Updated Skincare Routine for S/S 2013

If you remember a couple of months ago, I posted a Chitchat post on how bad my skin had gotten. Just to refresh your memory, or for those who don't know about it.. it was so painful I could not sleep because of it.

I got various comments on that blog post, but the general theme was to go to the dermatologist and to stick to natural things. I haven't really been to the dermatologist (mine is useless) but I did end up going for more natural things, less harsh things, and things intended for sensitive and blemish prone skins. 

And now that my skin has almost recovered from that awful breakout, Alhamdulillah, I thought I would share  my skincare routine again (^__^)

[Clockwise from left]

Cleanser:
The Body Shop's Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash
I've used this cleanser for years. It's really good for oily skin, and I decided to go back to it to eliminate all the excess sebum that was clogging up my pores. It works everytime, and I will always go back to it.

Scrub:
St Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub (Blemish Fighting)
This. Is. Amazing. It's MILES better than the one I tried before, which was a bit meh. Its granules are much rougher which is exactly what I like in a facial scrub - I think this has got to be the best exfoliator I have ever tried, and yes! It is better than the original formula! It's texture reminds me of this superdrug mask I reviewed ^^
This helped to slough off all the dead skin cells and random dry patches that also clogged up my pores. It left my skin as smooth as a baby's bum. I use it every other day now. :D

Moisturisers:
Holland & Barrett's Aloe Vera Gel
This saved my whole face. This has got to be the single most important thing in my skincare routine. It healed all my spots, it calmed down my redness, it moisturised and softened my skin really well. I thoroughly recommend this if you had a bad breakout like I did, it will save your skin - I just cannot live without it now.

Simple Kind to Skin Light Hydrating Moisturiser
I don't love this as much anymore, but I have been using this so I thought I'd put it in. It's really good if you have oily skin but my skin just isnt that oily anymore. I'm thinking of trying the rich version of this when it finishes.

Skin Wisdom Youth Protect Eye Treatment
I've already put up a review of this eye cream, which you can read here. It's a pretty good eye cream for its price, better than the simple one anyway. Can you guess who made this? :P

Lipbalm:
Nivea Lip Butter in Caramel Cream
Sigh. I jumped on a bandwagon. My Nivea Hydrocare was running low when I bought this that's why, I swear! *shifty eyes* Sigh. I just wanted to know why everyone was dying over it, okay?
I still don't see it though. I mean it's alright.. it does the job. The smell reminds me of caramel popcorn *drools* which is a bit of a pain in the bum because when I put it on before bed, the smell always makes me crave it!

So yeah. I decided to keep it simple and gentle. I haven't been using any masks either. Although that will soon change, I do miss using them. Also, apologies for the long hiatus (yet again) I needed a bit of a break :o) Glad to be back though! (^__^) Missed you guys ;D

Disclaimer: All products featured were bought with my own money. All opinions are my own, etc, etc, etc.. ^^

Purity Organic Skincare Facial Exfoliator Deep Pore Cleanser Review

Hello there my dearies! Hope all is well with you (^__^) Today I have a review for you from a brand I have previously featured on my blog - Purity Organic Skincare. I've already reviewed their facial wash and their (AMAZING) makeup remover, but today's post is about their facial exfoliator/deep pore cleanser* :o)

I'm going to make this post short and snappy and to the point.

Ingredient-wise, this contains the same kind of natural ingredients as the rest of them do: coconut oil, sweet almond oil, glycerine and aloe vera. It also contains ground coconut shell to exfoliate.

Texture wise, it's basically a lotion with really small ground up pieces of coconut shell. You can barely feel the shell pieces imo, and it does not lather up.

Now I know this is called an exfoliator, but this barely did any exfoliating at all. It wasn't rough enough, most likely because as I mentioned earlier, it didn't have enough ground coconut shell. However, it is also called a deep pore cleanser.. and boy did it live up to that part of its name!

