Tag Archives: skin problems

The best product for very dry, irritated skin: Aveeno Skin Relief Lotion

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I suppose two years into a pandemic isn’t really the ideal time to share my holy grail moisturiser for very dry skin – but better late than never, right? The thing is, this product was first recommended to me by my dad, who had the driest hands of anyone I’ve ever known, and every time I thought about writing about writing this blog post, I would think of him, feel sad and then not want to write anything anymore. Not sure what it is about today, but I finally feel like I can get it done – so if you’re currently suffering from unbearably dry hands, whether pandemic related or not, today is your lucky day.

Aveeno Skin Relief Lotion has completely saved my skin on more occasions than I can count. In harsh winters my hands would previously get to the point of splitting from being so dry, and ever since I was young I’ve been plagued by rough red patches on my skin all year long. I genuinely think at this point that I’ve tried every product in existence – from steroid creams to natural oils and prescription emollients, but the only thing that consistently gives me relief is this miracle product. An unassuming, medium-thickness, fragrance-free cream, it sinks in after just a few seconds of massaging – which is really impressive for a product as nourishing and moisturising as this one. When used on dry skin, it sinks in wonderfully well, and when used on irritated skin, the soothing power is simply incredible. While on the surface it might just look like any other body lotion, this one really is different, and that’s for a few reasons…

OAT-BASED PROTECTION

Firstly, let’s talk about the oat ingredients in the formulation – oat flour, oat extract and oat oil combine to help protect, soothe and calm the skin. Irritation is an immune response – it’s your body noticing that the skin has been compromised in some way, and increasing blood-flow to the area to supply white blood cells to fight off potential threats. Protective skincare products are applied at this stage because once the skin realises it is protected, it will send a message to the body that the immune system can stand down because things are under control – and then the skin’s incredible healing processes can get to work repairing the area, beneath the protective umbrella of the skincare product. The reason that oats are so effective at soothing dry skin is surprisingly simple – oat binds to the skin, creating a natural protective barrier. No product actually ‘heals’ the skin – all they do is create that protective barrier on the skin so that it can heal itself, and oat is one of the most effective ingredients for doing that. There are many different compounds in oat that help the skin, such as beta-glucan, fatty acids and avenanthramides, which are anti-inflammatory agents, and Aveeno’s combination of three different types of oat ingredients ensures that those compounds are delivered as effectively and in as high concentrations as possible.

MICROBIOME SUPPORT

The formulation also has a pre-biotic effect, meaning it supports a healthy bacterial ecosystem on the skin’s surface. Pre-biotics have been shown to help soothe and calm the skin by increasing the population of ‘good’ bacteria. Many of the cosmetic products we use daily – shower gels, serums, lotions and so on, can destroy the microbiome because they contain powerful preservatives to keep them stable once opened – but those preservatives also kill bacteria when applied to your skin, thus affecting your microbiome, and inhibiting your skin’s ability to protect itself, leading to dryness and irritation. It’s a bit like how when you take antibiotics you’re supposed to introduce a probiotic into your diet, because the bacterial imbalance created by the medicine can wreak havoc on your body’s ability to digest food. Aveeno Skin Relief uses potassium sorbate to keep the product safe and useable, which is a totally different kettle of fish to the cheaper, more mainstream preservatives – it’s actually food safe, and is used in all kinds of food and drink as well as high-quality, skin friendly cosmetic products. Several years ago I started using facial skincare products with potassium sorbate, and the difference it made was extraordinary, so it made sense that a hand and body product preserved in the same way would be just as good.

TAKE MY WORD FOR IT

It’s all well and good me explaining the science behind the product, but let me give you some examples of a few specific times when Aveeno Skin Relief has saved my skin.

