Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Oil

Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing oil is a staple of my routine, and frankly, I'm really embarrassed that it's taken me till now to review this product!

I have sensitive skin, and this, coupled with a rather, um ... magpie-like ... approach to collecting skincare can cause occasional problems.  However, Clinique Take the Day Off oil has never, ever caused me a problem. Unencumbered by essential or mineral oils, or even, weirdly, any oils at all (the short ingredients list is full of oil-like ingredients, but of actual oil in the formulation; there is none), TTDO is a silky-feeling cleanser that removes every single scrap of makeup and sunscreen without ever stripping, or irritating the skin. And it is deliciously inert, unfragranced, and just a great choice for sensitive skins because of it.

Whilst I don't use it every day, where it becomes invaluable in my collection is when I'm introducing new products into my routine.  As I have sensitive skin (I think I might have mentioned it once or twice over the years), introducing a new product into an established routine can be traumatic, so I have a couple of products that I fall back onto, ones that I know never irritate.  And I use those religiously alongside any new product to ensure that any results (good or bad) come directly from the product I've changed, rather than the routine itself.  I also have an SOS skincare routine for those times when my skin is just being irritable, and TTDO oil has made it into both those routines. Other products that I rely on for testing purposes include La Roche Posay Serozinc, and Murad Hydro-Dynamic Moisturiser, and the SOS routine is different again.  For a product to make both lists is very, very rare.

 Clinique Take the Day Off oil is both gentle on the skin, and a powerful cleanser. It takes off almost all makeup just in one cleanse, and emulsifies beautifully.  Also, it lasts almost forever, I've had a bottle on the go ever since the launch, and only recently had to buy a backup. I can't imagine life without it.  At around £19-£22 for a big 200ml bottle, it's a bit of a bargain too.

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No7 Lift and Luminate #BetterTogether Trial Results and Review

This is a sponsored post on behalf of No7

In January, I started taking part in the #BetterTogether Challenge with No7, whereby I was going to be using only their revamped range of Lift and Luminate skincare for a month.  Now, I'm back to talk about the results!

Now, it has been a heck of a challenge for me, and the temptation to continue picking different bits and bobs from my collection to suit different requirements on a day to day basis has been strong! But, I've managed to stay completely true to the challenge throughout the month I've had the products, and only supplemented the range's core day and night moisturisers, serum and eye cream with appropriate cleansers and toners as required.  

So, how did I get on?  Well ... colour me hugely impressed, actually.  I don't say that lightly (or even often), but I've been delighted with the condition of my skin throughout the trial, and I've even begun to wonder if all the chopping and changing I do normally is maybe not the best way to treat (my) sensitive skin.  My skin has been smooth, soft, and with far fewer of the under-skin "irritation bumps" I quite regularly get around my eyes, which is my usual sign that my skin has been overstimulated and usually means I need to remove something from my routine. My skin is even noticeably less red, which is amazing.

Both the day and night creams are smooth and rich in texture, but don't feel oily on the skin. They leave behind a nice velvety feeling on the face, which makes a great base for makeup in the case of the day cream.  My skin is on the oilier side, and I haven't feel the need to add extra oil to my skin under either cream, even though it's winter and supplementing with oils is usually standard for me in the coldest months of the year.  Both the day cream and eye cream feature SPF -  something I usually avoid in my skincare, preferring to add a separate SPF on top, but I haven't had any problems with it in either product.  The serum is velvety and sinks in really easily to the skin, again without leaving a greasy base behind.

Have I noticed a huge improvement in my skin?  No, not a huge one as I was starting from a base of healthy skin anyway, but there is definitely a noticeable difference, my skin is calmer and more even, and I'm very happy with it.  It seems that things in skincare land really do work "better together", and these products are joining my regular arsenal right away. You can shop the Lift and Luminate range here: No7 Lift and Luminate Range at Boots

The Fine Print: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Boots No7 which also features PR samples. Links in this post are not affiliate links.

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Pixi + Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse #PixiPretties Collection

Right. I've started this "review", like, fifteen different ways now, and they were all a complete bag of utter shite.  I'm out of the habit of blogging at the moment, admittedly, and I can't deny it, but there's no way for me to write a "proper" review of this anyway. She'd squash me. The truth is that Caroline is a friend of mine, and Pixi Double Cleanse  is going to sell BAJILLIONS of units regardless of anything I have to say (as it should) because a) it's fupping brilliant and b) Caroline is also fupping brilliant.  So, I'm just going to say whatever I want.  No change there, really, but anyway ...

