Over the last month my skincare regime has changed and I incorporated the Elixir Jeunesse line from Yves Rocher, a company from France leading the industry in products made with natural botanical extracts to work wonders on your skin. We spent a fun luncheon together to celebrate the launch of this line and I have been testing it ever since! I am turning 30 in less than 2 months and I remember standing in front of the mirror of our bathroom thinking…when did I start looking so tired? I mean, we do have 2 kids and I barely sleep…I know it is normal for a mom to look, well…tired. BUT my skin was looking dehydrated, thing, sad and older. I am all about aging gracefully guys but I really didn’t feel like I was headed on that path. There are so many aggressors in our environment, taking the vibrancy right out of our skin. Pollution, fatigue, stress – oh gosh guys, the stress of just everything – I swear it comes out in my pores!!!

Enough whining thought right? What do we do about it? How can we treat our skin with the love that it deserves? How can we nourish it from the outside and try to reverse the damage?

1. Hydration. My gosh, how many times a year do I need to shake my head, well at myself and say. GIRL, DRINK MORE WATER!!!! Water helps everything, I don’t even know how to say how much this has made a difference in my skin in words that will hit it home. Huge CAPS LETTERS still don’t do it justice. I was not drinking enough water at all, some days I barely downed 1 glass…I know, I know – it’s terrible but true. I now drink a MINIMUM of 8 big glasses of water a day – it’s usually more and I also lowered my caffeine intake (not an easy thing but it is possible). I have less headaches and it truly feeds your skin. You can’t completely focus on the exterior and neglect the interior guys. Hydration is key! I am sure you have heard this before but the water bottle trick works, I have a cute eco friendly water bottle that holds 500ml of water that I was sent and I fill it 2-3 times a day. Having it there staring at me is my reminder to drink water and there are even ones that exist online that alert you to drink your water!!
2. Enter the Yves Rocher Elixir Jeunesse skincare line. My goodness this stuff is fabulous! I have been religiously using it for over a month now and I can tell you my skin appreciates it. This winter has been hard on my skin, not only from the dry air but also because it’s been quite stressful, it’s my own doing from being so damn unorganized and trying to manage everything myself but nevertheless – stressful. As I told you, my skin was looking so tired and aged and I had to do something. I was sent the entire line to try and I promised myself I would give it a fair go, morning & night for 2 weeks and see how my skin responded.

The Elixir Jeunesse line by Yves Rocher is such a lovely line from the packaging to the unique ingredients inside that replicates the way Yves Rocher is as a business – did you know that Yves Rocher is a Harvester, Manufacturer & Distributor!?! Amazing.

Okay back to the Elixir Jeunesse Line, it contains the Aphloia ingredient.

“This plant, originated from the high plains of Madagascar, has been chosen for its exceptional abilities to repair and protect. It is capable of totally renewing its bark and accumulating a natural molecule at the heart of its leaves, that effectively protects it from external aggressions.”

FUN FACT: At Yves Rocher we can tell you where all the plants and raw materials we use come from. Every ingredient can be traced because we make our own products from our own formulas which are developed by our scientists. That means you can trust that our ingredients are effective and safe for you and the environment.

Some of the key products in this line are:

1. The Repair & Anti-Pollution Cleansing Micellar Water for the face and eyes. I use it in the morning and evening, more often in the evening to remove traces of makeup and daily pollution exposure. What I love about this micellar water is how moisturizing and silky it feels while I use it!
2. The Double Action Essence Repair + Anti-Pollution Serum. Serums are great products to add into your nighttime skin regime, they are packed full of concentrated ingredients and your skin does so much work at night to absorb them. I use this product at night, before my night cream. It smells amazing and feels great and works to reduce wrinkles and fatigue that shows in your skin!
3. The Sleeping Care Night Cream, after using this cream my skin is so nice and plump and hydrated when I wake up. The cream is light and the scent is lovely – it smells clean if that makes sense? It doesn’t feel greasy or heavy and gives me the results I am looking for when I wake up. I may feel tired on the inside but I sure don’t look it haha!
4. Mornings – back to the Cleansing Micellar water first and then I follow up with the Elixir Jeunesse Restructuring Day Care Cream. My skin feels radiant and energized from this cream and it is a great base for before I put on my makeup.
5. Reviver Roll-On – a super compact and easy pick me up for the eyes. It rolls on nicely and feels great and is that perfect addition after my day cream. I love this guy and I even toss it in my carry-on bag during travel, it helps after a plane ride to make my eye area bright & rested looking. “Smoothes and brightens eyes! After 1 month: detoxified, eyes are luminous, wrinkles and fine lines of the eye contour area appear reduced for 85% of women.” – Yves Rocher
6. The Detoxifying Flash Mask – my secret weapon! I LOVE this product guys. With an over concentrated Alphoia extract, which is naturally absorbed by skin, from a 100% natural extraction process – Patents registered in France.  I use it 1-2 times a week and notice a huge difference in my skin when I do, especially over these cold and dry winter months – it’s been so helpful to my skin. I always use it the morning of an event, or the night before if the event is the next morning. All skin types can use this mask and it’s a powerful product. It’s only $25 and can last you quite awhile. When using it, leave on for 5 to 10 minutes then remove the excess using a cotton pad…super easy and the results are great!

