The Skin Nerd: Tips for sharing the love this Valentine's Day

Whatever you do this Valentines, don’t leave yourself out.

Pic: iStock

Valentine's Day isn’t just about flowers and heart-shaped balloons, it’s about celebrating love and spreading that love to those around you, right? 

You can’t deny that the day divides opinion spectacularly — some loathe the commercial side while others lap up the excuse to spoil their partner or be spoiled themselves. And why not!?

But something I do firmly believe is that Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to just be about romantic love. Why shouldn’t self-love, which can be the hardest of all to conquer, be celebrated if we can indulge a new partner or secret crush? 

It’s also a great time to honour your friendships. Flying solo? No problem, gather your pals and make a night of it, free from the stress of worrying about texting etiquette and who foots the bill. 

Whatever your plans for February 14, there are plenty of ways to make the evening beautiful.

Valentine’s night in

Spending Valentine’s night alone can be just as fun — there’s no one to please but yourself and it is a great excuse to spoil yourself with some self-care!

Skindulge your senses with a candlelit bath and inhale the scent as you soak — I love the ultra-relaxing Max Benjamin True Lavender Luxury Candle (€28, theskinnerd.com). 

If you suffer from achy muscles, Susanne Kaufmann Hayflower Bath Oil (€67.80, cultbeauty.com) provides true relief. This soothing bath oil contains hayflower extract, which has a calming fragrance that helps to relax the muscles and boost circulation. It also contains antioxidant-rich blood rain algae extract and sweet almond oil to nourish the skin.

Bath time is also a great time for some intensive treatments. Coco & Eve Sweet Repair Hair Masque (€16.99, boots.ie) contains a powerful blend of actives to rejuvenate your locks in just five minutes! Ideal for heat-damaged hair or those that suffer with split ends, breakage, and shedding, this mask utilises biomimetic ceramide and a vegan keratin complex to repair and strengthen weakened hair. 

For the face, I love Yon-Ka Hydra N˚ 1 Masque (€51, yonka.ie). This intense hydration mask contains vitamins A, B5, C, and E to provide deep hydration and help the skin to combat free radicals and external stressors.

Word of caution: It is important to ensure that your bath isn’t too hot or it will dehydrate your skin. To avoid this, keep your bath warm rather than scalding and remember to moisturise the skin after you leave the tub. 

Pestle & Mortar Nimbu Body Lotion (€34, pestleandmortar.com) contains ceramide, turmeric root extract, and niacinamide to nourish the skin, leaving it smooth and supple.

Valentine’s night out

With the girls or on a date, it’s always nice to dress to the nines and have some fun with your makeup.

Great makeup always starts with good skincare, and to prep the skin for radiance, I recommend Skingredients AHA Cleanse Brightening + Exfoliating Lactic Acid Cleanser (€28, skingredients.com). 

This award-winning active cleanser contains 8% lactic acid — an alpha hydroxy acid that works to dissolve dead skin cells and boost regeneration for a brighter, awakened complexion. 

For a major glow-up, I suggest following up with Dr Hauschka Regenerating Day Cream (€34.95, drh.ie). This rich, creamy hydrator is loaded with red clover, acerola berries, raspberry seed oil, kalanchoe, and marshmallow to support skin regeneration and boost resilience.

If you’re over your winter-tinted complexion, add some warmth the safe way with Tan Organic Refillable Bronzer (€34.99, ie.tanorganic.com). 

This eco-friendly option is also good for the pores, created with Capric Triglyceride, a coconut-derived fatty acid known for offering lightweight hydration without any pore-clogging heaviness.

Add colour to your lips with a skin-softening lip tint. Infused with ‘skin-loving’ ingredients, Doll 10 Peptide Plump Lip Treatment (€22.95, doll10.com) is a plumping and smoothing lip treatment that glides onto the lips and provides intense hydration. Available in three flattering shades, each sheer wash of colour elevates your look in seconds!

Finish your look with a coat of Sculpted by Aimee My Mascara Volume & Length in Black (€21, theskinnerd.com), which offers intense pigment, volume, and length all contained in a conditioning, kind to lashes formula.

Gift ideas

Valentine’s Day gifts may have accumulated 76.5m views on TikTok, but you can stop the search here with this trio of gift ideas worth falling for.

For him

Handmade in Ireland, the Handmade Soap Company Bitter Orange and Pink Pepper Men’s Gift Set (€41, handmadesoapcompany.ie) includes a zingy hair and body wash, skin soothing shaving gel and rehydrating aftershave balm.

For her

NEOM Wellbeing Pod Luxe (€147, eu.neomwellbeing.com) is part of the brand’s ‘designed to make you feel good’ range and is a wonderful gift for someone you would like to help sleep better, stress less, and boost mood!

Designed to scent large or open spaces, this remote-controlled pod promises to deliver just the right amount of fragrance for up to 12 hours. 

Not only can you tailor the mist intensity, but this pod also features a unique ‘Breathing Mode’ light which brightens for seven seconds before diming for 11 seconds, assisting with a guided breathing technique, and helping to create a moment of calm.

For you

Make like Miley and treat yourself to a beautiful bouquet or even the floral-scented Jo Malone Rose Blush Cologne (€98, brownthomas.com). Delicate notes of lychee, basil, and white musk modernise this soft rose scent that will uplift you each time you spritz!