Summer is officially over and fall is here.

I am never, ever ready to let go of summer. I always try to squeeze out one more week of sundresses and sandals, evenings by the pool with a spritz and some summer music.

The reality is however, that it’s time to pack away summer clothes and summer lip colors, and get prepped for the new season. I can already hear the upcoming collective squeal of “pumpkin spice latte!!!” (yuck – really??) and the reverential excitement over the return to boots and sweaters.

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Today though we are going to have ourselves a little chat about prepping our skin for the new season. In case you haven’t noticed, skin gets thrashed over the summer. The combination of heat and humidity, paired with extra sun and wind exposure, compounded by extra layers of SPF – or worse! the lack of SPF, leaves your complexion looking dull by the time fall arrives. You may be noticing your skin looking a little opaque through your foundation, and even though you have a tan there is a slight gray-ness instead of that early summer, healthy glow that you were sporting back in June.

Which means we need a plan to get the complexion back into tip top shape.

New fall skin care products just arrived on my desk!

I just received a box of goodies from Bloomingdales.com that are all about getting your skin back to gorgeous for fall. In fact, they represent the 5 Fall skin care steps you need to know.

5 Fall Skin Care Tips That You Need To Know

The Cleanse.

Last week I talked about doing a double cleanse, the first being an oil cleanse and the second a water cleanse. I’m pretty obsessed with water cleansers and have been using them in my pro makeup kit for more years than I care to remember.

This one is Trish McEvoy Skin Cleansing Water. Its super gentle on the skin, removes makeup (even stubborn, waterproof eye makeup) and gives you a nice cleanse. As the weather moves through fall and into winter this is an ideal cleanser, clearing away impurities but not stripping the skin. Trish McEvoy Skin Cleansing water is available online at Bloomingdales.com

The Exfoliation

I am super, super excited to start using this next product!

After the build up caused by perspiration, excess oils, hot and dry weather, chlorine, salt water, sun protection products – basically every single thing we have encountered all summer long, skin looks super dull. The top layer of dead skin and debris needs to be cleared away. The ideal solution is to go have a microdermabrasion treatment with a facialist, but that can be costly and it can also be difficult to schedule, especially if you have a mad schedule like mine! But now I have this new PMD Microdermabrasion Kit, which comes with microdermabrasion at home products.

This is extra cool because it is said to be the best at home microdermabrasion machine. The PMD Personal Microderm kit comes with a nifty little hand sized personal microderm machine/wand, a variety of different discs that allow you to choose if you have very sensitive skin, sensitive skin, medium skin, or skin that needs maximum strength dermabrasion. There is also a disc for use specifically on the body. You can give your skin persoanlly customized microdermabrasion treatments at home every week if necessary, but for most people every 2 or 3 weeks will be ample.

The PMD Microdermabrasion Kit comes with a DVD on the ins and outs of how to use it and a booklet, both making it really easy to use. It would make a really fantastic Christmas/end of year gift too!The PMD Personal Microderm Kit is available online at Bloomingdales.com

The Soothing Hydrating Mask

Summer strips your skin. Winter does too. Skin that has had to deal with the elements feels sensitized, dried out, irritated. This Kiehls Calendula and Aloe Soothing Hydrating Masque calms and soothes skin and then gently hydrates it. It is wonderful after sun exposure, so is great not only for beach days but also ski days.

This mask is also fantastic throughout fall and winter when skin gets so overly challenged with wind, biting cold, central heating – the works. It is a wonderful soothing mask for sensitive skin and sensitized skin. The Calendula and Aloe Soothing Hydrating Masque is good for all skin types, it isn’t heavy and it doesn’t leave your skin feeling greasy. You can find it here on Bloomingdales.com

The Treatment

By the beginning of fall the summer glow has been replaces by skin that looks dull and lifeless. When skin looks dull and tired your makeup will too. Its time for a refresher! After exfoliating away the debris on the surface of the skin you need to introduce a Vitamin C treatment. Vitamin C helps treat some of the UV induced photo-damage, revitalizes the complexion, and is a powerful antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the skin. Vitamin C is also loved for its anti-aging benefits, and is known to brighten skin, retexturize and even out skin tone.

