Skin Routine

Sooo kiddos. I thought I would do you a little post a bout my skin-care routine. I was talking about it on Twitter and wondered if anybody was interested, and a few people were... and here we are.

L-R:

Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Makeup Remover

Shu Uemura Skin Purifier

The Body Shop Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash

Decleor Paris Tonifying Lotion

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub

One:

Make sure all your makeup is removed. I use a liquid eye makeup remover, and then a face-cleanser. I like this Shu Uemura one, but I'm probably not going to repurchase. Both this and the Boots Botanic are oil-based cleansers, and as a chick who likes a shit-ton of eyeliner and is a fan of bright, staining lipstick.. these are godsends, literally. Matte red lipstick stains like hell, and this gets it off. If you're feeling lazy and can't be bothered, cheat and use a makeup wipe and THEN use a cleanser like the Body Shop one (i'll get onto that in a second). Generally I don't use both the Shu Uemura and the Body Shop, as this dries my skin out. To remove eye makeup, dampen a cotton pad with your remover, hold on eye makeup for ten-twenty seconds, then sweep off, removing makeup and mascara.

Two:

Cleanse, cleanse, cleanse. This seaweed one from the Body Shop is inexpensive and great quality. Even if you think you've got rid of all your makeup - you probably haven't. It'll be lurking. If you want to use a deep-pore one, those are great, you can kind of tell when they're working well as you feel really clean and your skin is nice and smooth, but not dried out. This will get rid of any traces of dirt or oil, and everyday yuck like that. If you remove your makeup properly and cleanse every single day, you're much less likely to get spots or blemishes.

Three:

Exfoliation. Some people say this isn't necessary, but I think it's important to do it every so often. If you have sensitive skin, do it twice a week, or something. I find it just helps remove any dead or dry skin, and keeps my skin feeling fresh and smooth. My skin always looks brighter and healthier, and more glowy. Don't use a scrub that's too harsh, or you're scratch and hurt your skin. I've just upgraded from a veryyyyyy gentle one (with barely any exfoliator in it) to this Neutrogena, and I feel like it's on the border of being a bit too harsh, but I'll see how it goes.

Four:

Tonerr. This step definitely isn't completely necessary. Some think they're awesome, others claim that some are too harsh and can remove your nail-varnish (ahem, Clinique..). A good toner tightens your pores and gets rid of anything left on your skin. If you feel like your cleanser does this, leave it out. Genuinely, I have had this bottle for ages now, and only bust it out when my skin is in real need of rescue, but I do recommend Decleor for face-essentials. They're a pricey brand but they're a good name with good products, in my opinion. This is a very nice, gentle product that doesn't hurt or sting, and has a really lovely, fresh smell. Investigate and try out your toners, if possible, and read many opinions before settling on one for yourself. If it stings or feels too harsh, stop using it. To apply, just sweep all over your face with a cotton ball (these seem to work better than with pads, I'm not really sure why).

Five:

Moisture. I haven't included a picture, because I need to buy a new one, but my ultimate favourite is Clinique's Dramtically Different Moisturising Gel (such a mouthful). They do two, a lotion and a gel, the gel is infiniteeely better, imho. It sinks into your skin immediately, leaving wonderful, soft, soft, soft skin. This makes sure any moisture you've removed from your skin by cleansing and exfoliating and scrubbing is put back in, ensuring you don't get dry skin! Simple.

Was this helpful? Do you have any questions..? What is your skin routine..? Let me know! (:

Summer Essentials!

I did think about making a video talking about this, but decided that I would just do a post, because I explain myself more succinctly in writing. I thought this might come in handy for those hot summer days that we've actually been having here in the UK! Unfortunately they seem to fall on days when I'm at work, so this is some of the stuff I stash in my bag, haha.


Suncream
This is an obvious one, really. Suncream. I recommend getting a little bottle to throw in your handbag, because you never know when you'll get caught out in the sun (for example, whilst waiting for an iPhone4.. haha). Gemma just did a great post about anti-aging products and the gimmicks. Really, your number one best bet to help prevent aging on the face is to use suncream. Mix it in with your foundation, get a foundation with high SPF, just try and use it on your face as much as possible!


Facial Wash
This is also a bit of a no-brainer. In the summer, you sweat more, and if you wear makeup when you're all sweaty.. you're just going to end up with messy skin, so I realllly recommend a good cleanser. The Shu Uemura one here is pretty pricey - but it gets off foundation like a treat. I also think something cooling and refreshing such as The Body Shop's Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash, of which you find a review here. I came home from a sweaty 12-5PM shift this afternoon, and the first thing I did was scrub it all over my face and neck and it felt wonderful.