In fact so much so that I think it did it's job too well on my skin. Now my skin is combination, with an oily T-zone. This was so strong that it dried out my t zone to the point of it being painful! I know that's hard to believe but it practically sucked out all the moisture/oils on my nose and upper lip (that was the painful part :/).

Now I'm sure that if you have oilier skin than mine, and that if you used it for under a minute or so once a week, this will be all right for your skin. But if you have combination or dry skin - I'd advise you to stay WELL away from this xD

That's all I really have to say on this; I don't really like to write bad reviews unless I feel it would be beneficial - I mean I would like to know if it suited my skin type first if I was using something new for the first time/thinking of buying something new!

You can purchase this from Holland & Barretts or their own website for £5.99. Has anyone else tried this? What are your thoughts on this exfoliator/deep pore cleanser?


*PR sample, sent to me for consideration. All views are my own, I promise. (^__^)

Purity Organic Skincare Facial Wash Review

Hello there my lovelies! Hope you've all had a fabulous start to the week :o) Today I have a facial wash review for you - but you probably already know that by the title.. *adjusts her Captain Obvious cape a little* heh. >.<

I've reviewed a Purity skincare product on my blog before, and I have loved it since the moment it touched my skin (if you would like to read my review on that little gem, go ahead and clickety clack over here). Along with that, I was sent a facial wash to review too - and having tried it out for a couple of weeks now, I thought it was high time I put up a review on it and share my thoughts on the products.

Purity Organic Skincare is a British brand that is EcoCert certified, whose ingredients are 8% of natural origin and an average of 82% of their ingredients are processed from organic farming. Their skincare range is priced between £4.99 and £8.99, which is very affordable in my opinion. And to top it all off the brand is cruelty free! So hard to find skincare brands on the high street sometimes that are cruelty free that don't cost an arm and a leg!

'Purity Organic Skincare is efficacious, using hard-working, sustainably-grown ingredients, few in number and cleverly combined to encourage skin to work as it should. Where possible the same core ingredients run throughout the range to give your skin the simplicity of regime it needs and to ensure affordability.'

[source]

This I can confirm - a lot of the same ingredients run in all of the products, and there really aren't a lot in the first place. Most of the ingredients are simple but effective ingredients, too, which work together to clean your skin without irritating it, or being too harsh. Their skincare is designed for sensitive skin, and the ingredients involved are perfect for its use. And to be honest sometimes a few simple ingredients are all that sensitive skin needs. After all, the more simple things are, the better it is for our skin - usually!

The Purity Facial Wash* contains sweet almond oil and beeswax, and you can sort of feel it a little on application. So as you can imagine, I was pleasantly surprised when it actually foamed up a little on my face! Usually cleansers that are organic or are designed for sensitive skin don't do that, so it was a nice surprise when it lathered up a bit - not a lot but enough for me to notice the difference.

As for the cleansing part, it didn't blow me out of the water, but it did it's job well, I'd say. My t zone didn't feel as cleansed as I wanted it to be, but at least it didn't make my whole face feel tight or make my skin feel dry or flaky afterwards - something I absolutely hate the feeling of! 

The cap opened up just like the Conditioning Cleansing Lotion Makeup Remover* - as illustrated below :o) You squeeze the bottle after pushing the oval part down to make the crescent shaped part go up. I think a pump would have been a better choice - at least that way we'd be able to control how much product we want to take out! I always find I take out too much when I use this.

One thing I have to mention about this though is the smell. It smells a bit odd. I can't explain it. It doesn't linger on the skin after you wash it though, so that's fine.

The cleanser itself is amber in colour and it's texture is in between a gel and a lotion. Sort of like a jelly like consistency I'd say - I'm assuming it's because it contains aloe vera. 

 I feel it would be better suited to dry and sensitive skin because it contains moisturising ingredients such as sweet almond oil, coconut oil, soothing & protecting ingredients such as aloe vera, and rose, oats, beeswax & avocado which soothe and condition the skin.

