Hello everybody, welcome back to my channel where skincare is all about
progression over perfection. Because, perfection doesn't exist. I want to start
off the New Year, this year, by basically like sharing and confirming some of the
best tips I've picked up for some of the, what I consider, the most important steps
of the skincare routine. I feel like we live through so many skincare trends, so
many do's and don'ts and I've tried all of these, I've tried all these tips and
hacks and techniques. And I want to share what I feel are those best techniques.
Not because they're like amazingly like innovative but just because they seem
to work well for my skin. Today's video is sponsored by COSRX. I love COSRX. If
you don't know that I love COSRX you've not been watching enough of my videos.
And we'll be using COSRX products for each step of the routine. If you like the
look of any products in today's video you can get 30% off at COSRX.com using
the code JAMESGIFTWITHCOSRX. But you can also get these products from Ulta,
Amazon, Boots here in the UK, Shoppy and Look Fantastic. And all the links for
these products will be in the description box down below. So COSRX
actually now have mascots for their brand, it's so cute. They got Sunny the
Snail who is like COSRX's brand ambassador, who represents the
best-selling Advanced Snail Mucin collection, which we're going to be using
today. And really this line is catered for those with sensitive skin, irritated
skin, acne-prone, and dry skin. The Advanced Snail line is my go-to line for
when I've ruined my skin but I still want to do all my steps, you know? Because
I know it's not going to irritate my skin any further. So, Sunny the Snail is
actually a cosmetic formulator, who according to them works all day long at
the snail farm to create high quality skincare formulas. And on that note, I
want to talk about this, the Snail ingredient in here. So how they extract
the Snail Mucin is that they actually put snails over a mesh in a dark and
quiet room so they're undisturbed for about 30 minutes to freely roam around
the net, and then of course leave their Mucin trails. There's nothing else done,
there's nothing done to force the snails to produce Mucin, they're just left to
roam around these nets. So let's get into the tips and techniques, and let's of
course start with the cleansing stage. We will be using the Advanced Snail Mucin
Gel Cleanser from COSRX. Sorry, I actually use these products so they're a little bit...
not dirty but they look used. So of course we have Snail Mucin in here
which is extremely hydrating, also helps protect the skin and it gives it that
kind of like gloopy texture. And this helps keep your skin feeling hydrated
whilst you're washing. And a non-drying lather as well, and that's what I love
about this cleanser and how cleansers should be in general, and what we want
from cleansers nowadays, is this non-stripping, very lightly foaming
formulation, so. So when it comes to cleansing there's quite a few tips and
techniques that I absolutely love, that I feel have actually made a big difference. And
I feel like the cleanser stage is kind of like a throwaway stage, right? People
like are kind of like, oh just get this bit done, rinse it away then go into your
serums and all your fancier stuff. But these little changes make such a huge
difference. So these are a few tips but count them all as one. We know the
temperature of water is important, right. Not too cold, not too hot, lukewarm water.
