Current Skin Care

So my current skin care falls into the cheap drugstore end rather than the high end drugstore of products.  But it's just what's working for me at the moment.  Botanics Skin Calming Day Cream in Ultra Calm is the perfect companion for my difficult skin.  I'm the lovely mix of dry, greasy and prone to breakouts.  This just works well with that mixture.  My skin is left hydrated and lovely and soft.  I love the added marshmallow which I also have in my hand cream (Soap and Glory's Hand Food - best hand cream out there!) It also has SPF 15 in which isn't particularly high but better than nothing.

I like a really basic Toner and have previous used Lush's Breath of Fresh Air, Nivea's Pure and Natural and Botanics Rosewater Toner.  Which all have the same simple more natural formula.  My skin never seems to like anything that's too harsh or scented. The Boots Traditional Skin Care Glycerin and Rosewater Tonic is perfect for me.  I actually picked this up originally when they were first released in glass bottles, however it seemed to disappear for a bit and then come back in the plastic bottle above.  I find it removes any remaining makeup and leaves by skins feeling fresh.  I also noticed that combined the moisturiser that my skin is left hydrated and clear from blemishes and dry patches. 

Botanics Skin Calming Day Cream in Ultra Calm £6.99 (although I keep picking it up when they have a 1/3 off)

Boots Traditional Skin Care Glycerin and Rosewater Tonic £2.32

Don't forget to Enter our Nivea Lip Butter Giveaway - ends midnight 6 January 2013

Toner Love

Today I wanted to show you some toners I've trying out over the last few weeks.



I've recently moved back to North Wales after 10 years up in Lancaster - how old does that make me sound! (I went up for Uni and stayed). Anyway once back I realised that I could no longer easily get hold of my most loved toner - Lush's Breath of Fresh Air as they are no Lush's locally.



I can go to Chester but it's not something we do regularly. So with that in mind I had to try and find a nice natural (if possible) replacement. I couldn't really decide in Boots so I went with the Nivea Pure & Gentle Cleansing Toner and Botanics Rosewater Toner.

Botanics,



Nivea,



Both are great and my face always feels refreshed after using either of them. I've also noticed that it didn't make much of a difference to my skin if I alternated between these in the week. Which is a bonus!

I find that they're both ok for removing any makeup residue thats left but if I'm honest the Botanics Rosewater toner does do a bit of a better job.

Overall they're both gear toners to use especially if you don't want to spend a fortune or have sensitive skin. But if I'm honest I'll be picking up a Breath of Fresh Air as soon as I get a chance. Can't fully describe why, but I just happier with my whole complexion when I use it.

Battle of the Eye make-up Removers

In the search for the perfect eye make-up remover I ended up with lots of different ones on the go at the moment. They are Johnson's, Botanics Soothing Eye Make-up Remover, Botanics Face Nourishing Eye Make-up Remover, L'Oreal Absolute Eye & Lip make-up remover and lastly Bourjois Express Eye Make-up Remover. So I wanted to give you a run down on each one and show you how they removed my Body Shop Mascara, First up is Botanics Face Nourishing Eye Make-up Remover:

This can be picked up from Boots for roughly £3.99 for 75ml, and a little does seem to go a long way. This is quite a unique product, the product is more like a balm that you massage onto your eyes firsts then you wet with warm water and remove with cotton wool. As you can see from the picture above with the cotton wool it actually removes the Mascara quite well and I don't end up with any morning left over eye make-up residue (its a problem I seem to suffer with blonde eye lashes). It is also very gentle on the my eyes and doesn't leave them sore at all. I would buy this one again especially as it is value for money, though it does take longer to use then a regular eye make-up remover.

Second up is another Botanics purchase its there Soothing Eye Make-up Remover, you can buy this from Boots for £3.05 for 150ml.

This is a two part solution that you need to shake before use and apply/use with cotton wool. This is one of the worst of the bunch for me, I have to use two lots of cotton wool on one eye to get all the make-up off (I don't even wear much eye make-up on weekdays). Though it is cheap I wouldn't repurchase as my eye's feel sore the next morning after applying this as I have to rub my eye's with the cotton wool to ensure my eyes are clean. Third up is Bourjois Express eye Make-up Remover, this retails at roughly £4.99 at Boots and can be found withe the Bourjois make-up in store. This is my absolute favourite of the lot and I will be repurchasing (after I use up my stash). It is a two part formula that you shake together again and apply with cotton wool. This only takes one (maybe two) swipes and all my eye make-up is gone and I don't have sore eyes or morning residue. I feel this gives me everything I need from my eye make-up remover as I feel it also moisturiser the eye area. Next up is Johnsons Gentle eye make-up remover, it retails at Boots for £3.05 for 100ml.

Again this is a two part solution that you shake before use and I apply with cotton wool. Now I picked this up as it states 'Gentle', well i have found nothing gentle about it! My eye are sore and sting a little, and as you can see I have persisted in trying this out but it really doesn't seem to work for me. It just doesn't seem to remove my eye make-up and it does make my eye sting.

Last up is L'Oreal Absolute Eye and lip make-up Remover, this retails at Boots £5.40ml.

I actually picked this one up by mistake I was actually looking for the gentle eye make-up remover that L'Oreal do but ended up with this. Though it removes the make-up really well (the second best of the bunch) its not as gentle as I would like on my eyes, they do feel a bit sore after I use it.

Out of the choice I have at the moment the Bourjois and Botanics Nourishing one are the ones I would repurchase and have enjoyed using. I am determined to use up all of these though even if they make my eyes a bit sore. Another one that I have tried but have not mentioned here is Simple Gentle Eye make-up reomver but after a week of use that went in the bin as it really made my eyes sore. I still want to try No7 and I have a clinique sample to try so I will update you on how I get on with these two as well.

Do you have a favourite? Or any others I should try?

Thanks