The best for blemishes!

You know those days when you take your makeup off just before bed, and discover that a real corker of a spot has risen from nowhere to take over the middle of your face?  Previously - I'd panic, squeeze and regret.  Regret a lot.  Recently aswell, as my immune system has been a bit haywire (thanks very much, Vitamin deficiency) even if I so much as gently prodded a blemish it would develop into a cyst from hell...
After a couple of months, I think I've managed to train myself to deal with my skin a little more gently and look after the breakout-prone areas a bit better.  A few products have helped with this, and I thought I'd share them with you today as some of them are real gems!

For that breakout-prone area...

Boots Skin Clear Ultra Treatment Cream is the main thing I'll use.  This, I dot pretty much all over my face before applying moisturiser in the morning.  I've taken to using a bit of Tea Tree and Witch Hazel solution aswell at this point, spritzed all over the face and neck.  I feel like both of these calm down any areas that might look a bit suspicious, especially those that may have flared up overnight.  Distilled Witch Hazel is also pretty darn awesome, if you've got a corker of a zit that hurts a lot it'll help a lot with the inflammation - plus it's dirt cheap!  It's the sort of thing that's kept upstairs with the Arnicare in Boots, but worth hunting down.


To stop that spot in it's tracks...

From the same Skin Clear range, the Ultra Rapid Action Spot Gel is amazing to use overnight or in the day when you're not wearing makeup.  It's the same sort of formula as the Nick Lowe Gel I used to love but a fraction of the price, and I think it works so much better.  It does dry out the skin a little, so if you're using it for more than a couple of days then make sure you use a super hydrating moisturiser on the healing skin afterwards.  Despite this, I now swear by this stuff.  Even if a spot has almost come to a head (gross, sorry!) this slowly but surely calms it back down - and if it's a small one then it can make it disappear overnight.  I've heard that Origins' Super Spot Remover is supposed to be like this, but is obviously much pricier, and I'm chuffed to bits with how well Boots' offering works.


And for when your skin feels clogged up...

On my skin, I trust the Origins Clear Improvement Mask implicitly.  If a particular area feels like its brewing up a spot, I'll apply a little of this for 20 minutes or so and I feel that it really does help with calming it down.  I do use this all over occasionally, but much more so in just treating individual areas as it can dry out the skin a little.

All in all, I try to avoid the strong, real antiseptics unless absolutely necessary as the bacteria on your skin can become resistant - which is bad news.  Instead, all the options I've mentioned here are either natural extracts or oils or are Salicylic Acid based, so you can keep the Savlon or Sudocrem for when you've got a proper cut or scrape!

xxx

Skincare haul!

Earlier this week, I realised that I'd reached the dregs of my Effaclar Duo+.  It was a sad, sad moment - I've used this stuff for months now and feel that it's really helped with healing up blemishes and preventing flare ups.  So when it looked like it was almost gone I had a quick google to see whether I could get it cheaper online than in Boots.

Escentual had up to a third off French pharmacy, and since you get free delivery when you spend over £30 (not the £10 threshold of Feel Unique, but they didn't have much in stock *sad face*) so I took the opportunity to stock up on a couple of things that were running low and my lo and behold the entire order came to just over the £30 limit...

Apologies for the dodgy lighting here - the weather is just awful so I was
 waving a daylight lamp around whilst taking blog photos (hence the glare!)

On top of my beloved La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo+, I picked up a full size can of their Thermal Spring Water Spray.  It seems daft to buy water in a can, I know - but it's a complete lifesaver now that I'm at uni and want something to freshen up my dull, tired skin in the mornings.  It's so soothing and cooling - and considering a travel size can lasted the entire summer this full size is going to last for ages!
Something else that I'm only about half way through, but totally swear by now so didn't want to run out of is the Caudelie Beauty Elixir.  I use 2-3 spritzes of this as a toner in the morning, and over the last couple of months I've seen a massive effect on the visibility of my pores and oil production throughout the day.  Pricey, but just about manageable with a couple of pounds off in the sale.  Finally, I spotted the La Roche-Posay Effaclar AI which is for targeting specific sites prone to breakouts.  My skin is looking pretty alright at the moment, apart from one particular area on my cheek which just won't clear up!  I thought that I'd give this a go, as it's not a really astringent product that'll dry out/blister the skin when applying to a larger area.  Fingers crossed it does the trick!

xxx

Bits and pieces: Stocking up for uni

The little heap that's forming in the spare room...

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been stocking up on 'beauty bits' ready to leave for uni.  Almost all of these were repurchases, so I thought I'd share them with you (as they must be pretty good to be worth having a backup of!)


