From soothing your skin after sun exposure, to packing a multi-tasking essential product, find out our Founder, Joy Isaacs’, holiday skincare tips for keeping her skin nourished, her complexion clear, and her mind at ease when travelling.
A holiday skincare guide from Joy
How do you take care of your skin while travelling?
I make sure I have a jar of our hero silver face cream, la potion infinie in my handbag when I’m travelling. It’s perfect for keeping my skin hydrated on flights, including moisturising chapped lips, because cabin air is notoriously drying, especially if it’s long-haul. I even use it to tidy up the under-eye area if mascara has fallen from my lashes mid-flight, by using a cotton bud lightly coated in cream; it doubles as an under-eye moisturiser. I love multi-tasking products, and the ARgENTUM range allows me to use one product for multiple purposes, which I always appreciate when on the go.
I also always carry my deck of the 12 ARgENTUM archetype cards. I love using these cards as a way to gain clarity on tricky business decisions or questions I might have at any given moment. Although holidays are great for relaxing and detaching from work, inevitably our thoughts can circle back to projects ~ and actually, creative solutions are proven to appear when our brains are not focusing on them. I trust my intuition ~ the cards allow me to tap into my subconscious and listen to the quiet voice within through their powerful symbolic imagery. Which card will be drawn to you?
What’s your favourite multi-tasking product in the ARgENTUM range to get the most out of the 100ml liquid travel allowance?
Every product in our facial skincare range except le masque infini is within 100ml. But If I could only take one product on holiday with me, it would be our restorative day and night cream, la potion infinie. A full-size jar weighs in at just 70ml, and as you can tell from my previous answer, it’s multi-purpose (face, neck and eyes), but it’s also perfect as a make-up base to prime the skin. You only need a small amount as the formula has such potent actives ~ one jar lasts a good few months. It absorbs instantly, tightens pores, and doesn’t leave behind any oiliness or stickiness. I immediately notice a difference in my skin after using la potion infinie, there’s nothing quite like it. With its uplifting scent (now bottled as the fragrance, BECOME) reflecting its active ingredients and the elemental energies of fire, air, earth and water, it makes for a lovely sensory experience too. I really wouldn’t be without it.
But I also think a facial cleansing bar, like our nourishing le savon lune, is a travel skincare essential because it doesn’t affect liquid restrictions if you’re only taking carry-on luggage with you. It’s a wonderful cleanser for the face if you’ve been out and about all day as it will remove sweat, dirt, and make-up, leaving skin feeling deeply clean, yet comforted because it’s actually soap-free, so non-drying. Containing Bentonite Clay, it purifies the pores with its antibacterial properties so is great for those prone to breakouts or adult acne. Being anti-inflammatory, it will also soothe skin that’s caught the sun.
What are your holiday skincare essentials?
Our compact set le trio infini is an all-encompassing travel skincare kit. Containing three travel-sized products, la potion infinie (14ml), l’étoile infinie (9ml), and le savon lune (20g), it’s perfect for holidays and travelling. The smaller sizes are easy to pack, whether you’re checking in luggage or only taking carry-on bags, letting you take excellent care of your skin wherever you are ~ from the cabin to your destination.
In sunnier climates, it's also essential to soothe and moisturise the whole body after sun exposure. For this, I love our hydrating body lotion, la lotion infinie. It’s the body lotion equivalent of our hero product, la potion infinie with Silver Hydrosol & DNA HP at its heart. It absorbs quickly for deep hydration, without leaving an oily, sticky layer ~ perfect for summer and those hot days where thick body creams feel uncomfortable. Whether I’m travelling or not, hydration is always an important part of my summer skincare routine.
What products are suitable for summer holidays or warmer travel destinations?
The skin needs time to heal after sun exposure. Not only can the sun cause damage to the skin, but many sunscreens can clog pores too. Both la potion infinie and la lotion infinie act as good aftersun creams for the complexion and the body due to the healing, antioxidant, and cell regenerative properties of Silver Hydrosol & DNA HP. Silver Hydrosol regulates skin flora with its natural antibacterial and anti-irritant properties, while DNA HP enables optimum hydration (ten times that of Hyaluronic Acid) and delivers it directly into the intercellular space within the skin. la potion infinie is clinically proven to reduce inflammation and so calms any redness, leaving skin soothed and moisturised.
As mentioned, le savon lune is a fantastic travel companion for daily cleansing, but if you prefer something more akin to a cleansing balm, our oil to milk cleanser, la lune de velours is comforting, deeply hydrating, and doesn’t cause any tightness despite being the most luxuriously effective make-up remover. Infused with our patented formula as well as organic skin-soothing Sweet Almond Oil and Argan Oil, la lune de velours nourishes the skin, leaving it feeling silky and supple.
If you want even more summertime hydration without heaviness, l’eau de jouvence is ideal. It’s a soothing silver face tonic water that can be applied to the skin between cleansing and moisturising. It genuinely feels like a tonic for the skin (hence its name!), because it’s not a toner ~ toners are usually astringent and can leave the skin feeling stripped and dry, which is the last thing your skin needs after a day in the sun. l’eau de jouvence offers an extra layer of hydration, but it also contains Copper Hydrosol which is excellent for skin function and supports the antioxidant action of Silver Hydrosol & DNA HP.
How do you protect skin from the sun, and what’s your approach to sun protection in general?
Sun creams are usually comedogenic and can cause breakouts, which is less than ideal for holiday skin. But, when it comes to sun and UV protection, there should be no messing around ~ it’s one of the leading causes of ageing and skin damage. Natural sunscreens have got better over the years, but whatever your preference, opt for a high SPF with UVA and UVB protection and minimise your time in direct sun. I have very fair skin, and instead of trying to keep up with everyone else when I was younger, I embraced the vampire look ~ I’m so glad I did, as irreversible damage can happen beneath the surface, showing up later in life.
I would say, wear a wide-brimmed hat at all times and be careful in the sun during the hottest hours of the day. UV light is much more gentle in the morning and evening for getting sunlight on your skin ~ which is key in the body’s processing of that all-important Vitamin D.
