beauty sleep ~ by Diana Yerkes

We all are familiar with the #wokeuplikethis selfie trend that took the internet by storm. How do celebrities and people alike look so radiant first thing in the morning? Is it possible? Maybe it’s all photoshop and Instagram filters, but I am here to let you in on a little secret of how to look glowing first thing in the morning.

The way you look in the morning depends on how many zzz’s you got the night before. Most medical professionals recommend 6-8 hours of restful sleep to feel and look great the next morning. While you sleep, your body and skin restores and regenerates, and that is one of the primary reasons to take care of your skin before you get to bed.
That being said, what you do prior to getting to bed is also very important. Here are my evening skin care routine steps:
•    I try  to  cleanse my face as soon as I get home. This assures a good start to my “evening at home” and gives my skin a break from daily make up. I like to use Gounjae Organic Lemon Deep Cleansing to remove my make up, followed by Lait VIP O2 to cleanse my skin. I prefer to use a simple wash cloth as my cleansing tool. 
•    Evening time is when I give my skin as much TLC as I possibly can. I like to concentrate on more thorough P50 1970 application and either do a masque or a booster such as Lotion MC110 N°1. My go-to masque combo is Vivant and VipO2, both by Biologique Recherche. On the days my skin looks tired, I spend about 10 minutes massaging my face with soothing, plumping and hydrating Renewing Pack by Valmont. If you are interested in masquing process, read my post about multi-masking. A lot of my clients are curious how one finds time for a masque treatment. I always say, time is not an excuse, time is what you make of it. I can go around prepping my dinner or doing household chores with the masque on my face still knowing I am working on improving my skin. At the end of the day, multi-tasking is essential for our busy lifestyle and addresses most skins concerns. I strongly encourage you to find the time for the things that are important to you and your health.
•    I am passionate about serums! In my opinion, serums are most important when it comes to taking care of your skin. Depending on the concern, serums can be very versatile. I like to use Biologique Recherche Renovateur 14 and Complexe Royal together and layer Silk Plus over my Dermopurifiante moisturizer as a finishing serum. Now you finally begin to imagine the glow one wakes up to with that combination!
•    A couple of times a week I take time to roll my face with the Environ Roll-Cit. This simple procedure takes about 5 minutes and restores skin tightness, reduces pigmentation, smoothes fine lines while boosting product penetration by about 80%. Just imagine how much more effective your serums and peptide-based products are when you deliver it to the areas that need it most! On the nights I roll, I enjoy using Avance DFP 312 cream mixed with AVST 5 and C-Boost,-all by Environ.
•    Your body is also in need of some TLC. Take a relaxing bubble bath! I love using the Santa Maria Novella body line, Bagnoschiuma Alghe Marine bath foam with seaweed extracts is one of my favorites and after the bath I prefer using  Latte Corpo Melograno – moisturizing and refreshing body milk with a signature Melograno aroma- for soft and supple skin.
Lifestyle suggestion: try to skip a heavy dinner too close to your bedtime and opt out for a light, healthy snack and a cup of calming tea. Give your digestive system a break and wake up less bloated and more energized. Taking a 15 minute walk outside or doing a mild exercise routine can also induce a more restful sleep.
Last but not least, try to disconnect from all of the tech devices at least an hour prior to sleep time. Give your eyes a break from all the bright screens and read your favorite book instead or catch up on all the latest fashions in magazine articles. For those who keep a diary, I enjoy and recommend the Happiness Journal concept for setting intentions or to simply write down your daily thoughts, reflect on the day and plan for a better tomorrow.
I really hope this inspires you to take better care of yourself and your skin at night time! I encourage you to try and give your skin more of the TLC it deserves and carve out time for it. Better off, take on the #iwokeuplikethis trend yourself and watch your skin improve day after day.

Wishing you restful sleep for the skin of your dreams,

Diana Yerkes