What you need to know about skincare in your 30s

Disclosure: These products were sent to me for review, but all opinions (and selfies) are my own.

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I worked as a drugstore cosmetician in high school and again in university, and I maintain it was one of the best part-time jobs I could have had. I got paid to learn about why it was important to take care of my skin, what to use, and what NOT to use (Hello, People Who Put Lubriderm On Their Faces OMG).

As a result, I’ve been lucky to have pretty great skin — oh, and genes play into that, of course. Thanks, Mom. I struggle with body image and it took me decades to figure out how to deal with my challenging hair, BUT my skin has always been something I could feel good about.

However …

I was making a huge skincare mistake and didn’t realize it until recently.

Um, you know how I’m not 22 anymore? Or even 28? Yeah, that.

I’m 33 now (I still find that strange to write, since I feel like I a solid 28) and I was still taking care of my skin EXACTLY the same way I did in my 20s.

These guys? They’ve been my starting lineup since I was a university student (a.k.a. a thousand years ago).

Vichy’s Aqualia Thermal line

I think it was an “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of thing. I knew what products I loved, they worked, and I just kept buying them — month after month, year after year.

Even Darling Husband had a photo in his phone of my go-to moisturizer — Vichy’s Aqualia Thermal in “Rich,” since I have dry-ish skin and like a nice creamy cream.

This has been my Boo for 10+ years

It wasn’t that this line stopped working — it didn’t. But I started noticing more fine lines in the mirror. It seemed to happen overnight, actually, once I hit 32.

Suddenly I was looking … large-pored … and wrinkled. Especially in the forehead. DARN THOSE EXPRESSIVE EMOTIONS.

And that’s riiiiiiiight about the time I started taking my selfies wearing a hat …

Thank you to @ella5320 for knitting me this gorgeous #pussyhat! 😽 (She’s local and selling them on her FB page, Simply Craftish). . . My husband didn’t know the meaning behind it — he blankly asked if I was going to start wanting kitty ears on all of my hats — so here’s a quick explanation if you’ve been seeing these hats on social media. . . Remember when Donald Trump said that really awful thing that I won’t repeat here? Well, a bunch of awesome crafters decided that … “wearing pink together is a powerful statement that we are unapologetically feminine and we unapologetically stand for women’s rights. We chose the loaded word for our project because we want to reclaim the term as a means of empowerment.” (Pussyhat Project manifesto) . . #pussyhatproject #pussyhats @p_ssyhatproject

A post shared by Heather Laura Clarke (@hfxheather) on Feb 14, 2017 at 12:23pm PST

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js I mean, luckily it was winter. But still.

SO. MANY. HAT. PICTURES.

As predicted, PJs at the bus stop and double-fisting hot tea ☕️ Oh and I knit this hat LAST NIGHT after the kids went to bed 🙌 I’m kind of obsessed with stealing my kid’s knitting loom. 😜 #momlife #knitting #knit #knittersofinstagram #mom #tea

A post shared by Heather Laura Clarke (@hfxheather) on Jan 31, 2017 at 4:08am PST

Or I would sneakily bump up the brightness on my photos so it blurred out my forehead wrinkles …

Merry (early) Christmas to me! This navy @lolewomen jacket from @takeitoutsideinc is by far the most amazing jacket I’ve ever owned 🙌 Thanks to my dad for letting me pick out my own gift, because this is soooooo going to keep on giving … like every single freezing 7:20 a.m. bus stop walk. ❄️❄️❄️ ……………………… #lole #takeitoutside @downtowntruro #locallovetruro #winter #winterfashion #shoplocal #buylocal #supportlocal #winterwonderland

A post shared by Heather Laura Clarke (@hfxheather) on Dec 14, 2016 at 2:10pm PST

But then I decided, “You know what? Hats and filters are really not the best approach.”

I reached out to my lovely friends at Vichy and explained my dilemna. And — surprise, surprise — there was a line I should be using.

A line for people IN THEIR THIRTIES.

A line for people, like me, who are NOT ACTUALLY IN THEIR TWENTIES and SHOULDN’T BE ACTING LIKE IT when it comes to their faces.

Because skincare in your 30s? It’s different for a reason.

It’s called Idéalia and it targets those first three signs of aging: fine lines, larger pores, and a duller skin tone.

Vichy kindly sent me four Idéalia products so I could try them and report back to you once I’ve used them for a while.

So starting today, I’ll be using …

IDÉALIA Radiance Activating Night Peeling Care: It’s going to help me get rid of dead skin cells, smooth wrinkles, fade dark spots and acne marks, and give me a nice glow. It has 4% glycolic acid and 5% HEPES, and I’ll use a cotton pad to apply it every night (after taking off my makeup), and then I’ll follow it with a night cream.

IDÉALIA Radiance booster serum: I can use this morning or night, under a moisturizer. It’s soooo important to keep your skin hydrated and serums are perfect for that because you get all of the hydration without a thick cream (which I love, but some people don’t — especially if they have oily or combination skin).

IDÉALIA Smoothness & Glow Energizing Cream: This is the daytime cream I’ll put on each morning. It promises to even out my complexion, refine my pores, and smooth my lines — all while giving my skin a glow that lasts all day.

IDÉALIA Energizing smoothing and radiance gel-cream: This is a lighter gel-cream designed for people with combination/oily skin, which isn’t usually me BUT I veer more towards combination in the sweaty summer months. Since we’re heading into that season, I could use this in the morning or at night — or both — instead of the IDÉALIA Smoothness & Glow Energizing Cream.

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So if you’re in your 30s and still using the same ol’ moisturizer you loved in your early 20s, consider this a friendly reminder that it might be time to upgrade to something for grown-up women.

After all, we can’t ALWAYS wear hats in selfies.

xo

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