Now as a small disclaimer - this post is purely because for the first time in as long as I can remember - I have a bit of confidence in the skin I am in.
I have very pale (and I mean very, pale.) sensitive skin. I always have and I always will - it's the skin I am in forever. I am so pale you can see every vein on my hands, wrists, feet, legs, neck, chin etc - it's almost see through. My beautiful mother has a condition called vitiligo and her non-pigmented skin 'patches' are darker than my natural skin - which she finds hilarious by the way.
Now you may be thinking ''so what - lots of people are pale'' and yes you are right, but me and my mum have our theories that my pale-ness may be some form of relation to vitiligo.. but all over, this is further spurred by the large patch of 'normal pigment' on my right thigh. I burn in the sun almost instantly and have to wear factor 50+ even on some days in winter as even the sun's reflection on the snow along with the cold winds can cause my skin to redden angrily. And don't even get me started on the effect rain has...
Holiday's are a nightmare - my skin flares up in a violent heat rash and burns to a crisp no matter how careful I am. Any sort of 'tan' you may see is most definitely from a bottle.
*WARNING - MINGING HEAT RASH FEET FROM RHODES PHOTO BELOW*
Mmm Ryan's a lucky boy! He was so concerned about this!
Sadly the worst part of the heat rash is still on my left ankle - over a month after returning from our holiday..
The skin on my face is the most sensitive - I had blisters around my hair line from the skin burning within a day or two of reaching Rhodes. I have to wear a minimum of factor 20 foundation on top of my usual suncream and now have to invest in expensive brands after multiple reactions. Bye bye bank balance my precious but dwindling little baby.
As much as I would like not to wear any foundation at all, like I said - my veins are painfully visable and I have very strange colouration differences - plus the foundation provides that extra bit of protection too!
I have to admit however that up until the last year or so, I was awful when it came to removing makeup and looking after the fragile skin underneath.. I used to use nothing but a single face wipe to get rid of the muck, causing me to break out from blocked pores and a build up on the areas I didn't quite get to!
So something had to give and I had to force myself to spend a few extra pennies and a few extra minutes to treat my skin...
I knew I couldn't just walk in to a shop and pick up any random scrub, cleanser, toner and moisturiser. It would have to be a sensitive skin brand. The first name that jumped to mind was 'Simple', although I had heard mixed reviews about it causing more harm than good to some users - but I gave it a shot anyway and I cannot believe how much difference it makes!!!
Currently I use the following products, but aim to get more, they even do shampoo now which would be perfect for me - you still have skin on your scalp, mine still happens to be just as sensitive! Plus they have a new extra-sensitive Derma range which sounds amazingly gentle!
Simple - Kind To Skin - Smoothing Facial Scrub - £3.29
Simple - Kind To Skin - Purifying Cleansing Lotion - £3.29
Simple - Kind To Skin - Soothing Facial Toner - £3.29
(strangely found on the cleanser page of the simple website...and not on the toner page...interesting)
Simple - Kind To Skin - Replenishing Rich Moisturiser - £3.99
I am not being paid to say any of this. I will just let you all know that. All product details are simply found on their website and prices are as of Tesco at the time of this post. I have no contact with anyone at Simple, but I simply cannot get over how much better I feel in my skin! It is incredibly soft and smooth and healthy. There are no longer mystery bobbles on my forehead, my red rashes are no more, I have had no reactions what so ever and a lot of the products are spf 15 which is a big *WIN WIN* for me! There are no artificial perfumes, dyes or harsh chemicals, so only using ingredients that are safe for skin, DAMN RIGHT!
I simply (haha no pun intented honestly!) use as intended once I have removed the main body of my make up with my usual face wipes, although I'm tempted to buy the Simple wipes too - and apply as little pressure as possible when using the scrub to prevent any damage to my face. I'm also very careful to avoid my eyes - I'm looking to purchase the eye makeup remover as I am a bugger for getting makeup or products in my eyes and cursing myself!!
I would never usually show my bare face to anyone - but with the change I have experienced, the no-make up selfie that went alongside my donation for cancer research some time ago was less traumatic than I first thought...so thank you Simple!
Do you have any skin care tips? I am constantly learning!!
Lots of love, Emily-Rose xoxo
