Skincare of the Week 11.10.15

No blog posts last week because I was unwell last Sunday and I simply couldn't face writing in the slightest.  I still kept up with my skincare routines though, because I do (occasionally) have standards ...  The routine above was a night-time one mid-week, from when I had a congested chin - complete with zit!  I haven't had a zit in a couple of years now!  Stupid hormones - I'll be reviewing the Pixi Skintreats Glow Mud Cleanser in full tomorrow, but I found that a mixture of the Overnight Glow Serum (a gel formula with 15% glycolic acid) on the congested areas and the Nourishing Sleep Mask (which contains lavender and hyaluronic acid) on everywhere else really, really helped.  The zit was only in place for a day or two, which was nice...

Another night-time routine later in the week had me trying these Elizabeth Arden Skin Illuminating Advanced Brightening Night Capsules, and I'm looking forward to using these a couple more times, as the texture of the formula is fabulous, and I was left with lovely velvety smooth skin in the morning.  Hopefully they'll be like that every time!

For more daytime routines, please join me after the jump.

Omorovicza Blue Diamond Eye Cream

  I have trouble with eyecreams, the area around my eyes is probably the most sensitive on my face, and many, many eyecreams sting as a result.  However, even if they don't sting, with most of them, I find little to no effect of using them, so I use them for a week or so then usually completely forget about using them at all.

However, I'm coming to the age now where the lines around my eyes are getting more and more noticeable, and less ignorable. Dehydration lines show up quickly, and leave slowly, and yes, I look a bit older than I used to as a result.  Now, I'm quite lucky in that I don't have particularly dark circles, and I don't have huge eye bags, but the lines themselves are beginning to become an issue for me, and I've definitely reached the point where I can't really ignore eye creams any more.  So I decided not to ignore this one, Blue Diamond Eye Cream, by Omorovicza when it arrived.

What's on my face this week? 27.09.15

I'm coming to the end of my "testing phase" with a few products right now, and to celebrate I'm going to be having a bit of a skincare week on the blog from tomorrow, so look out for some in-depth reviews from then.  In the meantime, here's some pictures of the routines I've been using.  Above is Monday's faceful, I'd dug out some old Aesop faithfuls from the stash, and you'll be seeing quite a bit more of these now we're heading into cooler weather.

Tuesday's face was mainly blue - I brought my Serozinc back out of semi-retirement - and this was a nice routine.

Wednesday brought back Bioderma, no one does these soothing and healing sprays (especially good for skins prone to redness as mine is) like the French skincare brands.

More after the jump.

Skincare of the Week 20.09.15

Or, welcome to another week of what I plaster onto my ugly mug ;)  I'm still trialling Omorovicza Blue Diamond Eye Cream, and Zelens Intense Defence Antioxidant Serum, though I was thwarted a bit in testing this week through circumstances, as we'll see.  This was Monday's face, and I forgot to photograph the moisturiser ... :sigh: I wasn't made for Mondays.

Tuesday arrived, and I thought I'd try my L'Occitane Immortelle Precious Mist in place of my Bioderma Crealine/Serozinc sprays, and I'll be using this  a couple more times before I form a real opinion.  Aside from that, this was a pretty standard routine for me.  Oil cleanse, acid tone, moisture tone, serum, eye cream and moisturise.

On Wednesday, I "shopped my stash",  and brought out some autumn favourites, the Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleansing Oil, and  B & Tea Balancing Toner,  I do like to change my skincare around with the seasons, and as I have combination-oily skin with sensitivity issues, this is a good combo for my skin with my usual favourites around them.

Then on Wednesday evening a MUA in Harvey Nichols burnt my face with a cleansing foam, and I had to go back into crisis-mode ...

Skincare of the Week 13.09.15

Last Sunday was a very stressful day, so I ended up giving myself a mini-facial in the middle of the day.  Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel was soothing with its rosy softness, then I slathered myself in Aveda Intensive Hydrating Mask for the rest of the day.  I love this stuff, oil-free, it is instantly cooling and soothing (I keep mine in the fridge.  That reminds me, I need a bigger fridge), and leaves you plumped up and less red and angry-looking.  As I'm approximately 2/3rds sheer grumpiness, this is a minor miracle, I'm sure you'll agree.

