My Updated Cleanser Collection - Part One - Makeup Removers

I think we all know by now that I'm a bit of a skincare fanatic so, when it came to going through my cleanser collection, I figured it was going to be a bit of a monster post. I've decided to break down my collection into two separate posts to make it a tiny bit more manageable. Round one? Cleansers that I primarily use for makeup removal.

There's one product in this category that I need not linger on: the Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Cleansing Oil. If you haven't heard me hap on about this before it's a beautiful, affordable oil cleanser that removes makeup effectively without stripping the skin of any moisture and the citrus scent is heavenly. My one gripe with this product is the non-pump based packaging but the formula is lovely.

The newest addition to my cleansing wardrobe is Sonya Dakars Eye Wash. I'm fairly certain this is one of the products that came in the Caroline Hirons' Cleansing Box that I picked up from Cult Beauty because it isn't something I'd normally pick out for myself and, if I'm honest with myself, I find this one a bit of a faff to use. I'm a double cleanser anyway and so a separate eye makeup removal stage for me seems unnecessary. The cleanser is good quality and removes makeup effectively, it's just not something I personally reach for all the time.

Recently I've really been enjoying the Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm. It's taken me way too long to get around to trying this but it's a really effective makeup remover. If you like your skincare to be a sensory experience you may want to steer clear of this one because it's completely unscented, but for this reason it will be amazing for people with especially sensitive skins. It's not the most exciting cleanser I've ever used but it gets the job done really well.

My favourite cleanser for short term traveling are the Olay Daily Facial in a Box. These are loose, dry cleansing cloths that you add water to and they foam up to remove makeup. I think these are a brilliant alternative to traditional cleansing wipes as they are all the convenience of a wipe but they don't contain any alcohol so they're not harsh on the skin. They come in boxes of 30 and as they are separate, single use cloths they take up no room at all in an overnight bag. They come in a few different textures but I like the ones that are marketed towards sensitive skins. The only thing I would mention is that, with them being a foam cleanser, I don't tend to use them for more than one night as they can get a little drying on the skin, but they don't contain SLS.

For longer traveling trips (2 nights+) I tend to pack MV Organics Pure Jojoba Oil. THis can be used for all kinds of things but I like it for makeup removal and since it's only a small 35ml container it's super convenient for traveling. With it being an oil it removes makeup quickly and isn't at all moisture zapping (are we noticing a trend yet?) and with it being just pure jojoba oil it's not heavily scented so, again, great for sensitive skins.

My least used makeup remover is the Pixi Nourishing Cleansing Balm. I think this is a really nice cleanser, the scent is lovely but not over-powering and it removes makeup quickly. However I don't rech for it too often because I find it a little heavy for my normal/combination skin, it's full of super moisutrising ingredients and I can imagine drier skin types would love this cleanser but I tend to save it for the rare occasions where dry patches show up.

And finally? RMS Beauty Raw Coconut Cream. I'm not sure why I don't use this more often than I do because it's absolutely dreamy. The scent is beautiful and it's feels lovely on the skin (again, another fab makeup remover). My one complaint about this one is that it's so sensitive to temperature that you simply couldn't use it anywhere that's warm. I live in England and we're not known for our hot weather but in summer this cleanser has been known to completely liquidise in the pot in my bathroom.

June Favourites

First of all apologies for the lack of post on Friday - It was a hectic week and I just couldn't find the time or the brain power to crack out a post but I hope I'm forgiven. We're back today with my favourites from June '16 - so lets hop to it.

Let's kick things off with a lip combination that I've reached for most of the month shall we? I've been layering on some Maybelline ColourSensational Shine Gloss in "130 - Fuchsia Flash" over my Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in "05" for an everyday lip this month. I love it because it's a mid-tone pink so it's understated and wearable but it's still bright and looks put together. I've thrown this on for work and play and it's such a lovely low-maintenance lip combination.

We've been pretty skincare heavy here recently so I'm going to try not to harp on about these too long but there's been a couple of skincare products that have absolutely brought my skin back to life (and unfortunately, both cost a pretty penny). I've re-discovered my MV Organic Skincare Rose Plus Booster and I have no idea how this fell to the back of the class. It's essentially good skin in a bottle, no matter how lack-lustre my skin is looking I find that a couple of drops of this massaged into the skin before bed has me looking like I've been drinking my water and sleeping a lot (which lets face it - usually I haven't been).

My Tata Harper cleanser obsession continues but this month I've been mad for the Purifying one. This is a lovely, thinner than most, gel cleanser that I've just been loving for my morning cleanse. The light texture makes it quick and easy to use and whenever I use this I feel like all of the grit and grime just follows it down the plug hole when I rinse. Also - the lovely sharp citrusy scent is great for helping you wake up in the morning and for me it just adds to that "super clean" feeling.

