Shrek It Out

What is it with me and green face masks? If it's not the inevitable Mask of Magnaminty from Lush, it's this: The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask. Aimed at blemish prone skin (i.e. mine), this is a bit of a find. I've used the tea tree range at TBS before, but find some of the products to be a bit drying. This however, takes down the redness and size of my spots, but doesn't dry them out.

Containing kaolin clay and tea tree oil, both of which are bloomin' awesome when it comes to fighting blemishes, this mask packs a serious skincare punch. Whilst also allowing you to continue to practice your best Shrek impression, obvs. The creamy texture applies easily, and isn't as messy as some other masks of a similar variety. It doesn't dry down, meaning that if you want to leave it on for a longer length of time, you can do so very easily.

At £10 for 100ml, you can't go too far wrong with this one. Plus there are normally offers galore in The Body Shop, so whilst you at it, you may as well treat yourself...

The 'Until We Meet Again' Line-Up

Products. 90% of the time, I use them, I chuck them, I don't look back. Sometimes, however, something special happens when I slap one on my face (to use the technical term...), and it gets earmarked for a repurchase. Great for the complexion, horrendous for my bank balance. More often than not, such products tend to run out at the exact same time, leading to a rather lengthy payday wish list. Le cry. So, without further ado, here we are: the 'Until We Meet Again' line-up.

Indeed Labs Eysilix Instant Eye Rescue - This is hands down the best eye cream I have used to date. I'm not saying it's HG - puffy eyes were still a big issue around that time of the month - but it was a great product that helped alleviate my under-eye darkness. Apart from my acne and scarring, this is my biggest issue and finding something that actually helps is much easier said than done, in my experience.  I'm not sure I'd pay the full £24.99 for it again, but next time I see it on offer in the aisles of Boots, it's mine.

Lush Mask of Magnaminty - Yes, I'm talking about this mask again, but I'll keep this short and sweet. I've used it, I will repurchase it. Always.

Pixi Glow Tonic - The ultra-hyped toner that actually sort of works. I didn't use this religiously and didn't really see the effects I was hoping for, but this was a pretty decent chemical exfoliant and I definitely saw an improvement in overall skin clarity whilst using it. I won't rush out to buy another bottle, but next time I'm in London town, I'll be sure to pop by the Pixi store...

Moroccanoil Treatment - One of the absolute staples in my routine. I'm not kidding when I say that I don't think I could cope without it. This is great for if your hair is on the ever-so-slightly unruly side and although it will set you £30 down, the big 100ml bottles do last absolutely ages so it's money well spent.

Benefit Hoola Bronzing Powder - A cult classic, and in my opinion, understandably so. On my olive-y skin, this matt bronzer works well to both contour and add warmth to my face. I've got NARS Bronzing Powder in the shade Laguna to keep me going in the mean time, so whilst I won't rush out to repurchase it, it's definitely on the cards.

Laura Mercier Mineral Powder Mineral Powder SPF 15 in the shade Real Sand - For a long time, this was my go-to foundation for a relatively fuss-free base. It's sat unloved for a while, but actually, I've managed to work my way through it over the last couple of years. It's a very fool-proof product that I reach for when I want a touch more coverage/lasting power. At the moment, I'm not desperate as a friend has just given me the MAC Studio Fix Powder, which has a nice amount of coverage, but this will definitely be a repurchase at some point.

Laura Mercier Secret Camoflaugue Concealer in the shade SC4 - This has been my main concealer for a pretty long time now, and even though this was almost unusable on account of being too dark for me, it's safe to say goodbye to this one (even if it's not for long...)

So, in the meantime, I need help... Any budget eye cream or concealer recommendations out there?

The Sunday Triple Threat Facial

Like many a beauty blogger, I just love me a good face mask. There's nothing better than having an excuse to be completely self-indulgent for 10 minutes and knowing that you're doing your skin some favours. Nothing. So the prospect of three consecutive face masks, as proposed by Anna of Vivianna Does Makeup, sounded absolutely dreamy.

Into the bathroom I went, slapped the products on and enjoyed a pretty darn good bath in the process... My masks of choice were three of my current favourites: Lush Mask of Magnaminty, REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask and Origins Drink Up 10 Minute Mask to Quench the Skin's Thirst. Not only did my face smell amazing for 30 minutes (even the boyfriend agreed...), my skin was actually looking pretty darn good this morning.

I've already raved about the Lush mask as it's one of my all time favourite skin care products, but when used with the REN offering, magic happened. To be perfectly honest, I could have stopped here, but a hit of hydration never goes amiss with my combo complexion. The Origins mask left my skin looking and feeling nicely plumped up and ready for a good night's kip. Now that's what I call a Sunday.

The Old Favourite // Lush Mask of Magnaminty

Y'know those products you just keep going back to? The ones you can't walk past without picking them up? For me, this is epitomised by Lush's Mask of Magnaminty. I've been using this since I as about 14 and have never looked back. It smells heavenly (minty fresh, FYI), has a clean ingredients list and does wonders on blemish prone skin. It never inflames, but helps to soothe the skin and return things to a much clearer state. It's cheap and cheerful at only £9.25 for a whopping 315 g of product. And even better? It's just the right shade of green to perfect your Shrek impersonations. Score.

Saving Face

Things have been a little bit hectic around my face of late... For some reason, my skin has been incredibly aggravated and areas that have been calm and acne-free for about a year have flared up. We've all been there and there is nothing more frustrating. So, I've up my water intake and busted out the big guns and have gone shopping. Obviously.

In an attempt to clear my face up, I've repurchased two cleansers: the Emma Hardy Amazing Face Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm and REN's Clearcalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser. These are two old favourites that do not irritate sensitive skin, yet do a fantastic job of keeping things clean and clear. I've already mentioned these two cleansers on my blog before, but they really are staples in my skincare regime and are worth every penny, in my opinion at least.

