Tag Archives: Natural skincare

How to go anti-perspirant free!

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I stopped using anti-perspirant about three years ago now, and I will NEVER go back. I made the choice because I didn’t like the idea that I was blocking a natural process. I can see that it might seem like the kind of thing only inconsiderate ‘hippies’ might go in for. Well, I am a bit of a hippy, but that doesn’t mean I’m inconsiderate, because the thing is, going perspirant free does not increase the number of times I get body odour! Read on to find out how I keep myself smelling nice without stopping my body doing what it needs to do.

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How to keep body odour at bay without anti-perspirant

  1. Use a good deodorant. Of course, going anti-perspirant free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a good, natural deo. I’ve tried them all, and for my everyday, morning application I love PitRok and Salt of the Earth. I use PitRok if I’m not showering, but if I do shower I use Salt of the Earth which needs to be used on wet skin (or wetted before use). These both do an amazing job and I often find they last all day. 
  2. Keep underarm hair sweet. If you’ve decided to dump the razor as well as the anti-persp, I have one great tip for how to help yourself feel more confident with your newfound armpit hair, and that’s to look after it. Apply a scented oil or balm like Lush’s Elbow Grease and your armpit hair will be smelling like a fresh bouquet all day. You can’t beat it.
  3. Re-deodorise at your desk. Whatever your job, you will find that occasionally you have some odour to cover up. This can easily be sorted out with Weleda Sage Deodorant, which eliminates odour in seconds, and lasts for ages. If your job is less sedentary than mine, you may have to do it more often, but to be honest I walk (briskly) two hours a day and my boyfriend cycles to work and works on his feet and neither of us have ever had a problem that Sage Deo couldn’t fix.
  4. Nighttime protection. This is an important one for the summer. If you start to smell at night because you’re entwined in sweaty sheets (or a sweaty significant other) it’s very likely that some BO will set in overnight and be really difficult to shift come morning. You can prevent this with a sprinkling of dusting powder before bed – Lush’s Silky Underwear is my all time fave though they have others, some of which I think are actually designed to combat odour!

So, there are my tips! As I mentioned, I don’t have a hugely active lifestyle (I don’t work on a building site) but I do exercise and I do walk a lot to and from work, and this routine works perfectly for me.

Are you thinking of going anti-perspirant free? Or have you already done it and have your own fave products? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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Weleda Almond Soothing Cleansing Lotion

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I’ve used Weleda’s Almond Soothing Cleansing Lotion on and off for years, so I thought it was time I finally wrote about it!

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This is a very basic, simple product that I come back to time and time again, particularly when my skin is playing up and I need a gentle make-up remover. With only seven ingredients, it’s perfect for people with sensitive skin who need to keep their exposure to skincare ingredients to a minimum.

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Just in case you needed proof that I really love Almond Cleansing Lotion! I bought a load on Black Friday to keep me going. I know no matter what other products I have on my shelf, I’ll end up reaching for it frequently.

The consistency is kind of like a thin facial cream – not quite liquid, but not entirely solid either. When you squeeze it out it looks like there’s little balls in it, but you can’t feel them when you massage it into your skin. I squeeze it out onto my fingers and apply it all over, rubbing lightly and in small circles to loosen the make-up. Then I wipe it off with cotton pads. Usually I have to apply and remove twice to get all the make-up off, unless I was wearing a bb cream, in which case once is fine.

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The smell is lovely, it’s a light almondy/marzipan scent, though obviously the product is fragrance free. Despite having two lovely, nourishing oils in it, the lotion leaves my skin feeling so clean and fresh, and for that reason, I find myself reaching for it when my skin is oily. This deep cleansing effect comes from lactic acid (an AHA) and alcohol, so I wouldn’t suggest it for people with dry skin, but for any other skin type, it’s great!

I love this cleanser. I started using it around the time I first realised I had sensitive skin, and the fact that I’ve come back to it so much ever since really says something about it’s effectiveness, gentleness and quality. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Weleda are cruelty free and environmentally conscious! Get it for £9.95 off Look Fantastic – link

Skincare and make-up for sensitive eyes

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I have the most outrageously sensitive eyes. At the faintest whiff of stress, harsh products, or god forbid, heavy eye make-up, they get weepy, and the skin around them breaks out in eczema patches. I have recurrent styes in my right eye too, which is particularly annoying as it means I can’t buy expensive mascaras or eyeliners since I have to chuck it out every time I have one! I have a skincare and make-up routine in place now that has kept my eyes in check for a long time now, so I thought I’d share!

