Give Your Skin A Break And See Great Results

Over the last few months my skin has gone very bad. I’m talking about violent breakouts, random oiliness, red sensitive patches, dry patches, stingy patches…you get the idea! Normally my skin is dry so while I’m used to dealing with redness, patches and roughness, the oil and mass breakouts are a whole new ball game for me. I’m not gonna lie, I have been trying a few different skin care products and not giving them enough time to properly work on my skin (it takes 2-3 months to really see how skincare products are working for you) but in my defence, the products I was using were in an attempt to fix my skin – it just kept getting worse. I tried Garnier’s Micellar Cleansing Water and found that it was not good for use as a make-up remover and besides, I really like using a hot facecloth on my skin when I’m cleansing it (really not a fan of the thinking that leaving something to dry on the skin is as good as cleaning it with a cleanser and water). I tried L’Oréal’s Skin Perfection Cleanser and Toner – it made my skin burn as if it was on fire. I even tried a few La Roche-Posay products, namely their Physiological Micellar Solution, Physiological Cleansing Milk, Thermal Spring Water, Effaclar Duo (for spots), Hydreane Light AND Hydreane Riche Moisturisers. Result? Stinging got worse and to be honest, some of the fragrances in the products made my stomach turn.

Nivea Pure and Natural Range

I felt like I was stuck at a crossroads, there are so many skincare options but when what is considered one of the best for sensitive skin in the world doesn’t work for you, what do you do then?! I spent a few hours researching skincare products and decided to give my skin a break from most unnatural products and give the Nivea Pure and Natural range a try. I ordered the cleanser and toner from Boots, along with Boots Botanics Facial Oil and I picked up the Nivea Pure and Natural Dry and Sensitive Day Cream, Regenerating Night Cream and St.Ives Gentle Apricot Facial Scrub in Tesco. It’s been two weeks since I’ve been using the products and my skin is looking great. No burning, stinging, roughness and reduced redness. One thing that hasn’t fully cleared up is the biggest outbreak of spots on my chin (this is said to be hormonal) and I am finding my skin getting a bit more on the oilier side, something I have never experienced before. Even though my skin is getting oilier, this is natural. I’m 23 and as we get older our skin type can change. The other important thing to remember in terms of skin types is that the time to analyse your skin is AFTER cleansing, with no products on it. And although my skin is getting a bit oilier, I still have a dry skin type. Whatever the majority of your face is (dry, oily, normal) is the skin type that you are. You may have oily skin and a few dry patches but if the ratio is 80% oily to 20% dry then you have oily skin. Combination skin is a definite very oily area in the T Zone and either dry or normal cheeks. It’s also important to remember to always include a scrub (gentle for dry skin) in your skincare routine at least once a week. Three times a week is what’s recommended but if you find that too much for your skin, once or twice is better than never. The only time you really have to avoid exfoliating is after waxing (2-3 days), if your skin is red and raw or you have a skin condition which is being treated by a doctor or dermatologist, such as psoriasis or eczema.

Boots Botanics 100% Organic Facial Oil

I haven’t decided whether I’ll continue with the regime after I’ve used the products for a month or so. I find that the creams are a bit too thick for my skin, despite the fact that it craves moisture on a constant basis. As for the facial oil, I have to say, I quite like it. Although your skin will be oily after using it (not dripping but if you wipe your fingers firmly across your skin you’ll feel them slide a bit), I think it’s worth it, especially if you suffer from dry skin. I put it on after cleansing my skin at night, before my moisturiser and you’ll be washing it off in the morning anyway so it can revive your skin at night and you won’t have to worry about your make-up sliding off your face. Even try use it on just dry patches and I guarantee you will see a difference. And it’s 100% organic so it smells lovely and the chances of it upsetting sensitive skin are not very high. Allergic or intolerable skins may have a problem, but if you know your skin is reactive always, always, patch test!

Sometimes, we can overload our skin with too many products and/or chemicals. I’m realistic, I know that most people my age, people younger and older, cannot afford to splash out the big bucks on the expensive skin care ranges. That’s why I recommend the Nivea Pure and Naturals collection to either give your skin a break or if you’re having problems finding products that don’t upset your skin at a reasonable price.

Eye make-up remover and why it’s important

When it comes to make-up removal, I usually just use a cleanser. These days there are cleansers and make-up removers that are gentle enough to use all over the face, including the lip and eye areas. This means that you can remove your make-up in one fell swoop and not pay for several different products. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well, it can be if you do it right but if you don’t, you may get more than you bargain for.

Last week I had to go and see an eye specialist because my eyes were randomly watering and burning on and off. I was convinced it was an allergy to something. So imagine my shock when I was told that I had severely dry eyes and no protective film covering my eyes causing them to be affected by the slightest external factor. The dry eyes thing wasn’t new to me, it’s been a constant battle regarding contact lens comfort and wearing. However, the concerning element about this all was that the glands at the roots of my eyelashes were blocked, which was causing my eyes to only produce water. Your eyes normally produce mucous and water and the mucous is essential because it allows the water to “stick” to the eye and form tears. But with my blocked lash roots and glands, no mucous was getting to my eyes, leaving them vulnerable.

Later that evening, I was reading Lauren Conrad’s book Beauty and came across an interesting fact about mascara – waterproof mascara can actually block your glands and it is recommended to be worn only on special occasions. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not, but all I have ever worn is waterproof mascara up until very recently.

So the next day I purchased Garnier’s 2 in 1 Express Eye Make-Up Remover. I had only tried L’Oréal’s Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover prior to this, while it was on offer along with their Skin Perfection cleanser and toner and all of the products made my skin burn like crazy.To be honest, I had just always assumed that if you couldn’t afford the really expensive stuff, nothing was going to completely removed every last trace of make-up on your face, so I believed what I using was good enough.  After one use of Garnier’s eye make-up remover however I honestly noticed a huge difference. My eye lids and lashes looked so clean. Not a trace of mascara or eye shadow left behind and it was only €2.38 in Penney’s!

Garnier’s Express 2 in 1 Eye Make-Up Remover

The cleansers which are suitable for use around the eye area, in my experience, do not give lashes, especially right down to the roots, as good a clean as I experienced with this product. I have used both Garnier’s Micellar Cleansing Water, which is for face, lips and eyes and La Roche-Posay’s Physiological Micellar Solution (same deal) and I was not overly happy with the results of either of these products for facial make-up removal, never mind eye make-up removal.

When you use cleanser to remove eye make-up, it can take a lot more rubbing and repeating the process to get as much make-up off as possible. This is terrible for both your eyes and your skin. An eye make-up remover that works will limit these actions as much as possible (you simply let a dampened cotton pad sit on the eye for a couple of minutes and the make-up dissolves). Plus, the cleansers also tend to be thicker which hurts a hell of a lot more when you inevitably get some into your eyes! (Another reason you need to make sure you’re using an eye friendly make-up remover)

Whatever eye make-up remover you find works for you, use it! It’s a lot less harsh on the skin and eyes and my little “incident” has shown me how important it is to make absolutely sure your eyes are 100% make-up free before you hit the sack for the night. Examine your eyes closely after trying different removal products and make sure they’re doing their job properly. You don’t have to spend a fortune but it is worth buying separate products sometimes. Besides, it’s a general rule of thumb that any product that promises to do more than one thing probably won’t live up to it’s name.