First Aid Beauty - Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay

First Aid Beauty is a company that I have been dying to try out for a long time, so I was very excited to make my first order recently. I was actually recommended the Skin Rescue range by the lovely people at First Aid Beauty, after I tweeted my desire to try their products. I bought the Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay from the Feel Unique website – here.

I have used the Deep Cleanser with Red Clay twice a day for the last few weeks, and I can safely say that I have been really enjoying it. I have normal/combination skin, dry patches on the cheeks but oily t-zone and this formula has worked a treat at balancing it out. You apply to damp skin, massaging the gel into the skin creating a slight foam. It is then washed off, leaving the skin feeling clean and fresh.

The price of the product did put me off slightly. At £18 it is the most I have paid for skincare before, but the Deep Cleanser with Red Clay has really proved itself worth the bucks. You only need a small amount of the product too, so I would expect it to last a long time! I cannot wait to try some other First Aid Beauty products after sampling this one!

Have you tried any First Aid Beauty Products? What did you think?

Exfoliating Face Masks - LUSH vs. The Body Shop

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I am still a novice when it comes to skin care. It has only been recently that I set myself up fully with a morning and evening cleansing routine, which you can read about – here.

A few months ago, I started trying face masks. My skin was in pretty bad shape, breakouts and clogged pores galore – immediately I reached for the exfoliating masks. I brought two; LUSH ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ and The Body Shop ‘Blue Corn 3-in-1 Deep Cleansing Mask’, both of which claim to give my skin a similar treatment, deep cleanse and unclog pores.

LUSH ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ £9.25

 ‘A multi-purpose mask with a mixture of gentle yet effective ingredients to clean, calm and clear the skin. Easily smoothed over the skin, this mask is made with peppermint oil to stimulate, marigold oil and chlorophyllin to treat the skin; evening primrose seeds and aduki beans to gently exfoliate as you remove it. You can use this mask anywhere.’

The first thing that struck me about this mask was the gorgeous smell. I really enjoy anything with a peppermint smell, and this really came across in the mask. You apply to a dry face, and it was very easy to smooth out and cover. The primrose seeds and aduki beans do mean that the texture is quite course, however I didn’t find that it scratched the skin. When applied, I found there to be a slight heating sensation, often found with mint products, but no irritation. However, if you have sensitive skin I would be careful, my sister tried the mask and found that it stung her.

It is recommended that you leave the mask on for about 10minutes. In that time, the mask dries and becomes crumbly. To remove, wash off with warm water using circular motions, which is where the texture does its job. The ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ was very easy to remove, leaving my skin significantly improved. Afterwards, my skin felt incredibly soft, clean and it did a fantastic job of unclogging my pores.

The Body Shop ‘Blue Corn 3-in-1 Deep Cleansing Mask’ £10.

‘This three-in-one cleansing mask cleanses, exfoliates and moisturises normal to oily skin.

• Gently cleanses the skin
• Removes dead skin cells, excess oil and impurities
• Moisturises, leaving skin feeling soft
• Weekly treatment’

 

What I really like about this mask is the results it produced. I don’t think my face has ever felt as clean as it does after I have used this mask! It unclogged my pores and, as with the LUSH mask, left my skin smooth and soft. This mask is applied to damp skin, and has a smoother texture to the ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ with the exfoliating elements being a lot finer. Once applied, I did feel a slight tingling sensation but it was not so bad that I had to remove the mask straight away. Again, when left for around 15minutes, the mask dries to the skin.

The ‘Blue Corn 3-in-1 Deep Cleansing Mask’ dried a lot faster than the LUSH mask, which made it slightly harder to remove with water, but the results are worth it. One element of the mask which I was not particularly keen on, was the scent. It has a slight musky, floury smell which isn’t offensive, but not as yummy as the peppermint of the ‘Mask of Magnaminty’.

Overall, both of these masks provided great results. When used weekly, they helped to stop breakouts and to clear up my skin! If I had to pick a favourite however, I would definitely have to go for LUSH ‘Mask of Magnaminty’. It was slightly kinder on my skin and that scent! Just perfect!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?

Cleanse. Tone. Moisturise. Repeat - My Daily Skincare Routine.

Now, I am slightly ashamed to admit that up until about a year ago, I didn’t really have a cleansing routine. I remember reading blogs and thinking to myself ‘Hmmm... so Clearasil and water don’t count huh?’.  Yes, that’s right. My cleansing routine echoed that of a 12 year old.

Ever since then, I have been trying to find the perfect combination of potions to fit my skin. I have combination skin (that rubbish one where your T-zone is oily, yet there are dry patches on the cheeks), and I am also quite spot prone. I thought that I would share the products I am using currently.

 

 

Asda Skin System Eye Make-up Remover £2.00– I use this magic product of an evening, to remove my eye make-up (obviously). I have tried many a eye makeup remover, and I still come back to this one! Even in my Emo/Grunge phase I found that this was the best for removing that trade-mark eyeliner.  At £2 a bottle, you can’t complain really.

Clarins Cleansing Milk with Alpine Herbs £19.00 – I received this set from my Boyf’s very lovely sisters at Christmas. I squeeze a little out in my hands and press into the skin. I use the ‘press and lift’ Clarins technique (I had no idea what this was I had to ‘Google’ it when I first started using the cleanser), and it does the job perfectly.

Clarins Toning Lotion with Camomile £19.00 – If I am perfectly honest, I still don’t really understand toners. Do I need one? What do they actually do? I pour a little onto a cotton pad and wipe all over my face. I’m not sure what it does exactly, but I do know that my skin feels softer once it has been applied. It also gives me a slight cold/tingly feeling which I strangely like!

Johnson’s Facecare Hydrating 24 Hour Day Cream RRP £4.07– This is my favourite moisturiser of all time! I have tried lots of different types, by loads of different brands - Simple, Nivea and even Benefit, but none match up to this in my opinion. It leaves my skin feeling beautifully soft and really does last all day! There is no greasy residue either, which I have found in moisturisers in the past. Previous experiences have also led to my skin having massive break outs; however, I don’t think I have ever had one from using this product. It also comes in a glass pot, which I feel adds a certain Je ne sais quoi! The only downside is that Boots seem to have stopped stocking it in store (Why is that Boots??!) – But after a few weeks of frantic searching, I managed to find it in Wilkinson’s, so now I just stock up J

Soap and Glory ‘Puffy Eye Attack’ £12.50  – If you have read my other blogs, you may recognise this product from a haul post. You can read about my initial thoughts on this product – here. Since then, I have been using this cream for about a month. Unfortunately, I found that it played absolute havoc with my contact lenses. It just irritated them and thus my eyes. I now only use it in the evening, which is slightly annoying because I did think my bags were starting to look better!

You may notice that I still don’t really have a separate night and day routine. Shock horror! To be honest, I just can’t be faffed with it, so I tend to use the same products morning and evening.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think? Which are your favourite cleansing products?