The Skin Nerd: Celebrate the mum in your life!

Mums come in many forms, but all deserve to be spoilt this Mother’s Day.

Pic: iStock

Blood-related or not, many of us have a mother figure that deserves to be celebrated.

You may have a 'mother hen' in your friendship group. You know the one — she’s the woman who makes sure you all get in the taxi and calls if you don’t let her know you got home safe.

It could be your office mum, the one who offers you a hug when you’re broken by noon on a Monday and always knows when you need a cup of tea.

Whoever ‘mum’ is to you, they are likely to be nurturing, caring and kind — and somehow often sidestep a lot of the attention and praise they should be basking in!

This week, I aim to help you navigate the retail market for a gift she’s likely to love.

Encourage her to relax with… Max Benjamin Bath Experience Gift Set, (€50, maxbenjamin.com)

Help her to create a personal sanctuary with this decadent Max Benjamin Bath Experience. Featuring the calming Lavender & Chamomile Candle, this collection is a wonderful treat for anyone needing help to wind down and transform their home spa into a place of tranquillity.

This set also contains a Lavender, Chamomile and Magnesium Body Cream, which is infused with magnesium to help stabilise the mood, relieve emotional stress and anxiety and relax any muscle tension.

The final addition to this wellness-boosting trio is a Lavender, Chamomile and Magnesium Body Scrub, which helps to refresh and renew the skin whilst enveloping the senses in its serenely relaxing aroma.

Pamper her head to toe with… Soap & Glory Spa Struck Luxury 13-Piece Gift Set (€55, boots.ie).

This plush bag is packed with skincare delights including The Fab Pore Pore-refining Mask, Call of Fruity Hydrating Hand Cream and Heel Genius Hydrating Foot Cream.

Treat mature skin to… Skingredients Serum Squad (€99.03, skingredients.com)

As ageing skin cannot store moisture as effectively, it often becomes dry. A consistent skincare routine is key when it comes to keeping the skin healthy and serums often deliver the most potent ingredients to your skin.

The Serum Squad contains two of Skingredients best-selling and most loved serums — Skin Veg Hyaluronic Acid Serum and Skin Protein Anti-Ageing Retinoid Serum. Whilst Skin Veg puts the bounce back into tired skin with its skinvigorating blend of vitamin, minerals and botanicals, retinyl palmitate based Skin Protein uses the power of vitamin A to tighten, brighten and correct discoloration. Tested as safe for use around the eyes, you can use both serums all over from the nipples up!

If you want to include a cleanser, I highly recommend Green Angel Skin Seaweed Cleansing Lotion (€22, greenangel.com), which contains cucumber and sage and is extremely hydrating. It’s ultra-kind to the skin and effortlessly removes all traces of makeup with ease.

Soothe and repair hard-working hands

Bring relief to cracked hands with the heavenly Aesop Resurrection Hand Wash Kit (aesop.com), which makes a great gift for anyone with sensitive skin or those who wash their hands a lot. This kit contains Aesop Resurrection Hand Wash — a freshly scented hand wash gel that cleanses without drying out your skin.

Also included in this kit is the Aesop Hand Lotion, which absorbs super-fast (so important for a hand cream) and works wonders on rough skin, cuticles, and nails. Another bonus is that it also smells delicious with notes of mandarin oil, rosemary leaf and cedarwood.

Bring life to tired tresses… Briogeo Superfood Mango + Cherry Superfoods Hair Pack (€53, cultbeauty.com)

Hydrating and balancing, the delicious Mango + Cherry Superfoods range has been created for those looking to transform dull, dry tresses and control oil production on the hair and scalp.

The smoothie-inspired shampoo and conditioner duo is packed with hair nutritious vitamins and minerals and are free from silicones and sulphates.

If you’re the mum… Environ Micro Needling Fuller Effect Set (€144, theskinnerd.com)

Spoil yourself by powering up the efficiency of your skincare products with Environ Micro Needling Fuller Effect Set (€144, theskinnerd.com).

This set contains Environ Cosmetic Roll-CITª (Collagen Induction Therapy), a handheld needling device designed to dramatically increase the effectiveness of any skin care products used hereafter by allowing improved penetration of vitamins into the active layers of the skin. Put simply, it can help to enhance the ability of your serums to penetrate your skin and can help your skincare products to be more effective. It can also help to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and help to improve skin tone and texture, as well as helping to diminish the appearance of pigmentation.

Also included is Hydro-Lipidic 3D Filler Crème, an advanced powerhouse booster which assists to target the signs of lines, wrinkles and loss of volume to focus on a visibly smoother, firmer, naturally fuller-looking skin. Hydro-Lipidic 3D Synerge Filler Crème promotes the appearance of fuller-looking, well-cushioned skin by complementing what can be achieved by dermal fillers as well.

Nerdie Knowledge: What are laughter lines?

Laughter lines are caused by — you guessed it — laughing and smiling! Over time, both joyful activities can result in small lines at the corners of the mouth and around the eyes.

Although laughter lines are a part of life and inevitable, there are a few things you can do to avoid accelerating the process of developing them...

Firstly, hydrate! Hydration is key within all areas of health, so make sure you're drinking enough water to keep your skin as supple as possible.

Eating a diet rich in Vitamin E can also be helpful as vitamin E is an antioxidant that’s responsible for keeping skin looking fresh and youthful looking.

Next, avoid smoking — again, this is important for all health reasons but smoking also causes the skin to lose its elasticity.

Finally, wear a broad-spectrum, high-coverage sunscreen every single day to protect your face from the ageing effects of UVA rays.