Finally a slightly less beauty-oriented product: I recently stumbled across Next's home fragrance selection and their "White Jasmine" range smells incredible. I got the Decorative Owl Reed Diffuser and it's so cute and smells amazing but I can't find it on the website (maybe it's in store only?) so here's the standard one. I'm awful at describing scents but the packaging says that the top notes are violet leaves and plum, the mid notes are jasmine and white lily and it has a white musk and amber base. It's just a nice clean, fresh, floral scent that's not overpowering or overly girly smelling (I tend to go for more gender neutral boarding on somewhat masculine home scents and this is more on the feminine side for me).

Head To Head - Affordable Cleansing Oils

We seem to be in the midst of a minor skincare takeover at the moment here in the Jodie May Beauty head quarters (sorry to the more makeup obsessed readers) and today will be no exception to that. Us bloggers are always harping on about "dupes" for other products but some times I think we forget to compare things in the same price bracket, so I'm here to rectify that. starting with a couple of oil cleansers:

In the left corner, we have my old faithful: The Superfacialist by Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil, and on the right we have No7's Beautiful Skin Cleansing Oil. Both of these cleansers are around the £10-£11 mark and are available in the UK from Boots. Una Brennan gives you 200ml compared to No7's 150ml so on price-per-ml the UB is slightly more affordable, but how do they perform head to head?

Packaging - for packaging, the winner is definitely No7. My biggest bug-bear with the UB cleansing oil is that it doesn't have a pump, it's a serious design flaw. The lack of a pump can make it a little bit awkward to use as you have to pour the liquid-y cleanser out into your hands and the No7 is much more user friendly.

Formula - This will largely come down to personal preferences, but I can say that the No7 oil feels thinner during use. Both remove makeup with easy and are quick to remove, neither leave the skin feeling dry or stripped at all. One thing I will mention for formula is that the first ingredient on the inci for the No7 is Paffafinnum Liquidum (or as it's usually reffered to: mineral oil). This is a low quality oil that comes from fossil fuels (it's essentially a by-product of petrol) and if you're prone to any kind of acne, it's an ingredient to avoid. The UB oil contains mainly sunflower seed oil and some other more natural oils and so I do feel like you're getting better quality ingredients from the UB.

All in all? For me the Una Brennan remains unbeaten. I will likely just decant it into the bottle for the No7 once I've used that up because the packaging is so much better on the No7. I still use and enjoy the No7 and it's pretty much always on offer so you can generally get a good deal on it but I just feel like the ingredients on the UB are so much better.

So I've Fallen Out With Suncream...

...But there's some other SPF formulas that I'm loving right now.

The sun has (finally) started to show it's face in Manchester, and it's actually been almost too hot. When I went on my annual trip to stock up on suncream I decided to stray away from my usual traditional suncreams and my P20 options in favour of some newer formats and I'm really impressed.

The format that I've been enjoying the most is one that been around for a while: oil. I like oil-base sun protection because generally they're even more moisturising than the traditional cream/lotion based formulas and they're basically goof-proof when it comes to white-casts and streaky application. The oil I've been enjoying this year is the Golden Protect Protective Oil Enriched with Shea Butter from Garnier's Ambre Solaire range. This is a light, non-greasy formula that is water resistant and moisturising on the skin. It comes in multiple sun protection factors, personally I generally go for a factor 30 across the board. I also like that this formula has a subtle sheeny finish to it that gives the skin that glow that we all want in the summer.

Nivea have a brilliant range of sun protection products and the one that really caught my eye was the Protect and Refresh Cooling Sun Mist. This is a super fine formula that is applied to the skin via an aerosol spray can. At first glance I thought that this product would be the perfect answer to the problem of topping up facial SPF throughout the day without disrupting makeup but I was a bit disappointed to find that the directions specify that you can't spray this directly onto the face. I'll still get enough use out of this since it's nice and refreshing on the skin for reapplication but I'd love to see something along the lines of this that is completely safe for use on the face.

The last sun care product that caught my eye this time around was Nivea's Lip Care Sun Protect SPF30. Again, I love Nivea's sun protection range and they're also known for their lip balms so I figured this was a pretty obvious choice. The formula is light but nicely hydrating and the scent/flavour is nice but not overpowering as well. I even really like the packaging with the pop of summery yellow and it's a great one to slip into your handbag.

If My Skincare Stash Disappeared...

