Four Things That Saved My Skin

My skin is a constant battle, these are just some of the things that have helped turn my forever blemished skin into blemish prone but still red / acne scarred skin. It is a work in progress! Next up to tackle is scarring..

Cleansing Properly

This might sound so simple to most hardened beauty bloggers. But simply ensuring I removed my make up properly (without using face wipes) has made such a difference. I now have a ridiculous collection if cleansers to use depending on my mood. I even double cleanse these days, who knew! First I use an oil cleanser which helps remove every trace of makeup, the oil just clings to all the dirt and makeup.  I love The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil. Second up I use a balm or gel cleanser. Emma Hardie Moringa Balm will forever be my luxury choice but the The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Butter is equally as effective. On lazy nights I use a micellar water, such as Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water before cleansing to really make sure all my makeup is removed instead of double cleansing. 

Chemical Exfoliator 

I used to use harsh alcohol based toners, in a way they were exfoliating but also stripping my skin. I first tried the Alpha H Liquid Gold that every blogger flipping adored (not so much I see!) but now I am onto my third bottle of the Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner. The fruit acids really help finally remove any left over dirt as well as boosting the skins renewal. On my wish list is the PIXI Glow Tonic however it is never in stock when I can buy it. (It is right now and I am resisting all temptation to tap in my card details)

La Roche Posay

I know I know. Stop harping on about them. Effaclar Duo has honestly improved my skin ten fold. I don't know the magic behind the white cream but if I don't apply this to my cheeks, chin and jawline at night by the morning I always have a pesky spot appearing from somewhere. My understanding is  LHAs and Salicylic Acid exfoliate the skin with added Niacinamide to soothe the inflammation. 

Moisturising

Having oily skin I was always too scared to add extra oil to my skin. I would strip all the oil from my skin leaving it red and sore but at least I had no spots! I would barely even moisturise my skin in fear that I would cause more breakouts. Now I swear by the Vitamin E range from The Body Shop, which I have raved about before. It is for very dry skin but find it perfect for my forehead that really struggles from dehydration lines. 

Honourable Mentions
The Body Shop Facial Massager, really helps with the under the skin spots. Read Caroline Hirons' directions here. The Caudalie Beauty Elixir was in every bloggers wish list / holy grail / hand bag a year ago. As always I'm slow to the trends but this is perfect for soothing redness and just smells amazing. The REN ClearCalm Clay Cleanser is amazing. I find it too drying to use every night but find it perfect to use in the morning before applying make up. The clay really helps clean my skin, I tend to massage it on for a few minutes before washing off with a hot flannel.

Lip Balm Obsession

I have an unhealthy lipbalm addiction, always searching for the perfect one or desperately needing one when I am out and picking up an an extra one. We would be here forever if I went through all of these so here are my 5 favourites.

 

Nuxe Reve de Miel - Is my utter most favourite lip balm, might even call it a holy grail. I suffer from chronic dry lips and this has really helped. With healing honey it really helps repair my chapped lips and the perfect base for lipstick.

Blistex Relief Cream - When my lips are really really sore this is the only thing that heals them, it has the most frustrating packaging in the world but I forgive it for how soothing the camphor it contains is.

La Roche Posay Cicaplast Lips * - I wrote about this in my Escentual wish list and the kind people at La Roche Posay sent me this to try. Even after a few days I am in love. It really helps my extremely dry lips but also creates a barrier to prevent further chapping. Love love!

Lush Honey Trap - This is another lip balm containing honey which I really think is a magical ingredient in lip balms. With added wheat germ, olive and almond oils to moisturise - it also tastes amazing. 

The Body Shop Hemp Lip Protector - It was hard to pick my fifth favourite, the Ginger Sparkle lipbalm from The Body Shop smells amazing however it was a limited edition and no longer available. Equally as wonderful is the Hemp Lip Protector. For work I need a stick lip balm for hygiene purposes and this is wonderfully hydrating. 

x

Escentual Wish List

Throughout March Escentual have upto a third off French Pharmacy brands - La Roche Posay, Vichy, Avene, A-Derma, Klorane, Caudalie, Rene Furterer and Pierre Fabre. I've heard of some of these, mainly due to the cult status some hold on blogs. I am already a huge La Roche Posay fan as I posted about the other day but there are some other favourites on my wishlist as well as some products I would love to try.