But here is where it gets tricky. In order for Vitamin C to be effective it needs to be fresh, so most over the counter Vitamin C skin care products have a very limited shelf life and lose their power long before you have finished using them. Clinique has a Fresh Pressed 7 Day Pure Vitamin C System that uses powerful, pure Vitamin C in individual stay-fresh servings.

It is a 2 step process, starting with a morning cleanse that uses single serve stay fresh packs – one for each of the next 7 days. The second step is the daily booster with pure Vitamin C. It comes in an airtight pack with 7 days worth of serum.

Vitamin C is best used in the morning so that the powerful antioxidants can fight off all the free radical pollutants we are exposed to in the environment.

I’m heading back out to Paris in 2 weeks, so am starting my 7 day treatment in a couple of days. If ever there was a place to arrive with glowing, revitalized skin, Paris has to be it! You can find the Clinique Fresh Pressed 7 Day Vitamin C System online here at Bloomingdales.com

The Sheet Mask

If you’ve been following this blog for more than 5 minutes then you already know that I am obsessed with sheet masks. Every Sunday night I use a sheet mask – its part of my skin ritual and I love it! I use them during the week when I have time and I always, always pack them for international travel.

I got these Wei Sheet Masks from Bloomingdales.com. They are ideal for the beginning of fall – one is detoxifying, stress relieving and soothing and the other is brightening and illuminating. You only need to leave them on for 10 minutes, but I like to keep them on longer.

If you found these Fall Skin Care Tips helpful please share this post on your social media. There are links at the bottom of this post. Thank you!!

I have been enthralled with skincare, and in particular really good skin care for as long as I can remember. For 30 years my career has been based in creating really incredible skin. I am a makeup artist, primarily working in the entertainment industry and fashion, magazine beauty director, on camera beauty specialist, and for a time I was taught a pro makeup artistry program. The key to makeup looking fantastic is to use really fantastic skincare.

On set with Sadie Robertson for Luca Magazine

Most of us aren’t living our lives on camera, but still want our skin to look beautiful and to slow down the aging process. This post is a breakdown of products I am using from the award winning Colleen Rothschild Skincare line. I’ve been using them since March of this year and love them. Most people don’t want to use as many products as I do, and that’s fine. If this list feels overwhelming to you just look at the essentials, which I will list below. I am including my discount code for all Colleen Rothschild Beauty products at the bottom of this post.

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Skincare Basics: The Essentials

Everyone needs a really good cleanser (definitely read what I have written below about cleansers) a moisturizer that meets their skin’s needs, and an eye cream. Those are your most basic skincare products. To these we add ancillary products that boost the efficacy of the basics and also deal with some very specific skin needs and conditions. These products include exfoliators, masks, serums, oils and other deep treatment products.

My Colleen Rothschild Skincare Products

The following are products from the Colleen Rothschild Skincare line that I have been using since March 2020. I have found them to be very high performance, which means you see results very quickly. They are also very concentrated, so a little goes a very long way. It is easy to see why this line is award winning. I’m pretty sure if you try them you will fall in love with them too.

My current Colleen Rothschild products.
I will be adding in more with my next order.

Why The Right Cleanser Is Crucial

After decades working as a makeup artist I can tell you unequivocally that the main reason I see with problem skin issues is using the wrong cleanser. Mostly I see people stripping their skin with cleansers that are too drying. When your cleanser is too drying, like many foaming or soap-like cleansers, it creates a cycle of stripping away too many of the skin’s essential oils followed by the skin panicking and creating more oil or sebum to correct the problem. As this goes on you see dry surface, too much oil and often excess congestion and break outs.

The drying of the skin also causes breakouts as the pores get blocked by dead skin cells. On top of that cleansers that are too drying often make the skin irritated. Then the situation gets compounded because we start adding in anti-irritant products, products for removing excess oil, clarifying products to treat the blackheads and break outs, and on it goes.

I always find that when I get a client to change her cleanser, be it a celebrity, a business woman or a bride, like magic the skin clears up.

Use my discount code CORINNA20 for 20% discount at Colleen Rothschild Beauty

Radiant Cleansing Balm

What I really love about this cleanser is that it does multiple things all at once and is extra gentle on the skin. It dissolves makeup and cleanses your skin in one step. You rub a small amount of balm in your (dry) hands to warm it up, then massage into the skin. You’ll notice it feels really lovely and is nice and emollient, so it glides over the skin nicely without rubbing or pulling.

