Skincare of the Week - 13 December 2015

Not a hugely exciting week skincare-wise, admittedly - I'm still ill and still look like death warmed up (if death was into the fourth week of a cough that makes them puke at regular intervals, that is) - but I did get my Caroline Hirons Skincare box this week, so from Tuesday onwards you can see the Tata Harper Rejuvenating Serum, and the Dr Dennis Gross Retinol Eye Cream have been added to my regular rotation.   I can't judge their results yet - indeed, it would be unfair to do so, seeing how grotty I look generally at the moment, to be honest - but they're a nice addition to my routine and I'm looking forward to seeing how they work generally once I recover.  The box was a good one though, especially as I got back ups of some longtime faves, the May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon Balm, alongside the Zelens PHA+ Bio Peel Resurfacing Pads, in the box too.  But more about those products in particular later this week.

I also added some Hydraluron back into my routine, both in the serum and the moisturising jelly formulation. I do like a bit of hyaluronic acid in my routine, and I like Hydraluron very much - I especially like the moisturising jelly as a great hydrating moisturiser for oily/combination skin that doesn't need an oily cream over the top as well.  They were on offer at Boots recently, £30 for the serum, the jelly and a box of sheet masks for £30, which is a humongous bargain!  I may have bought a couple of them!

I think my dreadful cough is on the wane now, hopefully I'll be back to looking like a human by Christmas ...



The Fine Print: Stuff and things from my cupboard and that.


This post: Skincare of the Week - 13 December 2015 originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Skincare of the Week 06.12.15

Having sensitive skin whilst the seasons are changing can be awkward, certainly I find that I have to be extra careful with the active ingredients in skincare when the weather is at its least predictable.  Still being ill with a cough really isn't helping, either. My skin has been on the verge of being really reactive this week (I can usually tell as tiny bumps start appearing on my temples), so I've swapped my routines around a bit, to be a bit kinder to my skin.

I have dropped the acids from my daytime routines and I'm now only using them a couple of times a week - at night.  This gives my skin time to recover from using them whilst I sleep, and stops my skin getting irritated by the weather so much during the day.  I'm going to avoid using glycolic all over for a while until my skin settles down again.

In other news, I've re-introduced one of my all-time favourite skincare brands back into my routine - namely Kate Somerville.  I'm so happy to have Goat Cream (you can see it in my Thursday PM pic above) back in my routine.  It's gentle and soothing, and thanks to the lactic acid, it's also ever so slightly exfoliating.  I've been using the Pixi Skintreats Glow Peel Pads to exfoliate my chin separately, however, as I have a semi-permanent build up of sebum there, and I'm hoping the 20% glycolic on those pads will help deal with that.

Now, if only these things helped with cold sores ...

The Fine Print: PR Sample


This post: Skincare of the Week 06.12.15 originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Skincare of the week 29.11.15

I've been ill for a fortnight now - why there weren't any posts on the blog last week, sorry! And this is the skincare I've been using to help myself look approximately normal again.  It's not working, I still look like death warmed up, but at least my skin isn't blotchy and flaking.  For now ...

Monday brought Biologique Recherche Lait, with PixiBeauty Glow Tonic, Murad Eye Cream, Medik8 Red Skin serum (something I'm starting to truly love and rely on), and SkinCeuticals moisturiser - of which there is a full review coming up, because it's a great product on my sensitive oily-combination skin. Oh, and Serozinc, which is an all-time favourite!

Tuesday was the same,  only I swapped in Bioderma Crealine spray for the Serozinc (and in all honesty, I use them both interchangably - if you have one, you probably don't need the other), plus I added in Pestle & Mortar Pure Hyaluronic, for more hydration.  Tuesday was a long day at the office, and I knew I'd need a boost of hydration to get through the day, but I needed a bit of exfoliation first to make it sink in well, so the morning also brought in my much-loved Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Toner.