Skincare

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Cleansing and eye make-up removal can be a big problem for many people with sensitive skin, but the solution for me was a lucky find – Klorane’s Gentle Eye Make-up Remover. Despite having fragrance and colour, this eye make-up remover is the most soothing product I’ve ever used. Even when I have eczema flare-ups (yes I still use make-up, leave me alone), it doesn’t sting. After cleansing, I use a normal eye cream most of the time, but when my eyes are bad, at night I apply XeraCalm Cream from Avene*. This stuff is super thick, and unbelievably soothing. It’s so so good for eczema flare ups. I love doing a little ‘eye mask’ with it in the evenings, and it’s great for my extremely dry, often itchy hands too. I can’t use it during the day though, as it’s so thick, so in the mornings I apply a soothing aloe vera gel like this one.

Make-up

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It took a loooong time for me to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t wear mascara when my eyes were irritated  – and even longer to get my every day make-up to a point that I was actually happy with the way I looked without it. I’m more than happy with this look though – I love it! It’s pretty basic, but I’ll explain anyway. I start with Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation all over my face, and then dot their Radiant Creamy Concealer on blemishes, and on the inner corners of my eye area. After that, I brush a thin layer of Clinique Almost Powder all over my face, followed by Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Flush on the apples of my cheeks. I fill in my brows with Benefit Brow-Zings, and then finally, on the outer corners of my eyes and over a bit of the lid, I pat on some BareMinerals Stroke of Light Eye Brightener. The Brow-Zings and brightener are kind of like a replacement for mascara – they give my eyes a wide awake, noticeable look, equivalent to that of mascara. Here’s the finished look:

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I usually throw on a bit of Lipstick Queen Frog Prince too, which balances my face out nicely. Even though I do put the foundation, eye brightener and powder near my eyes, it doesn’t affect them because they are high quality products, and they aren’t absorbed. In fact, they form a protective layer which is actually quite good for the skin!

Do you suffer from sensitive skin or eczema? How do you cope? I hope you found my skincare routine helpful!

REN Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk

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Let me tell you a little story about REN and this cleanser.

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I went to Scotland a couple of months ago, and when we were halfway up the motorway I realised I’d forgotten my bottle of Gentle Cleansing Milk. I panicked, and tried to use REN’s store locator on my phone, but with the shoddy signal it wouldn’t load. So, I took to twitter…

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Just a couple of minutes later, REN replied:

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I loaded the address into my phone, and an hour later we were back on the road (because we stopped for lunch too, obviously) with a new bottle of Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk in my bag! Thank you REN!

So anyway, you’ve probably worked out that I have some pretty strong feelings about Gentle Cleansing Milk by now. Here’s why.

This cleanser has not only cleared up the red patches I was getting because of sensitivity, it’s also smoothed out flakiness, improved my skin’s radiance, AND kept blackheads and oil at bay. This is an absolute powerhouse of a cleanser, and when you look at the ingredients it’s easy to see why!

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To nourish the dryness so commonly associated with sensitive skin, Gentle Cleansing Milk has sesame oil, sunflower oil and shea butter, three rich oils that are easily tolerated by reactive skin.

Calendula and geranium extracts are both gentle antibacterials, so help to keep the skin healthy and promote healing – something that sensitive skin needs more than most. Then fennel extract helps to decongest and reduce puffiness, while chamomile soothes and calms. Finally, ho wood oil helps to relieve irritations by cooling the skin.

As for radiance? Blackcurrant seed oil helps to reduce roughness and has a rejuvenating affect on the skin, while oryzanol (rice bran extract) is great for sun damage and as it’s easily absorbed, can have a lasting affect on the condition of the skin even in a cleanser. Then there’s Sea Buckthorn extract, which is fantastic for radiance, with high concentrations of vitamins A, C and E as well as omegas and anti-oxidants.

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The texture is wonderfully thick and creamy, which makes it a joy to massage into the skin, and the scent is beautiful – it’s like a warm, slightly floral scent with a bit of a woody undertone. Another thing I love about this cleanser is that it’s quite versatile in terms of removal. You can rinse it off like I do, but you can also use a face cloth or cotton pads if your skin is very dry and you can’t use tap water on it. This is such a good option to have!

If you have sensitive skin and you’re looking for a fuss-free, gorgeous, and not-too-expensive product to leave your skin perfectly clean without being stripped of oil, I cannot recommend REN’s Gentle Cleansing Milk enough! Get it here for £17 – link

Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Scrub

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Exfoliation is probably one of my favourite aspects of skincare. However, I have to be careful not to overdo it when I scrub my dry, delicate skin. I really think that when you have sensitive skin, you should be very careful about the quality of the exfoliators you buy. Which is why I feel absolutely no guilt about enjoying the wondrous, luxurious Geranium Leaf Body Scrub from Aesop.

