourage healthy collagen production, balance sebum and care for your skin without the irritation often experienced with powerful exfoliants. It's a genius in a bottle. See what we did there?

  Daily Essentials Trio

  Sometimes you just want to treat the loves of your life to some good, honest skincare. And we get that. Which is one of the reasons we created this Daily Essentials Trio which bosses three of the most important steps in your skincare routine ­– serum, eye cream and moisturizer. This bundle of joy doesn’t just contain any old serum, eye cream and moisturizer, however, but delights in the wonders of our best-selling Peptide Eye Gel, Vitamin C Facial Serum and Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer.

  Great for all skin typesand perfect for gifting, you might want to pop an extra in your cart in case you’re loathe to give it up so easily. Which is highly likely.

  Tea Tree Super Cleanser+

  When it comes to hard-working cleansers that pass the ‘don’t be too harsh on my skin’ test, our Tea Tree Super Cleanser+ passes with flying colors. So good for breakouts (holiday season or not!) and even better for balancing extra oily skin, it targets dirt and debris with every wash, leaving the skin feeling clean and fresh all day long.

  What’s more it smells divine. And yes, that matters.

  Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream

  Hyaluronic acid is one of skincare’s biggest wins. Sure it likes to hog the spotlight but wouldn’t you if you could draw in up to 1,000 times your weight in water? That’s pretty impressive stuff right there.

  We use HA in many of our skincare formulations but if you’re looking for the cutest stocking stuffer, our Hyaluronic Acid Eye Cream is right up your alley. Lush, lightweight and so very lovely, this eye cream is ideal for waking up tired, hard-working eyes while tackling things like dark circles, fine lines and dehydration.

  What’s that they say about the best things coming in small packages? Proof in point.

  Collagen Boosting Skin Supplement

  Collagen is the key to great skin and we don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to receive some of that this holiday season. So why not help build their collagen supplies from within with our Collagen Boosting Skin Supplements? Purposefully crafted to promote natural collagen production and thus improve the look and feel of the skin, it contains vegetarian collagen only (you’ll find none of that cow stuff in here, thank you very much!) plus biotin for glowy skin and vitamin C for, well, even glowier skin.

  Glowing skin for the holidays? Hells yeah!

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• Good news: there are tons of ways to make your skin feel smoother and healthier.

  Thankfully, you don’t remember the skin you were born with. If you did, you would seriously long for its plump, bouncy, softer-than-clouds feel. Because that’s how skin generally is at birth, before it’s touched by pollution, battered by the sun and generally subjected to the slings and arrows of modern life. Everyday wear and tear, however, is inevitable so it’s no use trying to resurrect your 6-month old skin. It’s simply never going to happen.

  All is not lost, however, because what you can do is make the most of the skin you’re in right now by looking after it to the best of your abilities. The motto is, treat it right and it will repay you in kind. Granted, it will never feel as soft and smooth as it did way back when, but give yourself a break, EVERYONE has textured skin to some degree and, heck, you can only do so much, right?

  On that note, here are some of the most effective ways to get your smoothest skin ever. And more good news: they’re easier than you might think.
  

  Pay Attention To Your Pores

  More often than not, rough texture is down to blocked pores. Oil-producing pores are tiny openings found at the top of your hair follicles and sebaceous glands where they release sebum to help moisturize and soften the skin at a surface level. They’re extremely important for keeping your skin healthy but, like all things are life, they’re not perfect. Some people have sebaceous glands that produce too much sebum, others have those that don’t produce anywhere near enough, causing everything from extreme dryness to super-oily skin that’s prone to acne breakouts.

  Whatever your pore persuasion, it’s crucial to keep them cleansed, and clear of debris like makeup, dirt and skincare products. This reduces their likelihood of becoming clogged, thus expanding and creating tiny bumps at the surface of your skin. Common sense, right? Instead of stripping your skin with chemical-rich, harsh products, however, it’s important to cleanse right with gentle formulations and warm, never hot water. Our Soothing Cleansing Milk is fantastic for the job - especially if you have dry or sensitive skin –or you could also try Charcoal Clarifying Cleanser which is fantastic for detoxifying your pores and balancing oilier skin types. Cleanse twice daily, no arguments, and again after working out.

