Dove Summer Glow Nourishing Lotion

I know I have been posting a lot of sunscreen reviews recently, so it might seem like I am anti-tanning. But if I am honest, I feel better with a bit of colour to my skin. At the same time, I find the fake tan routine a bit cumbersome.

So gradual tanners are a great for adding colour without the risk of streaks and orangey-ness from fake tanning and without the risk of burning when you live in an oven.

Dove Summer Glow Nourishing Lotion is a moisturiser with a hint of fake tan. It is a good moisturiser, the consistency is thick, but creamy so it spreads really easily on the skin and the tan is even, It doesn't smell like fake tan, which is a bonus. The colour develops quite quickly, within a day, and with one application I notice I am about one shade darker.

I particularly like to use this to on my neck to help even out my colour. My face is naturally lighter than my neck, so foundation just highlights this difference. By using gradual tanner on my neck, I can balance everything out.

The tan lasts for about five days before fading, assuming you aren't topping up every day. Obviously, the more often you apply the deeper the colour you get. The only downside is it takes a while to sink in, so I reserve this for application at the weekend or in the evening when I am not in a hurry.

Dove Summer Glow is on promotion at the moment for at Boots where you can get 3 for 2 (normally £5.25 each).

Body Shop Wild Argan Collection

I remember argan oil really getting big in the beauty world after I came back from a trip to Morroco without some. At the time I remember thinking, "I dunno I've never heard of this stuff, it might not be any good".

I was wrong, and I have kicked myself ever since for not picking up a bottle.

Since then products containing argan oil have become very popular and the Body Shop have recently release their own range paying homage to the precious oil.

It is worth noting that the products are not 100% argan oil, if they were they wouldn't be so affordable.

There are eight products in the collection and I selected two to try, the Radiant Oil and the Miracle Solid Oil, which can both be used on the hair and body.

Of the two, The Radiant Oil is the one I have reached for the most. It is a light, dry oil that leaves the skin hydrated but without a greasy residue, and it also leaves a subtle sheen. At £14, it is incredibly good value as I expect it will last many months.

Used on wet hair, it dries leaving it feeling soft and smelling wonderful (it has a light coconut fragrance). I found that my hair looked and felt greasy the next day. I know that I can be a bit over zealous when it comes to applying any kind of hair product so I would suggest applying a minimal amount or only using it on dry hair to tame flyaways and add shine.

The Miracle Solid Oil, £8, is as the name suggests a solid form of the oil that you warm up with your fingers to melt before using. Like the Radiant Oil, I found this made my hair greasy the next day, but it felt lovely on the skin. It took a bit more work to have it absorb so this is my night/weekend bath treat when I have more time to work with it. I would also use this on my feet overnight and it would be ideal to take on weekends away or holidays as it is so nourishing and also compact for travel.

The Body Shop Wild Argan Collection can be purchased online or in stores.

Elemis Pro-Collagen Creams

Today I'm sharing what are two good moisturiser options for normal to dry skin from British skincare brand Elemis, their Pro-Collagen Marine Cream and Pro-Collagen Oxygenating Night Cream.

The Pro-Collagen Marine Cream is a lightweight, lightly scented moisturiser that sits well on top of serums and underneath an SPF. A little goes a long way, and because it is so lightweight it absorbs quickly. After using this my skin immediately feels soft and smooth, and the hydration lasts all day.

I'm not sure I believe the claims that Elemis make about the cream increasing collagen support, but it certainly seems to increase hydration. If this contained SPF it would be ideal, only because I don't like to layer products and because this is the first day cream that I have been happy to use in a long time. 

The Pro-Collagen Oxygenating Night Cream, as the name suggests, is a night cream and, surprisingly, is as lightweight as the marine cream. My skin always looks healthier and clear in the mornings after using this (I use it on my nights off from Alpha H liquid gold).

I have used both now for a few months, and I believe my skin looks more dewy, which I assume is down to the hydrating effects. Like the marine cream, I don't believe that this can oxygenate the skin, and I'm not sure you would want to, which is why I started by saying that these are both good moisturisers options rather than great ones. If you just need hydration and don't necessarily want much more from your skin care (or care that the claims of the creams are probably false) then these are a good option if you want to treat yourself as the creams are very expensive.

In both cases I am not a fan of the jar packaging, for hygiene reasons, and because products are likely to keep better when they have little contact with air.

The Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream costs £80 for 50ml and the Pro-Collagen Oxygenating Night cream costs £95 for 50ml and can be purchased from most department stores. However, I would recommend grabbing a bundle from QVC as they are much better value, and you'll get to try other products too. The anti-ageing collection contains the marine cream as well as the creamy cleanser that I reviewed here. 

Steamcream

Simple quality skincare is what Steamcream promises and that is exactly what it provides.

These little pots of lovely contain a thick yet light-weight moisturiser suitable for use on the face, body and hands. 

Before attending a PR event I had already been using Steamcream for over a fortnight. But the event showed me just how amazing and versatile the cream is and gave me a chance to see how the cream is made. Made in the Devon fresh each day, the process of making the cream is how I imagine cheese being made.

The cream is made from a steam process, which fuses the ingredients instantly, holding them together, and is what makes the cream more effective. The cream contains a mix of essential oils, cocoa butter and oatmeal along with other natural and sustainable ingredients, but it does contain some preservatives. 

As a moisturiser it does a great job of keeping my dry skin hydrated. The cream smells beautifully oaty and absorbs into the skin quickly, leaving no sticky residue.At the event I learnt that mixing the cream with foundation, sugar/sat or porridge oats can give you a tinted moisturiser, exfoliator or face mask. Because it is so versatile it is great to keep in your handbag or take on holiday as a space saver.

Alone it can also be used as a cleanser or makeup remover and as a hair mask and shaving cream. I have since tested it out as a makeup remover and while I wouldn't use it every day it would be a good option if you were in a fix. 

It wouldn't be a review without mentioning the tin containers. I love them! Streamcream are always releasing new, limited edition designs and although the tins can be recycled, the brand encourages people to reuse them. Personally I can on using mine as hairpin storage.

Each tin costs £12.95 and can be found in Topshop, John Lewis, Debenhams and some other department stores but if you keep an eye on the Steamcream website they tend to have offers to buy multiples making each tin greater value for money. How quickly you get through a tin is going to depend on how you use it, if you only used it as a facial moisturiser I would expect it to last over 3 months, which I think makes it great value for money.

Tempted?

Quick review: Nivea Body In-Shower Lotion

When I saw reviews of the first In-Shower Body Moisturiser from Nivea, I knew I had to try it. It appeals to the lazy girl in me and since I am always running late in the morning the convienience and time saving element of this product is a bonus.

After washing as normal, you apply the cream while still in the shower and rinse off. The formula is meant to instantly absorb into wet skin so you are able to get dressed and go straight away. 

I purchased the dry skin formula because my skin, especially my legs is so dry that it can feel itchy. Generally I don't moisturise my upper body (my more normal skin) but I have done so using this and my skin does soft and hydrated. Unfortunately, for the area I feel needs the hydration it didn't provide that and I still felt that I wanted to moisturiser as normal.

The idea in theory is great, and if you are someone with normal skin should be ideal, but for those like me with extra dry skin it's not going to be enough. 

The mousturiser is available in two formulations and sizes, 250ml and 400ml. I purchased the larger size for £5.09 but they are currently on offer at 1/3 off in Boots and Superdrug.

Love your skin Intensive Hydra-Gel Moisturiser

Love your skin is a British skincare brand, which I hadn't heard of before #LiveBloggers and the infamous goody bag!

I have been using the moisturiser for close to two months now and overall I have enjoyed using it. It is light weight, absorbs into the skin quickly, does not leave a residue and has no scent to speak of. It comes in a pump bottle, which I really like since it only releases a small amount of product at a time, which helps to avoid wastage.

But, as soon as the weather turned colder I noticed that this just wasn’t enough to keep my dry skin hydrated and had some flaky patches appearing but I was able to compensate for this by using a heavy moisturiser or oil at night. Because of this I would only consider using this again in the spring/summer months, but I think that this would be ideal for those with normal or oily/combination skin who want something light and don’t need something as moisturising. 

One thing that has been great about using the #LiveBloggers products is that for a lot of the items I haven’t known the cost of the products prior to using them and writing my review, which means that I have been able to use products with no preconceptions. This costs £29.99, which I found shocking at first, but considering that I have only used about a quarter of the bottle I see it lasting me at least 6 months, which makes it good value. This and other Love Your Skin - London products can be found here.

Liz Earle series: cleanse, tone and moisturise

So where better to start in my Liz Earle series than with the skincare? I believe cleanse and polish was one of the first things developed, and if it wasn’t it is definitely the product she is known best for.