My dad was admitted to a palliative care ward for two months in the middle of the pandemic, and while I was in and out of the hospital visiting him, my hand washing habit (which was already a bit over the top before the pandemic) reached a new level of extreme. But my hands didn’t just get dry – it got a bit scary to be honest. They’d do this thing where they turned bright red, the skin was stretched, my fingers would swell up, and my palms would get hot and itch. Aveeno Skin Relief Lotion was the only thing I tried that actually helped. I was getting so scared because I started to think my hands were beyond repair – they were so uncomfortable that it hurt to use them, an added stress that I could have really done without at the time. No other product worked – I tried so many different ones. And then I picked up the bottle of this miracle lotion – the instant soothing effect was incredible, and so I kept using it. Before long, the reaction totally stopped happening.

When I first started taking my antidepressant, I broke out in a rash. This is apparently normal as long as it doesn’t become too severe, but it was uncomfortable. Teeny tiny red bumps from my neck down to my belly button – hot, itchy and very annoying. I slathered myself in Aveeno Skin Relief Lotion, and while it’s impossible to say whether it was my body adjusting to the medicine, or the product getting to work, the rash was immediately soothed and gone the next day.

Sometimes, I get dermatitis around my eyes. This can be from using unsuitable skincare products, but it also happens when I’ve been crying. Yes, my ridiculously sensitive skin is allergic to my own tears – causing bumpy redness and irritation. A thin layer of Aveeno Skin Relief Lotion takes care of this very nicely – which I’ll be forever grateful for because, to be blunt, the last thing you need when someone you love dies is an allergic reaction to your own grief.

My last example is about a different product from the same range – Aveeno Skin Relief Cica Balm. I hadn’t found much use for the Balm before this happened because every other problem I’d had was solved with the Lotion, but my god did it save me from a situation here. A few weeks ago, I woke up with an absolutely horrible irritation under one of my breasts – bright red, unbearably itchy and really distressing because it felt like the skin was ripping – and when I looked closer, I was horrified to see tiny little tear wounds along the area of irritation. It must have been some kind of contact dermatitis from the bra I had been wearing, because it was in a crescent shape on my chest, directly underneath the breast. Anyway, after I was done staring at it in horror in the mirror, I realised the Aveeno Skin Relief Cica Balm was on my bathroom shelf so I grabbed it and applied a thin layer. The effect was so wonderfully soothing – the painful itch started to abate immediately, and within a couple of days it was totally back to normal. I wish I could remember which bra I had been wearing so I can set it on fire, but at least I know if it happens again I’ll have a solution!

Aveeno Skin Relief Lotion comes in two different sizes – a 300ml pump bottle which costs £7.99, and a 200ml tube for £5.99 on Boots.com – they seem to be more expensive on other websites which is strange, but I suppose it’s each website’s choice. The Cica Balm is £6.99 for 50ml (remember that it’s a more concentrated formula), and when I was on Boots getting the links to share I realised they also have a Shampoo and a Body Wash in the Skin Relief line too! I’ll definitely be trying both of those soon. The Body Wash is £9.99 for 500ml, and the Shampoo is £9.99 for 300ml. You can also shop the full range of Skin Relief products here. This range is in my opinion extremely well priced – for the quality of the products and how little you need to use, I’m consistently impressed by the incredible value. I hope you have as much luck with it as I have!

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Avene Tolerance Extreme Emulsion

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If you have sensitive skin, Avene is the only brand you need to know. They are the brand. The ultimate. No brand knows sensitive skin like Avene does. So when I found out they were launching a new extra gentle range for all skin types, with no more than seven ingredients per product, I was so excited. I was particularly excited by the new Tolerance Extreme Emulsion from the range, and was immediately convinced that it would become my new holy grail moisturiser.

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Tolerance Extreme Emulsion is preservative and mineral oil free, with only 6 ingredients, which makes it a pretty impressive product on paper – a facial moisturiser with so few ingredients is practically unheard of!  A moisturiser will usually have anywhere from 20 to 50 ingredients, sometimes with three or four different preservatives that could irritate or leave your skin unbalanced by disturbing its bacterial ecosystem.

