From Sample to Love Affair! Skinetica Anti-Blemish Solution

     Recently I’ve tried something else that I just have to share with you. Whilst I’ve never struggled with anything like acne or any major blemishing, I do, as most people, experience breakouts at various times in year. During the winter I feel like I’m constantly eating left over chocolate from Christmas and changing up my skincare routine to accommodate the ever changing weather. Together these cause my skin to just malfunction on every level. When I was having some trouble with a particularly nasty blemish on my shoulder (it can be used on your face and body) my sister gave me a sample of Skinetica Anti-Blemish Solution. The product claims to have dramatic results within three days and it’s no word of a lie.

     I was so impressed I went onto their site and ordered a sample for myself, having had this for only a day I am desperate to order a full size bottle.

      So here it is: The actual product consistency is like water. Apply it to a cotton wool pad and sweep over the face like a toner if dealing with large areas, for individual spots do the same but only apply to those blemishes. It’s gentle so don’t worry about all over face coverage. Allow the product to air dry. Once dry the solution is active for twelve hours. I apply it in the morning and before I go to bed. The product must be applied to clean, dry skin before any moisturisers or makeup but can be worn beneath both of these as it doesn’t leave a residue on the skin. I have noticed no reactions between the product and my makeup.

      What I’m trying to say is that this is very fuss free but works brilliantly. I noticed a drastic reduction in the size of spots and also the redness surrounding them.

       The only thing I don’t like about this is the smell. Don’t worry it’s very faint and will not linger once applied to the skin. The smell is a little like… if you dissolved a lot of sugar in water. A kind of sweet and a little sickly. But again, nothing I can’t handle for the fast acting miracle in a bottle.

      If you’re living in the UK free samples are available and a full size bottle (100ml) will only set you back £9.99 with postage included. Postage will be added to all orders outside of the UK.

       As this is a new company this is their only product but I really hope they will expand into other skincare products in years to come as, you can probably tell, I’m in love with it.

Is Liz Earle getting a run for her money?

Look familiar?

For Christmas this year I begged and begged for the Soap & Glory FabPore Hot Cloth Cleanser. The reason I set my sight on this is because it came as part of a Christmas set from Soap & Glory along with Bright Here Bright Now, their illuminating moisturiser that has become a huge favourite of mine over the last few weeks.

No we all know about the infamous Cleanse & Polish from Liz Earle but I want to have a little talk about whether she might be getting a little run for her money. Be prepared for ingredient comparisons, value for money, product size, actual usage results and a general ramble on the other hot cloth cleansers out there.


Soap & Glory FabPore.

• FabPore comes in a 4.6 stars average rating on the Soap & Glory website. 
• RRP of £10 makes this an affordable little addition to your skincare routine. 
• A little goes a very long way, which is good at 100ml per tube.
• Packaging is very pretty but of average quality. 
• Cloth included. 
• Ingredients: (The Good Stuff) Panthenol, Natural Sweet Almond, Orange and Lavender essential oils.

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.

• List as long as my arm in beauty awards. 
• RRP of £14.25 for 100ml.
• A pump! That may sound like a sill advantage but it just makes life easier.
• Solid packaging but no different to your average plastic can.
• Cloth is very good quality. 
• Ingredients: (The Good Stuff) Beeswax, Eucalyptus, Glycerin, Hops Extract, D-Panthenol, Cocoa Butter, Rosemary Oil, Chamomile.

(Ignore the following white box, apparently Blogger and Microsoft Word aren't compatible. Who knew!)

For me Liz Earle is a bit of a miracle but there’s always a little bit of a Earle bandwagon to be jumped on. Now I’m alright with a leap of faith but let’s face it, we’re talking about whether £4.25 extra is worth it.  Value for money is always important to me but what is £4.25. It’s a meal deal at boots, or perhaps it’s a new pair of earrings (if you’re savvy enough) I even bought a Mango t-shirt for £4.75  the other day so there’s a lot you can do with 50p and that extra difference.

