My New Declaré Skincare Routine

My New Declaré Skincare Routine

Recently I’ve overhauled my skincare routine and have introduced products from a skincare brand called Declaré to my daily routine. Before then, I was in a routine that I thought was right for me and my skin. I would always describe my skin as being normal to combination; no dryness or oiliness, no sensitivity or allergies. I’m quite lucky, in a way, that I am not limited in what I can use on my skin. But I’ve realised that that in itself was doing me more damage than good. I used products that were cheap and handy, and because my skin was ‘just fine’ I didn’t think I was causing any harm. There were just a couple of problem areas I could identify with my skin though; in recent months I was experiencing a high colour/redness across my cheeks, pronounced dark circles under my eyes and congestion on my nose, chin and temples from the air con at work.

In October, I attended my friend Sinead De Blogger’s workshop and during the course of the afternoon, there was a chat about skincare by Karen from Declaré Ireland. To be honest, I learned more from her 5 or 10 minute talk than I have in all my years following beauty bloggers and listening to reviews. She completely blew me away and scared me a little because I realised just how bad the products that I regularly used were! Used being the key word there as I have since binned all the crap! That afternoon I went on to buy some of the Declaré products from her pop up shop at the event, Karen kindly gifted me one product and the forth product actually came in the DeBlogger’s Day Out goodie bags. So before I go on, I want to point out that this post is not sponsored or paid for; I just wanted to share my thoughts on these amazing products, having seen the results before my own eyes. Although I could see results instantly, I wanted to use the products for a couple of weeks before talking about them, and now, after using them daily for 4 months, these are my own thoughts…

Step 1: Cleanse

Previous to finding Declaré, I removed my makeup every evening with a well known micellar water. Probably not the ideal solution but I didn’t know of an alternative product that would suit me. After listening to Karen at the workshop, I realised I may as well of been using acid on my face!! Ph levels are an indicator of how acidic a substance is and the scale runs from 1 to 14. The lower the number, the more acidic the substance is. The micellar water I was using had a Ph level of 3.5! Immediately I binned the micellar water and opted for the Declaré Gentle Cleansing Milk instead.

It is a lightweight, cool, slightly creamy consistency and now I use a couple of pumps of it on a cotton pad to remove my makeup. Then I go in with a new cotton pad and only two pumps of the cleansing milk as a double cleanse. My skin doesn’t feel greasy afterwards and as one of the main ingredients is aqua (water), my skin feels hydrated. It’s not heavy or doesn’t leave a layer sitting on my skin. After the first cleanse, I remove my eye makeup with the No.7 Beautiful Skin Eye Makeup Remover. This product works really well for me and is gentle on the eyes so I felt no need to switch from using that when I changed the rest of my skincare.

Declaré Cleansing Milk

Double cleanse is key: I really do recommend a double cleanse when using the Gentle Cleansing Milk, as the second cleanse ensures that you’ve removed absolutely all of your makeup and excess sebum. As much as you would like to think the first cleanse got it all, there is always something on your cotton pad after a second cleanse! What I like about the Cleansing Milk is that it’s enriched with linden extract which is calming and doesn’t aggravate the redness and high colour I was experiencing across my cheeks. As with all Declaré products, it is suitable for sensitive skin.

The Cleansing Milk comes in a 400ml bottle and I bought it as part of a Limited Edition Christmas Gift Set. This actually worked out to be better value because it included the Tender Tonifying Lotion also. They both usually retail for €19.95 each but the Soft Cleansing 2 Piece Gift Set is €29.95. 400ml sounds massive and when I initially bought it, I was like ‘Oh my God, the size of this! What a waste it would be if I turned out to not like it!’ But thankfully I love it and 4 months later, I’m not even half ways through the bottle – fantastic value!

Declaré Cleansing Milk and Tonifying Lotion Gift Set

Step 2: Toner

Declaré’s Tender Tonifying Lotion is also from their Soft Cleansing range. After cleansing my face and removing my eye makeup, this is the next step. I give the bottle a good shake, saturate a cotton pad with the solution and smooth over my face. This ensures that any excess sebum and cleanser left on my skin is removed. It has a lovely scent, (which are all allergen free), that only lingers for a minute and it’s extremely cooling on the skin. I can literally feel my skin drink the toner up and it absorbs in seconds. I think that is the sign of a great toner – your skin feels hydrated afterwards and not dried out like some toners leave it feeling. It creates the perfect base for your moisturiser, a serum or face mask.