Neutrogena 2-in-1 Visibly Clear Wash Mask £2.33, Tesco

This is (and has been all through the summer months) my go-to face wash.  A little too stripping perhaps to use as a mask, but works a treat at getting the skin squeaky clean.  (Full review in my morning skincare post here.)


Soap and Glory 'Peaches and Clean' £8, Boots

I love to use this to take off my face makeup in the evenings, as its gentle and creamy and doesn't make my eyes sting if I accidentally splodge some in them.  The scent is amazing - like minty peaches - and I feel that the fruit extracts help with gently controlling oil and tightening up my pores.  Soap and Glory skincare is also buy one get one half price in Boots at the moment, hence the two products featuring here!


Soap and Glory 'Scrubatomic' £9, Boots

One of my first blog posts was a review of this product, and I still love it just as much!  Doesn't irritate my sensitive skin, and my skin just seems to glow when I wake up the morning after having used this.
(Original review here.)


Boots Essentials Nail Polish Remover £1

Cheap and cheerful.  Not acetone free, but does the job.  The main reason this was a repurchase was that the scent doesn't give me a thumping headache - but I do need to take care to use plenty of almond oil on my nails to stop them drying out after using this.


Oral-B 3D Luxe White 'Healthy Shine' £1.99, Boots

Seriously impressed by this stuff - it has the same effect over time as using the Crest Whitening Strips (which are a pain in the butt to source in the UK) - and it doesn't leave your teeth super sensitive.  I do tend to interchange this with an enamel protect toothpaste though, as I feel that I don't want to be bleaching them constantly.


Cuticura Hand Sanitiser £1.50, Tesco

I always carry a little bottle of this around in my handbag, and since I am moving into a probably-not-very-clean uni room I thought this would come in extremely useful.  It has a pleasant fresh scent (described as cucumber), and is completely clear and residue free.


No7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin £12.50, Boots

I've already chatted about this aswell in the aforementioned morning skincare post.  It's creamy, but not at all heavy on my combination skin and is also great value for money when you use a No 7 voucher.  I'd previously been using the Nick Lowe equivalent, and feel this is much better.


Dr Nick Lowe Anti-Blemish Spot Gel £11, Feel Unique

The tube I have of this is nearly finished and quite old.  I always tend to have one or two blemishes (or healing scars) so have to rotate my treatment routine so the bacteria don't become resistant.  Therefore, when I saw Feel Unique had a sale a few weeks back I popped this in my basket as it did the trick nicely when I used it a while back.  A great cheap alternative to this is the Bonjela that contains Salicylic Acid, as something to cover up sore spots overnight.  During the day though, this is much better as it stays put and doesn't peel off but still prevents reinfection.


Invisibobble Hair Ties £3.75, Boots

These hair bobbles are like magic!  I always use them when I want to put my hair up in a bun as they're near invisible (as the name suggests) and they help you create the perfect bun without pins.  There's an entire post dedicated to them here.


Benefit They're Real Mascara Mini £9.99, Boots

Since my Clinique mascara is on it's last legs, it was high time I found a replacement.  To be honest, unless it's reasonably priced, I'm loathed to buy any full sized mascaras as they always seem to dry out/get clumpy around the two-to-three month mark.  Therefore, when I spotted this mini 'They're Real' I couldn't resist as I've wanted to try it for ages!  I also loved their 'Bad Gal Lash' formula back when I was in secondary school, so I'm really looking forward to testing this out.  I could't find a link anywhere for this online, other than for multipacks with other mini products.  However, they have it in abundance on the shelves of my local Boots, for just under a tenner.


And there we go, that's the lot!  I'm pretty sure I'll remember a few more things come next week, so stay tuned for another post along the same lines :)

xxx

My morning skincare routine...

Ever since I can remember, my skin has been fairly up and down.  Over the past few months though, I think I've managed to develop a decent skincare routine that isn't too harsh but still balances my skin out.  My skin is fairly oily around the T-zone, but normal on my cheeks with intermittent dry patches (weird right?!)  I'm also fairly blemish prone, but with the products I'm now using I feel that most ones that crop up now are hormonal - as opposed to bacterial.  I used to use quite astringent products to deal with blemishes, that would often cause more damage than help (looking at you TCP!) but have found that a gentler skincare routine has really helped with healing time and prevention.  Today, I'm just going to talk about the products I use in my morning skincare (if I covered them all in one go this would be one monster post!)

My current cleanser is the Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2-in-1 Wash Mask.  I'll use a pea sized amount for my entire face, and wash it off with a face cloth.  You can also use it as a clay mask, but unless your skin is super oily it leaves your skin completely dried out!  It's been great during these warmer months as it leaves my face squeaky clean, especially is it's been a sticky humid night.

