Quick review: Benefit POREfessional

After attending the Benefit event at the end of November last year, I was really glad to have received a porefessional in my goodie bag.

As the name suggests this product is meant to minimise pores — my major skin complaint — and to my  pleasant surprise, it does!

It is a beige coloured, silky/silicon feeling cream that spreads easily on the skin and immediately reduces the appearance of pores. It also gives a matt finish, so would be great for anyone with oily skin.

I apply a small amount to my nose and cheeks and then use the remaining residue on my fingers on my forehead and chin, a little goes a long way so I am expecting that it will last ages! It leaves my skin feeling really soft and smooth and acts as a great base for makeup but can also be used alone.

At £23.50 it is not cheap, but I have already purchased my own and Benefit are currently selling it in a set with Erase Paste and a sample size of Girl Meets Pearl for the same price — I am not sure if this is a permanent addition to the range so those of you who want to try take advantage of the set.

Montagne Jeunesse Sensuous Spice Mask Review

A real-time face mask review (not quite brave enough to take a picture and show you but trust me!). I have used this a number of times now and overall really like it. For me the experience of wearing a face mask can influence my opinion of it a lot. The self heating quality of this mask is what I love, along with the strong smell of cinnamon.

A little information about the mask itself as found on the bottle. 

‘exotic spices of cinnamon and ginger, this sensuous treat gently warms to open pores and draws out impurities to leave your skin radiant and deep cleansed'. 

The warming sensation lasts strongly for less than minute but then after that is far more subtle. I have found with some face masks/scrubs in the past that the warming feeling is uncomfortable but is not at all.

The mask itself is orange in colour and although thick is not the typical consistency you get from clay based masks, even though after a quick check of the ingredients this contains all the typical clay component you would expect, namely kaolin. I am not entirely sure why this is, the colour doesn’t really bother me but I would prefer a more creamy consistency.

Following cleansing you apply for 15-20 minutes, I generally opt for the longer time. Although the warm feeling does pass in the whole time the scent of cinnamon is strong, considering I love the smell, I really like that, but I assume for anyone who doesn’t, it may be a bit overwhelming.

As you can see from the image, the bottle provided is meant to hold about 10 applications. I have used this about 5 times now, however I cannot tell how much is left since the bottle is covered. Trying to judge from the weight however I imagine I will get 10 uses.

I like that Montagne Jeunesse have their masks in tubes now, the pouches are great for one off treats and as testers but typically there is more than one treatment worth and storage just becomes difficult. Overall though I like the pouch format so I wouldn’t want them to get rid of it completely but it is good that the favourites are available to buy as a tube.

Washing off is not difficult with warm water, although you do have to be careful to get it all or you get orange stains on your towels! Not permanent, just a bit unsightly. Where I would usually wipe off face masks with a muslin cloth for the same reason I just stick to rinsing with my hands.

I have dry skin and the mask does not make it feel tight after use. My skin feels fresh and clean (and slightly softer) which is essentially the purpose of a deep cleanse mask so I do not really notice any other additional changes in it.

I have to admit the first time I used this mask it wasn’t an instant favourite, I have used the body shop heating mask which also has a similar scent and really liked that. Although this is different in a lot of ways the outcome is the same and I know my skin benefits from a deep cleanse every so often. The directions do not suggest how often to use but I would say 3 times a week since that seems to be the standard for similar masks.

I feel like I need a summary so, overall;
Smell - 5*
Consistency - you get used to
Use - easy!
Result - as it says on the tube!
Experience - 5*

Soap and Glory Enormous Beauty Bundle First Thoughts

So if you do read my posts regularly you will know I ordered the Soap and Glory bundle from Boots at the weekend. For £40 this is excellent value for money and I was very excited to come home yesterday and find it waiting for me.

These are my first impressions.

First off, Boots, why the enormous box? After getting through that the products were all packaged in a smaller box. The packaging itself is beautiful. All pink and white based, with witty instructions and descriptions for each item. Although some of it is a little cheesy it is nice to see that effort and detail has been put into this. There were 10 products in total, 2 body, 2 cleansing, 3 face and 3

lip products.