It's not gonna strip or dehydrate your skin if you use lukewarm water. Making
sure you cleanse your whole face is another thing, so we all know the 60
second cleanse, it's a popular technique that most aestheticians get taught in
aesthetician school. But when it comes to the surfactants and the science behind
your cleansers, you don't really need to cleanse for 60 seconds. What I think that
is good at doing is just ensuring that you're covering your whole face. This
means taking time to make sure you're cleansing all those little places that
you might forget. For me, I forget to do these bits on my nose, I forget to do
this bit on my chin, I forget to do my temples. And I always break out in those
places, basically because I wasn't cleaning them properly. Whilst you don't
have to cleanse for 60 seconds, just gently taking your time and massaging in
all places on your face is what is very beneficial. Most importantly, flannels. I
was very anti-flannel because I think when I was a teenager I would use these to
scrub at my face. Flannels, wash cloths. But yes, I'll use them to scrub things
away on my face when really they can be so, so gentle. I didn't really use these
until I got some fancy ones in PR. I can't remember what they are now, they've
got like silver in them or something. I don't think the science is quite there
for that. The idea is that they're not meant to harbour bacteria on them but I
don't know, I don't really know. But after foaming up my cleanser and rinsing the
cleanser away, then lightly patting a flannel over the face, a washcloth over
their face ensures that I'm getting rid of all the cleansers. So I'll wipe very
gently in areas where, again, I was breaking out
or areas where I feel like the water didn't quite get rid of it. So in places
like my beard, corners and crevices, my eyebrows, my hairline. Making sure that
there's not any of the cleanser sat there which could, further down the line,
break me out. I don't get breakouts, I used to get breakouts along here all the
time, I don't get it anymore. The next product we're going to talk about is the
iconic cult favorite, we've got the Advanced
Snail Radiance Duel Essence. Which, you know I love. It's like a Snail Mucin and
Niacinamide, 2-in-1. But, the original, the iconic Advanced Snail 96 Mucin
Power Essence is an essence I feel like everyone can love and benefit from. This
is a super lightweight essence, so it's got this stretchy gloopy texture to it
that makes it a little bit thicker than your normal essence but it still
goes on super lightweight and sinks into the skin effortlessly. It feels super
hydrating as well. And it just gives you such a nice natural glow. This contains
96.3% Snail Secretion Filtrate, helping to
repair your skin, relieve it of any irritation and dryness. We also have
Sodium Hyaluronate in here, again, helping to hydrate your skin. These are super
simple formulas, so if you do find that your skin is getting quite irritated and
you just want to help repair it but you still enjoy doing your skincare routine,
this whole line is perfect for that. And these products have actually helped
those with acne quite a fair bit. This is a before and after, after using the
Advanced Snail Mucin Power Essence for about three weeks. So when I apply my
essences and toners I always do it on damp skin, we know that this helps to
hydrate your skin even more so than the toner, essence are gonna do. Because damp
skin allows for penetration of those ingredients but also makes most
water-loving ingredients work to their fullest as well. It gives you that dewy,
plump look to your skin pretty instantly, within like 15 minutes you're gonna get
this dewy plump glow. Temporary but it still looks good. One thing I do all the
time with my toners and essences though is make these little point masks. Now, point
masks are simply like a DIY sheet mask on particular points of your skin that
need that extra attention. An essence like this is perfect to help target
those more dehydrated and drier areas. So what I do is take a cotton pad, split
that in two, soak them in the essence and then leave them on my skin for about 10
to 15 minutes, and then wipe them away and make the most of that essence. What
this is gonna do is rehydrate that skin, moisturize that skin, brighten it, soothe
any itchiness or irritation as well. And you could do this every day, there's no
reason you can't do this every day just to help rehydrate and re-moisturize, and
pay extra attention to those more worrisome places. No, what's the word?
Not troublesome... yeah, troublesome areas of skin, I guess. The next step is an eye
cream. I am a new lover of eye creams because I can now see the difference
that they make when you pick a good one, and when you do certain things with
them. So this is the Advanced Snail Peptide Eye Cream. You have seen this in
so many videos, it was my number one eye cream of 2021. Snail secretion in here is,
of course, going to help moisturize and brighten under the eyes. Some Niacinamide
to help with your barrier, brighten under the eyes as well. And
Copper Tripeptide which does so many things, helping to stimulate the
production of things like collagen and elastin. But most importantly this is
super lightweight. The lid is so dirty because I use it every day but it's
super lightweight. You don't have to spend ages like tapping it into your skin,
like spreading it everywhere, it's just fluidy but moisturizing at the same time.
I feel like it's important to hack this stage because I feel like whilst this
product works amazingly on its own, you get that instant brightness from this
product. You can push any eye cream that one step further by using things like
reusable eye masks, they are a game changer. You put your eye cream on, your
favorite eye cream, put the eye patch over. I let them sit for about half an
hour, and you can see the physical difference when you take that off. But
also the long term difference that covering your eye cream makes, it just
kind of like puffs out under your eyes in a good way or de-puffs... do you know what I mean?
