Origins | Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser |

£18 // 150ml

Origins is one of my favourite brands, and I am slowly working on building up my collection of skincare from them. I was in need of a new face wash for the mornings and this had been on my radar for quite a while so I decided to buy it around a month ago. Since then my skin has changed so much for the better.

Although the packaging is a cute blue colour, the product inside is a clear gel that slightly foams once emulsified. I know foaming face washes are meant to be a bit of a no go but it doesn't foam that much and to be honest it has benefited my skin so much I'm not really too bothered! Ingredients include saw palmetto which helps to inhibit excess oil, salicylic acid which helps to exfoliate the skin's surface and therefore minimise and unclog pores and soothing aloe leaf juice. 

My skin has been so much clearer and even toned as well as oil production now being balanced, although I haven't noticed much difference regarding my pores. I used to have to blot/powder a few times a day but sometimes I can go a whole day without wearing any powder since using this. The only gripe I have with the product is the smell, which I'm really not a fan of. I'm literally so impressed with this product and it has reached holy grail status in my skincare regime. If you have a similar skin type to me I highly recommend you pick this up.

Do you have any favourites from Origins? xxx

My Current Skincare Regime

At the moment I'm trailing some new products to mix in with old staples, trying to find the best routine for me. My skin has been a bit up and down recently - blemish prone, scaring and oily some days and really dehydrated the next, it doesn't really know what its supposed to be doing. I'm putting it down to stress and the weather, but while I'm trying to figure it out I've been switching up my skincare to remedy the problems and also try to make my diet more healthy (essays are healthy eating's worst enemy!)

My morning routine is pretty simple. I start by washing my face with Simple's moisturising face wash, which I've had for a while and am trying to use up, followed by Elemis Balancing Lavender Toner that I got for Christmas. It smells lovely but doesn't match up to my favourite Boot's Botanics and I don't think its done much to balance out my skin so far. A full review will be up soon though once I've trailed it a bit further. Then a nice layer of much hyped up La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo to tackle the blemishes is applied as a day serum/moisturiser, followed by a little Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream if my skin is feeling really dehydrated. Finally a blob of Clarin's Eye Contour Gel for dark circles and prep the area for make up applied with my ring finger.

The evenings are a bit more complicated but my favourite time for skincare. The majority of my make up is removed with a micellar water and cotton pads, at the moment I'm using one by La Roche Posay. Then the Balancing Lime Blossom Cleanser which came with the matching toner is used to thoroughly cleanse all traces of make up and dirt in conjunction with my new No 7 Cleansing Brush, my first foray into facial brushes. There will be a full review of this at a later date but at the moment my impressions of it are good. After using the aforementioned toner, I mix a few drops of Clarins Lotus Oil in with the Neal's Yard moisturiser for extra hydration. I am in love with this oil and cannot wait to give it a full review! Finally, any blemishes are zapped with Origins Super Spot Remover.

What are your skincare staples? xxx

Review: Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Facewash

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash // RRP £4.94 at Boots for 200ml

...And breathe! Can we just appreciate how long the name of this product is?? I picked this face wash up a while ago in a haul I did in Boots as I had run out of face wash and was looking for something I hadn't tried before which would be gentle yet effective. This caught my eye as it is pink (obviously!), has grapefruit in it which I also love and was by Neutrogena, a brand I have no previous experience with. It claims to 'help eliminate spots and blackheads' for 'clean, fresh and healthy looking skin' by using 'Microclear technology' - whatever that is!

I've been using this for around a month now in the mornings to cleanse my skin before toning, moisturising and applying make up and as you can see from the pictures, I still have loads left so should last me a long time. The gel formula is lovely at giving me a clean feeling without striping my skin and does make me feel fresh and more awake. I also enjoy the fragrance, although it is a very sweet version of pink grapefruit, it is a really nice scent for the morning. The packaging gets a thumbs up from me too - it is clear so you can see how much product is left and the pump dispenses enough product hygienically and easily. You can also twist the pump head to lock it, making it great for travel.

Although I knew I wouldn't look in the mirror after using this and look like Neutrogena's ambassador Hayden Panettiere (I wish), the product still didn't live up to it's claims for me. It hasn't helped towards any blemishes I've had or made a real difference in any way to my skin, which is real shame after all it's other plus points. I know the scrub is quite popular so I may give that a go, but after I've finished using this I don't think I would repurchase it. I have enjoyed using this face wash, it is just a shame it didn't work for me. I have some other face washes on my ever expanding wishlist, so I'll be sure to update this when I've moved onto the next one.

Have you tried this product or any of Neutrogena's Pink Grapefruit Range? xxx

p.s. It was really difficult to get a good picture of this as the bottle and liquid are transparent!

Review: Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

£14.25 for a starter pack inc. 100ml bottle of product + 2 muslin cloths.

Before becoming interested in the world of beauty blogging and seeing all the rave reviews about this product, Liz Earle was a brand that had never crossed my radar. However, upon purchasing this I can safely say I'm in love! From the packaging to the product, I havn't been disappointed and think it is worth the money.

Due to my skin type being oily/combination I was worried that this product would make me break out or become more oily due to the thick creamy consistency of the cleanser, however it has actually done the opposite and so I think it would be suitable for all skin types. After using this, I can see that my skin has more of an even skin tone and feels fresh and really soft. It contains rosemary, chamomile, cocoa butter and eucalyptus essential oil, giving the product a herbal scent (a bit like Vicks in my opinion) and also what gives my skin its lovely soft feeling afterwards.