  It’s Great To Exfoliate

  As skin ages, cell turnover slows down and dead skin cells have a tendency to outstay their welcome. It’s kind of inevitable, so to help keep this process from causing rough texture at the surface (and the dullness that inevitably comes as part of the deal!), it’s wise to exfoliate regularly.

  Exfoliation encourages dead cells to slough away quicker, so that all the fresh, younger ones have a chance to reveal themselves to the world. And you can do it in a number of ways. Scrubs are the obvious choice, but be wary of harsh formulations that use over-sized particles that feel too sharp on your skin. Chances are, if they feel scratchy, that’s exactly what they’re doing, creating micro-tears on your skin which can cause irritation and long-term sensitivities. Instead, choose a kind-to-skin scrub like our Vitamin C Gentle Face Scrubwhich uses ultra-fine Bora Bora white sand to leave you with super soft skin, every time.

  Not a scrub fan? Then try a leave-on solution that harnesses exfoliating acids like salicylic or glycolic to break down the glue between dead skin cells, giving them a firm nudge to leave town. Try our awesome 6% AHA, BHA + PHA Liquid Exfoliant after cleansing and before applying serum and moisturizer. It’s the simplest way to even out your skin and smooth up its texture, plus it’s gentle enough for almost all skin types.

  Layer With Moisture

  Whatever your skin type, moisturizer is essential after every cleanse to support and fortify your skin’s barrier function and allow it to do its job properly –which is to keep good things like moisture in and bad things like irritants out. But, we get it, for some of you moisturizer might not be enough. Dehydration, for example, is a killer on the texture of your skin and that requires more attention than some moisturizers are able to offer.

  To really get your smoothness going, we recommend doubling down with a hydrating serum as well as a kick-ass moisturizer like Renewing Longevity Moisturizing Cream. Serums that contain hyaluronic acid in particular, are incredible for helping to keep your skin plump, smooth and dewy because they draw moisture to the surface of your skin. Apply a couple of drops of Hyaluronic Acid Facial Serum after cleansing and before moisturizing every day for a deeper moisturization and, over time, your skin will soon feel way more hydrated and much smoother as a result.

  Give Irritants The Cold Shoulder

  Word is, something in your skincare routine might actually be the cause of textural changesin your skin like dryness and roughness. Synthetic fragrance, for example, is one of the biggest offenders, and denatured alcohol as well as harsh sulfates like SLS and SLES can all be extremely irritating for certain skin types.

  Try to avoid the most common irritants and, while you’re at it, look at your skincare routine as a whole and tame things down if it’s too heavy on active ingredients. Active ingredients like retinol, AHAs, BHAs and vitamin C are fantastic, don’t get us wrong, but too much of a good thing can have disastrous results. Rough, dry, flaky skin being just one of them.

  Remember: Sunscreen Is King

  UV radiation (which is present all year long) produces skin-damaging free radicals which work hard to break down your collagen and elastin and ruin your skin’s soft, smooth bouncebackability. Not only that, but it’s a killer on your skin’s natural levels of hyaluronic acid, leading to dehydration and, well, you know where we’re going here…

  It comes as no surprise, therefore, that daily SPF is non-negotiable. Most experts – us included – recommend a broad-spectrum formulation that contains mineral sunscreens like zinc oxide and offers protection of at least SPF 30. Try our SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen with Vitamin C which is like the lovechild of your favorite moisturizer and sunscreen, with the added benefits of glow-getting vitamin C and age-defying vegan marine collagen.

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• Heard about retinol sandwiching but clueless about what it is or whether you should be getting on that train immediately? Here’s what we know…

  Retinol offers an incredible solution to many skin woes. Hate your monthly breakouts? Try retinol. Worried about wrinkles catching up on you way too quickly? Retinol’s your guy. It’s true, retinol is the gold standard in skincare ingredients – just ask your dermatologist; we’d put a lot of money on them being in complete agreement.

  But retinol isn’t all moonlight and roses. In fact, many people find that it’s pretty devilish on their skin, causing all sorts of irritating side effects that, frankly, make it not worth the hassle. You know the score, think redness, itching, flaky skin and extreme dryness.

  This is why you’ll see countless blog posts and viral videos about how best to make retinol work for your skin type without causing all the bad stuff. Spoiler alert: if you choose the right formulation and apply it slowly and carefully, most skin types can totally appreciate the benefits retinol has to offer.