So what does it actually do? The idea behind Tolerance Extreme Emulsion is that it soothes the skin whilst providing protection and all day hydration. The oil free formula doesn’t actively mattify the skin, but it does sink in without a trace, thus making it a wonderful base for makeup. The most important job of a moisturiser is that it protects the hydrolipidic film (the natural layer of water and oil on our skin that protects it from external damage), with extras added in depending on the skin type it’s aimed at (e.g oils for dry skin, mattifying powder for oily skin, retinol for wrinkles). However, the more active ingredients you put in a product, the more stabilisers, emulsifiers and preservatives it needs. For a lot of people, the overloading of their skin with all these extra ingredients is the true cause of sensitivity, blemishes and dull skin. This emulsion gives normal to combination skin everything it needs to function healthily, with nothing that could be potentially irritating. It’s perfect if you have sensitive, redness prone or combination skin, or if you just want a light moisturiser that doesn’t have any hidden nasties in it. It’s also 98% natural!

Since I’ve been using this moisturiser, my skin has been quite simply amazing. Before, when I was using a cream with mineral oil in it, I felt that my complexion was getting a bit dull (mineral oil is great for protecting irritated skin while it heals, but isn’t ideal for long term use.) After using Tolerance Extreme Emulsion for three months, my skin was radiant, calm and clear. I didn’t have any blocked pores, dry patches or redness. Makeup would sit happily on my skin all day. And I found that I was able to use a wider variety of products on my skin without it reacting – the formula had actually made my skin less sensitive!

Here’s my skin:

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You might be thinking ‘Oh my god no, I need this, this and this in my moisturiser otherwise my skin will look awful!’ and that’s true if you have a skin problem like acne or extreme dryness. But here’s something a lot of people don’t understand; the thickness of a moisturiser prevents a lot of ingredients from penetrating deep into the skin, where things like micro-hyaluronic acid, retinol, anti-oxidants and collagen boosters can make the most difference. For those, you need to use a serum. Everyone should use a serum tailored to their individual needs, and when you do, follow it with Tolerance Extreme Emulsion to give you the perfect hit of moisture and protection without another unnecessary load of ingredients.

Ready to try this innovative, game changing yet uniquely simple moisturiser? Order it from Boots here!

P.S. A note about ordering Tolerance Extreme Emulsion online – you might be thinking that since it’s available in Boots you can just saunter in and get it off the shelf, right? Well I never seem to be able to do that. They carry the Tolerance Extreme Cream, which is ideal for dry skin, but I haven’t seen the Emulsion on the shelf in Boots for a long time, only online. It’s a shame, but I assume it’s because ‘cream’ is a much more customer friendly word, so it probably sells better. If you have combination, oily or normal skin and you’re using a serum, I strongly suggest ordering the Emulsion, and not settling for the Cream just because it’s easier to get. Don’t overload your skin!

Eve Lom Rescue Mask Review: Does it live up to the hype?

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A while ago, my skin was in a bad, bad way. One or two new spots would crop up every day, with older ones taking forever to heal and fade away. My skin was so dull, but even with all these spots, it wasn’t oily enough for me to use traditional spot-fighting skincare. I was at a total loss. After reading multiple glowing reviews of Eve Lom’s celebrated products, I decided to invest in a tub of Rescue Mask.

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At £55 this was a pretty bold move for me I must admit, but my skin was the worst it had ever been. I wanted to invest in something that had to work. So I started using it twice a week, applying a thin-to-medium layer over my entire face. The mask has a smell that you might not be familiar with – it contains camphor, a herbal ingredient known for its blemish-healing qualities. I don’t see it in many products and I get the impression it can be an irritant if used incorrectly, so it shows the quality of this mask that I’m able to use it on my sensitive skin. Along with camphor, the mask contains kaolin clay to absorb impurities, and honey to purify and soothe.

Once you apply the mask, leave it to dry, and then when it’s dry, you slowly rub your fingers all over your face, creating exfoliating beads that slough off dead skin and pore build up (do this over the sink!!!). It’s a really gentle process, but you won’t believe how effective it is until you touch your face afterwards. It leaves your skin so silky smooth and radiant – I’ve never used a mask that has such an immediate effect.

