back to basics: skincare must-haves

Normally one of the few things I feel really good about is my skin. I very rarely get spots and my skin is usually very normal and is generally very well behaved. I occasionally get some drier patches in certain areas such as around my nose and my eyebrows but they're nothing a little exfoliator and a good moisturiser can't fix. However over the last week or so my skin has gone crazy! I'm beginning to think that perhaps I've had a reaction to something as I also have a few spots on my neck which is unheard of for me. Due to this, I've really tried to keep my skincare as simple as possible and just use some really gentle products that I know and trust.

No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser - A while ago now, even before I started my blog, I tried the much loved Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and had the worst allergic reaction imaginable - my skin looked like it was covered in boils. I used it for about a month in total, but this was definitely not a "purging" stage as some people have suggested to me as it was so itchy and uncomfortable and very much unlike normal spots. However, I did really like the whole concept of using a muslin cloth with my cleanser so even after stopping using the C&P I continued to use muslin cloths in my skincare routine. I love the gentle exfoliation of them and how bright and radiant they can make your skin appear. They just generally make your cleansers work a lot harder - simple but brilliant!

Last time Boots did their £5 off No7 vouchers I decided to try the No7 Hot Cloth Cleanser and I definitely prefer it (surely anything is better than a rash all over your face haha). I personally just find it to be so much gentler on the skin. As this is the most gentle cleanser I own it's something that I really trust to clean my skin without aggravating it even more with strong fragrances or exfoliating bits and bobs.

The No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser is £10 and available from Boots or online here.

Sudocrem Antiseptic Healing Cream - Whoever created Sudocrem is my hero at the moment! For me this is the best thing to speedily get rid of spots. I just dab some on any spots before bed and it just dries them up and shrinks them nicely without making them all horrible and flaky. I've tried quite a few spot removing gels and this does the job better than all of them. It's also such a good cream to have lying around as it can also be used on other things such as sunburn, sores and... um... nappy rash.

It's so effective as the main ingredient is Zinc Oxide which has antibacterial properties and can help create a barrier between your skin and the air. If you haven't tried this for treating spots then I really do suggest giving it a go as unlike some more acidic treatments it won't aggravate them and make the area any sorer or redder.

Sudocrem is available everywhere (pharmacies, supermarkets etc) but is £2.69 for a 125g pot from Boots or online here. This will last you forever as you only need such a tiny amount because it's so thick. I've had mine for about a year and I still have about 80% left!

Boots Simply Sensitive Protecting Day Moisturiser - This is the day moisturiser I use for when my skin is playing up. As the name suggests it's so gentle and not too thick so makes a great base for make up. It also contains SPF15 so is fab for protecting your skin too, as well as aloe vera to sooth it. As it's fragrance and colour free, it won't irritate your skin any more. I can't really say enough good things about this moisturiser! It's basic but just what my skin needs when it's unhappy! It's so cheap too.

Boots Simply Sensitive Protecting Day Moisturiser is £2.79 from Boots or online here and is currently on a 3 for 2 offer.

E45 Moisturising Lotion - Night time is when your skin does most of it's healing so I like to use a really good moisturiser at night to help it rehydrate and repair. At the moment I'm going as simple as it gets with moisturiser and using the E45 Moisturising Lotion in place of my usual night cream. Again, it's perfume free and hypoallergenic so is very gentle on the skin. Also, although it's very moisturising it doesn't leave your skin feeling greasy at all. The only reason that I don't use it in the day is that it takes a little longer than the Boots moisturiser to entirely sink in so it isn't so good for under make up.

E45 Moisturising Lotion is £5.99 from Superdrug or online here. This price is for 500ml though whereas my bottle is 250ml so the smaller bottle is probably cheaper!

I hope this helps any of you who are also suffering with your skin at the moment. After all, it is exam period which often means stress, chocolate and late nights = spots!