Wednesday was one of those days where I woke up super exhausted, and it was showing on my face, so I wanted some lovely, buffering, comforting skincare, so I dug out my beloved (truly beloved) May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon Balm, which is an amazing skincare product for sensitised slightly reactive skin like mine.  A rich balm that melts into an oil, and contains natural anti-histamines in the form of blue tansy oil, I use it as a night treatment mostly, but it's superb at protecting from the weather, on occasion.

Thursday - I'm experimenting with the Kiehls' Ultra Facial moisturiser at the moment, which I really liked in conjunction with the Blue Cocoon Balm, and, just because I could, I did a double-cleanse with PixiBeauty Nourishing Cleansing Balm, and Bioessense Miracle Cleansing Water Cleansing Jelly (about which more soon).  I don't normally double-cleanse in the morning , but sometimes you just want to kick things up a bit.

Friday.  KATE SOMERVILLE is back in my routine! I received a little package of the products a while ago, and I've been holding onto them (along with the KS products I've been keeping in my fridge for a good few months now too - thanks to kind friends and family who have been to the US this year, and dragged some back for me) till now.  You're going to be seeing a lot of KS in the coming weeks, but it's always a joy to use them.  I'm currently using the Kate Somerville Nourish Moisturiser, and the Age Arrest Eye Cream, but I'll be rotating a couple of other products in and out of my routine for a couple of weeks.  I also have a couple of pots of Goat Cream, but I'm keeping those mainly as night creams right now.

Saturday - I wanted to do a routine composed entirely of favourite products, both old and new ones, and this was the result.  Zelens Balm Cleanser, which I left on my face for a good five or ten minutes as a mask before removing (not deliberate, but it felt really nice, actually!) Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Toner, Serozinc, Zelens Antioxidant Serum, and three (count them!) Kate Somerville products, the aforementioned Nourish and Age Arrest eyecream, alongside Quench Hydrating Serum, which is one of my favourite products ever.  I probably need the oil-free version for every day use, to be honest, but I do like to use this on days where I'm in no rush to apply my makeup afterwards.

How has your week in skincare been? 


The Fine Print: PR Samples, purchases, and gifts which were  until recently kept in the back of the fridge ...


This post: Skincare of the week 29.11.15 originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Skincare of the Week 8th November 2015

A bit of a mixed bag this week, skincare wise.  Looking at the pictures all in one place kind of makes it clear that I have certain patterns in product usage - Pixi Glow Tonic, for example, I tend to use for two days then swap to Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Toner.  The one product I've used consistently this week has been Medik8 Red Alert Serum, which I'm liking more and more the more often I use it.  I find it gentle and soothing, and my redness, particularly in the mornings is much reduced.  Doesn't make any difference to my redness when I drink booze though ... oops.  I really like the Skinceuticals moisturiser too.  It's quite a lightweight texture, but it is still plenty hydrating on my combination-oily skin, without leaving a greasy residue.  I'll write more in detail about both these products soon, and there's a full review of the gorgeous Votary Cleansing Oil upcoming too.

I've picked up some more of the Pixi Skintreats range this week, as I've been incredibly impressed with what I've tried from the range so far and I was intrigued to try more - you can see the Milky Hydrating Mist and Glowtion Day Dew in Thursday's picture, but I also have the Glow Pads and a couple of other bits as well. And I'm trialling some new things from Dermalogica and Murad over the next two weeks, it's all go on the skincare front, but I'm looking forward to trying them out!  Have a few more Christmas-themed posts coming up this week first though ...

 The Fine Print: PR samples and purchases


This post: Skincare of the Week 8th November 2015 originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Skincare of the Week - 22 August 2015

Joy abounds in the Get Lippie household whenever a parcel from Zelens shows up, and this week I was delighted that the two newest serums in the range appeared on my doorstep.  I'll be giving Zelens Intense Defence a good going over in the next few weeks, so expect my skincare routines to get a little ... visually undistinguishable ... for a while.  This was a simple routine that I'm already used to, so I can see if the serum does its stuff.

