Cleansers that have improved my skin

Its been a while since I posted about anything beauty related, or posted anything at all in fact. Its been a rocky road for the past few months and I haven't been feeling it so I gave my personal hobbies a break so I could concentrate on looking after myself a bit more. My skin was looking drab and lifeless with more breakouts than I have ever experienced and it was really getting me down. What you learn through your 20s is that having good skincare is a much better life decision than having the best makeup on the market. So here are my top 4 picks that I have been loving the past few months.

Chidem Vitamin Cream Cleanser / For radiance, firmness & sensitive skin

I found this in a my draw as I was having a sort out and have been addicted to it ever since. Vitamin based skincare has always been a hit with my face, it really does take to it like a duck to water. Vitamin C is especially a firm favourite with my 26 yr old skin. Its really helped with minimising my spots and imperfections, with my skin feeling freshly clean and radiant after every wash. This was actually gifted to me at a Blogger event and I'm so grateful as this is always the best way to discover new brands. Its not the cheapest in the cleansing world but at £36.50 I personally feel like it is totally worth it, plus the packaging is something you can proudly keep on your bathroom sink.

I massage 2 pumps of this into my face with a dab of water and wipe it away with a muslin cloth, first with warm water and second with cold to close those pores. The smell isn't going to wow you but it has a naturalness to it which is bearable once you get used to it. Great for sensitive skin and perfect for a wiping away all the dirt from the day without feeling dried out .

Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser / For clearing pores and dirt

I happened to pick this up when I was buying some Biore nose strips at Boots. It was on offer at the time, costing only £3.75 (originally £5.24) so I thought it was a good one to try considering it was quite cheap and stated it was great for pores. Charcoal based products are proving quite popular at the moment, especially when its in its natural form as it can transform your skin by drawing out dirt from deep down or whitening that smile. Since using this is have noticed a difference, my skin feels so much cleaner after each use and my pores have minimised in size.

I use this in the same was as all my cleansers, as this is my favourite way to clean my face. The gel consistency feels soft on the skin and I love the minty fresh feeling of this on my face once I have washed this off, although it can give quite a tight feeling after use so make sure you give it a moisturise. It states to use this everyday but I have oily/normal skin so I only use this a couple times a week to make sure this doesn't dry me out. 

La Roche-Posay purifying gel / For a excess sebum & acne prone skin

I use this cleanser on days when I need a thorough clean. You know those days where your face feels gross and you want to get every ounce of make up off and feel fresh. This foams up really well so it does just what I need. With added thermal spring water this makes a great cleanser for sensitive skin. This active water helps to soothe the skin and acts as an anti-irrirant so there should be no cause for concern on this reacting with your delicate skin. 

As I have normal cheeks I tend to concentrate this on my t-zone where I get the biggest build up of sebum on my face. I add product to my hands and add a little water, foam it up in my hands before I apply it to my face. This helps with the control of the foam so you can concentrate it on the areas you need it the most. You can either splash your face with water afterwards or use a muslin cloth to wipe it away. This retails at £11 in Boots, which is mid-range for a cleanser but you can find it on offer for around £7 most of the time so keep an eye out on the skincare deals. 

InsitU cosmetics face scrub / Made for you (personalised)

I came across this brand at a blogger event and what attracted me to it first of all was that I could get it personalised with my name and product based on my personal preferences. Now I have one of those names that is spelt differently from what you find in the shops, Im sure you can guess I got a little bit over excited at this prospect. InsitU is on the pricer side of skincare but I think its totally worth getting if you have the budget, even if its one thing. This particular one retails at £31 and I have since noticed they have improved the formula and it now comes with a natural loofa to help those pesky dry patches.

When choosing your skincare you have a few options to choose from. Picking if you want a moisturiser, cleanser etc is your first call but then you get to make it your own. Adding in your name to get written on the bottle is the first thing, you then decide what mood boost you want added to the product, you then tick what kind of skin you have before finally telling then your biggest skin concern. This then gets made and delivered to your house for you to use. 

I love to use this with my cleansers for an added boost of exfoliation. As I have sensitive skin Im always aware about being careful with exfoliators as I tend to react to them. This is an exception so I have been sticking with this for a long time. My skin feels so smooth afterwards, giving my skin a dry free complexion. 

I hope this has been helpful to some of you with your with skincare problems. Just know that one cleanser/toner doesn't fit all and mix it up and I have found using the same one day in day out doesn't always benefit you. Especially being a girl with ever changing hormones with my acne prone skin. I'm still on my way to achieving the skin of my dreams but just making sure you wash every night before you go to bed and give your face a cleanse in the morning, you will quickly notice a difference if you don't do this already.

Enjoy your week!