FUN FACT: Using Yves Rocher Elixir Jeunesse…Day after day: wrinkles appear reduced for 95% of women and your skin is repaired In terms of hydration.

3. You are what you eat. A healthy diet is so very important, without going into too much detail. I have drastically upped my raw vegetable intake in the last 2 months and it made a huge impact on my digestive system which in turn drastically improved my skin as well. When I ate junk like too many baked goods etc I felt bloated, I was up all night with cramps instead of sleeping well and I felt sluggish. It isn’t a nice way to feel every day. Keep a food diary over a week or 2, be honest and write everything down and you will see that you can quite easily link a lot of the digestive trouble or even skin trouble to your diet. Many people learn about food allergies this way or triggers they may now know existed in their diet. I make my own fresh veggie juices now while also stocking up from our local organic juicery, my body craves it daily – all the fresh pressed greens and carrots and it’s made an impact in the brightness of my skin and my digestion.
4. SLEEP…if you are anything like me, someone who works to wee wee hours of the morning, yes morning then you need to pay attention to this one. As a mother I had to make this a priority – how can I be a good, attentive mother to my children if I was a walking zombie? An irritable one at that all because I wasn’t getting the rest my body & mind needed. And let me tell you, sleep 110% plays a big role on your skin!!! The nights I don’t get 7 hours, I look soooo tired guys – in my eyes mainly. No amount of mascara and concealer can fix it haha! Go to bed when your body says you need to, if you fall asleep while putting the kids to bed oh well, the piles of laundry blocking your hallway can wait haha!
5. RELAXATION EXERCISES & SELF-CARE. This one is simple, a nice hot bath with epsom salts and essential oils or your favourite bath soak, a good book and some breathing exercises. Yes that’s right, try to leave your phone outside of the bathroom for this bath…avoid Pinterest like the plague lol.  Unplug and enjoy that bath – unwind and relax your body AND mind. Your skin will thank you! I am not a big drinker so this is another time I hydrate, I bring a BIG glass of water to the bath with me (especially because I like really hot baths and end up sweating lol) and I down that water before my bath is finished. If this is a messy top knot hair kind of day and you need to wash it any ways, throw on a hair treatment too! I love the Jojoba overnight one by Yves Rocher found {here}- my dry, thirsty hair appreciates it and I leave it in overnight and shower it out the next morning! Before I get out of the bath I do breathing exercises, something I started a month ago. I often do these before bed too if I find that my mind just will not shut off. I do 5-10 minutes of relaxation breathing techniques and I almost never make it to the actual ten minute mark and have such a deeper sleep when I do this! Try it out and let me know if it makes a difference for you. 

As you all know this weekend I hosted a Meet & Greet in Barrie, Ontario with Yves Rocher Canada and despite the weather it was such a great turnout with all of you that attended. We’ve included some photos of the day of me with my family and will share more later this month via the Yves Rocher channels! I hope these tips help you to get the stress-free and rested skin you are looking for and I hope the lovely Anti-Pollution products by Yves Rocher made with botanical extracts can help your skin like they’ve helped mine! I want to say a big thank you to Yves Rocher Canada for sponsoring this blog post, as always – all opinions are my own.

All photography by the Bonjour Bliss in house team.