When it comes too skincare, I like to pay a little bit more than I normally would with anything else as I do (without sounding majorly stuck up) believe higher end skincare works a lot better. Its mainly to do with the ingredients used.
Above are the products I use more or less every night, apart from exfoliation and the mask, which I do twice a week so I class them as extras, but before we get started I think it is important in these type of blog posts to make your readers are aware of a little background knowledge of your skin. So that is what i'm going to do. My skin is oily and acne prone. By using the products that I do, I only seem to get 'break outs' during that time of the month which can't be helped but when it's not that time of the month, I believe it is the products that I use that maintains my skin to be as clear as possible and keeps it under control. Having oily skin doesn't really bother me and isn't one of my main skin issues. Here are the products that I use and will be listed in the order I use them with a review:
Loreal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution- This is what I use to remove all my makeup and yes, including eye makeup. This removes every speck of makeup off my face before deeply cleansing. I put this on a cotton pad and apply it to my face, and then use two separate cotton pads soaked in the product to remove my eye makeup. I personally don't like using a good cleanser to remove my makeup because I feel like its a waste of product and that is what makeup removers are for. Iv'e read and herd in a lot of reviews that this is the UK equivalent to bioderma, as it is a micellar solution (a solution that is a mixture of oil and water). This is not oily at all. In fact, it has nothing too it. The most exciting thing that it does is removes your makeup. Its literally like magic water. It claims to 'dissolve' makeup which I agree with because it doesn't move makeup around your face like some makeup removers do. Unfortunately I don't really get excited about makeup removers because they either work or don't, and they don't have any impact on your skin, however I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is wanting to try out bioderma as it is identical based upon other peoples reviews and it definitely does it's job well. Here is the link- http://www.boots.com/en/LOreal-Paris-Skin-Perfection-3-in-1-Purifying-Micellar-Solution-200ml_1299734/
Liz Earle Cleanse&Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser- This is what I use to deeply cleanse my skin and make sure all the makeup that has sunk into my pores is removed. Before touching my face I always like to wash my hands. This is a lovely product and is super luxurious. It smells like typical natural ingredients, like herbs and leaves ect. It is definitely a love or hate scent. When I use this, I apply 2 pumps too my makeup free, dry face and massage it in everywhere. This helps to soften skin and stimulates the blood flow, as well as making sure the product is cleaning out your skin well. After this, I Wet the muslin cloth that comes with the starter kit of this product, and then gently polish off the cream. Not only does this gently exfoliate my skin, it makes sure all the dirt, makeup and oil is removed from my skin. After using this product, my skin feels super super clean yet not stripped and dry. It is one of the best cleansers iv'e used before. Cream cleansers are recommended for people suffering with acne as it doesn't mess with the PH levels of the skin. Unfortunately this is not as readily available as i'd like as it can only be purchased online and at John Lewis. Here is the link- http://www.johnlewis.com/liz-earle-cleanse-polish-hot-cloth-cleanser-starter-kit-100ml/p147601
Clinique Claryfying lotion- This is what I use to tone my skin. This product is amazing. As well as toning, it is said by clinique to be a liquid exfoliater which I thoroughly agree with because every time I use this, despite how many times I have washed my face, It always has something on the cotton pad when iv'e applied it to my face that I hadn't removed before. When I apply this to my face I do it with a cotton pad, and it does give a slight tingle to my face but I don't mind as I know it works. The clinique products come in 4 stages, 1 is very dry, 2 is dry/combination, 3 is oily and 4 is very oily. When you purchase this it is best to get tested at a clinique counter to see what number you are because if you use the wrong one it will not work. One of the main ingredients in this product is salicylic acid, which is one of the key acne fighting ingredients. If any product has it in, it means its going to fight your acne and probably succeed. The claryfying lotion is part of the 3 step system that clinique offer but I don't like using liquid soaps to cleanse my skin and I hate the clinique moisturiser. It sinks in, in around 30 seconds and leaves my skin feeling dehydrated and tight. Probably because its targeted to people with oily skin and I never use a moisturiser that is targeted towards oily skin as it contains less moister and doesn't do the job. When I first tried this, my friend Emily (i'll link her blog at the bottom) knew I really wanted to try this and gave me a sample of hers (enough too see results with) so I used that for around 2 weeks and my skin had improved so so much. It is fairly pricey but definitely works. Here is the link- http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10701_10001_123070975799_-1