The only other advice I can give is drink as much water as possible and have as many make up free days as you can. There's no point clogging up your pores even more with layers of thick foundation as that will just cover the problem rather than treat it!

What's your back to basic skincare secret?

xx

five empties #2

I'm really getting in to this whole 'empties' thing - is it only me that finds it satisfying to use things up? You can read my first empties post here but as I've recently finished some more products I'd thought I might as well do another one.

Boots Botanics Skin Brightening Toner

This is my usual go-to toner and I love it! It leaves my skin feeling so clean without that stripped and tight feeling and as is keeps excess oil at bay (not that I have particularly oily skin) it helps the skin stay spot free. At the moment I have another toner to use up but I'll definitely purchase this again.

The Botanics Skin Brightening Toner is £4.07 from Boots or online here and is currently on a 3 for 2 offer.

Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect Conditioner

As with the toner, this is a product I revisit time and time again because it's so good. My hair is naturally quite dry but when I use this conditioner it feels so healthy and I very rarely get split ends. I also use the same shampoo from the range to really feel the full effects. I've actually still got a bottle of this to use up but when I run out of that I'll have to get another as it's the best I've tried for my naughty dry hair.

Pantene Pro-V Repair and Protect Conditioner is £4.69 from Boots or online here.

Boots Essentials Hand Cream: Intensive for Dry Skin

I really didn't expect much of this product when I first bought it but for £1.35 I can't fault it! It might not have fancy packaging or a gorgeous smell but it really does keep your hands moisturised and as it's so cheap and therefore not something I'd mind losing it's great just to throw in your bag when you're out and about. I've actually been through quite a few tubes now but after using up some more hand cream I would more than likely purchase it again.

The Boots Essentials Hand Cream for Dry Skin is £1.35 from Boots or online here and is currently on a 3 for 2 offer.

Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Nose Pore Strips

Um, can you tell I tend to shop in Boots by any chance? I'm not going to say too much about these as I've done a full review (which you can see here) but I really don't think that these do anything. For £4.99 I definitely won't be getting them again.

The Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Nose Pore Strips are £4.99 from Boots or online here and are currently on a 3 for 2 offer - not that I recommend getting them!

Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish (sample)

Yes, I know that this featured in my last empties post but I had another little sample to use up! I can't wait to be able to get this again as I just love how refined (to steal Benefit's word) and fresh it makes my skin feel.

The Benefit Refined Finish Facial Polish is £17.50 and can be bought from Benefit counters or online here.

I'm liking these posts - I'm going to try and use up some more things, it's addictive haha!

Have you tried any of these products?

xx

frontcover to go palette

It was very hard to take a picture of as it's so shiny!

Left to right: Pale Gold, Black Spark, Powder Puff, Wisteria

I picked this little convertible palette up from the Carnaby Street Boots yesterday as both the eyeshadows and the palette were on a crazy deal... how could I say no?! The palette itself was reduced by 75% to £1.25 and then each eyeshadow was reduced by 75% too making them £1.00. Therefore four eyeshadows and a palette cost me only £5.25 - fab!

There wasn't a huge selection left of  the eyeshadows as they're obviously just trying to sell them off now but thankfully there were lots left of the more neutral colours which I was very happy about. Also as you may have guessed by now I prefer to wear more shimmery eyeshadows, which was perfect for me as there didn't seem to be much of a selection of mattes. Here are the ones which I chose -

I picked (from left to right): Pale Gold, Black Spark, Powder Puff and Wisteria

These are all such beautiful colours and the eyeshadows themselves are so pigmented. I really can see myself getting a lot of use out of them. Pale Gold and Powder Puff are the kind of colours I wear most days on my eyes with a little lick of mascara and I can see the shimmery navy of Black Spark being fab to liven up a smoky eye for a night out. However, Wisteria is the eyeshadow which I'm most excited about. In some lights it looks silver and in others more purple toned. I can't think of another eyeshadow I have which is quite like it so I can't wait to use it!