One thing to note it that this mask contains straight up alcohol – so if you have very red, irritated skin it may sting. However I believe that the alcohol is there to make the formula dry out when it’s applied (the alcohol is liquid in the pot, thus allowing it to keep the mask spreadable, but evaporates once it’s spread onto the skin). One of the things that makes this mask so incredible is that it exfoliates your skin SO well, but it can’t do that unless the mask is dry. Anyway, my point is, don’t let that put you off. As long as you apply a serum and moisturiser after the mask, you’ll be fine.

So how did Eve Lom’s Rescue Mask work on my out-of-control skin? Well…it’s one of three products I credit with saving it. After a couple of weeks I started to see a dramatic improvement in my overall skin condition, and I know that it helped my skin to become healthier, as well as fading scars and reducing the redness of current blemishes. Nowadays I save it for hormonal/stress related skin crises. It really does rescue your skin, so if you’re in a similar situation to me, give it a go if you possibly can. Get it here.

If you want to read more about my skin transformation, click here

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Pixi Glow Tonic Review

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Let’s get this out of the way first: my skin is sensitive. Like, really sensitive. Most moisturisers, toners, SPFs and anything with salicylic acid in it are totally off limits for me. So when I first started hearing of the hype around Pixi’s world famous exfoliating toner, Glow Tonic with 5% glycolic acid, my first thoughts were ‘definitely not for me’. That was until a friend (who has far more severe skin problems than me) and I wandered into Pixi’s Covent Garden shop, and she told me that her dermatologist has got her on a glycolic acid serum to treat her sensitivity. 

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It makes sense if you think about it – by gently exfoliating your skin with an acid toner you make the skin healthier – less dead skin to block it up, more chance for it to successfully regulate itself. As we spoke, I started to think it might be worth a go. After all, I have a boyfriend who loves to receive my skincare cast offs when a product doesn’t work out, so it wouldn’t be wasted! I picked up a bottle of Glow Tonic, and tried it out that night.

Ok…I didn’t try it out that night. It took me about three days to pluck up the courage to sweep a cotton pad sprinkled with the tonic over my skin! I was so convinced that I’d have the same experience as I do with salicylic acid. Yet when I woke up the morning after, my skin was totally fine and calm. And it was fine the next time I used it too. So I carried on – slowly at first, only twice a week. Over the course of a couple of months I built it up to about five or six times a week, which is how often I use it now.

I have to say that Pixi Glow Tonic lives up to every hype ever created around it. My skin is radiant, soft, smooth, clear, scars and redness are reduced, plus I swear my skin is less sensitive now! I went through a bit of a purging period to begin with where some blocked pores came to the surface, but now practically every pore on my face is empty and invisible. Honestly I cannot believe what a transformation my skin went through! I’ve been working hard on my complexion for a long time, but this is without question the thing I was missing. Just look at my face now!

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This is how my skin looks 90% of the time now. I used to always have at least one spot hanging around, or a blotch of redness or a dry patch. Now my skin’s default position is this, which is amazing! For someone with such sensitive skin, it’s an absolute revelation to be able to use a product like this. I suspect there must be witchcraft in the formula – that or Petra Strand is a skincare genius.

I recommend that literally everyone gives Pixi Glow Tonic a try – pick it up for £18 – link

The products that transformed my skin

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I’m so excited to share this post about my skincare journey. It was a long time coming, but I wanted to wait until my skin wasn’t just going through a temporary good patch. It took a lot of product, a lot of experimenting and a lot of perseverance, but I finally have GOOD SKIN. Read on to see how I got there!

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Since I hit puberty I’ve pretty much always had spots, but I never acne. Genetically, my skin is great, it was just these constant painful spots that I couldn’t shift. This carried on until my early twenties, when I started working in the skincare industry, and learned that my skin is actually sensitive. It took me two years to get my skin looking like this and I used a lot of products along the way! I want to share with you all the products that really helped make a visible difference to my complexion. Obviously I didn’t use them at the same time – this is a long journey we’re talking about!