When it comes to skincare, I think we can all agree, I'm somewhat obsessed. I have a bathroom cabinet that's practically overflowing with cleansers, a whole drawer dedicated to masks and enough serums, oils and moisturisers to last me a few years at least. I'm starting to cut back a bit on my obssesive collecting and it got me thinking - if I got rid of everything and had to start again, what would be on my shopping list?

Cleansers

In my cutting down I managed to get this down to three. As much as I absolutely love a lot of cleansers - seriously, I may have t dedicate a whole post to my favourites. The absolute have-to-have-it list is just these: the Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Cleansing Oil (shock horror), the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel (surprise surprise) and a more recent love in the Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser.

I wanted each of the products in this list to serve a specific purpose and I feel like these 3 work different enough to earn a spot in my hall of fame. The Una Brennan is a liquid consistency and is the product I reach for to remove makeup more often than not. I love the Oskia gel for a morning cleanse or a second cleanse post-makeup-removal in the PM. While the Tata Harper is a more recent purchase, I've nearly used up my travel mini and have a backup ready for when it's finished (and when you have as many cleansers as I do, that's a big deal). I'd been shying away from manual exfoliators for such a long time but this is nice and gentle but leaves the skin so soft and smooth, and the scent is so lovely.

Toners

I've pin-pointed two toner-step products that are must haves for me and, again, I don't think they'll be much of a surprise: For an exfoliating toner my pick is the Pixi Glow Tonic, it's effective and affordable. Enough said. I also love the La Roche Posay Serozinc since it's got anti-bacterial properties but also doubles up as a refreshing spritz since the mist is so fine. I think that both of these work equally well in the AM or the PM and they can be used together or separately. I have used lots of more expensive toners but I genuinely think these two are the ones I reach for the most and that they're the ones I'd be repurchasing once I've worked my way through my current beauty stock room.

Serums/Moisturisers/Oils

I've let myself have a few options here since I like to switch things up a bit. For AM, I love the Indeed Labs Hydralyron serum, the Clarins Lotus Facial Oil and the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream. I've spoken about Hydralyron on this blog so many times now but it's still a firm favourite for an affordable hydrating serum. My Clarin's Oil has been another one I've been quite consistent with, it's a good quality oil and it doesn't break the bank as hard as others that I enjoy and the scent is so refreshing in the morning. Then the Charlotte Tilbury cream is just lovely under makeup, I couldn't use it everyday since it's quite a rich cream and my skin isn't dry enough to warrant using this constantly but it's great when I do reach for it.

In the evening, I just love using the Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum, another product that I've chirped on about before. It's a thin jelly-ish texture and it just fixes your skin, that's all I can say about it. Although the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil is a very recent addition to my skincare stash, it's such an SOS saviour of a product that I know I'll be going back for more once I'm out. Finally, while the Indeed Labs Fillume moisturiser isn't something I talk about much on the blog, I've been using it for a while now and it's such a good night cream, it's really plumping on the skin and makes you wakeup looking fresh.

My 2015 Hair, Bath and Body Favourites

So the final instalment of my 2015 beauty favourites is going to be focusing on all things hair, bath and body. If you've been keeping up with the rest of these posts you'll already know that these aren't "hall of fame" type posts, they're very much like the monthly favourites I post. But here we have it:

I've loved two shampoos pretty equally this year and both are from the L'Oreal Sulphate-Free range. The first one I liked was the Ever Pure and I've since moved on to the Ever Strong as it gives more volume but I love this range in general. Leaves your hair really clean but not stripped and is great for not making colour-treated hair fade too quickly.

My other hair favourite this year is the only styling product I've ever been faithful to: the Color Wow One Minute Transformation. I got this in a gift-with-purchase at a Space NK event back in February and I've loved it ever since. I literally use a tiny pee-sized amount in the roots of my hair to give some lift after straightening and it's great.

My favourite bath product of the year was a tough choice because I've used and loved so many this year, but when it came down to it the one I wouldn't want to be without it the Aromatherapy Associates Bath Oils. I've had the mini set for a while now and since some of the oils are getting pretty low I've recently invested in the slightly larger Ultimate Bath Jewels set that they had out this Christmas. They're just so relaxing in your bath.

For body scrubs I've tried some great ones towards the tail end of the year but my consistent favourite has been the Soap & Glory Pulp Friction. The scent on this is lovely and the scrubbie-particles are really exfoliating without being painful or irritating at all. The best thing about this is the formula though, the particles are suspended in a creamy formula that really clings to your skin and so it doesn't go everywhere and leave your bathroom a mess.

Last but not least we have the Soap & Glory Heel Genius Foot Cream. Smells like mint, feels great. You just apply a thin layer to your feet,pop on some socks and there you have it, silky smooth feet in no time. The tube recommends wearing it to bed but I can't sleep in socks so I just wear it under my socks around the house when I haven't got much on and I love it.