La Roche Posay Cicaplast Skin Recovery Accelerator & Cicaplast Lips - My love of the Cicaplast Baume has meant these are top of my list, the lip cream promises to reduce irritation and prevent new cracked lips appearing. Perfect. The Skin Recovery Accelerator was created with the after care of cosmetic procedures in mind, it boosts the skins recovery time. Perfect for the many acne scars I have as well as surgical scars and grazes.

Caudalie Beauty Elixir - Remember when this was THE blogger product? In every must have and every what's in my handbag post. Of course I bought into the hype.. and unfortunately actually really loved it. Jenny has a lovely post on it which I completely agree with, it basically just soothes my skin and smells divine. 

Nuxe Rêve de Miel Honey Lip Balm - A few months ago I asked twitter the best lip balm as I had tried everything and nothing was working to stop the recurrence of my dry lips. I spotted this in Marks and Spencer a few weeks later after hearing lots of positive things about it. I am now on my second pot, that's how good it is. Who ever finishes lip balm! I don't know if it is the repairing honey or the soothing grapefruit but this pot of wonder is amazing, tempted to buy a back up while it is 1/3 off!

Avene Cleanance Purifying Mattifying Lotion / Toner - I love a good toner, especially one for blemish prone skin. This promises to soothe and irritation and leave skin matte. Perfect when my skin goes through it's oily stage in Summer.

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Purpose Dry Oil Spray - This is something else that has seen a lot of love on beauty blogs. I used to be petrified of oils, even to use them on my dry hair because of the fear of it getting greasy. I am now a convert to The Body Shop's Vitamin E Serum in Oil (post here) and often use oils in my hair. This sounds like the perfect all rounder with the added spray applicator an added bonus.

Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation - I have blogged about my love of this foundation before, it is serious coverage and in the end I stopped using it as a foundation and moved onto using it as a concealer mainly as the shade wasn't perfect. However looking back on photos from when I used this foundation I can't believe how flawless it made my skin look, full coverage without the cakey finish some foundation causes. I am curious to try it again due to discovering buffering brushes which has completely changed the way I apply foundation (don't I sound dramatic). 

I love La Roche-Posay

La Roche-Posay are a blogger favourite, a French skin care brand from the La Vienne region. Their famed thermal skin water claims to be beneficial to the skin due to the high selenium content. My first step into their products was the cult Effaclar Duo product which was a miracle for my skin, shrinking blemishes but at the same time not drying my skin out. Since then the Efflaclar Duo + has been introduced with all the benefits of the original product but with the added benefit of helping the scars blemishes leave behind.

The Effaclar range is aimed to help oily, blemish prone skin. There are cleansers, treatment creams and a soothing moisturiser. The most popular is of course the Effaclar Duo +, I use this every night on my chin and cheeks and it keeps spots at bay! It is far too drying to smother your face in. Next up is Effaclar Mat which is my go to moisturiser in Summer. I don't tend to struggle with such oily skin in Winter, the drying weather takes its toll on my skin. It leaves my skin feeling smooth and matte and helps control shine all day. It is the perfect base for make-up. I have never really come across such a good mattifying cream that actually does leave your skin matte but also long lasting hydration. 

The Effaclar Astringent Micro-Exfoliant Lotion is  to be used after cleansing, it contains LHA and other cleaning agents to help ensure all pores are left unclogged and pore size reduced. I find this too drying to use every morning and night but like to use it when my skin is feeling a bit dirty after a night out or a long shift at work. It leaves your skin refreshed and completely clean. 

Effaclar H is aimed to be used on skin that has become victim to over drying spot treatments, it is all too tempting to strip all oil from blemish prone skin in a hope that drying out spots will make them vanish. This provides skin with lipids to help weak and fragile skin feel comfortable again. 

I have saved the best to last, not in the Effaclar range the Cicaplast Baume B5 is a truly wonderful product. It is a "Soothing Repairing Balm" which helps repair and soothe skin. I was recently in hospital and only had this in my bag when I was admitted. I used it on my face, on my hands, on my lips. The hospital made my skin so dry and this was just lovely to treat me skin to. The combination of copper, zinc and manganese in theory should also help with any scarring or marks on the skin. Next on my wish list is more from the Cicaplast range, especially the lip cream and Cicaplast Skin Recovery Accelerator.

La Roche-Posay is currently 1/3 off at Escentual throughout March, as are other French Pharmacie brands such as Vichy. Now is the time to give them ago! They can do no wrong in my eyes.