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After I realised that my skin was sensitive, I thought the most important place to start would be my moisturiser, considering that it was the only thing I was leaving on my skin at that point. I switched to pure rosehip oil and everything was looking up. My favourite was Fushi Organic Rosehip Oil, which is great quality, super cheap, and lasts forever. However, after a while my skin started to get congested. I had blackheads and blocked pores which began to turn into spots. So I switched to the only moisturiser I could think of – preservative free, super calming Avene Skin Recovery Cream…
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Again, this was great for a long time (over a year!) and my skin was clear, calm and comfortable. I added in REN’s Omega Skin Oil for added hydration and a bit of nourishment, which really helped me to smooth my skin out. But then my skin started to look dull and a bit rough. I thought it might be the mineral oil in the Skin Recovery Cream – while mineral oil is great for protecting irritated skin, it’s too heavy to be a long term option. So when Avene launched their 99% natural, super light, preservative free Tolerance Extreme Emulsion I switched straight away. My skin went from ‘ok’ to RADIANT. Seriously, I’ll do a blog post on this one soon, as it’s probably one of the best products I’ve ever used on my face.

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As for cleansers – I hated cleansers. I find them SO easy to get wrong as most either don’t clean properly, or totally strip my skin, and I don’t realise until my skin is either spotty or dried out. There are only two cleansers I’ve ever loved, and those are Jurlique Balancing Foaming Cleanser (update – this has been discontinued, sorry!) for spring/summer and REN Gentle Cleansing Milk for autumn/winter. I had tried so many others, but these worked for me so incredibly well. A lot of people favour no-rinse products when they have sensitive skin, but personally tap water has never been an issue for me. If you’re struggling with your skin though, make sure you keep this in mind. I’m picky about make-up removers too – when I was first using the Avene Skin Recovery Cream I really needed to clear my skin out somehow (after using rosehip oil for ages!) so I used their Cleanance Micellar Water. This was great – it’s a very effective make-up remover and it really cleared my skin out. But it wasn’t something I could use in the winter, or for an extended period of time. I didn’t find another make-up remover I liked until I tried Trilogy Make-Up Be Gone Balm, which changed everything. It’s so gentle and soothing, but more importantly, so effective.

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Next up; toners and exfoliators! The Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub might not be for everyone – I know loads of people with sensitive skin who shudder at the thought of using a physical exfoliator, but I love it. Its gel consistency soothes the skin, while the small, gentle particles lift dead skin off without being too abrasive. It smells divine, and a tube will last you 6 months at least. I’ve tried millions of scrubs and this is the only one that leaves my skin soft but not traumatised. Around the same time as I started using the scrub, I added soothing Avene Water into my routine. After I finished cleansing I would spray this on and pat dry to remove the mineral compounds in London tap water. When my skin was raw and recovering, this was an essential. I still use it after I do intense face masks, but I’m happy to report that my skin is strong enough now to be able to skip this step for everyday! And finally…everyone’s favourite Pixi Glow Tonic. I have a friend with astonishingly sensitive skin, who’s dermatologist got her on a different glycolic acid product a few months ago. So when we wandered into the Pixi shop in Covent Garden, she convinced me to try it. I took it very slowly, once every three days at first, until now, I’m using it almost once a day. After the normal adjustment period, my skin looked incredible. And I even feel that it’s become less sensitive?! I really recommend giving this stuff a try, literally whatever your skin type.

