A bit of fun from Channel 4 - courtesy of The Bloomsbury Bluestocking

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-lady-and-the-revamp/4od#304865

My Essentials: Skincare (continued)

As I said two blogs ago we all need sunblock and vitamin C, as well as cleasing and moisturiser:

I've liked Weleda sun lotion, Paul & Joe sun filter/primer (now discontinued) - that worked really well with a lick of bronzing powder (again Paul & Joe's has been my favourite to date)and Aveda tinted moisturiser. I'm currently using Bobbie Brown's tinted balm but it's not a patch on the Aveda. I'd like to make a special mention for Philosophy's Supernatural as sun protection and foundation.

For cheap and cheerful vitamin C, Sainsbury's Defend! isn't too harsh or sickly - I get the effervescent tablets and get one of my eight glasses of water a day - but Solgar supplements, or Neal's Yard, are among my favourites for a really good quality, buffered product and with these I indulge in my weakness for bottled, sparkling water even though I have a filter on my kitchen tap!

But just now I'm off to watch the final episode of Skins...

My Essentials: A Damn Good Scrub in the Bath

A Damn Good Scrub in the Bath - for me it consists of an excellent bath or/and shower gel, with the scrubbing implement of choice: Japanese wash cloth, ayate mitt, loofah, etc., and a big tub of hot water. I have a very large and old enamel bath tub (it came with the house)and a man of six feet plus will be comfortable in it.

As I've said before I like a soak in oils, but sometimes you just want to slough, and I keep coming back to Lush's 'Tramp' showergel - it's all that patchouli. Patchouli is a big thing for me; the first fragranced product I spent serious money on at 18 was a 3 bar box of Crabtree and Evelyn Patchouli soap in a shop in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford. The smell, not hippy - too balanced, and the packaging, Art Nouveau and Rousseau-esque with it's nearly navy background and wild, lurid foliage, was to me in 1979 sublime.

And, back to scrubbing, soaking in oils is opulent and exquisite in its own way but sometimes the non-conformist relish of excoriation is hard to beat. It has to be followed by a good body cream and my favourite to date is the Goodworks big tub from Boots - it really does leave your skin feeling like velvet.

My Essentials: Skincare

I've been obssessed with skincare from my early teens: from Boots No.17 orange flower range, Clinique, Clarins and Shiseido to Aveda. I've tried many others and my search has always been for a minimal, effective routine - I even hum and ha about eye treatments. Many times I've listed the essentials and repeatedly produced the same list: cleanser, exfoliator, moisturiser, sun protection and vitamin C. I have a few additions that creep in and out such as toner and eye treatments. I don't do masks, too much pfaffing, and they end up sitting in my bathroom cabinet - I want to get washed, dressed and on with the day.

I came around to making my own natural skincare from an interest in aromatherapy and natural perfumery. Encouraged by a friend who had already started making her own natural toiletries, I've voyaged through books and websites, and experimented on my kitchen table. Curiously enough my research has culminated with the lynch-pin to my regime being a toner/exfoliator based on orange flower water in an unintentional homage to my first flirtations with cleansing, toning and moisturising.

The Boots No.17 orange flower range of the 1970s had opaque plastic bottles with orange caps, and swirling orange floral designs printed around the bottles. Orange was the colour of N0.17 in the 1970s: mascaras in orange and white tubes with Art Nouveau inspired detailing, just like the black and yellow packaging of Mary Quant's Special Receipe skincare.

I've also put together a blend of essential oils that not only address my skincare concerns, but should suit all skin types, and I've enlisted my friends and family to try my toner and a face oil. The face oil is made with this blend of essential oils, along with jojoba and wheatgerm oil. I've focused on balancing patches of dryness and oiliness, cell renewal and the dreaded signs of aging - but that's where the vitamin C and sunblock come in.