So it really does, for me, come down to product quality and I’ll admit I’m torn. On the one hand I can spare the extra £5 for a really good quality cleanser  and at the same time I can’t help but think I can put up with a product that does a very good job, maybe doesn’t quite measure up but does save more money in the long run.

So there you have it, a little competition. If Liz Earle is a 10 then Soap and Glory’s a definite 9.

So what do you think? Who’s closing in on the finish line for best cleanser?

Some more hot cloth cleansers hitting the market:

-          Sanctuary Polishing Hot Cloth Cleanser (125ml)

-          Sarah Chapman Skinesis Ultimate Cleanse (100ml)

-          This Works Clean Skin Gentle Cleanser (120ml)

 

Party Pins

Merry Christmas!

Tis the party season and although shaving (whisper it) is often a bit of a taboo subject we've all looked at that dress that's more air than material and thought 'That's beautiful, I wish I had the legs to pull it off." Well the truth is, you do. A good close shave can turn those everyday things you walk around on to your best accessory and below I'm going to share a few tips on how to get perfect party pins.


1: Good Skin.

If you have a good skin care routine for your face, you're makeup is always going to wear better. Well it's the same for your legs. Good, healthy skin is always a good starting point. No, you don't need to start face masking your legs but there are a few things that you can use long term to keep those legs in ship shape condition. The first is moisturiser. Moisturising regularly improved skin by preventing flaking skin, especially around the knees and ankles that can become quite awkward, and often painful when you start taking a razor over it. Make those skin cells last longer and treat them to a body butter. It's a bit of a cliche but if you like results with a good scent to keep you fresh all day then Bodyshop have nailed it.  The next is toning. So you may not have cellulite just yet, but it's okay to take preventative actions, especially if you're lucky and are sporting a Marilyn Munroe figure. (Most just an excuse to insert a picture of the beautiful lady in question.) There are a lot of firming creams and gels out there but Nip + Fab's Cellulite Fix does exactly what it says on the tin. Apparently.

2: The Razor.

A quick tip is to take your time, don't just pick up the ones being thrust in your face by that sales woman who says, 'This is what I use' when you just know she probably doesn't and it's the most expensive blade on the shelf. Below are three examples. I prefer a mid priced razor. Cheap razors like example 1 rust easily, and usually have a single or double, poor quality blade that cuts you to ribbons. Expensive razors, the Venus Breeze (Example 3) springs to mind, are so overloaded with shave gel bars and other oddities that we don't really need prevent the blades from even getting near the skin. They claim that it's a comfortable shave, and that it may be, but you're still be left with stubble later. Example 2 however won't cost the earth but has the lovely handle, like a Venus, but with three blades that will actually do the job.

3: Scrub.

Skin cells are renewing all the time and it's likely that there are always dead skin cells just waiting to flake off. Gross, I know. However a body scrub, and this doesn't have to be anything special - although I am loving the Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliator - will leave your skin smooth and prepare for that ultra close shave. Here's the science. Imagine your skin as many layers with hair follicles buried deep below the layers. You shave away any hair above the top layer of skin, but then when you exfoliate and remove that top layer, there's just going to be a layer of stubble left. Moral of the story, always exfoliate your skin before you shave.

4: Tan.
The colour of our skin can often vary over our entire body. Our legs can often differ from our arms, or our neck and if you've found that having your legs covered during the winter months has led to a bit of a pale hue that doesn't quite match up, then you may be reaching for the fake tan bottle. However, an easier way to give legs a non-streaky radiance boost in gradually tanning lotions. These can be found in many different brands with varying degrees of sparkle to give legs that Jennifer Lopez glow, especially under party lights. However, if you are going for an all over fake take then don't forget to moisturise! Without moisturiser your skin will produce excess oils, which oxidises with fake tan and help create that not-so-delicious biscuity smell.


And there you go, four simple tips to getting party pins ready for the festive season. By the way, all of the above work much better with a bubble bath along side.

Happy Holidays.