  Reckon you’ve tried allthe tricks but still can’t get on with retinol on a regular basis? Then you have options. The first is to try bakuchiol which is a natural and far gentler alternative to retinol. We’re huge advocates of this just-as-awesome ingredient as it worksin a similar way to retinol, encouraging cell turnover and accelerating collagen production. In fact, we love it so much that we based an entire collection of healthy aging formulations around it. Check out the range here.

  The other options is to try retinol sandwiching, a ‘trend’ that #BeautyTok is all over, but one which, in fact, has been around for many years…

  What Is Retinol Sandwiching?

  Retinol usually comes in the form of a serum which is applied to cleansed skin before moisturizer. Retinol sandwiching, however, switches things up. Don’t worry though, it’s nothing too tricky but is a very easy technique. You simply apply moisturizer before your retinol serum, then another layer afterwards, creating the proverbial sandwich effect with the retinol being your filling and moisturizer the bread.

  Why Is Retinol Sandwiching A Thing?

  As skincare ingredients go,retinol is arguably the best but, as we previously mentioned, its benefits are often outnumbered by its downsides – especially if you have particularly sensitive skin. Of course, introducing it slowly into your skincare routine is a great way to reduce the risks of unwanted side effects because this allows your skin to acclimate to such a potent powerhouse.

  And there are many other ways to help you reduce irritation. One of which isthe retinol sandwich.

  Not to be taken literally (please don’t smother retinol serum over your favorite sourdough – like, ever), retinol sandwiching is particularly good for dry skin butcan be a useful tool for reducing all kinds of irritation and sensitivities.

  Why is the retinol sandwich so good for the skin? Well, it creates a kind of buffering effect, adding a layer of product between your skin and the retinol which helps to slow down its absorption and reduce its potency. Not to mention the added moisturization as an extra bonus. All this means that you’ll likely be able to useyour retinol serum more frequently.

  Does Sandwiching Make Retinol Less Effective?

  Yes. Most moisturizers contain oils and water which kind of ‘dilute’ the retinol, making it weaker and less effective. But if you’re choosing to make yourself a retinol sandwich, you’re probably doing so because you have sensitive skin and want to reduce the irritation it may potentially cause. So making it weaker is kind of the point, right?

  Is Retinol Sandwiching Right For Your Skin Type?

  Honestly? That’s a question only you can answer. The truth is, if you use it wisely, most retinol formulas can be successfully built into your skincare routine without the sandwich method. That being said, nobody knows your skin better than you, so if you feel it may help you to enjoy the benefits of retinol, there’s no harm in trying.

  All we can say is that if you want to give it a go, make sureto choose the right moisturizer for the job. Here’s a quick checklist for you.

  ✅ Go for a lightweight lotion. This will be better than a rich, heavy cream because it will at least allow a little of the retinol to get through to the surface of your skin.

  ❎Avoid moisturizer that contains potent, active ingredients. Certain ingredients may react with the retinol and actually increase your chances of redness and irritation.

  ✅ Look out for gentle hydrating ingredients. Things like hyaluronic acid, glycerin and aloe vera are your friends here.

  Other Tips For Making Retinol Work For You

  1. Always Patch Test Retinol First

  Yes, patch testing is boring and certainly not for the impatient, but it’s important and a great way to know whether a certain ingredient is going to be the right match for your skin. Patch test any new retinol product on a discreet area of your skin first. Then leave it for 48 hours to check for adverse reactions before using it as recommended.

  2. Use It On Dry Skin

  Many ingredients play well on damp skin but moisture can increase the absorption of retinol, simultaneously increasing the chances of irritation. Better to be safeby applying it to skin that's dry.

  3. Go Slow And Go Steady

  We’re all about the 1-2-3 retinol rule. When starting out, apply your product once a week only, for one week. Then apply it twice a week for two weeks and finally, go for three times a week for three weeks. This helps your skin build tolerance and allows you to eventually be able to apply it every night.

  4. Apply Sunscreen Every Morning

  Don’t let damaging UV radiation screw up all that fresh new skin retinol is helping to bring to the surface. Generously apply SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen every morning as the final step in your routine.

  But you knew that. Didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?

  Retinol

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