One pump is enough for my whole face, and I massage it in circular motions finishing with my eyes because otherwise make up residue goes everywhere! I love that this cleanser is a multi tasker and cleanses my skin effectively as well as taking off my make up. I was a bit skeptical of this at first but when I used my toner afterwards, which I apply with a cotton wool pad, there was no make up residue on the pad showing the cleanser had done its job well.

As it is a two stage product, with the first being the cleansing when you massage it around your face, the second is the 'polish' with the muslin cloths. These give your skin a deep clean without feeling too rough or harsh and effectively more all signs of make up and daily grime. I usually change my cloth after every few uses otherwise it kinda defeats the point of washing your face if you are doing it with a bacteria ridden cloth! As you get two cloths in the starter pack I would advise buying a couple more - you can get packs of 2 for £4 from John Lewis.

Another plus point for me is the packaging - it has a nice clean and sophisticated feeling and I really like the colours they have chosen, the pump action and the little bag the starter pack came in. The only thing I would change is maybe including a little see through bar so you can see how much product is left because I'm worried I will run out and not realise until I go to use it.

Overall, I think it is pretty obvious I am smitten with this product and it is probably a bit sad to say but I look forward to using this in the evenings! I would definitely repurchase this when I use it up, but I am also interested in comparing it to the Soap and Glory Hot Cloth Cleanser and also their Peaches and Clean. I think Liz Earle deserve the hype and am interested in trying some of their other products, which is made easy as if you go on their website they suggest products suited to your needs.

Have you tried this product and what do you think of it? Do you have any other Liz Earle recommendations? xxx

July Favourites

This is my first ever favourites post! I love reading other people's posts and watching YT videos like this as it makes me confident at trying products I've been thinking about sampling and also gives me some new suggestions to have a look at. This post features a mixture of skin care and make up :)

Skincare

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish: Ever since purchasing this last month I have loved it! From the packaging to the product it hasn't let me down and I understand now why there were so many rave reviews. I may be late on the bandwagon, but now I've got this brand on my radar I'm looking forward to trying some of their other products and will be keeping this as a staple in my skincare routine. I'm not going to go into too much detail as I have an upcoming post dedicated to this lovely product. (Edit: see review here!)

Neutrogena Grapefruit Facial Wash: Again, there is an upcoming review of this on my blog and is a new item in my facial skincare regime. I'm really enjoying using it in the mornings as the scent and formula wakes me up and refreshes my face nicely. 

Make Up

Revlon Lip Butters: I've just done a post on these so you can see how much I love them and why here! An update since then though is that I have recently purchased my third in the shade 'Creme Brulee' and I love it just as much as the others! I've been getting into my nude lips recently and this is a wonderful addition - it is a lovely soft nude, which is sheer enough to let some of my natural lip show through while still giving shine and a wash of colour with lots of nourishment. If you aren't that big into lipsticks and colour but want to dabble in lip products this is an excellent way to introduce yourself to both.

Urban Decay Naked Palette: This has been such a good investment purchase. Since buying it I've used it nearly every day and love the selection of matte and glittery shades, the quality of the eyeshadows and their colour payoff. You can create so many looks for day and evening by combining the different shades and I suggest it is a good palette to buy if you are into the natural look or are wanting to experiment. You can see my full review here. 

17 BB Cream: This has been a key staple in my every day make up routine this summer. I've been shunning foundation for the summer and this has to be my favourite BB cream that I have tried so far as it has good oil control, added SPF and good coverage. Every time I use it I like it even more :) If you want to read my full review for this you can read it here. I am looking forward to trying some other BB creams and am going to do a post soon on all the ones I have tried and what I think of them.

Hope you enjoyed reading my favourites :) Are any of these featured in your favourites post? xxx

All Used Up

This is my first 'empties' post and they will probably be few and far between as I am rubbish at using my products up and usually just buy more than I need! However, I'm going to try and cut down on the spending so these posts will (hopefully) become more of a regular thing than I am anticipating.

Witch Foaming Face Wash: I bought this ages ago when I was in Home Bargains at uni (an absolute gem of a shop!) as I needed a new face wash and have been using it again recently to get rid of it! There was nothing special that stood out about this and to be honest, it never really made much difference to my skin. As it is a foam, it did feel gentle when I washed my face but I never saw any positive changes to my skin in regards to blemishes, skin tone etc. It was a perfectly  nice face wash but I wouldn't buy it again as it didn't do much for me.

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Remover for Normal Nails: There isn't much to say about a nail varnish remover to be honest! As this was for normal nails I didn't see any amazing effects from using this, but as far as nail polish removers go it was pretty effective.

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Tone-Refreshing Shampoo: This has lasted me a really long time as I don't use it with every wash like it states due to the fact using a toner on your hair often can damage it quite a lot. I liked the smell and the consistency of the formula, but its effects didn't last long after I used it. On the first day my hair was noticeably more vibrant in colour, however this did wear off the next day. I have bought a new purple shampoo in my recent haul (see that post here) which was cheaper so it will be interesting to compare the two. If I don't get on with my most recent version of purple shampoo I will probably repurchase, but I would like to find something a little more effective.

Garnier Pure Facial Moisturiser: This product also lasted me ages, even when using morning and night. I used to use it in conjunction with the face scrub and toner and found it effective with that, but after they ran out, it showed me the moisturiser wasn't that much of a miracle product. It claims to 'treat imperfections while leaving the skin smooth', however I don't think it did much for blemishes or oil control and actually left my skin feeling a bit tacky. I have since bought the Clean and Clear oil free moisturiser and I already prefer it (expect a blog post on that soon). Overall, there was no noticeable benefits from using this product and I wouldn't repurchase. I would rather pay more money for a really enjoyable moisturiser than less for a sub-standard one.

Have you used any of your products? What are your thoughts on them? Are there any products you would recommend to use instead of these? xxx