So my 2015 favourites series has come to an end, but check back on Monday to see what products I really didn't get on with through 2015.

30 Lips in 30 Days - Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil

When the Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oils first launched, I was so excited to get my hands on one, but no matter how hard I looked, I just couldn't find the shade I wanted. These were released with two colours, a warm yellow "01 Honey" and a pinky shade "02 Raspberry" and the latter was near impossible to find in stores when they first released. After a while of searching I gave up and forgot all about them until the other day, when I found "02 Raspberry" at my local Clarins counter.

The packaging for these is lovely, a thick clear plastic tube with a gold lid and a large doe-foot applicator that fits the lips well. My only packaging complaint is that with the applicator being quite large, it can pick up way more product than you need. The product has a sweet raspberry scent that you will be able to taste when your wear the product so if you're not into scented lip products that's something to bear in mind. The formula itself is very much like a thick, non-sticky lip gloss, sheer and shiny, moisturising and comfortable on the lips and will need reapplying throughout the day the maintain the finish.

Supermarket Skincare: Nspa At Asda

Nspa is a skincare range I've been wanting to try for ages and on a recent trip to Asda I managed to find quite a good selection of products from the range. The price point for this range is amazing with most products being £6-£8 and the range often being on a two-for-£8 offer which basically makes it buy-one-get-one-free. I love the packaging as well, for a well priced brand the packing doesn't look or feel particularly cheap.

So the first product I picked up was the Hot Cloth Polish which is a creamy hot-cloth-cleanser. I like this for a morning or second-PM cleanse as I prefer an oily texture for makeup removal and it's nice. There's definitely cleansers out there that I prefer but for the price point this is a nice product. The scent is nice and clean as well.

I find that one thing that I really struggle to find in low-cost skincare ranges is really nice serums so I decided to give Nspa's Double Action Youth Serum a go. The packing says this can be used alone or under a moisturiser and so it seems to be a moisturising serum and for me, it's just not what I want in a serum. It's very similiar in texture to the moisturiser I picked up from the range and while I don't think it's a horrible product by any means, it's definitely not the best serum out there. If you're looking for a budget serum, the L'Oreal Revitalift Filler Renew is much better and is only a little more expensive.

I love a good facial oil so as soon as I saw the Deep Hydrating Facial Oil it was finding it's way into my basket. It's nice for an evening oil but is a little too heavy for daytime wear. The scent is warming and clean again and it sinks into the skin nicely. I think oils are another product where you get what you pay for and the ingredients are obviously not going to be the same quality in this oil are they will be in a pricer product but it's definitely a good find and my skin really seems to like it.

And finally, I have the Oil-Free Moisture Gel and of all the products I picked up, this was the one I wasn't sure I'd like. Even though I have oily skin I seem to have a real hard time finding day-time moisture products that offer a nice level of hydration to my skin, without being too heavy or greasy. That being said, I actually really like this one. I'd previously been using the Clarins Lotus Facial Oil as my day-time hit of hydration and my skin loves it but I've been going through it pretty quickly and it's not particularly kind on the purse. The Nspa Moisture gel is non-greasy and feels nice and light on the skin but manages to give your skin the moisture it needs to not drink up your makeup now that the weathers starting to cool down.

So all in all a nice range. I can see myself picking up more from the range and probably even repurchasing some of the one's I've mentioned here. I dare say this has been my most succesful supermarket Skincare post to date.

My Autumn Beauty Boosters

So the mornings have started to get quite crisp round these parts lately and the sun seems to be setting earlier and earlier every day and that can only mean one thing: autumn is well and truly on it's way. Autumn is my favourite season and I'm looking forward to snuggling back into my chunky knits and boots. So now the weather's settling down and the light is starting to fade a bit, here's my autumn beauty edit:

 In the summer I actually took a quick break from my Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel in favour of a more creamy cleanser, but now it's cooling down I'm back to using this more in the evenings as a nice pre-bed-time treat. Another skin treat I've coming running back to now the summer's saying its goodbyes is the MV Organics Rose Plus Hydrating Booster. It's a deliciously rose-scented oil that hydrates the skin well and it's another bed-time beauty boost.

I always like to go a bit darker as autumn comes in and two lipsticks I'll be reaching for a lot more will be Illamsqua "Growl" and MAC "Rebel". I've also been wearing Fleur De Force's Lipgloss in "Starry Starry Night" a lot lately but my top dark-lip pick this autumn is the Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in "107". I've resisted for a few years but I finally caved and it's such a beautiful colour.