Current Skincare - Night & Day

I've been ill recently, necessitating a more than a couple of hospital trips, and it means I need a small procedure later on in the year. It's nothing too serious, but the feeling of being more rundown than usual has been showing in my skin, and as a result I've had to break out some of the big guns in my skincare arsenal.  Far from being a pain, I've found myself really enjoying taking care of my skin recently, mainly thanks to these somewhat ... er, luxurious* products.  I have two routines, evening and morning, and I'll take you through them both.

Evening:

  
In the evening, I like to give myself a really thorough cleanse, using a lot of massage techniques.  Le Belle Oil Cleanser (£28) is a fairly thick oil-based cleanser which doesn't really emulsify, so is perfect for a really thorough cleanse when you've got a full-face of makeup on.  And even if you don't, it's still great for a really deep cleanse. I rinse using one of my gazillion washi cloths and some hot water, then I give my face a good going over with a Zelens PHA Bio-Peel Resurfacing Face Pad (£65) These are a recent discovery for me, and I LOVE them.

Based on a combination of AHAs and BHAs, alongside PHAs, and with a combination of acids (including salicylic, lactic, citric and polyhydroxy)  these are a gentler alternative to my beloved Alpha-H Liquid Gold.  They help to resurface, and rehydrate your skin overnight.  When my skin is feeling sensitive, it's easier to use these then the Alpha H, and I can really tell the difference.  I follow with a spritz of toner (see morning), then add two drops of Sjal Saphir Concentrate Oil (£125) An anti-ageing oil suffused with sapphire, this stuff is amazing, plumping and firming, it's a pleasure to use. I use it as a serum rather than a moisturiser, as it's rather light, so I finish with a tiny dab of Zelens Z Recovery Intensive Repair Balm (£140).  Again, on the pricey side, this is the one product on this list that I'd go without shoes to re-purchase.  A thick, slightly gummy "balm", it leaves the skin plump and hydrated, plus it soothes and repairs any dry patches or irritated skin.  It's light and non-greasy, and after applying, I always look forward to seeing how great my skin looks the morning after, if I could marry a product, this would be The One.

Morning:

 I do another oil cleanse, this time with Nude Cleansing Facial Oil (£28) it is lighter than the Le Belle, and emulsifies easily in water.  This is my default cleanser - I may dabble with others, but Nude is the one I return to again and again and again, even in this, my fourth (eep!) year as a beauty blogger. 

After rinsing with a washi, I spritz again with toner, this time with Sjal Mineral Kalla Energy Tonic (£50), which is hydrating and calming, and sets your skin up for serums and moisturiser nicely. For daytime use, I like Darphin Camomile Aromatic Care (£41), as I find it it both soothing, and protective for my "prone to redness and sensitivity" skin.  Finally, I apply a layer of Kate Somerville Goat Milk Cream ($55), which contains both goat milk (good for a lactic acid dose), and aloe vera for soothing, plus avocado and jojoba oils for hydration.  Sadly, SpaceNK have dropped the Kate Somerville line, so I beg everyone I know who has a trip to the US planned to pick some up for me, and this is my fourth jar.

I realise that this is an expensive routine in anyone's book, but what price skin?


*  Expensive.  Yes, I KNOW.

The Fine Print: I sold my soul to PRs, various relatives, and several online retailers for some of these products, which are a combination of samples, gifts and (in a surprisingly large proportion) purchases.  You don't even want to know what the MiL wanted in return for the Goat Milk Cream ...

Oh, all links in this post are for informational purposes only, and are NOT affiliate links.
 
This post: Current Skincare - Night & Day originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Current Skincare Routine

Serious Face is Serious

 I haven't had a picture of my face on the blog for a while, and there has been a variety of reasons for that, but I tweeted this - totally makeup free! - instragram picture of my mug the other day, and A Lot of people asked for details of my current skincare routine, so here it is.

From left to right, we have Nude Cleansing Oil, which is an old, old old favourite.  Whilst I might flirt with other cleansers (and I do), I always come back to this after my skin has had enough of the others.  I love it, even though the bottle is now only half the size it used to be.  