Once you’ve worked it through the skin you rinse the muslin cloth it comes with in hot water, and either lay it over the face for a moment for a spa like treatment or just go directly to gently lifting away the cleanser with the cloth. Your skin immediately feels soft and supple.

The Radiant Cleansing Balm is good for all skin types. See all Colleen Rothschild cleansers here.

Treatment Products

One of the keys to radiant, youthful skin is your choice of treatment products. These are typically serums and oils, mostly specific to your skincare concerns. I tend to mix these up a bit, layer them when I feel like it or sometimes even use them alone without a moisturizer, depending on how my skin is that day. Just remember dry skin looks like aged skin. The fountain of youth is directly linked to the serums, oils and moisturizers you use on a daily basis.

I use the treatment products specific to my skin concerns – aging and looking dry and dull. You can see the full line of treatment products available here.

Age Renewal Super Serum

Age Renewal Super Serum goes on before moisturizer, morning and night. You only need one small pump (about the size of a pea), massaged into your face and neck. It fights the six main signs of aging: dehydration, loss of elasticity, loss of radiance and tone as well as the texture becoming less supple and fine lines and wrinkles appearing.

The Age Renewal Super Serum has plant extracts, collagen boosters, vitamins, amino acids and peptides, all designed to make your complexion radiant and youthful.

Bottom line, you instantly feel your skin soften. This product is just glorious for anyone wanting to stave off signs of aging and/or keep their skin beautifully hydrated. It is very concentrated so you don’t need much at all. If you feel that you don’t want to use a serum because you have a shiny or oily t-zone just use this on your cheeks, neck and decolletage. See the serum here.

Face Oil Number 9

I am a huge fan of facial oils and use them every day. I use Face Oil Number 9 every morning, before moisturizer. It has an almost dry finish to it so you don’t look shiny/oily. A great makeup artist trick is to apply a drop of oil prior to applying foundation so the skin has that really creamy, radiant look to it.

This is a combination of 9 transformative oils that work together to boost moisture and make your skin extra radiant. It also protects the skin from oxidation and pollutants and the appearance of age spots and wrinkles, Face Oil Number 9 gives extra nourishment, supports hydration and has no greasy residue. You can see the product here.

Once again this is a very concentrated product so you only need a drop. If I am using both the serum and an oil I apply the serum first.

Retinol Supreme Night Oil

When you see the word retinol always think night time. Retinols neutralize free radicals, diminish fine lines and wrinkles, blur imperfections like acne scars, stimulate collagen and accelerate the turnover of cells. When we can help out the cell renewal process we get smoother, lovelier skin, more quickly.

Our bodies do most of their cell renewal work while we sleep, which is the main reason we need to use retinols at bedtime. The other night time reason is that they make our skin more sensitive to UV rays.

In the old days using Retin-A was like taking a sandblaster to your skin. It was way too aggressive for most of us mere mortals, leaving skin looking raw.

The newer generation of retinols are much more gentle. Retinol Supreme Night Oil takes all the benefits of retinols and combines them with a soft, gentle, moisturizing plant based oil.

Colleen Rothschild Retinol Supreme Night Oil

This beauty sleep essential takes the highest concentration of stabilized retinol (healthy skin renewal) and mixes it with highly potent Vitamin C to counteract the chaos caused by free radicals and environmental toxins (pollutants = super aging) and nine plant based oils that combat the irritation and flaking normally associated with retinols.

In other words you wake up with gorgeous, soft, radiant skin rather than the parched, irritated skin normally associated with retinols. It’s like magic.

After cleansing apply 1 mini pump to face, neck and décolletage, avoiding the eye area. See Retinol Supreme Night Oil here.

Retinol Supreme Eye Serum

I’ll let you in on a little secret. The first place you see signs of aging is the delicate area around your eyes. This is also the first area on your face to show signs of dehydration. This night time eye serum counteracts the look of stressed, tired, wrinkled eyes and rejuvenates the skin around the eye area. It has an ingredient called Saloprine 8 that increases moisture levels 6000% if used nightly for 28 consecutive nights.

Retinol Supreme Eye Serum also firms the skin around your eyes and reduces the appearance of bags.