If I'm not feeling a dark lip the eyeshadow palette I always come back to in the autumn is the Urban Decay "Smoked" Palette. Unfortunately they've since discontinued this and released the Naked Smokey which doesn't compare really, but you can pick up a lot of the shades in "Smoked" from UD's permanent range, my favourite is "Mushroom", a metallic grey-brown that makes a great neutral smokey eye.

For hair I like to go to town with the texture in autumn. For general volume I love the Color Wow One-Minute Transformation. It's a product I love all year long for giving my fine, flimsy hair a bit of volume at the roots. I also like a good sea-salt spray to give the ends of my hair that laid-back lived-in look. Autumn is the season for wooly hats and scarves and I think nothing goes better with a wooly hat than some messy texture in your locks. (And I know I'm not the only person who has those emergency hat days when autumn comes around).

And finally, for nails, while I'm not normally a nail polish girl I can get behind one of two nail trends that seem to come back every autumn. I love a dark or metallic nail once the days start getting shorter. I think it might be because darker nail polish formulas seem to be easier to apply than the pale/pastel colours that come back every spring and summer and a darker/metallic nail is a lot less maintenance. Whatever it is, it's a trend I can get behind and a couple I'll be cracking out this year are Essie "Bahama Mama" and Tanya Burr "New York Night", nice vampy red/purple shades are my favourite.

September Favourites

Another month down and its been a good one this month both for finding new favourites and rediscovering old loves that I'd forgotten about. With it being the end of skint-tember, not everything will be high-street this time around but there's some affordable products in the mix. An honourable mention needs to go to the Fleur De Force Lipglosses, I love these at the moment but haven't had them long enough for them to qualify as a monthly favourite but I didn't want to leave them out.

A couple of products I found when testing affordable products for Skint-tember are the L'Oreal Le Blush and the Maybelline Master Drama Khol Liner. The blush is a nice peachy pink that's easy to apply and just brightens up the complexion and the texture is lovely on the face, I wouldn't necessarily have picked this up if I hadn't been trialling products specifically for the posts for last month (one day I'll show you how the blush drawer has gotten out of hand since the blog) but I'm really glad I did because this was a nice affordable find.

I've been picking up a few pieces from Maybelline's Master range lately and it seems to be a line of on-point releases from what I can see. I discovered the Master Sculpt Contour Palette last month and that went straight into a favourites post and this month I picked up the eye liner from the range and again it's shot straight to the top of my love-list. It's a nice strong black eyeliner that wears well but is creamy to apply.

On the topic of the Maybelline Master Sculpt, I may have been cheating this month. Birchbox sent me a small size of The Balm's Balm Desert Bronzer/Blush and I've been liking this for a contour shade lately. It's a bit deeper than the Maybelline so I do have to be a bit careful but it's been nice for popping in my makeup bag when I'm on the go.

I've also shelved my long-loved L'Oreal Pure Colour Shampoo for a while. I ran out a few weeks back and when I went for a repurchase I couldn't find it in stock anywhere, so after a few moments standing at the display in dismay I decided to try the Ever Strong from the same range. The Pure Colour is marketed for "Flat, Coloured Hair" and the Ever Strong claims to be new and is for "Fine, Flat Hair and Delicate Scalp" and it's still sulphate-free from what I can see so good for the colour too and I think it's my new favourite. It's just so much better for giving texture and volume to the hair and I like it a lot.

I've recently been investing in some nice quality brushes as well. I've been using a set I picked up from Frauline for the last few years and they were a great, affordable starter set for me but they've gotten a bit old and need replacing and I've decided to slowly start switching them out for really nice ones (if anyone wants an update on all of my recent brush buys let me know and I can do a post on that). After finally picking up a MAC 217 I don't know how I've managed without one for so long and I'm tempted to go back and pick up this brush in duplicate. It's makes eyeshadow application so easy and if you don't own this brush and you're into eyeshadow, I'd recommend giving it a go.

A re-discovery this month has been the Aromatherapy Associates Bath & Shower Oils, I particularly like the "Relax" and "De-Stress" sub-ranges and will more than likely be picking up a full size of some of these soon. I've been saving these oils for special occasions but I've decided I need to just get using them because they're lovely. I like the miniatures set because I think it contains a mini of all the ones in the range and you can sample which ones you like best before you buy. And if you have a small bath like me you can get 2-3 baths out of each bottle. They're also a great size for travel.

