Skin Care Routine

Recently I've been really keen to take better care of my skin and even spending more on the products that I use. I've got into a fairly regular routine, at least compared to how I used to be with my skin care routine. I enjoy my routine - and I think thats where I was going wrong before. Before I got stuck into this routine I had been trying to use up a fair lot of the products that had been in my collection for awhile, and as each old product was gone I slowly brought in shiny new ones. I'm still working through some products that I've had for awhile so in a few months my routine will probably change slightly again. My skin care routine for in the morning and before I go to bed are very similar, there is maybe only a slight difference in it.

In the morning I tend to wash and exfoliate my face while in the shower. I tend to exfoliate my skin before cleansing, the one I'm using just now is the Soap and Glory Scrubatomic - I only use this 2 or 3 times a week because the scrub is quite abrasive, and even though its described as being daily scrub I really don't think you could use it daily. The cleanser I use in the morning is the Origins Checks and Balances frothy face wash. You don't need very much of this - at little really does go a long way. I love the smell of this, its quite minty.

After I've washed my face I'll take myself back to my room to finish my skin care. If I have any spots I'll use a spot treatment on them - just now I'm using the La Roche Possay Efficlar Duo. I've not tried this as a moisturiser yet - because I've heard that it doesn't work well that way, but it seems to do pretty well as a spot treatment. I'll then use my Hydraluron before my moisturiser, I don't quite know what this does for my skin but I think my skin is better off with having it. Final step in the morning is to apply moisturiser, I've not yet got myself a new brilliant moisturiser, so the one I'm using is by Garnier - I'm not quite sure what its called but it smells nice and controls my oil pretty well. Origins GinZing is waiting in the wings for me.

My night time routine is pretty much the same, the only difference is how I wash my face. If I've been wearing make-up, which now I'm back at university is most days, then I'll have a double cleanse. First up I'll probably use Garnier Skin Natural Makeup removing gel, this removes everything so easily. If I've been wearing a fair amount of make-up then I'll use this twice with a face cloth before going in with a different face wash. The next face wash I'd use is the REN ClearCalm 3 Clarifying Clay cleanser. I've never used a clay cleanser before, so I wasn't really sure on what to expect. I do really like this though - for taking off make-up I wouldn't say this is the best for it. I find this is really good for absorbing excess oil, so I don't tend to feel like my skin is feeling yucky when I wake up in the morning. This doesn't strip my skin and hasn't broken my skin out. I genuinely love using this. The next steps in my routine are the same as in the morning.
My routine is pretty simple but I think it is really effective and works well for me. My skin is in such better condition than it used to be and hopefully it will just keep getting better.

What products do you love for your skin?

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Nip+Fab Oily Skin Fix Review

I've been looking for something to help my skin, as it is extremely oily, and for awhile I thought I was never going to find something that was affordable. Finally I found something that does the job, Nip+Fab are now my new best friends.

The Oily Skin Fix set is heavenly, if my skin wasn't quite so oily I'm pretty sure this would have been the single best thing to ever happen to me.
The kit contains 3 things; a facial cleansing wash, a moisturiser and a spot gel.
Clean Fix Gel is described as "a deep cleansing and purifying foaming formula for super clean skin." This makes my skin feel really clean, I've used lots of facial washes before and most make my skin feel very tight or don't give a good enough clean - so my skin ends up pretty drap and quite a wee bit unhealthy (by unhealthy I mean oily, blackheads and spots). Since using this my skin hasn't been nearly as spotty and my skin goes longer without becoming oiler than a frying pan.

To help with this the Shine Fix helps keep my oily skin at bay. I even apply this later in the day over my make-up if my face is getting overly oily. Nip+Fab say this =has "microsponges" in it that "target and prevent shine". This is also meant to be a black head buster, but I can't say I've noticed my blackheads disappearing. For an affordable moisturiser it works wonders, and I was overly impressed with it. Since I hadn't yet found an affordable/ drug store this was a little god send. I would say that since it is a tiny tube I will still be on the hunt for something bigger, maybe even on the pricier side, but in the mean time I will definitely re-purchase Shine Fix.

The final part of the kit is the Spot Fix, I haven't yet tried this out since I'm in love with my Freede

rm spot gel. But if the rest of the kit is anything to go by then this spot gel will be amazing. It contains salicylic acid which is brilliant for tackling spots. And I think I will be switching from Freederm to this as, Freederm, as far as I am aware, does not contain salicylic acid. 

  Nip+Fab were certainly right when they say this is a 'cult classic' I will certainly be picking another one of these sets up, at £15.95 full price or £7.50 from ASOS. I highly recommend this set to anyone that has oily skin. 

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Garnier Moisture Match Shine Be Gone Mattifying Cream

I saw this awhile back and thought, this sounds like a nice wee idea, so naturally I picked one up. I bought the one named 'Shine Be Gone' for oily skin.

I got this for £3.99, this was an introductory price and is normally £5.99.
This moisturiser claims to be "Perfect for combination to oily skin" and is "enriched with Green Tea extract". It also claims to keep skin shine free all day, I cant say that my skin is shine free all day, I would say I'm shine free for around 6 hours.
For the price I wasn't expecting a miracle. I think this works just as well as the moisturiser I use from Morrison's which costs around £2. The only plus side to the Garnier moisturiser is the amazing smell, it just smells so fresh and sweet, lovely when you put it on in the morning. It may just not have been right for my skin since my skin is overly oily, if you have slightly oily skin this may be appropriate for you.
For the price its not a bad moisturiser but I'm in the market for something to battle my seriously oily skin.

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