Bad Beauty Habits… Confession Time!

Bad Beauty Habits

As much as I would love to sit here and tell you that I practice what I preach, the fact is: I don’t. Whilst there are a lot of things that I am fastidious about – like moisturising my entire body (every day) and washing my make-up brushes (every week), there are some bad beauty habits that I have developed over the past couple of years that I just can’t seem to break! Here are the top 8 cardinal beauty sins that I commit on a regular basis…

1. I never wear sunscreen on my face

I know, I KNOW! Especially considering the amount of time we  harp on about the importance of sunscreen and how it’s vital for protecting your delicate little faces from the harsh African sun. But the fact is, I’ve never found one that was suitable for everyday wear ie: wasn’t going to break me out with prolonged use. My day cream, and some of my foundations, have SPF built-in, but if  you read Caroline Hiron’s SPF Cheat Sheet you’ll quickly realise that relying on built-in sun protection is not wise because it isn’t nearly effective enough. However, it’s never too late to make a change, and to that end I am going to be investing in the Kiehl’s  Ultra Light UV Defense SPF 50 as I’ve heard that it is exceptionally lightweight so is suitable for daily wear and won’t give you spots. Watch this space…

2. I file my nails with polish on

Because sometimes, the thought of removing your polish just to fix a snaggle-nail is too tedious to bear. So sue me.

3. I only floss my front teeth

This is naughty – and I really do wish I could be more dedicated about flossing all of my teeth, and not just the ones you see when I smile (love you, back teeth!). I always have floss on me because I live in perpetual fear of food getting caught in my teeth – but getting to those back molars is just such a shag. I do it maybe once every two weeks (if I remember). Tooth decay, I’m coming for you! Mmm mmm!

4. I neglect my neck

I am usually very good about looking after my face (except when I’ve been drinking – then I couldn’t care less – see point 8 below). But my neck? Nope. Not getting any skincare love from me I’m afraid. I do moisturise my body daily, so if I’m feeling generous I’ll slap on some cream/oil, but my poor neck certainly never gets treated to serums or more intensive moisturisers. My reasons are two-fold: firstly, I’m lazy and secondly, if I’m wearing my hair down it gets covered in cream/oil and ends up looking lank and greasy in a matter of minutes. I’m going to be one of those women with a smooth face and a turkey neck, I can just see it!

5. I pick, prod, squeeze EVERYTHING

I just can’t help it – it’s like an sickness. If I see a pimple, ingrown hair, any lump/bump of any sort, you better know I’m going to squeeze, pluck and prod until I’ve gotten rid of it. I like to think that this is a fairly normal affliction and that many of you share my fondness for extractions. Wait, you don’t? Why not?? I once popped a crystal out the waterline in my eye and I was so excited that I took of picture of it, sent it to Jules and she responded with “That is amazing. If I were you I would keep it so I could play with it all day”. That’s why we are best friends.

6. I touch my face constantly

And I mean constant-ly. Either I am resting my face on my hand, running my hands through my hair and then touching my face, playing my my phone and then touching my face…eeeeew. My face is a veritable breeding-ground for bacteria – so unhygenic! I am trying to make myself more aware of it in an effort to stop, but it’s such a sub-conscious thing that half the time I don’t even realise I’m doing it.

7. I use the same face cloth for a couple of days in a row

There was a time when I had a fresh face cloth for every night of the week, but then I got lazy and now I use the same one for two, three, sometimes up to four nights in a row. That’s up to four days of bacteria sitting in a damp face cloth that I am happily smearing all over my face, night after night. How revolting? As I type this I am promising myself to use a clean one every day. Sis, Camilla.

8. I never take my make-up off when I’m drunk

Saved the best until last, right? This is the worst, worst thing you can do for your skin – dehydrating it with alcohol and then aggravating it by going to sleep with old, stale make-up on.  I am a repeat offender on this one, and every time I do it I vow that it’ll never happen again…that is, until the next time! It’s not my fault ok, it’s just so much easier to collapse into bed and go straight to sleep instead of swaying in front of the sink trying to swipe away that stubborn mascara. As I get older the morning-after results are worse too – my skin looks sallow, patchy and generally very unhappy, and you’d think for someone like me that would be motivation enough to clean up my act. Seems not…G&T’s win again!