After looking on the Frontcover website here, I'm a bit disappointed that there wasn't a few more shades available so that I could maybe have filled two palettes. Burnt Toast, Twinkling Grape, Moonstruck and Cloud Dance look especially pretty!

I just had a look on the Boots website and they do have the palettes and some eyeshadows left on there but not a huge selection. Also have a look in your local shop as for the price and the quality of the products, I really do recommend snapping them up if you get a chance!

Have you tried any Frontcover items?

xx

boots tea tree and witch hazel nose pore strips

I bought the Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Nose Pore Strips quite a few months ago now and I have used three of the six in the box, so I thought perhaps now would be the right time for a review.

When you take the strips out of the box, they come in another sachet to prevent bacteria getting to them. As you can see, inside these sachets are strips of felt like material with a sticky side, which is protected by a sheet of plastic. After wetting your nose, you apply the sticky side of the strip to your nose and leave on for about fifteen minutes, and in this time the strip will dry and tighten to your nose. While they are comfortable to wear, you do feel a slight tug when removing the strip, but this feels a little like taking a plaster off rather than being painful. So that's how you use them - but do they actually do anything?

Boots claims that these nose strips will instantly remove dirt and oil, help to remove blackheads and tighten pores and prevent future breakouts. I don't suffer from spots particularly, but I do have a couple of blackheads on my nose. I also have quite large pores on and around my nose, so anything which reduces the size of those appeals to me!

When you remove the strip, on close inspection you can see evidence of a few blackheads being removed (disgusting I know, hence why there is no after picture of the strip haha), but I don't really see any difference in terms of blackheads on my nose. However, the one positive of these strips is that I would say my pores do look a little smaller after use. The only thing is that my largest pores are actually around rather than on my nose so the strips obviously make no difference to those!

I personally don't think that these strips have made much of an impact on my skin at all and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone looking to remove great numbers of blackheads as I don't really think they do that much. I couldn't remember how much they were so I just had a look on the Boots website - £4.99 (so just over 80p a strip)! Definitely not worth even giving them a go!

xx

boots botanics conditioning clay mask

Ah! I've just finished using this product for the third time and I love it so much that I have to tell you about it! I picked the Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask up as part of a 3 for 2 skincare deal probably a month ago now. There was only actually two products I wanted so I grabbed this as it was cheap so it would be free. I wasn't really expecting much so I've been really surprised by its results!

The Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay masks contains burdock which 'purifies and clarifies' and clay to 'draw out impurities'. It claims to have 'a negative electrical charge to attract deep-rooted impurities from the skin without over drying'. Now, I don't know the science behind these things so I can't say if this is true or not, but all I know is that it works! After using this face mask my skin instantly looks so bright, fresh and clean, but at the same time doesn't feel tight and dry. I've also noticed that I've had less spots over the last few weeks and I definitely think this is something to do with it!

I take my make up off with eye make up remover and a face wipe, and then use a gentle cleanser (such as the No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser) just to make sure my face is completely clean. You have to shake it before you apply the mask to ensure that it's all an even consistency due to the clay. It's quite runny which makes it a bit difficult to apply without getting it all over the sink, but I attempt to apply it all over my face, avoiding the eye area, and not down my clothes and the tiles...

The tube instructs to leave it on for ten to twenty minutes and I leave it on for about fifteen. The mask does dry which makes your face feel all tight and funny (so I sit there stretching my face in to lots of different positions and try and make it crack...) The one negative of this mask is the removal process. You rinse it off with warm water, but again this paints your sink green. After a lot of splashing and rinsing, I use my cleanser again just to make sure all the mask is off.

I've been using this once a week and I can see myself repurchasing this over and over again. I love how bright and healthy it makes my skin look! I've used it three times now and I the tube is still really full. The Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask is only £2.49 so I really do urge you all to give it a try!

(I've said it before but just in case anyone was wondering - my skin is normal to combination but although I do get a little bit oily in places, my dry areas can be more of a problem)

xx