Cleanse and Polish

As I said in the last blog post I have been a user of Liz Earle, on and off, for about 10 years. When I decided I wanted to sort out the problems with my skin, cleanse and polish was one of the products I turned to because it is so simple to use as well as gentle.

I’m sure many of you are aware that cleanse and polish is a cream cleanser, which you apply to dry skin and wipe off using a damp muslin cloth. It has a delicate scent and is very good at removing makeup (including eye makeup) easily, not quite as good as my clarisonic but much better than a lot of wash cleansers — also, using the muslin cloth there is also a gentle exfoliating effect.

At the moment I have the cleanser in a tube but I prefer the pump bottle since I can control the amount of product I get out much more easily.

I’ve heard Liz Earle claim she doesn’t have blackheads as a result of using this cleanser and although I haven’t noticed anything quite as drastic as that, I know a combination of this and the superskin oil (review to come) really helped to control my breakouts and even out my skin tone.

Skin boosting tonic

The skin boosting tonic (toner) is one of those products in the collection, which I believe is hugely underrated. It smells beautiful, is really gentle and refreshing on the skin and I can be used in a number of ways.

I won’t take credit for these ideas since I heard them all watching Liz Earle on QVC, I use a spray bottle to spritz the tonic on my face, which is refreshing and hydrating on hot days and I have also used this to set my makeup — not sure how good it is at keeping my make up in place but it does give a nice finish! Finally I also use soak cotton pads with the tonic and place them over my eyes when I put on face masks and want to imitate a home spa experience.

Skin repair moisturiser

This is the weakest link in the collection in my opinion. Over the years I am pretty sure that the formulation has changed, the scent seems more subtle than I remember (which is a good thing).

I am using the normal/combination moisturiser at the moment (even though my skin is actually dry) and after 10 minutes I can still feel a very slight residue on my skin. I personally don’t mind this, but anyone with true combination skin might find this a bit heavy.

There is also a light moisturiser, for oily skin, and a dry skin moisturiser. There are also other moisturisers in her collection such as the superskin moisturiser (and oil), which I think are better.

I do think I have found a dupe to the cleanser and toner, which I will review soon! In the meantime I would love to know what you think and what products are your favourites.

Organic surge skincare review

After my experience with Good Things skin care (which broke me out) using Organic Surge has been a dream. All their products contain naturally derived ingredients and essential oils and are free from SLS, parabens, synthetic colorants and fragrances.

I have been using the daily care face wash and the intensive moisturiser for around 2 months which were recommended to me for my skin type by the representatives when I purchased them.

The cleanser foams amazingly well which I have begun to not expect from organic products. The cleanser has a subtle rose scent. When I use it alone it cleanses well although I would suggest taking any makeup off with a specific makeup remover before cleansing. I have also used it with my clarisonic and it works very well when you add some of the cleanser directly to the brush. After washing my skin feels very soft and the cleanser does not give that dry, tight feeling.

The moisturiser has a thick consistency but spreads well on the skin. It does leave a slightly oily residue when initially applied but sinks in quickly. The condition of my skin has changed considerably since using this, although that being said I don’t know if I can put it down to this product completely. My skin has always been dry but it now feels much more hydrated and smooth on a daily basis. The scent of this is similar to that of the cleanser but a little stronger. The only negative for me with this product is that it is in a tub rather than a tube purely for the purposes of hygiene.

Best of all this range did not break me out. I managed to try out the range on a buy one get one free promotion, but even without such promotions the range is very affordable at £4-8 each and is available via their website as well as in stores. Although I didn’t like the haircare range too much the skin care has agreed with me much more and I would repurchase both these items as well as try out other products in the range.

That being said as much as I like this range once I am done with it I am on the hunt for something new to try so any recommendations are welcome.

Good Things…..We’ll see…..

I picked up a selection of the GOOD THINGS skin care products in Boots. Having recently also purchased the Organic Surge skincare range I am looking forward to a comparative of the two. GOOD THINGS gives across the impression that it is natural and potentially a competitor to Organic Surge but I do not think that this is the case and possibly just misleading since every product mentions the use of a superfruit extract, however on closer inspection these are all found pretty low in the list of ingredients. On the positive side, the products are all free from SLS, mineral oils and parabens, but I will have to do a bit more research before I can comment on the ingredients. 