Please share your bad beauty habits with me to make me feel better!

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26 comments on Bad Beauty Habits… Confession Time!

  • Lize Hartley

    I am HORRIFIED, Corder. HOR.RI.FIED.

    First, to be smug: I wear SPF 40 on my face every single day, even if it’s overcast and pouring with rain and I’m indoors. Try Nimue SPF 40- super lightweight.
    I would literally have to be in a coma to not remove my make-up before bed.

    I also poke and prod and pick and squeeze. So hideous.
    I don’t floss. I should.
    But my absolute worst habit, beauty sin, and actually just the worst thing about me is I pick at my nails and cuticles. My nails are not strong to begin with, but if I see a split starting to happen I facilitate it, I pick at my cuticles and sometimes they tear and bleed and it’s just vile. I’ve recently started saying to myself “That’s not very Parisienne” or “Audrey wold NEVER pick her nails”. That helps.

    • Gina Howse

      1. I don’t wear eye cream, I own it but it’s such a schlepp after all the serums, night creams etc…
      2. I also pick my cuticles Lize, sometimes so badly I have to put plasters on to hide the damage

      • Lize Hartley

        Me, too! I only do a daytime eye cream, not night time. I probably should do both.

      • Camilla (author)

        I also find applying eye cream such a bore – I often skip it. I am going to be haggard when I get old!

    • Camilla (author)

      I know, I know! But the first step to recovery is admitting there’s the problem, or something, right? You should try the Clarins hand cream for your poor cuticles – it smells heavenly and is really comforting. Also, a balm like Eucerin Aquaphor would do a wonderful job of soothing any redness/tears.

  • Jo

    The only one of those that I’m NOT guilty of is the no sunscreen! Admittedly I’d never considered the bacteria on my face sponge and all the face touching… There’s something I can definitely work on

    • Camilla (author)

      Jo you have flawless angel skin, you lucky thing! I have got to get onto the sunscreen bus!

  • Samantha

    LOL… it’s almost as if you wrote this post about me. I commit all of the same beauty sins as you do 🙂
    One more sin: i put moisturiser around my eyes (which i know is a huge no-no)

    • Camilla (author)

      Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I do too…

      • Tamsin

        Please elaborate… Is a moisturiser’s consistency too heavy, but an eye cream is ok?

  • Chereen Strydom

    You HAVE to try Chanel Precision UV Essential – I battled to find a good facial sunscreen for years, but I literally cannot stop applying this beauty. The texture is absolutely divine – so silky and it just melts into your skin. You’ll be a sunscreen convert, promise!

    • Camilla (author)

      Ooh this sounds promising – thanks Chereen. I am going to pop into Chanel this week and have a look x

  • Tamsin

    That water crystal story is mystifying. I have SO many questions about it. And also feel a little sick.

    Try the 8 Hour Face Sunscreen SPF 50 – completely matte and light.

    I am proud to say that I have never gone to bed with my make-up on but I do do the fair bit of skin prodding…

    • Camilla (author)

      Tamsin! You told me that the Elizabeth Arden sunscreen smells like, well, you remember what you said it smells like!

      • Tamsin

        I know what I said, but it still works like a dream! Also, a cat wee smell is not so bad…

  • Helen

    Lamelle Nourish: multi-active sun 30. It’s organic, it protects from UV and free radicals and best of all, it’s rich in antioxidants. As far as I’m concerned antioxidants are the most important thing in the world. It also lasts forever, which is really great cos then you can use the money you would have spent on replacing it with an Aquaflosser.

    Getting braces in my 28th year on the planet has been flippen horrible, mostly because I am a freak who loves to floss – all my teeth, everyday. Sometimes twice. Braces took flossing away from me. It literally takes 14 hours to floss when you have braces. Then I found the Aquaflosser and it’s the flippen best. I promise it will help you floss your back teeth.

    • Jules

      Wish I’d known about the Aquaflosser when I had my braces 🙁

  • Wendy

    I also sleep with my makeup on – drunk or not! Sometimes it looks so perfect, I don’t want to take it off. Best part of all, I’m such a quiet sleeper, when I wake up, it looks as if I’ve just applied it – Bonus!