La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo- I had never tried anything from La Roche Posay before, so I was sure to put a lot of research into the product before purchasing it because I didn't want to be disappointed. All I read were positive reviews which was quite hopeful. One of the main reasons that I got it was because Tanya Burr raved about it so much and so did 'icovetthee' on youtube. Both of their skins are amazing so I ordered it. When it came I wasn't sure whether it was a moisturiser or a serum. But when I put it on the first time it felt really drying and it is really drying, due too the acne fighting ingredients, so I use this underneath my moisturiser as a serum. It has a strong scent of lemon too it which I like as I really like citrus smells, and when you rub it onto your face, it's so light weight its almost like rubbing water into your skin, and it sinks in immediately. Within around 4 days it had totally cleared up my forehead acne which I was really pleased about. The only downside was it was making my chin flaky and the sides of my nose dry but I quickly sorted it. I think because my skin is sensitive, it takes a little longer for products to thoroughly work so i'm hoping when my time of the month has past and I no longer have hormonal skin, this will clear the spots up on my chin. In England and America, the effaclar duo have different formulations. In the UK it is an all over face moisturiser/serum but in America it is a spot treatment that is applied only too blemishes, as it contains a high amount of benzoyl peroxide (an acne fighting ingredient). So if you were going to get this, just be weary of the ingredients and read the instructions. I would definitely recommend this to anyone suffering from acne.
Here is the link-http://www.escentual.com/la-roche-posay/larocheposay066/
I'm not overly fussy about moisturisers, as long as they do their job and hydrate my skin properly then I will use them. A huge mistake a lot of people with oily skin do is miss out the moisturising step. They think because their skin is oily they don't need extra moisture, but it does. If you don't use a moisturiser your skin will feel the need to produce more and more oil too compensate for the lack of moisture and if you do use a moisturiser then your skin wont feel the need to do this and wont be as oily. Drinking water also has a huge impact, not only to your skin but to your whole health. If you drink a lot of water your skin will be much more radiant and healthy, as will your body. Here is the link- http://www.boots.com/en/Simple-Kind-To-Skin-Replenishing-Rich-Moisturiser-125ml_8366/
Above, are the products I use every night. These however, are too harsh to use every night so I just use them each twice a week.
Super Facialist Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask- This is your typical thick mud mask. I really like this as it feels (as the bottle states) like you're giving your self a facial. I apply it all over my face and leave it on for the recommended 5 minuets. It is the type of mask that goes really tight on your skin. When I remove it, I do it with a muslin cloth and afterwards, my skin feels deeply cleansed, super clean, detoxified and nourished. I would definitely recommend anyone to try this, hence their skin type as its so luxurious. Here is the link- http://www.boots.com/en/Superfacialist-Tea-Flower-Pore-Purifying-Clay-Mask-125ml_1273983/
St Ives Blemish Fighting Exfoliater- I love this product. I have been using it since I first got into skincare and I don't think I would change it for anything. It does its job and afterwards my skin feels new. It feels all soft and like anything that was making it look dull or dead has dissapeared and been scrubbed off. It has a strong scent of apricots and the scrub particals are on the large size. I was worried about this at first but after I tried it, I knew it was ok. I used this twice a week, 3 times at the most. Here is the link- http://www.boots.com/en/St-Ives-Blemish-Fighting-Facial-Scrub-150ml_1110527/
Here is my friend Emily's beauty/fashion blog
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