My Basic Skincare Must Haves

Hey lovelies,

Today I thought I'd do a feature today where I showcase all my basic must have skincare products and my recommendations for each one. As understandably skincare can get quite confusing and when there are so many products to choose from you can easily get overwhelmed and unsure as to what you need to buy and what you don't. Skincare, I personally feel, is the most important part of your regime - more so than makeup. As, if your skin looks good a) you'll need less makeup and b) your makeup will apply a hell of a lot easier. After a quick description of each product there will be a few of my recommendations at the end, with a high end and a drugstore choice.

1. Makeup Remover

A decent makeup remover that works well on both the eyes and skin is key. As you want something gentle around the eyes, so that you don't have to tug, but also something that can remove your foundation. I'd recommend either a micellar water as they're light and super gentle and work, or a cleansing oil as they're a bit heavier but take everything off with major skin benefits. Both work well for either skin types. I own both a micellar water and a cleansing oil, purely because I find the micellar water is easier to travel with. (As seen in my photo, I've decanted it into a smaller, travel-size bottle)

Recommendations: BioDerma Sensibo | Link, Garnier Cleansing Micellar Water | Link,  Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil (Review) | Link, The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil (Review) | Link

2. Cleanser

Cleansing your skin is super important and shouldn't get mixed up with removing your makeup. Makeup remover takes off your makeup, whereas a cleanser actually cleans your skin and gets inside all your dirty pores (lovely image!). You always go in with a cleanser after you've removed your makeup. Out of every skincare product, cleansers are very subjective to skincare types but personally I recommend ones that actually leave my skin feeling clean and soft, but not dry or tight. I also have quite sensitive skin so something suited to sensitive skin is perfect for me! My favourite types of cleansers are either gel or balm cleansers - gel are normally better suited to combination to oily skin types whereas balms are universal. 

Recommendations: Lancome Gel Eclat (Suitable for all types) | Link, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser (All skin types - especially sensitive) | Link, Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm (All types) (Review) | Link, LUSH Ultraband (All types) | Link

3. Exfoliators

Exfoliation is really important for removing dead skin cells and maintaining a glow to your skin. I'd recommend doing once to twice depending on how dry your skin is. Personally, I find exfoliators can be quite difficult to buy as many I've tried have been super harsh and have made my skin worse! I recommend either using a gentle exfoliator/scrub or using a chemical toner as they can be used everyday and are a lot more gentle.

Recommendations: Pixi Glow Tonic | Link,  Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub | Link, St Ives Apricot Scrub | Link

4. Toners

Now, some people believe toners are a pointless task and don't really do anything, but I adore a good toner. They're super refreshing and really calm my skin down. I've already done a post on my all time current favourite two toners, but toners are an all round great product. I recommend buying ones without alcohol in as then they can become super harsh on the skin.

Recommendations: LUSH Eau Roma Water (Review) | Link, LUSH Tea Tree Toner | Link, Kiehls Oil Eliminator Toner (Review) | Link, Caudalie Beauty Elixr (Review) | Link

5. SPF

SPF is super important no matter if the weather is rainy or cloudy, you should still protect your skin with a minimum of 25 SPF. I normally apply my SPF over my moisturiser but under my makeup, so I prefer a SPF that isn't greasy or slimy.

Recommendations: Clarins UV+ SPF 50 | Link, Kiehls Ultra Light Daily Defense SPF 50 | Link, Olay Complete Daily Defense SPF 30 | Link

6. Eye Cream

Looking after your under eye is a necessity, especially because it's so delicate. I have pretty bad dark circles, so I sometimes like to have a brightening eye cream for daytime and a more heavier, moisturising one to go to bed with.

Recommendations: The Body Shop Vitamin E Eye Cream (Review) | Link, Simple Kind To Eyes Roll On (Mornings only) | Link, Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado | Link, Botanics Radiant Youth Hydrating Eye Cream | Link,  Origins GinZing Eye Cream (Mornings only) | Link

7. Moisturiser

Besides cleansing and SPF, this is one of the most important steps in a skincare routine. No matter whether you're super dry or extremely oily moisturising your face is extremely important. Especially in the morning before you apply your makeup as it essentially lays a base for your foundation and other products to stick to. Now I have oily skin so I mainly shop for moisturisers suited to my skin type, but I will recommend a few for others.

Recommendations: LUSH Enzymion (Oily/Combo) | Link, Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser (All types) (Review) | Link, Origins GinZing (All types) | Link, Origins A Perfect World (Normal/Dry) | Link

Thank you for reading,

Worth The Splurge: Emma Hardie 'Amazing Face' Collection Review

Hey beauties,
I thought I'd do a review on a high-end product that hit the beauty bloggers earlier this year. I'd actually bought the beginner set for this last year, which was featured on one of my monthly favourite posts. But, I thought I should do a more in-depth review due to it being quite high priced and the fact it's pretty different from your average cleanser and exfoliator. As, when I first bought this I was a tad confused how to use it, even though it was explained to me in Space NK (woops). So, this is for anyone that is considering investing in any of the products mentioned or has, and isn't entirely sure if they're using it right.