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Last but certainly not least, face masks! I use a lot of face masks, but these are the ones that really helped me achieve blemish-free skin. The first one I bought, two years ago, was the Eve Lom Rescue Mask – thinking that the expense would make it a good choice. I have to say, it really did help when my skin was very spotty and I even repurchased it because I loved it so much – but I had to stop using it after everything calmed down. Now my boyfriend uses it instead. It’s a great option for blemishes, but it’s not the gentlest product in the world. Instead, a few months ago I opted for Origins Original Skin Mask, which is a gentler, cheaper version. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for deep cleansing and radiance. However, the mask that really, really made all the difference was Lush’s Rosy Cheeks fresh mask. With calamine and rose to calm and soothe redness, as well as kaolin clay to draw out impurities, this is everything that sensitive, red and spotty skin needs. I’ve been using it for over a year and I love it so much!

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I know that not everyone has skin that responds to conventional cosmetics, and have a much harder time with blemishes and sensitivity than I do. It’s also true that diet and lifestyle play a huge part in the condition of your skin – at the moment I’m happy and healthy, but I haven’t always been. My skin won’t always look like this, it’s completely unrealistic to expect to have perfect skin forever, and you should never feel bad if your skin isn’t completely flawless. That being said, I hope reading about my approach, and the things I did to improve my skin might inspire you to try a different method, or at least give you a few ideas about what to do next!

Here are links to all the products I mentioned:

Fuschi Organic Rosehip Oil – £14.50

Avene Skin Recovery Cream – £16.50

Avene Tolerance Extreme Emulsion – £13.50

REN Omega 3 Skin Oil – £25

Jurlique Balancing Foaming Cleanser – £28 (discontinued, sorry all!)

REN Gentle Cleansing Milk – £16

Cleanance Micellar Water – £17

Trilogy Make-Up Be Gone Cleansing Balm – £20.50

Mario Badescu Botanical Exfoliating Scrub – £22

Avene Water Spray – £7

Pixi Glow Tonic – £18

Eve Lom Rescue Mask – £55

Origins Original Skin Mask – £23

Lush Rosy Cheeks Mask – £6.95

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REN Vita Mineral Omega 3 Optimum Skin Oil Review

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Do you ever find a product that just slips so perfectly into your routine that you kind of forget it’s there? Then a year or so later you’re like ‘huh, I actually couldn’t live without this stuff’…

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That’s what REN’s Vita Mineral Skin Oil is for me. Their customer service team recommended it to me about a year ago – and I’ve just ordered my third bottle. I had pretty upset skin at the time, and while I’d just found a moisturiser that was working, I was really struggling to find a serum that would hydrate without irritating my skin.

The product is basically a serum, and I find that texture is quite unusual – it’s a fast absorbing oil that leaves your skin feeling really soft and plumped, as though you’d slathered on a great big layer of rosehip oil, without any greasy feeling at all. I have combination skin and it works great on both dry and and oily areas. Omega 3 Skin Oil contains rosehip oil for vitamin A, along with algae extracts for the omega content and rice germ oil for vitamin E. It’s quite a simple serum, with each ingredient carefully chosen to support the skin’s natural protective barrier, promote cell renewal and basically just keep the skin hydrated, radiant and revitalised without anything complicated or potentially irritating.

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This is the perfect serum for someone like me who has combination, sensitive, easily irritated skin. From the first day I started using it my face felt softer and smoother, and after trying a couple of ‘stop/start’ tests I can tell you that it really does make a difference, because my skin looks dull and dehydrated when I haven’t used it for a while! I’m so glad I found a serum that works for my skin, and even better, a bottle lasts for at least 6 months. Thanks for another great product, REN! Get it here for £25 – link

Trilogy Make-Up Be Gone Cleansing Balm Review

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I absolutely hate taking my make-up off. It’s a hassle, its not a particularly comfortable experience for my delicate skin (cotton pads scraping across my face, urgh) and most of the make-up removal products I’ve tried leave my skin irritated. Wipes and micellars are a nightmare, and most creams leave my skin feeling dirty. It’s a hard life. I’ve found a few gems though, so let me tell you about my latest love…