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The exfoliating granules in Aesop’s Geranium Leaf Body Scrub are made from finely ground pumice and bamboo stem powders, which lift away dead skin gently, but amazingly well – my skin has never felt so smooth, and I suspect it’s because they’re so fine and therefore able to really get under the dead skin. The thick gel makes it a gorgeous product to massage into the skin, and, enriched with oils of mandarin, bergamot and geranium, it conditions and deeply cleanses the skin without drying it at all. These oils also make it smell glorious. 

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I adore body scrubs and have tried so many over the years, but the fresh, refreshingly sweet scent, gorgeous texture and gentle effectiveness of Aesop Geranium Leaf Body Scrub makes it the best one I’ve ever used, by a long shot. It’s £25 for 170ml, which isn’t cheap, but if you’re looking to splash some Christmas money on a treat (or you can afford it anyway, in which case good for you!) I really think you’ll be glad you did. You can get it on Beauty Expert here – link

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Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub

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Lets talk about the best face scrub I have ever used.

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I love physical exfoliation. I know lots of people are all ‘oh no, you should only use chemical exfoliants they’re much gentler’ but I’m just here like, my skin is designed to come into contact with debris throughout the day, it is definitely not designed to have weird chemicals applied to it in a ritualistic fashion. Not that I’m against chemical exfoliants, I love papain, and I used retinaldehyde for the first time last night! But I don’t think there’s any truth to the claim that you shouldn’t use a scrub tailored to your skin type once or twice a week. What you should do is avoid ludicrous exfoliating particles like giant shards of walnut shell that’ll create micro-cuts in your skin.

Mario Badescu’s Botanical Exfoliating Scrub is, frankly, perfect in every way for my skin. I have very delicate skin on my face – in fact, the other day I was literally told by a top cosmetic dermatologist that I have the kind of skin that “doesn’t get blemishes’ because it’s so fine” (#humblebrag). I do get blemishes and am annoyingly sensitive, but still, she was 100% right in the sense that my skin is very delicate so absolutely can’t handle anything too rough without getting dry or red or angry at me.

Botanical Exfoliating Scrub has a very thick, gel like texture that contains finely ground palm seeds – the thickness of the gel prevents the particles from being too abrasive, and the fine-ness of the particles means they aren’t that harsh in the first place. However, the gel also holds the particles in one place against the skin, which means they scrub in small circular motions instead of following your hands in gigantic sweeps (a sure fire way to get micro-cuts on your skin.)

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The gel is made up of aloe vera, ginger, ginkgo, green tea and coconut – so it’s soothing, invigorating, antioxidant and nourishing all at the same time. The scrub has definitely made my skin smoother and more radiant, and I absolutely adore the smell, the texture, the way it glides over my skin and washes off in an instant. It’s hard to see in the picture, but when you squeeze it out it has this lovely opaqueness that almost looks glittery.

Mario Badescu’s Botanical Exfoliating Scrub is definitely the best exfoliator I’ve ever used on my combination, delicate and slightly sensitive skin. The antioxidants make it perfect for life in the city, the coconut is perfect for combatting winter dryness, and the thick, gentle texture makes it the kind of scrub you can use regularly for a very long time. Get it on Beauty Bay for £25! Link

P.S. Do you have oily, clogged, spot prone skin? I used to use a scrub that’s perfect for skin like yours. It’s too drying for me now, but my boyfriend is loving it for his acne-prone skin! Check it out.

REN Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel Mask Review

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My boyfriend and I have VERY different skin. While mine is sensitive, combination and temperamental, his is oily, prone to blackheads, spots and scarring. After suffering with severe acne as a teen and being treated with doxycycline, retinoids, Roaccutane, salicylic acid washes, benzol peroxide creams and chemical peels, he’s always understood the importance of a good skincare routine, but after the acne went away he was a bit lost.

Then along I came – beauty, skincare, science and health geek extraordinaire. Over the past year we’ve had a great time testing out products on his face, more so than on mine in many ways because his skin’s complete lack of sensitivity means there’s no stress involved! I thought, given how different our skin is, that it would be nice to share his skincare journey on here too, so that people with oily, acne-prone skin can come here for recommendations as well.