You really only need one drop per night put on your ring fingers and dabbed along the orbital bone. (Your ring fingers have the least amount of tension, so are the gentlest to apply eye serums and eye creams with. Always start at the outer corner of the orbital bone and gently tap inward toward your nose.)

Complete Eye Cream

This one addresses the most common enemies of eye aging: wrinkles, fine lines, under-eye circles, puffiness and loss of elasticity. What I love is that it feels lightweight, so it isn’t dragging the skin below your eyes. It absorbs nicely too so your concealer won’t go sliding off. Read more about it here.

Moisturizers

You can’t have glowing, radiant, dried out skin. If you want your skin to look gorgeous it has to be really well hydrated and moisturized. My skin tends to get really dry and I live in the desert which makes it worse, so for me radiant skin takes work.

I use the treatment products listed above paired with really great moisturizers. In the winter I like to use a heavier moisturizer, in the summer one that is more lightweight.

Sheer Renewal Cream

I actually got this one to take to Italy with me this summer. It is the perfect travel companion, lightweight enough to not look greasy on hot, humid days but still powerful enough to keep skin looking gorgeous. I always think your best accessory for summer is glowing, beautiful skin. The plan was to be flashing said skin under Italian skies right now, but here we are instead in the super-furnace also known as the Arizona summer.

And here is where it gets interesting. Sheer Renewal Cream is a very weightless product, not something you would normally associate with an intense, dry heat. And yet it gives my skin ample hydration and moisture. It has a slightly powdery finish to it, so if you’re not in the mood for foundation (I’m not in the mood for foundation) your skin doesn’t have that bare, slimy look to it. I really love this moisturizer.

Extreme Recovery Cream

As far as product names go this one may put you off, but stay with me here. Extreme Recovery Cream is fantastic for skin that needs some major hydration help but is also just gorgeous for regular/normal skin. I’ve been using it at night – it’s really concentrated so you only need a tiny amount.

I have also used it on photoshoots for really luscious looking skin. It definitely gives maximum hydration but as with all of the Colleen Rothschild products I have tried it doesn’t leave the skin feeling greasy. The finish on this one is quite velvety, so it is lovely under makeup if you’re wearing it during the day.

I love intense night time moisturizers but hate anything that leaves a film on the skin and then gets on your pillowcase. Extreme Recovery Cream absorbs into your skin and leaves no residue on your pillows. This is another really beautiful product that you all in love with immediately.

The Discovery Collection

If you’re not sure where to start you can always try the Discovery Collection. The collection gives you travel sizes of 6 major products: Radiant Cleansing Balm, Dual Enzyme Polish, Clarifying Detox Mask, Sheer Renewal Cream, Extreme Recovery Cream and Face Oil Number 9. This way you can try a variety of products without making a huge financial commitment.

I planned on taking this kit with me to Italy this summer – it is the perfect travel kit.

What’s Next?

In my next order I will add the Brightening Mask, Dual Enzyme Polish (to exfoliate) and the shampoo. If you go on the website and find an item you want is out of stock, hang in there! They seem to restock relatively quickly. The line has an absolute cult following so the most popular products do run out of stock from time to time but the company is really good about getting them back in in a timely manner. Once you have used any of these products you will see why their fans are so incredibly loyal.

Try any Colleen Rothschild Beauty Skin Care and Hair Care products at a discount! Use code CORINNA20 for 20% off all products. This promo code can be used on all products that are not part of another discounted promotion.

Photography for this story: Keith Pitts

My original plan had been to publish this story in January as part of a New Year, New You theme, but I am so excited about these products, and with the cold weather already here I decided to bring it forward.

Lancome will save your skin this winter with these two magic products: Advanced Genifique and Renergie Lift Multi Action

Living in the desert I don’t own gloves anymore. My hands were freezing!

The products in this post were gifted to me by Lancôme. All opinions are expressly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

If you follow me on social media (Instagram @Corinnatravels, Facebook Corinna Cooke, Author) then you probably already know that the week before Thanksgiving I was in New York working my real job (makeup artist). I love to travel anywhere, anytime for work or for pleasure. Travel is hard on your skin though, especially when you go from the very temperate weather in Phoenix at that time, when you didn’t need long sleeves let alone a jacket, to the freezing cold of New York. Phoenix had been around 70 degrees Fahrenheit/20 degrees Celsius and New York was in the low 30’s Fahrenheit/ 0-ish Celsius.