I purchased the cream cleanser, dream cream night cream, day cream and bright eyes, all based on positive reviews on the Boots website. With regard to first impressions, I love the packaging and in terms of price, both brands are comparable. The creams feel light and absorb into the skin well but I am not loving the scent. All products smell quite artificial to me, and although it is not off putting, so far I prefer Organic Surge. 

These are only my first impressions, I just need to decided which to start with now! At the moment my skin is not particularly bad, but is not improving either so I am hoping to find something which will encourage this.

If you have tried any of these products please let me know and be sure to check back for my review. 

Montagne Jeunesse Renew You Microdermabrasion Mask Review

The Montagne Jeunesse Renew You Microdermabrasion Mask is a exfoliating mask designed to give you visibly looking younger skin since it contains a ‘rich complex of natural anti-ageing’ ingredients.

Generally I love face masks (see last post) and exfoliators so as a combination for me this is perfect. The mask comes with two chambers, stage 1 being the exfoliator, containing mild fruit acids and microbeads which you gently massage over your skin for 2 minutes following your usual cleansing. You then leave the masque on for 10-15 minutes (I generally always opt for the longer time). You then rinse off and apply the second chamber, containing a post-perfecting cream.

This is my second purchase of this, each sachet lasts for around 3 uses, and although it recommends 2-3 times a week of usage, generally I only used it once a week. However I love this product and potentially using it as suggested will only give a better result. It has no real smell and the microbeads are not too harsh. When leaving it on your face it does not really harden and is easily washed off. Your skin then feels so smooth and you can visibly see a difference from the first use with your skin appearing brighter, ‘cleaner’ and clearer. I experienced no drying effect after using, and the moisturiser sunk in well to my skin and added to the smooth and soft feel. I think I will always continue to use this product in my routine. I never brought it as an anti-ageing product, more to add with reducing acne scarring and redness of my skin. However, I use multiple products to help with this so I could not say that the benefits I have seen I can attribute to this alone.

Overall I have nothing but praise for this, I think the only negative would be having to be careful with storage after first use since you will not use it all in one go, but that is only because I was searching for something to say!

Chinese Miracle Moisturiser Review

I picked this up from Asda on a whim after browsing in the ‘ethnic’ section of the health and beauty aisle. They had a number of products from the range but this is the one that caught my eye mainly for the claim that it can fade scars (of which I have plenty).

The packaging reads;

'Capture your skin’s natural tone, nourish and moisturise daily with our NON GREASY - Chinese Miracle Skin Complexion Cocoa Butter.

Enriched with pure Cocoa Butter, Carnauba Wax, Vitamin E, Marine Extracts and Mushroom Oil. Chinese Miracle Cocoa Butter replenishes moisture, protects the skin and gently fades scars and blemishes for an even skin tone.

Use daily for treating dry skin, stretch marks, moisturising following exposure to the sun and relief from harsh elements of cold weather.

Our complexion ingredients features Mushroom Oil Extract and is completely natural’.

I believe I purchased this for £3.99 for 450ml of product, which is a lot! Especially considering the consistency is closest to a soft wax/butter than the traditional cream. The product does not have a huge number of ingredients listed, however I recognised very few, so I am not entirely sure of the ’natural claim,’ although the wording makes me think this is only related to the mushroom oil.

As yet I cannot vouch for its properties with regard to scar reduction (mostly because I haven’t been making a point of keeping an eye on the one area), this product is extremely moisturising and a little goes a long way. I have been using this 4-5 times a week for close to 2 months and you can see in the pictures how far I have got. Having applied after my morning shower I can still feel the softness of my skin in the evening. I probably initially applied more product than necessary, so it did leave a greasy texture. Although, I actually don’t mind this hugely. I have very dry skin and my legs generally would get itchy particularly toward the evening but I haven’t found this since using this product.

Other than Asda, I have found one other website listed below which sells the full range of products (as well as an extensive range of other brands and ships internationally!) I haven’t used the website however so I cannot comment on their service.

http://www.pak-super.com/home.aspx

This is a moisturiser I would definitely repurchase since for the price it works as it claims on the whole. I prefer this far more to any other cream/butter moisturiser I have used in the past.

I will update this post with any advances on the scars claims since I have plenty of product left to test this fully! I imagine though that it is something that would work slowly over time. Since your skin does become more moisturised, it is likely to improve the your complexion somewhat.

If you have used this product previously please comment and let me know your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks for reading!