Declaré Skin Care Review

I feel like the Tonifying Lotion just calms the skin and closes the pores again; my skin feels silky smooth and firm after using it. I’ve used it nightly for 4 months now and I can definitely see a difference in the texture of my skin. It’s much smoother and firm and I definitely credit that to the Tonifying Lotion.

Declaré Cleansing Milk and Tonifying Lotion Gift Set

Declaré were actually the first brand to create skin care specifically for sensitive skin back in the 1970’s, so you know that your skin is in good hands here. The 200ml bottle came in the Limited Edition Christmas Gift Set but can be purchased separately. On it’s own, it retails for €19.95, but like I mentioned with the Cleansing Milk, the Christmas Gift Set is amazing value for the 2 products if you can get your hands on it.

Step 3: Eye Cream

This product actually came in the goodie bag from DeBlogger’s Day Out coincidentally but when I got chatting to Karen, she would’ve recommended this as the eye cream for me to use. There are a couple of eye creams and serums in Declaré’s range but the Firming Cream was the one Karen said would suit me best. As I mentioned above, dark circles underneath my eyes were one of my biggest problems. Because I don’t suffer with puffiness, there was no need to go with a serum or gel based product. The Firming Cream comes in a tube similar to a lipgloss so I squeeze a teeny pea-sized amount out and dab it around the orbital bone. This is the area around your eye socket, not directly underneath your eyes. It’s important to apply an eye cream down that far because the skin underneath your eyes is five times lighter than the rest of your face. It’s very thin and sensitive so you shouldn’t really overload it with product. The active ingredients in the cream will travel when it warms up anyway.

Declaré Eye Contour Firming Cream

Using my ring finger, I tap the cream around my orbital bone; always patting, never pulling on the delicate skin. You want to keep the elasticity for as long as possible, right ladies?!  This is another product that you can feel working straight away. As I pat, I can feel the cream go slightly tacky and then when it’s absorbed into the skin, it feels firm and plump. It really is incredible and it’s the area that I have noticed the most improvement in since beginning to use Declaré Skincare. Even with the hectic work schedule over Christmas and lack of sleep, my dark circles have reduced significantly and my whole eye area is looking much healthier, brighter and firmer.

Declaré Skin Care

The Eye Contour Firming Cream is pricey, I won’t lie! It retails for €29.95 in most pharmacies but a little goes a long way. Using a pea-sized amount of product every evening and most mornings, (I’m a divil for forgetting to use it in the morning 🙈), for the past 4 months, I feel like there’s still plenty of product left in the tube. I don’t think I’m going to run out anytime soon so think about the incredible value for money you get out of it.

 

Genuinely, I’m so happy to have found Declaré…

…My skin is definitely in the best condition I’ve ever seen it in and other people have started to notice it too. Remember, your skin is an organ and it’s super important to take care of it. You can’t completely cover it up or change it, so a good skincare routine is key. It helps your makeup apply and wear better as well; a huge bonus! And even lately I find that I’m more confident without makeup too, whereas before I’d almost be horrified at the thought of not wearing a full face outside the front door! It’s a great thing though, to feel comfortable enough in your own skin to wear none or minimal makeup.

Skincare Review

Breakouts used to be a regular occurrence, given the polluted environment that I work in, but now they’re only an issue at that time of the month, and even at that, my little breakouts are nowhere near as aggressive as they used to be as my skin is healthier overall. There is now a glow to my skin that wasn’t there before and I’m in love. I bought two other Declaré products on the same day and use them as part of my regular routine. This post is long enough as it is now, so you can read about the Global Protection Serum and the Soft Peeling Exfoliant, (pictured below), in my next blog.

Declaré Ireland

 

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1 Comment

  1. December 14, 2020 / 1:51 am

    Denise,

    Thank you for your well written and thoughtful blog concerning Declare Skin care products. I’m ordering some of there products as we speak because I was able to make a well informed decision based on your having tried the skin care Declare offers.
    I’m excited to see the difference in my skin in a few months.
    Thank you, once again, for the informative blog.

    Sincerely,

    Lauri Litteken
    Retired Esthetician
    Texas, USA
    EMAIL [email protected]

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