We actually got snow while I was there, which was pretty fantastic for someone who lives in the desert. It had been years since I actually saw snow falling, and here I was in NYC, shooting on the 31^st floor with floor to ceiling windows, watching the snow fall over midtown. It was magical!

Planning a good skin care game for the cold months can be tricky anyway – winter is the toughest season for your skin. Add in a near 40 degree change in temperature and you have the recipe for sensitive, irritated, dehydrated skin. Which was not the look I was going for.

How to protect your skin this winter. two products from Lancome that are game changers for winter skin: Advanced genifique and Renergie Lift Multi Action

Back in Phoenix it still feels cold out at night, but it is about 40 degrees warmer than it was in New York!

Luckily for me Lancôme sent me a care package. A big Beauty Box filled to the brim with all manner of fabulous things. I already wrote about the perfume they sent me (that I have been wearing every day since, and that I will forever associate with glamour and snow in New York!). You can read about it here: Life Is Beautiful With Lancôme.

Today I want to tell you about the skin care they sent me. It isn’t cold weather specific, but it is a cold weather skin lifesaver, as well as a fountain of youth.

How To Save Your Skin This Winter With Lancôme

Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate and Renergie Lift Multi Action Day Cream.

I have always been a skincare fanatic. Luckily for me when I was young my mother drilled into me the importance of taking care of my skin, using incredible skin care products, and using anti-aging products before the aging actually starts. Consequently I have great skin, but it is an ongoing process.

Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Serum

This is one of the greatest serums ever made. And that’s not just my opinion – since 2009 it has sold more than 15 million bottles. After using it for a week it was easy to see why. It’s now been almost a month and I am in love.

If you have heard me speak about skincare before you will already know that I don’t care about statistics and figures, what percentage improvement people see when using a product, what percentage of which ingredient is in there, etc. What I care about is seeing a discernible improvement to my skin, quickly.

Advanced Génifique has fantastic research results, which you can check out here if you would like to see the facts and figures, but let me tell you what I found with this product, and why I am telling you about it now instead of waiting until next year. This product was designed to give your skin a youthful radiance in just 7 days, and it does. It works.

est selling serums: Lancome Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate

Just one dropper every morning and night and in 7 days you will have radiant skin.

Advanced Génifique not only makes your skin look clear and radiant, it also boosts hydration. I am sure it is wonderful in the summer, but right now it is winter, skin is dehydrated and battling the elements and this serum has my complexion glowing. I am so impressed with it! Add flying back and forth to New York to the mix, the change of climates and time zones, the lack of sleep that comes with constant travel (and shows up on your face), normally I would be breaking out all kinds of products, trying to repair my skin. Instead I am just applying this serum morning and night and my skin looks lovely.

I can see why it is so popular all over the world, and why women keep buying it year after year. It is magic in a bottle.

Renergie Lift Multi-Action Day Cream

This is another Lancôme product that is really quite remarkable and gives you very fast results. Which is probably why it is an international best seller.

The claim is that it gives you firmer, lifted skin in just one week. And it does.

So here is what I am loving about this powerful day cream. It is deliciously hydrating. Remember dry, dehydrated skin looks old, so keeping the right level of hydration is really important. This one has a silky whipped cream texture, but instead of sitting on top of the skin it melts away into the skin, not only moisturizing but also leaving your skin looking soft and supple while firming it. When you use it keep an eye on your jawline and your cheekbones, you will see them lift and look firm. The hydration lasts beautifully all day, which means that your makeup looks beautiful all day.

Renergie Lift Multi-Action Day cream has some SPF in it too, and you can never get too much sun protection, even in the winter!

It is suitable for all skin types.

I know plenty of you don’t want to wait until next year to start looking more youthful, and many of you need to start adding some power products to your daily regimen now rather than later, especially those of you in cold places. That’s why I am publishing this post now instead of waiting for the new year. They make a wonderful Christmas gift either for yourself or for someone else.

And of course, there is no better accessory for a fabulous New Year’s Eve dress than a gorgeous, glowing complexion…

Order online or read more about Lancôme’s Advanced Genifique Youth Activating Serum here and Renergie Lift Multi Action products here