Next up, I've invested in a couple of treatments. I've always found that acidic treatments have done wonders for my skin when it's been at its worst. I've tried two options and both seem to be doing a good job of calming everything down. The first is another product by REN; this time their Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask. I've been wanting to try this for a while now, but the price tag has always put me off. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. I've only used this once, but I'd say that it lives up to what I was expecting so far. It's a good mask. The other comes from Elemental Herbology. I ordered their Oily Skin Starter Kit in their January Sale, as I was eager to try the brand and it was a very good bargain. My skin isn't oily as such, if anything it's combination dry/blemish prone/eugh, but there were a few products in the kit that appealed to me. One of these was the Facial Glow Radiance Peel, a four minute treatment that buffs away at dead skin to buff away dead skin and raise the skin's pH, making it a more hostile environment for acne-causing bacteria. I've used this three times and have been really impressed with the results. It's helped with scarring and has greatly reduced inflammation.

I've also been busting out the clay masks to try and eliminate impurities. Origins Clear Improvements is always a good choice, as it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin but makes sure that it is nice and clean. I'm also a long-time fan of Lush's Mask of Magnaminty, a tingly peppermint based mask that exfoliates and calms inflamed areas. The ingredient list is great and it isn't at all pricey, so this is also a relatively guilt-free option. I've also tried Elemental Herbology's Facial Detox Purifying Facial Mask, which I've also really enjoyed. It's one of those masks that really digs the grime out of your pores, which has especially helped the skin on my forehead. I've definitely noticed a reduction in blackheads since I've been using it and a little bit goes a long way. I'd definitely consider purchasing the full sized version.


Finally, the pièce de résistance in my spot fighting arsenal has been another product from Elemental Herbology: their Perfect Clarity Blemish Minimiser. Oh my word. This is hands down THE best blemish buster I have ever used. Amazing. You can actually see the redness and size reduce within a few minutes, and blemishes actually disappear overnight. The catch? It's £25 for only 2.5ml, so if you're using it every day it will only last a couple of weeks. I've already gone through one tube and have nearly finished another, which will be heartbreaking. It's a great product, however, and is great for tackling hormonal spots. Definitely a pay-day treat.

Spots, I'm ready for ya. 

Skincare // The Breakout Kit

No one likes them, no one needs them but, let's face it, spots happen. The question I'm always left wondering is, however, what to do about them. There are so many products out there in the market and many of them claim to do pretty much the same job, but only a rare few ever seem to live up to their promises. Whilst not every product works the same for every person, these are my personal heroes.

Cleansers - For me, there are only two out there that actively help fight breakouts: REN's Clearcalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser (£18) and the Acne Facial Cleanser from Mario Badescu (£14.95). As much as I love a good balm/cream cleanser to keep my skin hydrated, I've fallen back on these two for the past year or so and am on my third tube of REN's offering. Impressive stuff. The Acne Facial Cleanser is quite tough to describe in terms of its texture. It almost feels a bit like a gel-oil hybrid so it does a great job of removing your makeup whilst containing ingredients such as salicylic acid, thyme extract and hyaluronic acid to get your skin back into tip-top condition. I've always found that this does a great job at clarifying the skin and keeping spots at bay. The REN cleanser almost feels like a face mask and you can really feel its clay content working. This is definitely one of my 'holy grail product's because it just works.

Treatments - Whilst there are many not-so-great products out there for blemish-prone skin, there are also some gems. One of the best that I've tried (and have repurchased about four times now) is La Roche Posay's Effaclar Duo (£13). This stuff is amazing; an absolute essential in my skincare kit. Very similar is Cleanance K from Avène (£10.50), an exfoliating moisturiser that keeps your skin clear and may be more suitable for sensitive skin. From my experience, both sit really well under makeup so are as great for daytime wear as they are in the night. As for actual spot busters, my pick of the crop would have to be Aesop's Control Gel (£15). My blemishes tend to get really dry and flaky and many other targeted treatments only make this worse, so the spots are harder to cover. Control gel contains aloe vera, which is great to soothing and nourishing skin whilst also tackling the problem with sodium ascorbyl phosphate and salicylic acid. Genius stuff. If you have more of an issue with acne type blemishes or milia, the Buffering Lotion from Mario Badescu (£15.95) might be worth a try. This really works well at bringing them to the surface and clearing your skin out. It's taken me a good few months now and I'm planning on picking up another bottle ASAP.

Masks - I've always found that a good cleansing mask can do wonders for blemished skin and have long turned to Lush's Mask of Magnaminty to sort my skin out when it's being a pain in the neck... This feels incredibly refreshing and a little bit tingle-y "so you know it's working". It's got a nice and clean ingredients list and is a relatively budget option at only £5.25/£9.25, depending on which size tub you buy. Alternatively, the Super Facialist Range by Una Brennan has a great Tea Flower Deep Clean Pore Purifying Clay Mask (£8.99) is a good option for clarifying the skin, but it is quite heavily fragranced so it might be one for those with sensitive skin to avoid. A recent acquisition of mine is Origins' Clear Improvements mask (£22), which seems to be taking number one spot at the moment. My skin just feels so much clearer for using it and although it is only early days, I think it's safe to say we're onto a winner here. 

In addition, I think it's really important to look at what might be causing your blemishes. Not drinking enough water, having too much dairy and being stressed out can all contribute to bad skin so I'd really recommend thinking about that before you do anything else. I've recently started taking some supplements (am planning a post on this in a few weeks...) so this might be something to consider. Whilst there aren't any absolute miracle workers that will make a spot disappear straight away, these picks definitely help reduce the inflammation, dryness and size of blemishes so are definitely worth a try.