Budget Cleanser | The Body Shop Sumptuous Camomile Cleansing Balm

The budget friendly cleanser has become somewhat of a necessity for me this year. After deciding to go back and study at college I had to have a skincare overhaul and began introducing some more bank balance pleasing products. Cleansing is one of, if not the, most important step in any skincare routine and so it seemed like a no brainer to start my new affordable skincare collection off with a cleanser that wasn't going break the bank. 

Like when I buy any new skincare item, I always, always have a scour through Caroline Hiron's blog. It does not matter how many positive reviews a product has, if Caroline hasn't given it her seal of approval it isn't coming home with me. On her blog I stumbled across this post on The Body Shop Sumptuous Camomile Cleansing Balm. Caroline's opinion and background knowledge were enough to convince me this bargain cleanser was worth a try. 

My thoughts.. 

Out of all the cleansers I have tried and tested, including this products two higher-end rivals Clinique TTDO and Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm, it has by far the best packaging. The tin it comes in is compact and flat making it perfect for travelling. It has also proved surprisingly hard-wearing as it hasn't dented or scratched at all like I had expected it to. The scent is another pleasing feature. Although not that important in terms of how effective it is at doing it's job, it does make the cleansing experience a little more enjoyable. Like the name clearly states this product is Camomile based and that is exactly the fresh, floral scent it gives off. In terms of use, it definitely does the job. Like other balm cleansers as soon as the product is worked into the skin, it literally melts make up off. To achieve a fully make up free face I felt like I needed slightly more product than has been necessary when using other similar cleansers, however this is my only slight niggle with it and otherwise it has been an absolute dream to use. Unlike with any other cleanser I have used, it leaves a really fresh, evened out look to my skin too, which I adore. 

Pick up The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleanser for £13.00  

The Skincare | Exfoliating Toners

If you're a follower of the wonderful Caroline Hirons, you'll be all to familiar with these three products. All of which are skin exfoliants in the form of a toner which means no more abrasive bead exfoliators! Hooray! 

Just over a year ago I hit crisis point with my skin. I never had what I would consider 'bad' skin and to me it was just fine but once I left school it deteriorated into outbreak galore. Having gone from 'good skin' to a face full of outbreaks I started to panic and tried untold of rubbish products to try and miraculously clear up my face. Nothing worked and I was actually left feeling quite low and self conscious about my appearance. 

And then I found Caroline.. 

Across her blog Exfoliating Toners kept cropping up so I began to look into a few of the ones she had specifically mentioned. The first one I tried was the Ren Clarimatte Clarifying Lotion (formerly known as the Clarifying Toning Lotion). Within a few weeks of using it twice daily the breakouts I had been experiencing had already started to clear up and by the time I had finished the bottle, my skin had returned to its (mostly) blemish free state. Once I had used up every drop of the stuff, I left it a few weeks before repurchasing and sure enough my skin began to play up again. Instead of ordering the same Ren toner, I popped to my nearest Clarins counter and picked up their version of an exfoliating toner, the Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Lotion. 

The Brightening Lotion from Clarins is also another recommendation from Caroline, so I had every faith it would do the job just as well as the Ren lotion had. Although I didn't see the results as quickly as I had previously whilst using Ren Clarifying Lotion, it did sort my breakouts out and by the time I was half way through the bottle my skin had began to clear up again. 

I have since repurchased,and used up, another bottle of Ren toner and I'm now half way through the Pixi Glow Beauty Elixir. This again is another product the fantastic Caroline Hirons has recommended and out of the three it's my favourite. It was by far the quickest at producing noticeable results and i'm absolutely loving it. 

In terms of price they're all relatively affordable -
Clarins £20 - £25
Ren £18 (however I have seen it for about £12 on some websites!)
Pixi £16

Do let me know if you've tried a similar product and have seen great results! 

The Brand Focus | Kiehl's Pt. 2

Previously I mentioned a trip to my local Kielh's store where I picked up the Ultra Facial Cream [read here]. The trip in to the old New York style apothecary also resulted in me coming away with a new eye cream, which I was also in absolute desperate need of.

Although I had heard of Kiel's avocado eye cream, I hadn't previously done a lot of research into the product so I was quite unsure about what I was taking home with me. It claims to provide intense hydration to the eye area whilst containing Avocado Oil, Vitamin A as well as fatty acids all of which sound like they'd round up to make a good hydrating product - I am a little uneducated on the elements that make up an A* eye cream so this is a very vague assumption on my part!

After finding time to do a proper scour of the internet looking for other peoples views on this product the excitement to use the Creamy Eye Treatment had begun. A whole hoard of reviews mentioned the decrease in fine lines around their eyes after using this product, as well as noticing results in how hydrated their eye area was after just a small amount of time using the product.

After nearly eight weeks of trying this out I'm somewhat unimpressed. The cream has an incredibly thick consistency, which once applied to the eye area goes to an almost watery texture, I've never come across anything like it before. It's not at all sticky and it applies fairly easily.

Results wise, there hasn't been a lot. Although my eye area doesn't necessarily feel 'dry' it definitely doesn't look hydrated. I still have fine lines making an appearance, despite the many reviews that claim this product helps to diminish them.

Like with the Ultra Facial Cream I went for the jumbo pot (28ml) as it's better value for money and retails at £33.00, however there is a smaller (14ml) pot available for £20.00.

I didn't get on with this product and was left a little disheartened by the lack of results I saw from using it, nevertheless you may see great results with the avocado cream. Everyone's skin is different and just because it didn't work for me does by no means, defy whether it will do the job for you!

The Brand Focus | Kiehl's Pt. 1

Being in desperate need of a new daily moisturiser I set about the inter webs looking for something that was going to do the job. I stumbled across a few mentions of the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream and decided to give it a bit more of a thorough research before parting with my pennies.

It's designed to be a light, but still hydrating, cream that prevents the loss of moisture without being too rich and heavy on the skin. Ideal.

After reading enough A* reviews and finding very little that states against this cream I decided to call into my local Kiehl's store and pick a tub up.

Ive now been using the Ultra Facial Cream for about a month and my views are mostly positive. It's a lovely light formula, just as stated in the product description, making it perfect for daytime wear.
It melts into the skin relatively quickly without too much blending in and fuss, aswell as  providing a smooth base for makeup.

In terms of effectiveness I'd give it an 8 out of 10. Reasons being that it has appeared to keep my skin hydrated, having had no dry patches occur since I started using it, however I don't feel as though my skin is super hydrated. By this I mean, it doesn't feel plump, fresh and hydrated as I would hope from well moisturised skin.

Obviously other elements affect the condition of skin and so I'm not saying that this product isn't doing a fabulous job. I'm just saying it's not perfect and I'm still on the look out for something a bit more hydrating.

I got the 125ml 'Jumbo' size (RRP £43.50) because the lovely sales assistant pointed out that it was better value than the 50ml (RRP £24). Looking back I wish I'd got the smaller of the two as I had never tried it before. 125ml is a lot to get through and I'm already on the hunt for something I think I'll prefer a little more. Definitely check out this product if you're on the look out for a light, hydrating day cream, maybe steer away if your skin falls into the 'very dry' bracket though!