And finally, I wanted to throw in a random favourite this month. My boyfriend and I have made our way through a marathon of most TV series' by now and we decided we wanted something new to do together and decided on getting an xbox game to play. He's really into gaming and I've been known to have a dabble at things here and there. So after much deliberation, we decided that the Lego Games range would be a nice way to introduce me to gaming as they're aimed for a younger audience and generally a bit easy. We picked up Lego Jurassic World a few weeks back and it's been great, the two player is good and there's lots to do so you get a lot of game time for you're money, we've also recently picked up Lego Star Wars so we've got some variation and hopefully I'll pick up some Xbox skills and we'll be able to get something more difficult next time but we're really enjoying it so far. If anyone has any game recommendations for next time we're all ears.

Treat Week - High End Skincare Favourites

Part 2 of the Treat Week will be focused on my favourite beauty category: skincare. For me, skincare is the area of beauty that really gets me going and I do think it's really worth investing in your skincare routine. That being said, if you're looking for products on a budget I do have a post with my top 15 low-cost skincare products as well (clicky link here).

So firstly, lets get this one out of the way because regular readers will have seen this one coming a mile off: the Oskia Renaissance Cleasning Gel. I've been testing out a lot of products lately and trying to use up other things so this hasn't had as much use lately, but it's still an amazing cleanser that I will rush out to repurchase once I finish it.

Another cleanser that get mentioned quite a bit on here is the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm. I don't like this quite as much as the Oskia but it's still nice. It has a lovely fresh citrus-y scent to it and it's a tiny bit bitty on the skin compared to the Oskia, but it works well as a first, second or morning cleanse.

I love a good serum and one that I always come back to when my skin is going through a rough time is the Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair. It's a thin jelly-like texture that spreads well on the skin and it's basically good skin in a bottle. I like it for when I maybe have a few break-outs forming or some serious redness going on.

I think I'm getting myself a reputation as a collector of facial oils and I have 3 from the high end that I love and would repurchase until the cows came home. Firstly, my morning-in, pamper routine facial oil is the Sarah Chapman Morning Facial. This is a lovely citrus-y oil that's very nourishing on the skin and while it can be used under makeup, I prefer to use this on mornings where I won't be doing anything and apply quite a decent layer and let my skin absorb it slowly throughout the morning.

My second facial oil pick is also an AM oil: the Clarins Lotus Face Oil. As this oil is specifically formulated for oily skin this is the one I wear under makeup quite a lot of the time. It seems to have some oil-controlling properties to it and I do notice that my makeup doesn't break down as quickly when I use this as my morning hit of hydration.

And then the oil that regular readers might have known was coming: the MV Organics Rose Plus Booster. I'll prefix this mini-review with a quick disclaimer: this product is trés expensive, and if it's out of your budget, try one of the other 2 I've recommended (or actually, the Sarah Chapman Overnight Facial is a goodie too, this one just pipped it to the post in my opinion). It's a real treat and I use it sparingly because it's eye-wateringly expensive for such a tiny vial of product. That being said, it is actually twice the amount of product as you get in the Sarah Chapman range for less than double the price, so if you do some girly maths, it works out a good deal *scrambles to justify a repurchase*.

I wasn't really sure if Indeed Labs Hydralyron counted as a "high-end" product, after all it is something you can buy off the shelf in Boots, but it was outside my £15 budget for my high-street post and I wanted to make sure I hammered home my love for this product. I've already repurchased this once despite having other serums in my rotation to use up but it's just a good'en. Very hydrating, again a slightly jelly-ish texture. Much love, and much better than the Sarah Chapman Intense Hydrating Booster if you ask me.

A couple of mask picks now, for an overnight hit of hydration, the well known blogger hyped Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask is a good'en. It's essentially a really intensive PM moisturiser that smells delightful, (even the boyfriend likes the smell of this one). It's not one I reach for all the time at the moment but it's something I crack out a lot in the colder months.

My absolute favourite mask at the moment is the REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial. It's just so quick. I put a light layer on in the evening, brush my teeth and then remove,it's such an easy one and it leaves the skin silky smooth and not stripped at all. A real hero product in my stash.

And hen finally, a surprise product that's relatively new to me: the Skyn Iceland Glacial Cleansing Wipes. Now don't get me wrong, I am definitely not saying that you could use these as your main source of cleansing for the rest of forever and you'd have amazing skin, and generally, I'm anti-face-wipe. But there's a time and a place. I take these with me when I'm camping or staying somewhere where hogging the bathroom for a double cleanse routine isn't an option and they're lovely. They're very saturated wipes and they're actually a little bit bubbly, I think these are the closest I've come to actually cleansing with a face wipe.

High Street Heros - Skincare

Part two of the High Street Heros series is going to be focusing on skincare. There's a range of products in here from the products that I'm considering buying back-ups for to the ones that I don't use often but they do what they should.