After a long while of using very simple skincare, I'm adding back some active products, and these are my current picks:

111Skin Daily Orbit NAC Y2 Energising Youth Tonic (catchy title), which is from the new range very recently launched by Dr Yannis Alexandrides. Not - actually - a toner, this is actually a slightly viscous, highly moisturising liquid, that I use in place of toner, and as the start of my moisturising routine. It's cooling and soothing, and I love using it.  Also, the range has been tested in space.  How can anyone resist skincare that's been tested in space?  It's full of peptides and antioxidants, and my skin loves this.  I have a sample of the serum too, which I've not used yet, but I'll bring you a full review of both products when I have used it.  111Skin is available from Harrods.


Speaking of science and stuff, next up is Astalift Aquarysta, which is another very recently launched product, this time from Fujifilm.  Yes, you read that right.  FujiFILM.  Astalift Aquarysta is a beautiful coral-red jelly, which is, again, packed with antioxidants and, this time also with collagen.  Apparently collagen is a staple of the (non-digital) film industry, and Fujifilm has invested some of their years and years of collagen research into skincare.  I've found that this jelly - used as a serum in the mornings - immediately smoothes and leaves skin feeling plump, soft and velvety.  I love it.  Time will tell if has any long-term benefits, but at the moment, this is unqualified love.  I want a BIGGER JAR. Aqualift Aquarysta is available from Debenhams.


At the moment, I'm also trialling Kate Somerville Nourish Daily Moisturiser, I've literally just finished my jar of Kate's Goat Cream, but it was beginning to feel a little too heavy for summer, so I've swapped to this lighter, more balancing formulation from the range.  It's cooling and refreshing, and doesn't leave a greasy film.


And finally, two nights a week, I've brought the Alpha H Liquid Gold back.  I stopped using it last year, because my skin was going through one of its frequent crazy periods where nothing suited it, and I just got out of the habit.  Now, I look forward to my "Alpha H nights", and I'm a-tingle with anticipation ....


What's your current regime?


 The Fine Print: A hodge-podge of PR samples, purchases, gifts, and other stuff.  Also, SKINCARE IN SPACE!!! Skincare! In SPACE!!!


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

Current Skincare Routine

Well, it's two routines really, one for morning and one for evening!  Winter, even a mild winter such as the one we've just had can be hard on my temperamental combination oil-dehydrated skin, so the main thing I add to my routines (AM and PM) is to add an oil.

So, in the evenings, I'll do a deep cleanse with Nude Cleansing Oil, lots of massage, and removal with a muslin cloth and hot water, then I'll tone with Darphin Intral Toner, two - maybe three, depending - drops of Neals Yard Frankincense Facial Oil, then I'll follow this with Neals Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream.  I'll be honest, I mainly use the Frankincense products for the wonderful heady and intense fragrance, but I've found that they do wonderful things for your skin too.  These are all old favourites and they're the products I come back to every winter without fail.

In the morning my routine is the same, but, different:

  
Because I do a thorough cleanse in the evenings with my nude oil, I just need a tiny wipe over with a touch of Bioderma Crealine in the morning, followed, again, by Darphin Intral Toner (both of which I'm going to have to replace soon, VERY soon), then an oil, and in the mornings I'm using Clarins Santal Facial Oil, which is one of the most beautifully scented facial products on the planet.  Redolent of sandalwood and cardamom, it's a perfect pick me up in the morning, and does a great job of both rehydrating and protecting your skin during the day. Then I'll use a good old dollop of Kate Somerville Goat Milk cream, which I've been using all winter and still love.

My skin survived the winter surprisingly well - in spite of the lack of actives in my skin care - how did you do? 

The Fine Print - mixture of purchases and PR samples,  many of these, however are repurchases.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

My Current Skincare Routine - Reactive Skin

In almost two years of beauty blogging (seriously, how the hell did that happen?) I've been incredibly blessed in that my sometimes sensitive skin hasn't broken out in boils, blotches and mysterious rashes.  Until recently, that is.  Something I've been using near my eyes has caused a hot, red, itchy rash, and, to put it mildly, I'm not happy!