After a stressful Sunday, I needed a treat come Monday morning, and when that happens, I reach for the Zelens:

I've been trialling the Intense Defence serum for a few weeks now, there's a full review of it upcoming, but I like this.  I like this a lot.  If you have tendencies towards sensitivity and redness (as I do), you'll probably like it too.  I paired it with the Z Recovery Intensive Repair Balm, as that is probably my second-favourite Zelens product of all time.  A non-greasy balm (actually more of a rich gel-texture) this nourishes and just makes skin look fab after using.  Any time my skin is a bit stressed, or dried out, or over-stimulated with active products, I reach for this, and my skin is usually much the better for it after one application.

A tiny catastrophe on Tuesday when I couldn't find either my Bioderma Crealine spray OR my beloved La Roche Posay Serozinc, so I had to dig out my Caudalie Grape Water.  I actually like the grape water, but the other two are much better for my rosy-redness, so it wasn't really the end of the world.  I added in the Ren Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Water, as, for some reason, I woke up with mascara smudges.  My waterproof eyemakeup remover has gone walkabout, and I paid the price on Tuesday.

More about this routine (and why it was so special) after the break ...

Omorovicza Refining Facial Polish

  
A few years ago, I fell deeply in love with a cleanser, so deeply in fact, that I hoarded the final few millimetres in the jar for three years, saving it's use for only very, very special occasions.  Recently, I was lucky enough to be reintroduced to the entire Omorovicza range (and that heavenly cleanser) and this product has become a little obsession recently as a result.

A bright emerald green from the algae and the copper in the formula, Refining Facial Polish is both a chemical and physical exfoliant, lava powder provides the physical (grainy) exfoliant, and there is a selection of fruit acids in here too, which provides the chemical exfoliating effect.

To use, you massage (lightly!) over clean, dry skin, taking time to admire how it fades from deep, deep kermit-with-a-suntan green to a pale pistachio as you massage:

You're welcome

Then, once the dark green has completely disappeared and your face is fully covered, you can either leave it as a mask for two minutes (taking selfies at this point is completely optional, I assure you) or simply skip the mask step altogether and rinse off completely and follow with serum and moisturiser as normal.

Once rinsed, your skin will be smooth and soft, and free from any rough patches.  There's a slight tingling sensation on the skin whilst in use, as you will get from most acid-based exfoliants, but it is very slight, and passes as soon as you rinse the product from your skin.  Omorovicza recommend this for all skin-types except the very sensitive, and I'd go along with that.  It hasn't irritated my sensitive skin, but I have spent years accustoming myself to acid peels, so I may not be typical.  I love how velvety soft this polish leaves my skin, and I'm having a hard time rationing myself to using it just once a week.

Omorovicza Refining Facial Polish costs £65, and is available from http://www.omorovicza.co.uk

The Fine Print: PR Sample

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Review: Omorovicza Thermal Cleaning Balm

I'm slightly in love with balms at the moment.  After I burned my face off with a facemask the other week, I've been giving my face some TLC, so this week, I'm showing you my favourite balm products from my collection.

I'll start off with this little black beauty from Omorovicza.  I've long been fascinated by the idea of the Thermal Cleansing Balm from the Omorovicza range, mainly because it's black admittedly (my inner goth is fascinated), but I've been seeing a few reviews of the range around some of my trusted blogging buddies, so thought it was time to take the plunge.

Based on the mineral healing properties of the thermal spas in Budapest, the thermal cleansing balm gets the unique colour from Hungarian Moor Mud, which is rich in magnesium, contains sweet almond oil to avoid stripping the skin, and is scented - oh most heavenly scented! - with orange blossom.  It's possibly the most luxurious-smelling cleanser I own, and I find myself burying my nose in the jar every time I use it.

To use it, you scrape a small amount from the jar (and a little really does go a long way), emulsify it between your palms, then apply the resulting liquified balm to your face and massage it into your skin, then, using either a damp muslin cloth or a face flannel, remove it, again, whilst massaging your face.  It's not perfect for removing eye makeup, in all honesty, so I'd suggest you use a separate eye-makeup remover.  I love that you can see grains of the mineral-rich mud in the balm when you emulsify it, and the scent really makes this a wondrous cleansing experience.

I find that a single cleanse is sufficient with this (I very rarely double cleanse anyway, I have to say), and my skin is left soft, supple and glowing afterwards, with no dryness or taut-feeling.  It is on the price-y side at £46 a jar, but this will last a very long time, and it's rocketed to the top of my re-purchase list.

 The Fine Print: PR Sample.


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.