    My moisturiser contains a pretty decent SPF and I ALWAYS moisturise my neck! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my mom, it’s that crinkly necks are “sies” ‘cause that’s where your age really shows. So, I do it religiously and I can honestly say that those people around my age group do not have as smooth a neck 🙂 *brag*

    I touch my face CONSTANTLY too! Hell, if I could just sit on my hands 9 hrs a day, that would help. When I catch myself doing it, I’m usually slumped over my computer keyboard, chin in palm. Ugh! I am pretty manic about washing my hands, tho, so that’s a small relief. But, still … bad habit!

    I do, however, have a separate towel just for my face because I’ve learned the hard way that face cloths just don’t work. Too many cooties!

    I’m a very good flosser (in fact, I’m a bit of an over-flosser), but I confess I don’t do this every day. I rely on my buzzing toothbrush to take care of the captured remnants of previous meals. It smells and looks pretty clean afterwards *grin*

    Filing a single “hooked” nail – no problem! Why should you remove all the nail polish just to fix one finger?! Nah, file it nicely and moisturise it so it seals and off you go!

    In my teenage years, I struggled with acne something terrible! I was always covering my face with my hands. I think that’s where the ‘touching all the time’ came from. Well, acne is not the kinda stuff you can just leave. I don’t know about you, but I aint walking around with a yellow blob on my nose/chin/forehead/whatever! No way! I usually sterilise a needle and make sure my face and hands are clean, then I poke the sucker and squeeze gently (just like mommy taught me) from different angles so that I can get the most out of it without bruising my skin. *Sigh* The things poor teens have to go through! And, NO, I do not show other people – yuuuuuck!

    I have many sins, but I think I’ll keep mum on them ’cause they’re icky – much like the display of goop after you’ve squeezed. Nope, some things are better hidden 🙂 *grin* if you know what I mean ;o)

  • hildegarde_k

    Oh thank goodness for this post… I am with you on most of those points. Except the last one, I always try to at least remove my eye makeup. As for sunscreen, I also don’t wear it on my face (during the week) as I work in an office for pretty much the whole time the sun shines, so meh. I’ve been using a sample of Kiehl’s Super Fluid UV Defense SPF 50+ over weekends and it is incredibly lightweight and non-greasy. Oh and I also put moisturizer too close to my eyes and my beauty therapist has yelled at me twice now, sigh.

  • MEJ

    I am guilty of all but number 8. Only on extreme occasions do I sleep with make-up on.

    BUT I can one-up you on number 3… I don’t floss. At all. O_o

    And I’m a closet smoker. Noooooo. Don’t tell anyone.

    The other thing that I reckon will have some detrimental effects in years to come is hot Yoga. Skin dehydration to the max. Hair dehydration too. So although I don’t colour or flat iron my hair, I feel like all my exercise and constant washing detracts from the lusciousness my hair could have.

    Smooches xxx

  • Alison

    I’ve always struggled with sunscreen and breaking out as a result of it. I noticed a big difference when I moved to a pure mineral one. After copious research, I’ve had great luck with MD Solarsciences Mineral Tinted Creme SPF 30, as well as Paula’s Choice Resist Super-light Daily Defense SPF 30. Neither have broken me out, hallelujah! And they leave a nice matte finish. Not sure if they’re available in SA though, I buy them here in the US. Great blog btw!

    • Jules

      Thanks Alison! That Paula’s Choice sunscreen is available here so we must check it out 🙂

  • Hannah

    I’m baffled as to why you can’t put moisturizer close to your eyes? I do it all the time, which makes this my number one beauty sin. I also almost never use a toner. Is that really detrimental?

    • Jules

      I personally don’t believe that you can’t put moisturiser around your eyes. I would like a professional opinion but sounds like a scare tactic to get people to buy eye cream if you ask me! I use an eye cream but it’s only because my skin is oily and my standard moisturiser is too light for under my eyes which needs a little extra hydration.

      Toner is one of those completely optional steps – I use an antibacterial one in the morning and an exfoliating one at night but it’s certainly not essential, especially if your skin gets along ok without it.

      xx

  • Liz

    I wear my hair in the same spot so much that I have horrible breakage so bad that I can give myself a rats tail! Yuck!

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