Caroline has been talking about making a skincare range for the best part of a decade now, and I know that she has turned down any number of offers to work with other brands.  She chose Pixi over them, because they gave her the freedom to put precisely what she wanted into the jars, and she believes in their integrity as a brand.  Personally, I don't get on well with all of their skincare products (but what I do use, I love) having sensitive skin, but they're an excellent, mid-priced range, that cater for a range of skin-types and conditions without overselling themselves.

Double Cleanse is gorgeous.  I'm not a huge fan of overly-scented products, and I react to products that are filled with essential oils, so discovering that both the "solid oil" and cream sides of the container are completely unscented, and not full of essential oils was a delight.  The jar is bifurcated, containing 50mls each of a silky balm that melts instantly on contact with skin, and a rich cream cleanser that feels wonderfully hydrating on skin.  The balm will destroy any makeup it comes into contact with without stripping the skin, and the cream is ...

... well, I'm not usually a huge fan of cream cleansers tbh, preferring to use them only when my skin is irritable, or irritated, and then usually in conjunction with my other "SOS" skincare products (which I haven't needed much recently), but when I have used this one I've found it rich and creamy, and wonderfully soothing, and very much like the much-missed Clarins Extra-Comfort Cleansing Cream (the one in the jar, not the less-good reformulated one in the tube), so I'll give it a pass on this occasion.

I've had my jar for a couple of months now, and it's been the cleanser I've reached for again and again and again in that time, and it's brilliant, but I do have a gripe with the packaging.  Whilst having both cleansers in the one tub is actually a brilliant idea, it's not ideal if you have a marked preference for one kind of cleansing over another.  I'd buy a full-size pot of the balm cleanser in a heartbeat, you don't need much, and it's fabulous, but I'm definitely not using the cream side as much (I'll be honest, I don't always cleanse twice, because I'm a lazy bitch), and the sides of my jar are uneven as a result. I will not finish both sides of the jar at the same time A little bird* did tell me at the official launch last week that this pot may end up being the "travel" size, which would be a perfect use for the current packaging.  I just hope that means that full sizes of both cleansers are on the way.  Fingers crossed!

 Pixi + Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse costs £24 and is available from both Pixi Beauty and Marks & Spencer.

* Actually quite tall, really.

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No7 Lift and Luminate #BetterTogether Challenge

 This is a sponsored post on behalf of  No7.

It is always good to challenge yourself to do something different once in a while. Towards the end of last year, some exciting (terrifying!) opportunities arose for me, and they have led me to challenge myself to do more exciting - and different - things this year, too.  And, as a skincare junkie, who better to partner with for my first big challenge of 2017 than Boots, and the UK's number 1 serum brand: No7 Lift & Luminate Triple Action?



To prove that things work #BetterTogether,  Boots have  revamped their entire No7 Lift and Luminate skincare range so that every item, including the day cream, the night cream and the eyecream now incorporates all the same great skincare benefits as the Triple Action Serum, and clinical trials suggest that 88% of users reported better results when using the Lift & Luminate serum alongside the day cream. To back up those results, Boots have also challenged 10 UK bloggers  to use only this range for the next month and report back on how they get along. I was one of the lucky ones selected, and I’ve been trialling for a few days already. I’m looking forward to seeing how the next few weeks go!



It’s a big change, using skincare from only one brand, but it's an exciting challenge for me, as it's something very different to my usual routine. No7 is a brand I trust though, and Lift and Luminate is a range I’m excited by.

The nine other bloggers working #BetterTogether in this challenge are:


Hayley Carr             londonbeautyqueen.com
Kate Marten             katelouiseblogs.com
Tracey McAlpine     fightingfifty.co.uk
Jane Cunningham    britishbeautyblogger.com
Alex Garman           heartbeauty.net
Lisa Barrett              glowology.co.uk
Fritha Strickland      tigerlillyquinn.com
Jo Middleton           slummysinglemummy.com
Sareta Fontaine       kikiblahblah.com


Please go check them out, they’re amazing.


The Fine Print: This is a sponsored post, which also features PR samples  

This post: Boots No7 Lift and Luminate #BetterTogether Challenge 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