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There’s no denying that athleisure is a firm part of many of our wardrobes now (even if it does make more appearances to Waitrose then it does to the gym). The last few years has seen your gym kit get a serious makeover as an emphasis on both comfort and fashion has transformed the way active wear is designed. So it’s unsurprising to see the beauty industry following in fashion’s footsteps with a number of anthleisure beauty (athbeauty?) products cropping up. For the gals and guys who wanna lift weights with a flawless face, brands are now offering stay put makeup that promises to hold out through the sweat – Eyeko have developed an ultra waterproof sports mascara, whilst Tarte has launched an entire range dedicated to athleisure.
Now we’re dubious about getting on board with products that are designed to stay on your skin for that long because, quite frankly, we don’t wanna know what goes into it to achieve that staying power. What we can get behind though is making your beauty products work for your workout regime – strategically planning to ensure your skin looks great through the sweat, redness and occasional tear (if you’ve ever been to a reformer Pilates class you’ll know what we mean).
It’s really important to ensure you cleanse thoroughly after working out, even if you’re heading straight home to shower (or not showering at all, but, eeewwww), the bacteria that your body has expelled through sweating can lead to break outs if not cleansed properly. We’re loving the stream of gentle face wipes that are popping up in the natural beauty market that promise quick cleansing and convenience, minus the harsh preservatives that many high street brands pump into their wipes. Simply Gentle’s wipes are made up of aloe, lavender and geranium, all of which are anti-inflammatory so whilst cleansing they’ll also help to reduce post-workout redness.RMS do a great wipe that’s basically all coconut oil which is naturally antibacterial – it’ll remove sweat as well as moisturise skin. Handy to keep in your gym bag, much lighter than lugging around a cleanser and provides an instant cleanse.
Take things a step further by beautifying whilst exercising. Screw taking an old towel into spin class, Konjac have come up with any even better alternative. Their sponges, made of French Clays and pure Charcoal from Bamboo, offer a deep cleanse using ingredients straight from the earth. Their Sports Sponge is genius – it comes in a pouch which ensures the sponge doesn’t dampen the rest of your gym kit – and is designed to be used either during or after exercise. Rather than simply moving around the sweat like a towel does, the sponge absorbs and gets rid of it, in turn clearing bacteria and stopping breakouts or inflamed skin.
On the subject of workout glow, we’re all about using our beauty products to prolong and enhance post-exercise shine. The boost of circulation caused by getting your sweat on helps oxygen and nutrients be delivered to your skin more rapidly which is exactly what causes the glow. It’s important to help reduce redness and inflammation that can often mask any benefits of exercising – i.e less of the beetroot tone, more of the babe gleam. Using products that have soothing properties will help to calm skin and reduce redness quickly. We love Suki’s Concentrated Clarifying Toner that has both lavender and chamomile which are both incredibly anti-inflammatory, as well as salicylic acid which will help keep skin clear. Aurelia’s Cream Cleanser has both chamomile and eucalyptus, both which will help to reduce redness and calm skin.
Finally, you can even use your beauty products to help speed up muscle recovery! John Master’s Rosemary and Arnica Body Milk targets muscle aches and soreness, so you’ll be able to get back in the gym sooner, and look damn fly while you’re at it.
– Elsie Rutterford & Dominika Minarovic
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