So I'll get this one out of the way, because we all know it's coming: the Superfacialist by Una Brennan Vitamin C Brighten Cleansing Oil is my absolute favourite high-street cleanser and it's the product that I use to take of my make-up pretty much every night unless I'm trialling something or trying to use up other products. Love.

Another product I've mentioned a few times on the blog that's become a staple in my skincare rotation is Serozinc by La Roche Posay. It's a spray-mist zinc-sulphate solution that I use in the "toner" stage of my skincare routine and it's great for clearing up the skin if you have any break-outs or blemishes.

One that I absolutely love but I don't mention so much on here is the L'Oreal Revitalift Filler Renew Serum. This is the one that comes in the bottle that looks a little like a needle, but don't be put off by the packaging, it's lush. It's a hyluronic acid serum similar to the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Hydrating Booster and Hydralyron by Indeed Labs and while I must admit that Hydraluron is my favourite of the 3, the L'Oreal is a good pick for those with a slightly tighter budget as it's under £15.

My budget facial oil pick is the B Replenished Facial Oil. Facial oils are one of those products where you get what you pay for and obviously, this oil isn't going to do what more expensive oils do for your skin but it's a nice pick and I do use this on quite a regular basis. If you have a bigger budget a few more pricy picks I like are the Clarins Lotus Facial Treatment Oil, Sarah Chapman Morning Facial and MV Organics Rose Plus Booster.

My go-to evening eye cream is the No7 Beautiful Skin Overnight Revitalising Eye Balm, it's a lovely hydrating eye gel that does the job. I use it overnight because I think it could be a little too thick for under make-up although I must admit I haven't tried it under make-up yet.

A good does-the-job product is the First Aid Beauty Foaming Cleanser, in texture, this is very comparable to the Omoravicza Cleansing Foam and the only reason I'd repurchase the Omoravicza is because for me, smell is a big part of my skincare ritual and that's the one thing the First Aid Beauty version is missing. Other than that, it's lovely.

Speaking of First Aid Beauty, their Ultra Repair Cream, is available in a generously sized tube for under £15 and it's my miracle cream. Whenever my skin is sore or irritated or generally unhappy, I reach for this and it brings my skin back to normality. Can't be without the stuff and have recommended it to lots of people. Love.

The First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads would have also had a place in this lineup, but unfortunately, they were slightly outside of my £15 budget for this post, but a very comparable product that's even more affordable is the Nip & Fab Glycolic Exfoliating Pads. These are so similar to the First Aid Beauty version but come in under the budget for a good amount of product, they're a pre-soaked acid toning pad that exfoliate the skin gently.

Another pre-soaked-pad product from Nip & Fab that I've been enjoying lately is their Dragons Blood Hydrating Pads. Now I'll admit, being a Targaryen fan girl (sorry for all non-Game-of-Thrones fans for that reference) I may have seen the Dragons Blood reference and been intrigued on the name alone, but I did notice that these also contain hyluronic acid, which we've already established is an ingredient that my skin particularly enjoys. For me these are a hydration layer that I'd use if my skin was more in need of moisture than exfoliation, I wouldn't use them in conjunction with an exfoliating toner.

I've been enjoying the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask for a while now and was keen to find a dupe and with me being a big fan of Una Brennans Superfacialist products already, I picked up their Rose Hydrate Mask to see if it was comparable. While it's not strictly an overnight mask if you apply it thinly it soaks into the skin and wont need removing but I just use it as a 5-minute-fix and it works well. Not quite a dupe but it's still a nice pick.

And then the rest of these are products that I don't necessarily use in my rotation all the time, but if you fancied a new budget item these are pretty good. I've actually gone through 2 bottles of the Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser before developing a love for facial oils that has left most of my once-loved moisturisers feeling a little unloved. This is specifically for an oily skin and it was great at keeping you hydrated whilst also providing some oil control.

While I really love the Omoravicza Deep Cleansing Mask, it's eye-wateringly expensive and I'm currently trying out a lot of clay masks at the moment but a budget option that works well is the Aroma Actives Skincare Deep Cleansing & Purifying Clay Mask. It's an almost skin-coloured clay mask that feels cooling and slightly tingly on the skin and dries down quickly. It doesn't leave my skin as dry or tight feeling as other that I've tried but it does leave me wanting to apply some kind of moisturising product afterward but it's a nice pick for around an 8th of the price of the Omoravicza.

When I'm feeling lazy and a proper cleanse isn't on the cards I have 2 products that I whip out. The Garnier Micellar Warer is great for those mornings or evenings where you just can't be bothered, it's gentle on the skin and not stripping at all but it removes make-up and general grime from the skin quickly. I do have a confession to make here. While I don't agree with using face wipes to cleanse all the time, sometimes, a good old face wipe is just what you need. Maybe your on the road or maybe it's just been a late one and you just want to get straight to bed, but when I'm reaching for a face wipe, I'm reaching for the Soap & Glory Off Your Face 3-in-1 Daily Purifying Cloths. Remove makeup nicely, gentle on the skin but still have a slight bit of an exfoliation to them. A good one to have on hand for emergencies.