Review: Yes to...Moisturiser

Today I want to share with you a moisturiser I have been loving lately. Since starting my blog 6 months ago I have started to really take care of my skin as my world has been opened up to such lovely products that I just need to try. For the longest time I have struggled to find the right products for my skin and I have oily/combination skin, especially on the t-zone. How is it possible to have an oily AND dry nose? Nothing has really worked in preventing the problem as of yet, but I am definitely on my way to achieving the skin I want.

I found this moisturiser while I was picking up some essentials in Boots. I was walking past the isle and spotted this brand with the weirdest ingredients in it. Tomatoes? and I'm going to put that on my face? I then noticed it was 97% natural which got the thumbs up from me. I was more intrigued than anything to see how the tomato extract could benefit my skin, so in my basket it went.

The three main ingredients in this to help with redness, inflammation and clogged pores are the tomatoes, which has fruit acids to help control the extra sebum in the skin, red tea which has great antioxidants and watermelon which helps to keep the moisture in your skin without stripping it bare and causing more dry patches, which a lot of combination products can do.

Since first use of this moisturiser I have been impressed. First off the smell of the product is amazing as its smells quite fresh but with a fruity undertone, not too overpowering either. I added a pump to my hands after cleansing and rubbed in circular motions around my face. It sinked in so quickly I couldn't believe it! After having oily skin and being used to having this film of oil over your skin in the day to having a product that sinks in and makes your skin feel like silk, I could not have been happier.

The formula has a nice smooth texture which feels light on the skin, not the lightest moisturiser I have ever tried but with how quickly my skin absorbed it, it really didn't bother me. I would say it has some qualities of a serum with its silky texture, just like one of those foundations that turn to powder on the skin but not as heavy. It leaves your skin feeling like skin should without the feeling of a product heavy face, which is exactly what I am looking for in my morning and evening routines.

I love using this is the morning although it states you can use it in the evening too, but with SPF15 in it (another thumbs up) its not recommended as this can clog your pores. Saying this I do use this in the evening sometimes as I have not experienced any problems yet.

I say YES to tomatoes! I'm currently looking into what I can get from the range next. The prices are quite reasonable for a natural product retailing at £11.99, I would certainly buy this again without hesitation as I believe spending more on skincare than makeup is important. How can makeup look good on bad skin? I would give this 4 out of 5 stars, 100% natural would nudge it up to 5!

Have you tried anything from this range lately?
Love Khrissie xx

Review | Thea Organic Skincare

I received these samples of Thea Face Renew Cleanser and Moisturiser a little while ago and was really intrigued to try them as I have been wanting to get more onto organic and natural products. I mainly wanted to see if they were any better than standard products that have lots of nasty ingredients in them. With organic products comes a bigger price tag but they say if you can spend £40 on a pair of shoes, you should do the same for skincare as its a lot better to invest in your skin than anything else, especially as good skin is the basis of good makeup.

First up in my skin routine was the cleanser, now personally I don't like cream cleansers as I've got so used to my micellar waters, but I gave it a go non the less. I found I had to use quite a lot of the product to take all my makeup off but using it as a second cleanse worked really well as it got any excess product off that I may have missed. I loved how it left skin feeling super clean afterwards! I also tried this by applying it using a muslin cloth, which worked a lot better for me.

It had a section on how to use it on the website but I find it's better to find your own personal way to begin with, but in this case using a damp cotton pad or muslin cloth was the best method.

Brightening Fruit Enzyme Cleanser 100ml £29.95*

This cleanser is made from lots of great ingredients like Aloe Juice, Green Tea, mango butter and lemon and orange oils. If you don't like scented products this won't be for you as it is heavily scented with strong citrus notes, which I personally love! I enjoyed applying the cleanser as the smell was gorgeous, not as refreshing as some cleansers I have used so I would keep this for my evening routine. After using it for a few weeks my skin does look brighter and slightly more plump.

Brightening Fruit Enzyme Moisturiser 100ml £29.95*

Next up is the Face Renew Moisturiser. Now I love this compared to the cleanser as this is a really light formula, which is much more suited to my oily skin. The smell wasn't as amazing but I didn't mind so much. This is also made of the same kind of ingredients as the cleanser so if I was to buy the full version I would definitely head for the moisturiser as it gives me the same results being that the ingredients are doing all the hard work. 

You can buy a sample of the moisturiser for £8.95 if you wanted to give this brand a go and your into natural and organic products. They also have other ranges for different skin types which you can choose from. Overall I'm quite satisfied with the results. You always expect more when the products are organic but it may just be that natural ingredients that are just doing more good for your skin in general rather than a quick fix that a lot of the animal tested brands give you. 

I would like to test some more of their products from the different ranges as thats where I have my skin problems, especially interested in the rosehip and white tea mask for sensitive skin

Is there anything you are interested in you would like me to try?

All products are paraben and cruelty free and are also vegan friendly. 

Khrissie x