Hmm. The amber colour isn't showing up much on my finger is it? I apologise. The British weather doesn't like to be normal and consistent - the moody git! Am I the only one who's been having lighting problems lately because the clouds can't make up their mind if they want to be here or there? >.>

*sighs* Anyhoo. If you have dry, sensitive skin (or combination skin even!) and need a nice, good quality, organic, vegetarian cleanser, I say check this out. If anyone asked me to sum it up in a few words, I'd say that this was a very gentle but quite effective cleanser overall. 

If anyone is interested, you can purchase the 150ml bottle for £4.99 on their website or buy 2 For £7.93 mix & match across the range over at Holland & Barretts!

*PR samples, sent to me for consideration. All views are my own, I promise. :o)

Organic Surge Gentle Cleansing Lotion and Blissful Daily Moisturiser Review

Organic Surge are a company whose products are formulated without the use of parabens, synthetic perfumes, mineral oils, aggressive foaming agents, artificial colours, sulphates the lot! Instead they are made with natural, organic, cruelty free ingredients, which are good for the skin and for animals - always a bonus in my books.

Today I'll be reviewing one of their cleansers and one of their moisturisers.

First up, the Gentle Cleansing Lotion*. You get 200ml of cleanser in a bottle that surprisingly feels more expensive than it's £5.19 price tag.

'Gentle Cleansing Lotion cleanses, comforts and hydrates all skin types. This delicate lotion gently sweeps away make-up, dirt and impurities. Enriched with organic rosemary and lemon essential oils and skin calming chamomile, Gentle Cleansing Lotion helps to soothe skin irritation and reveal a brighter, more radiant complexion.'
[source]

This cleanser is true to its name. It's very gentle, and does not irritate the skin at all. After I've used it my skin always feels very clean, even more so than my usual Tea Tree Oil cleanser, but without the tightness that comes a long with it.

I don't know about making my complexion more radiant and my skin brighter, but I have not broke out once when I've used this. Usually when I try a new cleanser, no matter how good it is, I tend to get a pimple or two. But I didn't even get one with this. Because of this, I think this cleanser would suit sensitive skin perfectly.

I tend to use a couple of pumps for my whole face, then wipe it off like it tells you to with a cotton pad. Then I wash my face because I'm paranoid about leaving stuff on my face. O.o

Next up is the Blissful Daily Moisturiser*. Retailing at £8.49, it comes in a glass jar filled with 50ml of a soft, rather heavily scented cream.

'Blissful Daily Moisturiser softens, nourishes and rehydrates normal skin. The delicate formula soothes and rehydrates with a quickly-absorbed, lightweight texture. A blend of natural hydrators and antioxidants looks after skin ensuring a healthy, smooth complexion.' 

[source]

I'm afraid to say that my skin just didn't want to agree with this one. It didn't absorb into my skin quickly, despite being lightweight and claiming to do so. Even if I exfoliated before hand, it would still cling to dry patches and not sink in, no matter how hard I tried.

Perhaps this is because it's for normal skin, and I have oily/combination skin? I tend to get dry patches around my nose and it would not help their appearance in the slightest. I don't know why it didn't work for me, because I really wanted it to after the success with the cleanser. I guess this moisturiser just wasn't suited to my skin I suppose.

The smell was quite strong too, and would linger afterwards for a long time, so if you don't like strongly scented stuff on your face, then I don't think that this is for you.

Despite the moisturiser not working for me, I can at least say that it was possibly because it was targeted towards a different skin type, and that if you are looking to try it and it is designed for your skin type, don't be deterred by my results. The cleanser on the other hand, I'd recommend it to everyone and wholeheartedly, because it kept my skin in check and didn't aggravate my skin in any way.

Have you tried any Organic Surge products? How have you gotten along with them? ☺

*PR samples, sent to me for consideration. All views are my own, I promise. :o)