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One of the first products he bought and really loved was REN’s famous Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask. This is such a cult product for anyone with congested skin, and after using it for a month he could definitely see why. With open pores that are easily clogged, he struggles with blackheads a lot. After using this for a couple of weeks, James told me that a pore on his cheek opened up and expelled something so disgusting he wouldn’t even describe it to me. It must have been stuck pretty deep in there because I hadn’t ever noticed a gross spot on his face, so take that as evidence that Radiance Renewal Mask is ridiculously effective.

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He loves how it glides over his face when he applies it, and (take note bearded people) if you have facial hair it actually distributes through it really easily. It also makes his beard less itchy and more comfortable  – by getting rid of the dead skin around the hair follicles. I like the way his face smells of apricots when he uses it, but I think he’s more enthused about the fact that it leaves his skin feeling soft, smooth and super clean!

James’s face has been brighter, softer and less oily since he started using Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask regularly, and his pores are getting smaller and smaller all the time. With its awesome blend of fruit acids and enzymes, it’s a gentler way of maintaining the harsh treatments he had as a teenager, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who suffers with congested, acne-prone or scarred skin (remember that pore I told you about? Can’t even see the mark anymore).

 

REN Rosa Centifolia™ No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm

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I really struggle to find a morning cleanser that fits my needs and isn’t outrageously expensive. I want something nourishing and hydrating, brightening, exfoliating and deeply cleansing to balance my sebum levels, but that will also moisturise and prevent breakouts. Eve Lom’s Morning Time Cleanser fit the bill for most of these, but at £50 a pop there was no way I was going to carry on using it, especially since I found it started smelling like fish after a while (literally the nastiest thing to wake up to ever, thank you very much Eve Lom).

IMG_8205I’m fully aware that my skin’s needs pretty much encompass everything skin could possibly need (dry, dehydrated, oily, breakout-prone, dull…come on skin, give me a break somewhere) but that’s just the way I am. I know that cleansing balms work great for me as they don’t dry it out, or leave a load of residue (like most tissue-off formulas) to get oily later. So when I had the opportunity to try REN’s Rosa Centifolia™ No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm* I jumped at the chance, being, as I am, a huge REN fangirl.

The first thing you notice about this balm is that the smell is absolutely stunning. Light, fresh roses – perfect for a happy morning routine. The texture is beautiful too – it’s smooth and spreads over the skin like soft butter (only not as greasy!) which makes for an incredibly enjoyable cleansing process, as you have to massage the balm into your skin for one or two minutes. I really felt my skin was deep cleansed after using this, and I think that massaging it in like this made a huge difference. Plus, I was living in Central London for most of the time I was using it. Massaging my sinuses every morning and evening definitely helped me to cope with the pollution!

After you’ve massaged it in, you apply a little warm water to turn it into a milk, massage it a bit more and then wipe away with a facial cloth (one comes with the balm, but if you’ve ever ventured into the world of cleansing balms before no doubt you have a few extras kicking around). I find that it comes off with absolutely no effort, which really surprised me because the balm is really quite rich! My face was left soft, but so, so clean. I really started to see a difference to a lot of areas of my face while I was using Rosa Centifolia Cleansing Balm, particularly in the congested area around my chin. It cleared my forehead of blockages almost completely, all while keeping the dry areas soft! I loved this balm so much.

However, I’ve had to stop using REN’s lovely Cleansing Balm recently. I moved house twice in the months that I was cleansing with it, and in that time I had a flare-up of eczema around my eyes which led to my whole face going completely out of control sensitive. The lovely essential oils in this balm made my eyes sting, so I had to move on to a different routine (still using REN though, my love runs too deep!) which, now I’m settled into a proper flat, I hope to talk about soon!

REN’s Rosa Centifolia™ No.1 Purity Cleansing Balm is an absolutely beautiful cleanser, and I highly recommend to anyone with normal or combination skin, especially as winter is fast approaching. If you’re very sensitive, eczema-prone and you’re planning to try and move house twice in London in the space of a couple of months, I wouldn’t recommend it, but to be honest, I’d probably try and talk you out of your crazy decision before I tried to talk you out of using this gorgeous cleanser. Link

Lush Elbow Grease

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I’ve been posting about Lush a lot recently (see here, here and here). This adoration is well deserved, because their new products are seriously amazing, and I think this melty, fragrant and intensely nourishing Elbow Grease moisturising bar might be one of my favourites.