You get 150ml in the tube, it's excellent value for money.
Plus the packaging is light and sturdy, great for travelling.

I'll then tone my face with a spritz of the Caudelie Beauty Elixir - which is one of those products that I've had my eye on but was too eye-wateringly expensive to justify purchasing.  However, I spotted it in the Feel Unique sale for about thirty percent off and couldn't resist.  It does what it says on the tin, leaving my skin super soft and fresh feeling all day.  Also, can I just talk about the scent?!  Minty, fruity - the perfect perk-me-up.

Dreading the day this runs out - goodbye student loan!

Next, I'll moisturise with the No 7 Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin.  I previously used the Nick Lowe equivalent, but as it was getting near impossible to source I thought I'd give this offering from No 7 a go.  The cream is smooth and nourishing - without feeling greasy - and at £7.50 when using a voucher it's a bargain!  The SPF 15 has also been great for brighter days, as I tend to forget facial sunscreen on a day-to-day basis.

Considering you get 50ml in the tub, it's a bit over-packaged -
but the pot isn't too heavy and is airtight.  The product also smells
 like sunscreen, but really nice sunscreen if you get what I mean!

Over any blemish-prone areas I'll then smooth in a little of the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo.  This feels very light and soothing on the skin, and is supposed to prevent spots and promote healing.  I do feel it has helped with both of these, possibly because it creates a bit of a barrier between skin and makeup so there's less likelihood of pore clogging?  Also, does anyone else think the scent is amazing?!  Then on any particularly dry patches I'll apply a little of their Cicaplast Baume B5, which I've found works a treat on helping makeup glide over.  The antiseptic properties mean its also great on healing drier blemishes - I'll leave a little on overnight and it calms any inflammation right down.

This tube has lasted me a good few months, and there's still a decent
amount left.  I also like that its in a tube - when you use very little of a product you don't want to be dipping your fingers into a tub each time!

Apologies about the state of this one! It lives in my handbag ninety percent
 of the time, just in case a bit of dry or sore skin rears its head while I'm out for
 the day so had gotten a rather battered! It's also lanolin free - unlike Eight Hour
Cream.  It's cheaper and smells great too, so I'd urge you to try it out if you're
 looking for an alternative.

Finally, I dab on a bit of the Boots Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream.  This is non greasy, doesn't irritate the sensitive skin beneath my eyes and leaves a great base for concealer.  Nothing much else to say!

Super duper cheap, has SPF 15 and lasts ages.
(Okay, yes there was more to say haha!)

The links:
Neutrogena's Visibly Clear 2-in-1 Wash Mask is £3.50 at Tesco.
Caudelie's Beauty Elixir is £10.35 at Feel Unique.
No 7's Beautiful Skin Day Cream for Normal/Oily Skin is £12.50 (£7.50 w. voucher) at Boots.
La Roche-Posay's Effaclar Duo is £13.15 at Escentual.
La Roche-Posay's Cicaplast Baume B5 (40ml) is £5.50 at Escentual
Boots' Vitamin E Gentle Eye Cream is £2.54 here.


Also quick side note - I'd already written this post up once today and then whilst adding the pictures managed to lose it all to auto-save :'( I couldn't remember it word for word, but I hope I've managed to get the original gist of it!  Any ideas for the best way of backing up posts would be much appreciated!

xxx

Scrubalicious: Scrubatiomic review

I'm obsessed with peaches.  There.  I've said it.
Last summer, all I was munching on were the white flesh ones from Marks and Spencer.  So sweet, but not too sweet.  I was in love...

Anyway, during the winter I was looking for a new cleanser and ended up picking up Soap and Glory's 'Peaches and Clean'.  That was true love, and soon enough I'd also picked up their 'Scrubatomic'.  This also has the same fresh peach scent, so I was bound to like it.

I'm about halfway through after 3 months of use.
Also, I love that the packaging is clinical yet still
girly like the rest of the Soap and Glory range.

The scrub has tiny little exfoliating beads in it (as most do), but unlike others it also has fruit extracts in it.  I've found that this means I don't need to apply a toner after using it, as my face is left feeling super fresh and slightly tight afterwards (almost as it it is acting as a chemical exfoliant too!)

It has a very whipped, creamy texture with little pink micro beads.
(Also my hand isn't sunburned, it's just the lighting!)

As my skin is pretty sensitive, I only use it every other day in the evening.  I really do notice a difference if I skip it out however, my skin gets a little rougher and makeup goes on less smoothly.  I've also found that it helps with bacterial blemishes - instead of chucking harsh chemicals (like TCP) at already sore patches, gentle removal of the dead skin cells helps a lot more with healing times and prevention.

You can get it here from Boots, currently 1/3 off and priced at £6