I've narrowed down the possible offenders to three potentials, one an eyecream, one a moisturiser, and one  ... er ... something else.  I forget which now.  Most likely a cleanser.  Yes, I tried a new cleanser recently.  Must have been that. Oh, and there's a fourth thing it might have been, but I really, really can't remember what that was.  Anyway. 

So, in order to try and get my skin back into some semblance of normality, I've pared my skincare routine right back, and I'm using just three products until my skin calms down enough for me to start re-introducing items in order for me to weed out the irritant.

These products are: Nude Cleansing Facial Oil, Darphin Intral Toner and Avene Extremely Rich Compensating Cream.  I've completely removed any skincare with more "active" ingredients from my routine to stop my skin flaring up further and that means "bye-bye" to my beloved Alpha H for a couple of weeks!  Here's how I've been getting on with my new routine.

Nude Cleansing Facial Oil


An old standby, and very much an old favourite, this is gentle, effective and luxurious to use.  I never used to really like the smell, but I've grown used to it over the years (this is one of the first things I ever bought to blog about, and I've never been without a bottle since), and now I love it.  Thick, rich, and feels intensely nourishing, which, when your skin is as red and reactive as mine is at the moment, is just what the doctor ordered.  Mine cost £24 from Space NK, which reminds me, I'm running low - very low - right now, and it might be time to re-invest in a bottle.  Did I mention it's organic?  It's organic.  And it's very nice indeed.  If you're not sure you like oil cleansers, this is a good one to start off with, it'll kind of spoil you for the rest.

Darphin Intral Toner


I'm not much of a one for toners.  Some people think I'm wrong, but hey, it's MY skin, and I like what I like, thank you very much.  And, it turns out I like this particular toner very much indeed.  Formulated specifically for sensitive skins, this alcohol-free (the only time you'll ever see me approve of this phrase is when it comes to my skincare, btw) delicately flower-scented pink liquid is something I've been using every day recently to soothe and cool my inflamed temples.  It is moisturising, and calming, and I think I might just keep it in daily rotation once the current skin-crisis is over.  I'm trying to think of toners as the beginning of my moisturising routine, and not as the end of my cleansing one, I wonder if that will help me keep them in my routine?


Anyway, this is a nice toner, and I like using it.  So there.  I'm thinking of decanting a little of it, and keeping it by me at all times over the summer for a more moisturising spriz than usual. My bottle cost £27, again, from Space NK.

Finally, I've been using Avene Extremely Rich Compensating Cream, which, on first look I thought was just going to be far too heavy for my skin.  I was assured otherwise by a certain Mrs Hirons who assured me, when she handed the pot over, that, as well as being irritated, I - sorry, my skin - was also dehydrated.  Turns out she was right.  I hate that.  Anyway, this is a fairly heavyweight little pot of soothing, calming and rehydrating goodness.  Yes, it is a little heavier than my normal moisturiser of choice, but it has worked wonders on my perpetually re-occuring patch of dry skin on my forehead, and for that alone, I have to love it.  It does, also, I have to say, seem to be soothing my irritated (and irritating) skin.  I can't use this one all over my face, but applied just to my dryer areas: forehead, temples and cheeks, mainly, I can definitely see that this is about the most hydrating thing I've ever applied to my face, and that has to be a good thing.

You can buy this for £16.50 from Boots, but my pot (the design of which I detest, by the way), came from Caroline's Magic Beauty Cupboard, which I'm hoping one day to get her to blog about ...


So, my skin is now not at all hot, flaky or burning any more, which is wonderful. And it's less red, which is great. I'm just waiting for the bumps to subside now, and all will be well.  Then I can start using more sexy products again ... that said, I've been so impressed by the Darphin and Avene products I've tried as a result of the flare-up that I'm sure I'll be investigating more of their ranges, so for a beauty addict like myself, there has been a bright side!


The Fine Print: I bought half of this, and the moisturiser was a present.  Kind of.  More a bribe to stop me whining, I suspect, but hey ho, it worked, anyway.