It kind of like settles it, and make them look less sunken in. The brightness that you get
from it, the instant brightness. And you don't need under eye patches, my favorite
ones are from Dieux Skin. I've tried some other reusable ones that, to be honest
with you, aren't that good. But what you can do is use plastic wrap or cling film.
I found this like tape version of it on Amazon and you can just break off little
bits of that and put it under your eye and you still have that kind of like
covering that creates that occlusive layer, allowing all those ingredients to
work their fullest. Brightening and de-puffing under your eyes, I absolutely
love it. This is like one of the eye creams that works best with that. Or you
can just use eye patches. Eye patches are amazing, especially these ones, the
Advanced, the Advanced Snail Hydrogel Eye Patches. These are covered in, I wish
they did a Snail serum like this, just the serum from this.
These eye patches are incredibly like hydrating, moisturizing. And when you
leave them on under your eyes, quite nicely plumping as well. Again, like the
eye cream, you have Snail Filtrate and Niacinamide. So you get that nice kind of
like moisturized dewy brighter look under your eyes with consistent use. So
you do actually get two different sizes in here but I love using the giant patch
because I will use this in the serum stage. So I actually put them under my
eyes which covers your whole cheek and on the forehead as well. I let those sit
for like 10 to 15 minutes and just rub that all over my skin. What you must do
with eye patches though, and I see this all the time, is use it in the serum
stage. I see people putting these over clay masks, cream masks that you then
have to wash off. There's no point doing this because basically, again, they're
covered in serum that you need to leave on your skin. So washing it away is a
waste of time, it's a waste of product, it's a waste of money. And other than
sunscreen, which we're not talking about today, the moisturizing stage for me is
one of the most important stages. And again, if you watch my videos I know
you're probably sick to death of hearing of this product but the Advanced
Snail 92 All-In-One Cream from COSRX. This contains 92%, as the name suggests,
Snail Mucin. So you're getting that hydration, you're getting moisturized.
Your skin is going to look nice and plump and dewy. And this, this like gides
over your face, you need the tiniest amount, and it just makes your skin look dewy but from
within. It's not sticky or greasy feeling or looking. It can also help to repair your
skin as well, if you're finding your skin is irritated, itchy in some places. Again,
one of my go-to products that I know my skin is safe with when I've destroyed my
skin. So yes, I love this product. Of course the best tips for applying
moisturizer is to apply it onto damp skin. Again, those hydration loving
ingredients are going to just look even more dewy and plump on your skin. So the
next tip I'm about to give you, this doesn't work so well with, because I find
that this just perfectly covers all different areas of my skin. I'm dry here
and here and in here, then like greasy oily t-zone. And this product just seems
to work perfectly for all different skin types on my own face. So, this doesn't
work so well with this particular moisturizer because this is just a great
like all in one but what I like to do with other moisturizers is apply a super
thin layer on my skin, and then I like to let it settle for about 30 minutes. I'll
do other bits and then I'll go back and look at my skin and areas where the
moisturizers kind of like disappeared and I still look dry, I know those are
areas I have to concentrate on. I actually learned this from my brother
who's a makeup artist, if you don't know him already. And he uses this tip when
applying makeup to clients. So what I get from that is that I need to pay more
attention to those areas when it comes to hydrating my skin, and moisturizing my
skin. So I apply more moisturizer on those drier areas, then I know going
forward I need to concentrate more on those areas. And again, it's those areas
you usually miss like the temple, in between here, here, in the corners of your
nose. Because we just kind of rush through everything and we forget those
little crevices. So yes, there we go. I hope you enjoyed those tips and this is
basically how I do my skincare routine whatever the products are, whatever the
brand is, whatever step I'm doing. Remember to use this discount code at
COSRX.com if you want to purchase any of the products in today's video. And thanks
again to COSRX for sponsoring today's video, I love you COSRX. You can watch
some more product reviews here, and some general light entertainment here, and
I'll see you over there.