The two products I am most excited about ‘No clogs allowed’ super self heated deep pore detox mask and ‘the fab pore’ 15 minute facial peel. I love anything related to unclogging/cleaning pores. I really liked heated masks and what appeals to me about this product is that it only recommends leaving it on for 3-5 minutes which is great for days when you need that deep clean and pick me up but don’t have time for a longer pampering session. ‘The fab pore’ is exactly for that longer pampering time. It contains my two favourite ingredients, koalin and salicylic acid, so helps to draw out impurities with the clay element and the salicylic acid helps the cells of the epidermis to shed more readily, opening clogged pores and also helping with preventing the pores to clog again by constricting them and of course allowing new cell growth.

I’m not going to talk about all the products in the bundle since I would like a chance to try and review them. I was however pleasantly surprised with the lip products. I am undecided as to whether or not I will use the lipgloss since I don’t have an issue with ‘skinny lips’ and I have read reviews and heard from friends that this actually works! The ‘mighty mouth’ lips kit, is what has sparked my interest the most. inside comes a conditioning lip gloss as well as a double-ended lip balm. One end is a standard lip balm, whilst the other contains, smoothing balm (pictured below) which they recommend is used at night ready for smooth lips in the morning. I am really looking forward to trying this out and think it may act as a contender for my blistex intensive lip moisturiser. Unfortunately I have no idea how to use the ‘marvelips’ (also pictured below) and the instructions do not make much sense to me. Equally, online reviews are mixed, so any one with any insight please let me know!)

I can’t wait to try all these goodies out, look out for plenty of reviews in the future.

If you are interested in purchasing a bundle yourself you will need to be quick since they are limited and one selection is already off the website.

Favourite Skin Care Products

Looking through my cupboard I realised just how many products I have that I have been using continually for a number of years now.

My all time favourite BioOil, discovered in my teens, even back then I was looking for a way to reduce the looks of my scars. My overnight rescue after a night out, my skin always looks that much clearer in the morning. I don’t know why I didn’t realise that my skin was dry in all the time I used this, considering how good it did look in the mornings. As an intensive moisturiser, I cannot name anything I like more for use on my face (possibly Liz Earle’s Superskin Concentrate). This has never broken me out and if anything I think it helped with my spots/breakouts.

Pore strips, I know these do not clear your pores permanently but they are a nice helping hand alongside other products. After all these years though I think I have only just figured out the best way to use them. Immediately after a shower, without drying your face, apply, leave until dry, peel and look at what’s come out!

Spot dots, again a favourite from my teen years. Once a lot more widely available than they are now. Place on any spot over night and after 2 nights use, the spots usually clear up completely.

Liz Earl Instant Boost Skin Tonic, the only toner I have used for years, very gentle and smells great.

My favourite concealer and the first product I brought from ELF introducing me to the brand. Since I have started using this I haven’t looked at other concealers. The medium colour is a perfect match for my skin tone, and I love the consistency of it. The formula also contains salicylic acid which helps to slowly clear up the marks you are concealing. I am not a fan of the packaging too much, since every time they have fallen apart, however it is very cheap and works for me perfectly.

There are two products I am going to include in this post since I have recently gone back to them having tried them out.

No7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum, over 2010 I worked my way through 2 tubes of this product, I loved the consistency and I could see a refining effect on my skin as it cleared up with a combination of other products I was using. For whatever reason I stopped using it but since I can now see a positive effect of using it, I have repurchased and imagine it will become a staple in my skin routine once more. (As a side note I did try the Superdrug Apple Serum but never really got along with it and didn’t notice as beneficial an effect when using it. Since it contains vitamin C, you can only use it at night and I prefer a routine which is the same morning and evening otherwise I find I don’t stick to it).

Finally Garnier Caffeine Anti-Dark circles, I brought this to try when it very first came out and was on promotion. I really liked it since it brightened up my eye area and was a light enough consistency that I didn’t have to worry about pulling on my eye too much in applying and equally that the formulation is not right for use under the eye since it is specifically an eye product. Having used up the bottle I just didn’t repurchase, however with a recent promotion I have gone back to it and loved it all over again. In terms of it’s ability to reduce puffy eyes, I don’t really have that problem so I cannot comment, my eyes don’t look any different after use other than the tint obviously brightening up the area so I would say it doesn’t really perform in that way. There are 3 shades available now, fair, light and medium, with the light shade working best for my skin tone.