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

Review - Clarisonic (First Thoughts)

Ever since I read Gemma's Clarisonic Diaries posts about her experiences of using a handset for a month over on London Beauty Review a while ago, I've wanted one of these sonic beauties!  A couple of weeks ago though, this desire was cemented by the amazingly talented Jody Bloch at the Fern Skin Clinic, who told me that a Clarisonic would definitely help me with some dry skin issues I've been suffering from lately.

It took me a little while to get my hands on one, but I finally have one in my sticky little paws, and, after a week of use, I thought it might be interesting to get some thoughts down about how using a giant toothbrush Clarisonic to clean my face has been.

Here is what Clarisonic claim for themselves (from the Clarisonic website):

Benefits beyond just clean skin: Clarisonic improves the appearance of skin tone and reduces the appearance of pore size

Clarisonic is the sonic technology proven to gently yet effectively loosen dirt and oil to clear your pores. The Clarisonic Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth your skin. In just 60 seconds a day, the Clarisonic micro-massage action cleans more than twice as effectively as manual cleansing.

Clarisonic Sonic Cleansing Benefits

• Removes 6x more makeup than manual cleansing
• Leaves skin feeling and looking smoother
• Cleanses so well that products absorb better
• Gentle enough for twice daily use
• Helps reduce oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes
• Helps reduce the appearance of visible pores
• Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles 

I've been using mine twice a day for the last week, with an old favourite cleanser (Nude's Facial Cleansing Oil), and, I have to say, I've been astonished at how much I love using this thing. Essentially, you apply your cleanser to your damp skin, then, after wetting the brush head with warm water, you move it in small circles over your skin, moving to different parts of the face when the handset beeps.  Once the brush turns itself off, I usually go over my skin with a warm facecloth and remove any last traces of cleanser that are left behind, and give myself a little steam-treatment too.

So, how have I found it? Well, after my operation, I'd been quite openly complaining about my dull, grey, flaky skin, which not even my usual hot-cloth method of skin-cleansing had been able to shift.  In addition, I've been "suffering" from a constant patch of dry, flaky skin on my forehead for a matter of months that has been driving me bananas - it was diagnosed by a couple of people recently as "lipid dryness", meaning that oil wasn't able to penetrate beyond the most superficial layer of my skin.  From the first use, Clarisonic has helped with both of those problems. 

My dry patch has disappeared, and my skin has been uniformly more even in tone, and it's soft. So soft that it feels like velvet!  I do find that my skin most definitely feels a lot cleaner when I use the handset, and from the first use (for me), it's been a bit of a revelation. I've also found that I don't need to exfoliate at all.  Astonishing.  Astonishing enough for me to actually look forward to cleansing my face as a result!

Now, has my skin been visibly changed for the better?  I can't in all honesty say so.  Yet.  MrLippie hasn't noticed any difference in my skin (then again, he'd only really notice a change in my skintone if I suddenly dyed it to match his London Irish rugby shirt, to be honest).  Skin creams certainly seem to sink in better after using it, and  I think this might be raising their efficiency slightly.  Oils, in particular just seem to vanish into my face with only the bare minimum of massaging, and my skin has been brighter as a result.  The main skin oil that I'm using at the moment is Liz Earle's Superskin concentrate, by the way, I just adore the neroli-scent as a night treatment.

Things I don't like: it takes a long time to charge - when it first arrives, you have to charge it for 24 hours before you can use it, and, I've found it can be tricky trying to change the programming.  It has three speeds, which are very easy to sort out, but moving it from a 1 minute timed setting, to a 2 minute timed setting or a setting without a timer can be difficult.  So difficult, in fact, that mine appears to be stuck on the 2 minute timer, and I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to get it back onto a one minute timer!  This is eating up my battery life, which ties back into my point about it taking a long time to charge! It's also on the pricey side, coming in at £150 for a face-only version, or £175 for a face and body unit. You can pick one up from Selfridges, Harrods, or SpaceNK.  That said though, a course of facials would cost a similar amount, and, this is something that I feel is definitely going to make a big change to  my routine, so, on a cost per use basis, it actually works out pretty cheap.  I've always believed that getting your cleansing right is the key to any skin routine, and, well this is a big step along that route.