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I’ve been curious to try Trilogy products for years, but I’ve just never gotten round to trying them. However I was invited to try something from the range and I settled on Make-Up Be Gone Cleansing Balm.* I was actually pretty sceptical, because the things I’ve heard people say about this product defy belief. That it lifts make-up away effortlessly and completely, that it leaves skin perfectly cleansed, that even sensitive skin becomes soft, clear and comfortable after using it…

To use, you scoop out a serving (I push my thumb in and gouge out enough to generously cover my nail) and massage it well into dry skin. If you’re wearing eye make-up, eyebrows or lipstick, give it a really good massage to loosen the make-up. Dampen the soft facecloth that comes with it (or another clean flannel/face cloth – just make sure you only use them once and then wash them! NOT OPTIONAL!!) and wipe the balm off your face. I usually rinse the flannel, turn it over and go in for another swipe afterwards, just to be sure.

After this, you’d probably assume that you’ll need to double cleanse, to really get the make-up off, right? Wrong. Trilogy’s Cleansing Balm has removed every iota of make-up from my face every single time. I check by spraying my face with Avene Thermal Water Spray and gently wiping my face with a cotton pad…my face is always perfectly clean. It’s insane, I don’t understand how a balm can be so effective!! But there it is. Now, I never use waterproof mascara or heavy eye make-up because I have very sensitive eyes, but I can tell you that it removes normal mascara as easily and quickly as it removes the rest of my make-up.

The balm is a blend of sunflower, olive, coconut and their famous rosehip oils, together with soothing camomile extract and antioxidant vitamin E. It smells gorgeous, and I love the way it instantly melts onto the skin.

Would I buy it if I hadn’t been gifted it? Yes! Despite it seeming fairly pricey, it’s lasted twice as long as my other favourite make-up remover and I still have some left, so it’s definitely worth the price!

Get it on Look Fantastic for £20.50 – link

Origins Original Skin Retexturising Mask

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I’ve been wanting to try Origins Original Skin Mask since it first came out, but I had a good rhythm going with my skincare routine at the time and I didn’t want to risk upsetting months of calm, clear skin by changing things. Fast forward a few months and that well and truly went out the window, after a stressful winter my skin was in an absolute state. Origins had a pop-up store in central London at the start of the year, and I ducked in before a meeting one day and couldn’t resist picking up a tube of this gorgeous rose clay mask – my skin had become so rubbish I had nothing to lose!

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Original Skin Mask contains Canadian Willowherb, which is a natural anti-microbial that kills acne causing bacteria whilst soothing redness and inflammation. I’ve never had acne, but I have been getting lots of spots recently, and the red patches from all the irritation I had when I was stressed were driving me crazy. Rose Clay, another key ingredient, is a really gentle kaolin clay (all clay absorbs toxins from the skin, but Rose is a very gentle one so it doesn’t strip combination skin types).

Now here’s a funny thing. One of the other key ingredients is a plant extract called Persian Silk Tree, which is native to Asia and South America. It’s an antioxidant that helps restore radiance to dull, tired complexions. When I was googling it to find out what it does, I found a few pictures and my first thought was ‘umm…I’ve seen one of those somewhere before’ – and a quick scroll through my photos revealed I was right! I spent two months in the Amazon rainforest a few years ago, and one day on a trek, I stumbled across a mysterious pink flower. I photographed it, meaning to look it up when I got back home, but I completely forgot. Well, now I know! Here’s the specimen I found, deep in the jungle in Peru:

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I really, really love this mask. I’ve found that the formulation is gentle enough that it doesn’t irritate my skin, but at the same time it deeply cleanses and purifies my complexion. It brightens and smooths my skin without drying it out, and it really was exactly what my skin needed. I tested it out on my boyfriend too, who has oily, acne prone skin, and he loved how soft and bright it left his skin. Although, he probably wouldn’t use it regularly as he has the kind of skin that would benefit from Origin’s Charcoal Mask three times a week!

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If you have normal to combination skin, the occasional blemish or dullness and red patches, I cannot recommend this mask highly enough. Get it from Look Fantastic for £25 – link

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!