The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil

When it comes to cleansers I tend to pass on the foaming ones and stick to cream, oil and balm formulas. I made the switch a few years ago now and my skin is definitely thanking me for it. I found foaming formulas left my skin feeling tight and uncomfortable whereas creams/oils/balms leave my skin feeling soft and nourished. 

I've been using The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil for a while now and I'm loving it. It's a really lightweight oil that you massage onto your dry, fully made up face and it completely dissolves makeup, including stubborn mascara. When it comes into contact with water the whole lot turns into a milky liquid and just rinses off making makeup removal incredibly quick and easy. You can also remove it with a damp flannel/washcloth which I sometimes do and this gives the skin a slight exfoliation, leaving it feeling even softer. 

I find one pump of product is plenty to do my whole face and as I only use it in the evening this bottle will last me a long time. I tend to follow it with another cleanse, just to make sure all my makeup is definitely gone and my skin in super clean, for this I prefer a balm cleanser or coconut oil as it's richer and leaves my skin feeling plumped up. I've heard great things about The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter too so that one's next on my list to try! 

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water

I've never been particularly interested in makeup removers as I've always used a cleanser that removes makeup and I hardly ever wear waterproof mascara. However, since I started reading beauty blogs and writing my own I've been hearing about Micellar Waters constantly, everyone seems to use them! The most popular is of course Bioderma but as it's not particularly cheap or readily available in this county I never got round to trying it. 

When wandering around Boots recently I spotted the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, an obvious Bioderma copy, even down to the bottle. As it was on offer for a mere £3.33 (regular price £4.99) I thought I'd give it a go, and I'm so glad I did, it really is amazing! It manages to remove an entire face  of makeup, including eyes, with just 2 cotton pads. No rubbing required, at all. I just soak 2 pads, hold one over each eye, press down for a few seconds and wipe away. I then turn the pads over to remove the rest of the makeup on my face. 

The bottle claims that it will last 200 uses, which I'm not entirely sure about, I'll have to get back to you on that on in one of my empties posts. I do however think it will last a really long time, I've been using mine for more than a month and as you can see from the picture I not that far through it!

Have you tried any Cleansing Waters?

REVIEW: The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation

When I think of foundations, The Body Shop are definitely not the first brand to come to mind, but a while ago, when my skin was feeling particularly sensitive I thought I'd give one a go. I went for their Extra Virgin Minerals Liquid Foundation in the hope that it would be more sensitive skin friendly as I've had a lot of luck with other products of theirs.

I found that it didn't react to my skin when almost every other foundation did, which was a massive plus point. Now that my skin is back to normal it doesn't get used very much. Even though the colour match is spot on for me I find the formula a bit difficult to work with. It's quite rich so it tends to sit on top of the skin looking very visible, I prefer formulas that sink into the skin and look as undetectable as possible. As well as that I found it very difficult to blend in, even with my trusty Real Techniques Buffing Brush. 

I usually tend to prefer more buildable foundations, and this one definitely isn't. With just one layer being so visible on the skin any more would definitely lead to the dreaded cake face! That said I will still probably try to use it up by mixing it with a lightweight moisturiser in the hope that it blends better and looks more natural!

Have you tried any foundations that you didn't like?

REVIEW: Boots Essentials Cucumber Eye Gel

When it comes to skincare, eye creams/gels are definitely the most recent addition to my routine so I've only tried a few. So many of them have such over ambitious and unrealistic claims, like erasing lines and rewinding the ageing process but all you really need is something that moisturises and is easily absorbed.

The Boots Essentials Cucumber Eye Gel is super cheap and does just that, making it a great option if you're just thinking of dipping your toes into the eye product pool. As it's a gel it feels really cool and refreshing when applied, this makes it great for calming down puffiness first thing in the morning. If you want it to feel extra refreshing and depuffing, store it in the fridge. 

If you have very dry skin around the eye area, this probably won't cut it, you'll need a richer cream like the Clarins Special Eye Contour Balm, but for anyone else this would be a great product. 

Do you use an eye gel/cream as part of your skincare routine?

REVIEW: The Body Shop Aloe Eye Defence

When it comes to good quality skincare with no added nasties on a budget, I think The Body Shop is one of the best. I particularly love their Vitamin E and Aloe ranges.

I thought it would be a good time to review their Aloe Eye Defence as it's been designed for sensitive skin and my eyes are feeling particularly sensitive at the moment, are you fed up of hearing about that yet?

It has a really light texture and the formula is the mildest I've ever found. A tiny dot of it patted into the eye are immediately cools, soothes and moisturises skin. It also contains prebiotics which are supposed to 'reinforce the skin's natural barrier', I'm not sue if it does this long term but I can definitely say that skin feels a bit more resilient while it's on.

All in all it's a great budget eye cream for sensitive skin, or any skin for that matter! It's light texture makes it sink in really quickly so it creates a great base for eye makeup, because I've been using it mainly in the day time, I find it's also a good shield against the elements. In the evenings I've been using Clarins 'Special' Eye Contour Balm (full review here) which much is richer and creamier. 

Do you use an eye cream?

REVIEW: Sephora Gentle Exfoliator Cleansing Cream

Yesterday I spoke about a cleanser I really dislike so I thought it was about time I turned the tables and spoke about one that I love. It's the Sephora Gentle Exfoliator Cleansing Cream which I brought in Sephora when I went to France last summer.

It has a thick creamy consistancy which you massage into the skin and wipe away with a warm damp flannel. I contains exfoliating fruit acids (AHAs) which gently rid skin of dull surface skin cells without the need for using harsh grainular products that can often irritate sensative skin. 

I tend to use it as a mask rather than a cleanser, I just smooth it on and leave it for about 10 minutes, that way all the ingredience have a chance to work for a bit longer. When I remove it my skin feels really soft and smoother and looks a lot brighter. I'll definitely be repurchasing this next time I'm in France!