“The skin is in organ, so it should be treated like that.”
Over the last few years, Jennifer Rock – founder of the hugely successful brand, The Skin Nerd – has been helping improve the skin of hundreds of women across the country.
And now she’s bringing her knowledge to the page with her new book, The Skin Nerd: Your straight-talking guide to feeding, protecting & respecting your skin.
The book is filled with “skinformation” on how to take care of your skin through every stage of your life – from anti-aginging to the importance of Spritz O’Clock.
Ahead of the launch, Jennifer told Her about her must-have skincare products; the biggest mistakes we’ve all been making with our skin; how to achieve a flawless makeup base and settled the micellar water vs. makeup wipes debate once and for all.
Most of us either have micellar water, makeup wipes or some kind of combination between the two sitting in our bathroom – and we’ve definitely relied on them more often than we should to take off our makeup at the end of a long day (or a night out).
But we’ve always wondered: are they actually good for our skin? Or is it simply a way to save a few minutes when erasing our makeup at the end of the day?
As it turns out, there is one product that is better for our skin than the other – although, not by much.
Jennifer explained:
“Neither [is good for the skin]. I would almost, almost rather that people sleep in their makeup [than use them].
“I think that my biggest concern is that people seem to rely on [micellar water and makeup wipes] to take off their makeup, when they actually need to also use a thorough cleanser.
“But if I had to pick, micellar water would marginally be better.”
She also told us about the biggest skincare mistakes that people are making – and we have all been guilty of them at one point or another.
She said:
“[The biggest mistake is that] they neglect it; they see the skin as more of an accessory rather than an organ.
“They’re not cleansing it properly or they’re over-exfoliating. I feel like it’s an attempt at Control, Alt, Deleting [any issues].
“Sometimes, people are obsessed with the idea of having 16, 17 steps in a skincare routine instead of just making sure they get everything right.”
Emphasising the importance of having the right items need for your skincare routine instead of piles and piles of products, Jennifer also told us about her must-have product.
Okay, well, products – there’s are a few of them.
She said:
“The Cleanse Off Mitt is a great addition when you’re doing a one-night away kind of trip – a weekend break; a bachelorette party; that kind of thing.
“But I’d have to say a cleanser [would be my ‘must have’ product]. You wouldn’t polish a car without cleaning it first, and you skin is no exception.
“I love Academie’s Radiance Serum and Image’s Clear Cell Cleanser, it’s great for when I’ve been working late or helping take care of spots if I get stressed.”
With the changing of the weather, there’s going to be havoc on our skin until…well, at least for a few more weeks.
And we’ve already started to notice the effect when it comes to our day-to-day makeup, with nothing seemingly sitting quite right at the moment.
It turns out that there’s a lot more to creating a good makeup base than making sure you’ve got the right primer, Jennifer told us – your lifestyle has a huge impact on it, too.
She continued:
“A lot of primers are more about letting the makeup sit instead of preserving the health of your skin.
“The skin is in organ, so it should be treated like that. A lot of the time, it’s down to lifestyle factors.
“Things like stress levels, diets and how much sleep you’re getting can all make a huge difference in your skin. And hydrating twice a day, too.
“You’re allowing the skin to realign itself; to replenish the levels that the heating or air conditioning take out of it.”
Jennifer’s book is available in stores now.
A good book can do just about anything; from taking you on a wild and fantastical adventure to making you feel like an all-knowing super sleuth (if you figure out the killer twist).
Every week at #Bookmarked, we will be taking you through some of our all-time favourite books – as well as the newest novels hitting shelves in Ireland.
