JANUARY SKINCARE

Since I haven’t blogged for a really long time I thought I’d do a bit of a refresh with the new year and everything! I hope everyone had a lovely new years and christmas holidays and ate so much that they puked all over their fairisle jumpers.

I spent Christmas with my family in London at my dad’s pub, he opened it for the public in the afternoon while me and my sister trolloped around in our onesies (mine’s a panda and I bought her a giraffe one for Christmas!) waiting to eat some turkey.

Just before New Years I spent a few days with my mum in Manchester and then flew to Belgium to celebrate New Years Bollywood style with the RAF and my boyfriend’s family.

Now that I actually have time to blog because all my deadlines have been handed in, hopefully I will be blogging more frequently!

I thought I’d start off with my January skincare routine! I’ve been trying to get into skincare for quite a while now. I think it started when I actually began to grow up from a spotty teen and while I was working at Russell & Bromley, all my colleagues had the most amazing skin and I would always ask them what they use and get advice! My mum has amazing skin too so I tend to ‘borrow’ her products and just never give them back…

Okay, so from left to right I’ve got:

No 7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream Normal/Oily SPF 15 in Medium £12.95, Boots

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo £13.00, Boots (Currently on offer 2 for £15!)

Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz 100% Organic £4.99, Boots

No 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Balm Dry/Very Dry £9.00, Boots

Simple Night Cream £5.60, Boots

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant £20, Lookfantastic

Clinique Clarifying Lotion Dry Combination £16, Boots

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion £28, Boots

At night, after I’ve removed any make up with Garnier Simply Essentials (£2.99, Superdrug) because I’ve stopped using face wipes, however convenient and quick they are, they’re really bad for your skin. They’re a breeding ground for bacteria and can cause irritation for sensitive skin and can cause premature ageing and extreme dryness! (More from Paiskincare)

So, after all the make up is off, I put some Clinique Clarifying Lotion on a cotton pad and wipe all over and you can really see how much dirt and make up that simple make up removers don’t remove. This was the first Clinique product I ever bought (along with the moisturising lotion) and it burnt a huge hole in my pocket! I do love this product but I don’t think I’ll repurchase, it’s quite strong and it gives my face a really tingly sensation which I’m not so happy about! I do like it but with the price I think I’ll go for something cheaper and that I like more.
After cleansing, I use the Simple night cream and top it off with vaseline to make sure my lips don’t dry out during the night.

For the morning, after cleansing my face with No 7 Beautiful Skin Cleaning Balm (which I haven’t used that much yet so I haven’t really got an opinion of it yet!) I use the Botanics Toning Spritz which is my ABSOLUTELY FAVOURITE product at the moment! I’m currently on my second bottle and I’m still loving it. I found out about it from Sammi at Beauty Crush in one of her youtube videos – if you haven’t checked her out, do so, she’s awesome! Also, if you haven’t tried out the Botanics Toning Spritz then try that out! It’s an absolute must especially in Summer but I love it in the morning because it really helps to wake up my skin as it’s very cooling and fresh. It always makes my face feeling clean and bright for the day ahead!
I then use Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion which along with my other Clinique product I do like it but I don’t think I’m going to repurchase again. It’s good and it’s lasted me quite a long time but it’s nothing special, maybe the product just isn’t for me!

I usually use the No 7 BB cream instead of foundation now because it’s a lot lighter and I don’t feel like it’s clogging up my skin. I like this No 7 BB cream because it’s light and it gives a nice coverage. It’s a perfect colour for me as well and I think it blends with my skin colour really well. I definitely would repurchase but I want to try a few different BB Creams before I stick to one because this is my first one I’ve tried! I’ve already purchasedUne’s BB Cream which is not like any usual BB Cream, it comes in a compact, so I’m quite excited to try that one out and tell you guys what it’s like!

My Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream is like my little tube of gold dust, I only use this whenever I have a really bad phase of dryness and I love it! I also have the 8 hour hand cream which I love! The whole range is amazing and definitely worth the money!

My latest product is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. Loads of beauty gurus on youtube go on about it and love it so I thought I’d give it a try! I only bought it the other day and so far so good! It says on the box to apply to your whole face but I’ve just applied it where I have breakouts and it seems to working well already but after I’ve used the product more I’ll be sure to write a blog post about it to see whether it’s worth all the rave from beauty gurus!

That’s all my skincare products for now, I’ll be posting a few more posts in the next week or so, if you have any ideas or questions about anything, be free to contact me!