Banishing Blackheads

Hello beauty addicts!


Disclaimers: All opinions are my own, I have no agreements with any of the brands mentioned below.


So let's start with the science bit:

Blackheads, known medically as a 'open comedo' is a plug within the pores that can appear black on the surface of the skin. Contrary to popular belief blackheads are not caused by the build up of dirt but of oil buildup within the pores. Over time this excess oil oxidises which causes it to darken due to it's melanin content. Whilst a blackhead's content may be of a dark yellow or brown colour the substance reflects light in a way that causes then to appear black.

For these reasons all of that constant scrubbing we do only encourages the skin to produce more oil as it becomes aggravated. A good large grained scrub should be used no more that three times a week to clear away dead skin. I like any of the scrubs by St Ives.

So what can we do to 'fight' blackheads? I want to say that if you are a fan of nose strips etc then don't worry, you can still use them but be aware that they maybe pull away excess dirt, but they cannot get to the root cause of blackheads.

Every skin care routine for banishing blackheads should include, on a basic level that is, a cleanser, a small grained scrub, a toner, a moisturiser and a face mask.Think of it as a five step routine.





Cleansers: Cleansers can be bought as a cream wash or lotion however as oily to combination skin is more blackhead prone that's what I'll be working with. Cleansers are designed specifically to clear the skin of excess oil, make up, dirt and anything else that makes it's way onto our skin during to day. I use the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil-Free Cleansing Facewash to combat oil and leave my skin visibly clean.




Scrub: Micro bead scrubs are basically scrubs that have really small grains. Whilst you may not feel like they're really scrubbing the skin you have to remember that you're targeting the pores not the skin surface! Pores are small, therefore by logic, the grains need to be small too. The smaller grains also will encourage blood circulation without causing redness on the skin. Cream scrubs are great for balancing out the moisture loss due to the facewash used before and this combined with the gentleness of the micro beads won't encourage the skin to produce excess oil. For the beginning of the process I prefer to use compatible products, meaning products within the same range which are formulated to work together. It's not all a con when shampoo's tell you to follow up with their conditioner! For which reason I'm in love with the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Blackhead Eliminating Daily Scrub.

Toner: Now that the pores or are clean they need to be tightened so that moisturisers, make up and the like don't just go ahead and clog them up again. This step will also make the pores practically  invisible to the naked eye. Toner's are great for giving the skin a wake me up too but choosing a toner formulated for your skin type is important. For big blackhead sufferers anything with tea tree oil will soon clear up excess oils and bacteria that can turn blackheads into breakouts. I cannot stress how important it is to invest in toners regardless of price as they do really tend to be 'get what you pay for' products. For oily or combination skin I recommend the Lush Tea Tree Water. This spritz spray can be applied strait to the skin as a reviving mist or applied with a cotton bad for deep cleaning.


 Moisturiser: Moisturiser is a vital step in protecting your skin for the future. Personally I would always recommend a water based moisturiser as this will absorb into the skin better but it is, of course, personal choice. Any water based moisturiser will have 'aqua' within the first three ingredients on the list as ingredients are listed in order of the ratio within the product. I use Re-gen Cream which you can buy for just £3.99 at any Home Bargains store. This stuff is a facial miracle, containing active ingredients found in scarring lotions to aid skin regeneration. The cream is gentle and gets rid of those pesky spot scars faster that you can say... well, Re-gen!

Face Mask: The final step for an intense skin treatment should be done once a week. Face masks again are skin type specific. For dry skin a moisturising or exfoliating mask is in order. Oily skin will benefit from a peel mask or mud mask. Or, if you're combating blackhead, you could go for a mask that does all of those things. Now this is the only product that I will actively say go and buy as it's perfect for all skin types, affordable and doesn't half do the job. Miracle in a tub, the Soap & Glory Fab Pore Facial Peel. This product doesn't actually peel so I don't really get the name but either way, it's amazing.


So there you go, five steps to perfect skin.

Bye Addicts!