Overall, I'm exceptionally impressed, and I'm looking forward to seeing if the coming weeks bring any differences to my face that other people can notice ...

The Fine Print: Unit was accidentally provided for review purposes.  Long story, it involves Selfridges, a champagne cocktail or two, another encounter with me talking WAY too much to Daniel Sandler and some lightly embarrassed gatecrashing.  Probably best not to ask ...

My current skincare regime

Don't worry, I'm not going to subject you to pics of my skin with no makeup on - well, maybe just the odd one ...

What I'm using at the moment:

Daily:

Nude Facial Cleansing Oil - I wasn't too sure about this at first, I'd heard so many raves about it, people seemed to really like the smell, and I found it more than a little overpowering, to be honest.  It smells, to me, like hippies, sort of musky, and patchouli-esque.  It's not unpleasant, but compared to the light, fresh and minty smell of the Origins Liquid Crystal I've been using for the best part of the last five years, it's very heavy, and took some getting used to.  But, that aside, I love this stuff, it's a rich, thick oil that melts anything you have on your face, and then rinses away to leave you with soft clean and velvety skin.  And if you don't want to use a muslin cloth with it, you don't have to as it rinses away perfectly well with just a splash or two of warm water.


Next, I sploosh about four or five drops of Elemental Herbology Cell Food Serum onto my face and neck:

It's hard to describe what effect this has on your face - normally I don't bother with serums at all, finding them too heavy and greasy for my face, which tends to lead to breakouts, but this is very light, and seems to just soothe my skin whilst protecting it from the horrific weather we're having at the moment. I just find my skin loves this, lines seem to be smoother, and my skin is altogether more well-behaved when I'm using it. I think it's a product that's very quickly become one of my all-time favourites.

Then, as I described last week, I moisturise with this:

Which is a lovely rich, and matte moisturiser, perfect for cold, wet, wintry days.

Then, on a bi-weekly basis, I've been using this:

Which is the Elemental Herbology Facial Kit, which I wrote about here, I shan't bore you with re-hashing that post all over again, but I will leave you with a shot of it in action:

I think my skin is in better condition than it's been for a long time, and I'm really happy with it. What are your winter skin care essentials?

Organic Wednesday - Neal's Yard

Just a very, very, very quick post today, I'm rushed for time, and I need to gather my thoughts for my Selfridges/Wholefoods saga post tomorrow!

Winter's really set in this week, and it's now officially running up to Christmas, so I thought I'd feature something at least a little bit topical this week: Neal's Yard Frankincense Cream.  I love this stuff, with the change in the weather I find you sometimes need something very soothing and cushion-y to protect your skin, and this moisturiser works a treat.  It's rich enough to protect even my dry and sensitive skin from the weather, but it applies matte, so if your skin is more on the oily side, then you won't find it turning you into a greasy mess after a couple of hours either.

And it smells divine!  Kind of deep, and incense-ish. The scent doesn't linger, but it's a nice smell whilst it's around.  I noticed earlier today that Neal's Yard are doing limited edition tubes of this for £10.50 at the moment, which is an ideal way to try the cream, it normally retails for £20 per 50g jar (pshaw!  I hate moisturisers in jars, so unhygenic!) so if you're needing something a little richer, and not too on the pricey side, this is great.  I got a tube this size free with a magazine a while ago, and it lasted for a couple of months of daily use - a little goes a long way.  That said, I bought stocked up and bought two more tubes at lunchtime! I've been using it for a while alongside Nude Facial Cleansing Oil and Elemental Herbology Cell Food serum, and I can honestly say I love the way my skin looks at the moment - not something I say very often at all. More about the other two products in my daily routine later ...

My products were obtained from Neal's Yard, Kensington Church Street.  No PR companies were harmed in the writing of this post.