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A fragrant, rich moisturising bar that can be used anywhere you need to nourish some dryness, Elbow Grease contains a gorgeous mixture of butters and oils held together seemingly by magic. The nourishing coconut oil, cupuacu and murumuru butters keep it in a bar shape, but only just. It’s so finely balanced that almost as soon as it comes into contact with your fingers it melts into a rich, thick oil. There’s candelilla wax in there too, which protects the skin like beeswax does. I keep my bar in its original paper to make sure it doesn’t melt on me. I’m sure it won’t, as it does hold its shape really well when your skin isn’t in direct contact with it, but still.

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I’ve never seen a product do this before (not even coconut oil on it’s own melts this quickly) and I absolutely love it. Melty gorgeousness aside, one of the best things about Elbow Grease is the smell. Holy crap, this stuff smells like heaven. It’s an intoxicating blend of neroli, orange blossom, rosewood, sandalwood and ylang ylang that wakes you up and makes you smile as soon as you smell it. Apart from the gorgeous fragrance, there were a few other reasons I bought it. First, I thought it would be good for the rough skin that I sometimes get on my hands and feet (to put on at night since there’s no way I’d be able to use my hands after slathering it on!). Then I thought it would be perfect for softening, perfuming and conditioning my underarm hair. But finally, and most importantly, I had an inkling that Elbow Grease would be amazing for my thick, dry, coarse, frizzy and curly hair.

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And that’s what this post is really about, because seriously, I was RIGHT. The first time I tried Elbow Grease on my hair, I had it up in a frizzy, annoying ponytail. I was in a rush so I just pinched a bit out and rubbed in between my fingers before smoothing it through my hair… and the frizz was gone. I had smooth, shiny curls all day. I’ve used it several times since, particularly when my hair gets that annoying bouncy frizz thing going on. Every time I use it end up with defined, shiny and nourished curls. Here’s the proof:

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Same handful of hair, but before the second pic I quickly ran some Elbow Grease over each curl. Now, it goes without saying that if your hair is thinner, oilier or generally more well behaved than mine, Elbow Grease will not have such a subtle and desirable effect on your hair. However, my boyfriend, who’s hair is completely normal and acceptable, has started using it about once a fortnight on his hair before he goes to bed, to soften and nourish it like an intense mask, and it looks gorgeous. He’s sitting with it on right now and actually it doesn’t look oily at all!

I am SO impressed with this stuff, and am secretly hoping I end up with my annual ‘winter dry hands’ so I have an excuse to use this on more parts of my body. I’m gonna get them anyway, may as well have a reason to look forward to it! Get Elbow Grease on Lush for £5.95 – link

Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm

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Hand creams and I, we have a special relationship. Being something of a germophobe, and having naturally really dry hands (thanks dad), balms, creams and lotions have their work cut out when they meet me. I reviewed a lot of mediocre hand creams back in the day, but I’ve decided that now, I’ll ONLY be reviewing the creams that really make me go wow. Maybe when I accumulate a load of crap ones I’ll do a post on them, but for now, lets focus on Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm.IMG_6761

The nourishing ingredients packed into this botanical mixture, are quite something. Shea butter, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, macadamia nut oil, cetaryl alcohol (a fatty acid and amazing moisturiser), glycerin, cocoa butter, wheatgerm oil AND soybean oil. Like, whaaaat? Most hand creams would only contain one or two of these, but the combination of all of them means you get all of their individual benefits too. For example, coconut oil has antimicrobial properties, almond oil helps to protect the skin and wheatgerm oil is high in antioxidant vitamin E. The texture of the cream is gorgeous, while it’s an incredibly rich balm it melts into the skin so easily. The perfect combination of nourishment and easy-absorbency for any busy person with a dry hand problem.

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The botanical ingredients in Resurrection Aromatique are seriously out of this world. Orange, cedarwood, lavender, grapefruit and rosemary combine to make an intense and complex fragrance, that really does bring the senses to life. There are so many amazing ingredients in this balm, I want to talk about them all! There’s soothing aloe vera, anti-ageing tocopherol and carrot oil in there too.

So on paper this sounds like the best hand cream around, right? I have to say, I genuinely think it’s one of my favourites. I use it every morning before work (I massage it in while I’m walking out of my flat, covers up the smell of central London nicely) and it absorbs really well. Since using this I’ve realised that not only have I stopped having to use a hand cream throughout the day, my hands now look younger too! If you have constantly dry hands, this is such a good option for you, I cannot recommend it enough. It certainly isn’t a budget product, but at £21 for a 75ml tube, it’s not the costliest, and the luxurious formula really is worth it, especially if you struggle to find good hand creams. Get it here – link.

I’m really keen to try more of Aesop’s products, do you have any recommendations?