Please share with me your favourite skin care products as well as things you have gone back to and why!

Soap and Glory Bundle - The Order

I caved! I told myself that I would use up what I have before I make any more beauty purchases for the sake of trying new products I was even going to start a project 10 pan and save to try out the ‘All good things’ skin care range I had seen in Boots. However, when this offer appeared in my inbox I had to go for it. I have never tried Soap and Glory before but I have always wanted to and missed out on the Christmas bundles. There are 3 different bundles on offer and I chose this one since there are 2 products targeting pores! Essentially for the cost of 4, I get an additional 6 to try.

Soap & Glory Enormous Beauty Bundle (only £40!)
• Wash Almighty Body Cleansing Gel 500 ml
• Clean Mary Cleansing Milk 180 ml
• Return to Slender Body Contouring Gel 200 ml (The Firminator)
• Slimwear Peptide Balm 190 ml
• No Clogs Allowed 50 ml
• The Fab Pore Facial Peel 50ml
• Mighty Mouth Gorgeous Lips Kit 2 x 4g, 9 ml
• Marvelips Colour, Shine & Shaping Crayon 4.5g
• Wizard of Flaws Line Filling Luminizer & Concealer 7 ml
• Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Plumping Gloss in Plum 7 ml

I should receive the bundle by the middle of next week so expect a post and of course reviews of the products once I have had a chance to test them out. If you were interested in purchasing I would order online or get to a large Boots store sooner rather than later since these are only while stocks last.

The use of a little research…...

This was originally going to be a very different blog post, after a lovely trip into London to visit the V&A, I couldn’t resist having a look in Harrods. I love the food court and just the general feel of departments stores although I have never brought anything! Of course had a wonder around the beauty department and came across this product…..

Bliss: pore-fector gadget. The new must have gadget, using low level vibrations to ‘power-wash pores and eliminate impurities like dirt, oil and debris’. The proof apparently is in the toner which ‘goes on clear and looks cloudy after use’.

The results from testers seem very convincing:

100% felt the tool cleansed their pores

88% felt the tool left skin deeply cleansed and fresh

82% felt that their pores appeared less prominent

Now just for a bit of background, I have 4 skin issues I am trying to tackle

1- Dry skin

2- Breakouts

3- Scarring

4- Blackheads/clogged pores

So going just on advertising this seems perfect, of course there was no way I was going to hand over £127 without a little research. On my tube journey back I was pretty convinced that I would be purchasing this over the DermaNew Microdermabrasion kit (and I know I have mentioned how much I love microdermabrasion/exfoliation) since the bliss tool implies that it targets blogged pores specifically. The woman at the counter tested it on my hand and it didn’t feel too harsh although I can imagine that it could be if you pressed hard enough (which I am sure anyone with blocked pores probably would!) Something the sales woman said that did worry me though (which I haven’t seen recommended anywhere else) is that it can be used over spots to ’squeeze’ them out, that doesn’t seem like a good idea in terms of spreading bacteria and of course risk of scarring.

Anyway, having come home it’s only taken me about 10 minutes of searching two websites to decide I will not be purchasing this. Makeup alley is great for customer reviews of every beauty product you can think of, with an average score of 1.5 out of 5 and another blog where the tester didn’t notice anything other than the skin looking a bit more refined there was no way I was going to spend £127 on this. The DermaNew is in fact a lot cheaper and I imagine I will end up buying that.

I do love the combination of technology/science with beauty and healthcare and there are a lot of these tools which I and many others would highly rate, but as with all these things there are always ‘bandwagon’ items which come out. Additionally I am always on the hunt for a bargain, and this may seem in contradiction with some of the beauty items I will end up talking about, but the fact is, of course there is always a mark up and profit element to these things but particularly with these 'fusion tools’ (ooo I made up that term!) I can see the value in the theory and practical making of the science behind them.

So my conclusion is, always do your research. We have so much information out there available for us for anything and everything, so there is no place for impulse buying and believing in a sales pitch.