Moringa Cleansing Balm and Rosehip Exfoliating Seeds

Firstly is the Moringa Balm which I adore and this is the bigger version which I re-purchased off Feel Unique for £34.Now this is a massive amount which I was pleased to find when I opened it for how expensive it is. I feel this cleansing balm can be used for any skin type, especially dry or ageing skin. It's especially good for young, sensitive skin a.k.a me! I can fully support that this doesn't upset my skin nor break me out. This cleanser smells so lovely, it reminds me of a spa, and leaves my skin looking healthy, hydrated and glowing. Something I find really hard to achieve in the harsh winter weather. So if you have young skin I actually fully recommend this as I find it's perfect for me. The only skin type I'd be wary for is extremely oily or acne prone, as it doesn't really aim to combat acne merely improve your actual skin itself. I use this by applying about a 2p sized amount (dependent on how much make-up is on my face) in my hand, then adding a tiny bit of water until it's creamy and then gently applying and massaging into the face. This is perfect as it also removes eye make-up successfully! I then remove it with the damp cleansing cloth, which I still have from the beginners kit, (I would have took a photo of it but it's not very clean), until all my make-up is removed. I also love the cleansing cloth and I actually use it to remove other cleansers and face masks, as it's soft enough that doesn't tug at the skin but effective enough it gets deeper dirt out of your pores.

Secondly is the Rosehip Exfoliating Seeds which were included in the beginners kit at Space NK costing £32. Sadly, the glowing review does not continue onto this product. The main reason I still have these and resulted in re-purchasing the Moringa Balm was because these still remained from my beginners kit. My main reason I dislike these seeds is because I find them too harsh on my skin and actually result in leaving it extremely red. Also, I find that you end up needing quite a lot of the cleansing balm to balance a small amount of the seeds so that you don't end up scratching your face off. Although, I do adore the packaging and the fact it reminds me of a salt/pepper shaker is quite cute. I would not recommend these exfoliating seeds for anyone with sensitive skin or dry skin as I find they are just too harsh. They may leave my skin ultimately soft but it's not worth all the hassle when I can achieve the same effect with a much cheaper, easier exfoliator.

Overall Result:
Is it worth the splurge?
For the Cleansing Balm I'd definitely say yes! If you have the skin types I mentioned or you want to achieve healthy, glowing skin - especially good purchase for this weather!
But, sadly for the Rosehip Exfol
iating Seeds I'd say no. Although I believe you can only purchase these with the beginners set, I believe you'd want to decide whether to pay more for the balm separately and the cloth or just buy the beginners kit which is cheaper and try it out for yourself!

Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed this review, my next upcoming posts are going to be a post on my favourites from a particular brand and my autumn/winter favourite products!
Please subscribe, comment and follow me on BlogLovin,
Victoria Louise x

Body Shop Seaweed Skincare Collection Review [Combination Skin]

Hello lovelies,

Well first and foremost I'm sorry I've literally disappeared but now all my exams and uni days are out of the way I've been sorting out my blog posts and have a few lined up. I thought I'd start with a skincare review as I've been using this collection since March so I feel I can give an honest review. You can view the whole of the range here. I know the Body Shop is quite expensive but I've bought all of these products when the Body Shop had some sort of deal e.g. 40% off.

Excuse the awful lighting I took this last night

Body Shop says this range is

DESIGNED FOR COMBINATION SKIN, OUR SEAWEED SKINCARE. HELPS TO RESTORE BALANCE AND CONTROL EXCESS OIL TO HELP GIVE YOU A SHINE-FREE, MATTE FINISH.

 My favourites of the whole collection are: The Night Treatment which has made a massive difference to how oily my skin is and is something I'm definitely going to repurchase. The Cleansing Facial Wash which I use to remove my make-up and it definitely leaves my skin feeling refreshed and not sticky like others I've tried. Finally, I adore the Cleansing Facial Exfoliator, this is a lot less harsher than the previous exfoliator I was using but still has the same effect! I am also using the Mattifying Moisture Lotion but I didn't want to include it as I've only had it for two weeks so it would have been more 'first impressions' than a review, but so far it's wonderful! A massive improvement from my previous moisturiser.

My not-so-favourites are the Cleanser, I just find it a bit too strong for my sensitive skin and it results in my skin stinging but if you don't have sensitive skin then have no worries! This is the same issue I have with the Toner, and also I find it makes no difference to my skin whether I use it or not. Furthermore, the Ionic Clay Mask is awful for my skin leaving it stinging, dry and is actually quite painful to have on my face after 5 minutes - so if anyone has sensitive skin I wouldn't recommend these products. But, if you have immensely oily skin or normal skin you would be fine.

I hope this helps with anyone considering purchasing anything from this collection, also if anyone also has combination skin and knows of some skincare gems don't hesitate to comment and let me know! I am still on the hunt.

Thank you for reading, please comment and/or follow me on BlogLovin (click the wonderful button to the side of this post),
Victoria Louise x