Exfoliators of all kinds!
No-one likes to have icky, dry, flaking skin during the summer.. and you're all the more likely to get it if you're getting a bit of sun. The Body Shop's Raspberry Scrub is a great all-over product, but I use this on my shoulders and my feet in particular, as it's a really good intense scrub - and all the Body Shop scrubs are good for this. I have waxed lyrical about how much I love Lush's Bubblegum Lip Scrub: if I am exposed to any weather that isn't your bog-standard English rain, my lips go to pieces. Sun or snow, my lips get dry and flaky, and this is a great helping. Finally we have the only face-exfoliator I really use. I don't really need a good one for my face as I don't get too dry, and this one is really gentle. I've had it for a while and can't remember where I bought it from, but I saw it in Vogue magazine, and bought it.


Body Moisturisers
I should've mentioned this above, but summer really is the season of tanning - you're going to want to watch out for those dry spots by exfoliating and moisturising like crazy - especially if you're a fake tanner! This Soap & Glory all-over moisturising "mist" is great. It smells fantastic and I spray liberally all over after I've showered. You don't really need to rub it in, it just sinks in on it's own. The mini-body-butter is great for popping in your handbag and all of those Body Shop butters are great for intensive moisturising. Apply to shoulders, elbows, feet and legs after exfoliating! (:


Hair Conditioners
I have a lot of hair. I have a lot of thick hair. I have a lot of thick, long hair. I also have a habit of washing my hair and then letting the sun dry it - mainly because I end up looking like Mufasa if I attempt it any other way - which makes it frizz something awful. In the summer my ends get all dry and my hair gets weaker. Conditioner's like this are ah-maz-ing. I swear by Miracle Moist - the only thing that doesn't give me intense breakage, and I love the leave-in conditioner: I just spray it all through my hair when I've got out the shower and it helps heaps.


Dry Shampoo
This is literally just a god-send, whatever the weather, but I seem to use it more in the summer, for whatever reason. Great for when it's too hot to do anything but you want to look respectable! I much prefer the Tropical scent - the rest seem a bit hospital-ish for my liking - but the mini Batiste I bought after a day out in London and needed to spruce my hair up before going for drinks and hasn't really left my bag since. Since I bought these they've realeased a brunette one, which I want to try.


Sunnies!
Your eyes are just as important as you skin, so make sure you protect those babies.

And that's all for now! There will be a Summer Essential's post for makeup coming up shortly, so make sure you don't miss that. I hope you like these kind of posts, let me know, I'd love to hear your input!

The Body Shop: Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash Review

You may have seen in my Body Shop Haul post that I recently purchased the Seaweed Deep Cleansing Face Wash.
And well, I've been using it for about a week now.. and I am totally in love.


Seaweed Deep Cleansing Facial Wash, £6.50 for 100ml
Previously, I had been using the Clinique three-step program, and had been in two minds about it for some time. I loved the Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel, but the Toner terrified my skin, haha, it reeks of alcohol and makes my eyes water - and smells exactly like nail-varnish remover! I used up one bottle but told myself I'd never buy it again, and I haven't. The face-wash I was in two minds about, I have combination skin, oily in the t-zone, occasionally dry on the cheeks, and have re-purchased once or twice, because I couldn't find anything else that was mild and suitable. However, whenever I used it, it soaked ALL the moisture out of my skin, and left it way too dry and tight, i definitely wasn't a fan. There was something about the smell that I wasn't a huge fan of, either.

So I began to look for a new one, not long before my Clinique ran out, I was looking for some stuff on The Body Shop's website to make my order up to £15, so I could get free delivery (haha, bad idea, definitely!) and found this lovely.
Like I said, I immediately rushed to use it, and was immediately impressed! It leaves my skin amazingly smooth and refreshed, just dry enough to take away the excess oil, but moisturising enough to get the dry patches on my cheeks. I'm finding it's really balancing out my skintone, too. I found that after using Clinique's face-wash, I would have blotchy, reddish patches on my cheeks, that were very dry, like I'd been exfoliating too hard, or something.. but this doesn't do that.
As for the scent, it's pretty damn great too, smells seaweed-y (duh!) and beachy, it must have a hint of menthol in or something, too, because it makes my skin this lovely tingly feeling, and really wakes you up in the morning! It lathers really well, and gives me the right amount of tightness in my pores, without making me feel like I can't move my face.
Generally I can't say enough good things about this product! I wish it was a little bit cheaper, maybe just £5, as opposed to £6.50

Overall, I can't get enough of this product! I adore it and definitely recommend it!