And finally, while I normally use a moisturiser/facial oil and then a separate SPF, for days when I'm in a rush I like the Sainsburys SPF 15 Day Cream. It's a light moisturiser that plays nice with makeup and has a decent amount of SPF in for the weather we usually get here in England, and it's super affordable at around £2 a tube.

June Favourites

So it's favourites time again and I really can't believe how quickly this year is flying by. I've been trying a lot of new things this month but only a small selection have found a spot in my weekly rotations so I thought I'd let you in on what I've been loving this month.

I have quite a few make-up favourites this month and one that I've already mentioned in a post this week is the L'Oreal Infallable 24 Hours Matte Foundation, which I picked up as it seems to be warming up a little bit in England now and I've been wanting to try some more long-lasting foundations in an attempt to mark 2015 as the year I finally escaped the shiny-nose-syndrome that I've suffered every summer since birth. While it hasn't quite managed to keep me 100% all day long it's definitely the best foundation for oil control I've tried to date from the high street.

Another product type that I don't always gravitate to but I reach for a lot in the summer is bronzer, and the one I've been reaching for this month is the Bourjois Maxi Delight Bronzer. This thing is massive so I can imagine it'll be in my collection for quite some time as I only use a little bit in the place of blush to warm up my complexion a bit for the summer months.

My final make-up favourite for the month is my No7 Stay Perfect Shade and Define in the shade "Cool Mink". This isn't my favourite texture for a creamy eyeshadow stick (I much prefer the By Terry Ombre Blackstars but trés expensive) but the colour of this is a lovely everyday neutral that you can just smudge on and go. I would still use an eyeshadow primer with this product just because it can get a little crease-y after a long day without one.

Now for some skincare, a product I've reviewed on here recently that I've been using like crazy this month is the Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil which is an oil that is specifically targeted toward those of us who have a combination/oily skin. I've been using this most days in the place of a morning moisturiser as it's hydrating enough for m skin but sits really nicely under make-up and seems to help with oil control throughout the day. Love.

A skincare favourite that I can't believe hasn't made it into a favourites post before is the No7 Beautiful Skin Overnight Revitalising Eye Balm. I did post a dedicated review post for this a while back but I've been loving it for a while now and looking back through my favourites posts I can't find it so it seems to have slipped under my radar. It's a lovely eye cream tat I use pretty much every night that it moisturising but not too heavy.

The Weekly Review - RMK Point Make-Up Remover

So we all know that I love the Superfacialist by Una Brennan Vitamin C Cleansing Oil, but I still love trying out new cleansers and make-up removers, if only to prove that my love for the Una Brennan is the real deal. So when I saw that Birchbox has sent me a sample size of the RMK Point Make-up Remover, I was all kinds of into trying it. The sample size is actually great, 50ml which is over a 3rd of the product you'd get when you purchase the full size, but it's still small enough to be great for travel.

This product was released to replace the discontinued Eye Make-up Remover Ex, and is a standard bi-faze make-up remover that has 2 layers that you shake together, pour onto a cotton pad and then sweep over the face to remove make-up and SPF before going in with a second cleanse. Personally I'd say this would have to be used as a first cleanse as it does leave a slight oil-y residue on the skin that makes me want to go in with a second cleanse afterwards but if you have particularly dry skin, this might not bother you so much.

As far as it's make-up removing skills go, I don't wear waterproof mascara and generally wear a light to medium base and the occasional bright lip and it gets everything off just fine for me but I still prefer my Una Brennan. That being said I can imagine I'll be whipping this out a lot for travel for the convenience of not needing to pack flannels/wash cloths and because it's so dinky that it barely takes up any space at all.

Not Another Face Oil?!?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that my skincare stash already contains far too many face oils, especially when you factor in that I have an oily/combination skin type that doesn't really need an oil to get by. What can I say? Some people collect stamps, I apparently collect facial oils, and this one really caught my eye on the shelves of the Clarins counter on my most recent trip to... You guessed it: Boots.

When I saw that Clarins offered 3 different facial oils, that (from a distance) looked identical, I was intrigued to say the least. I haven't really been much for Clarins skincare in the past so this little trio of oils completely missed me. On closer inspection I noticed they had one specifically designed for us with an oily/combo skin and I (almost immediately) found myself at the till purchasing a bottle.

I know I spend an awful lot of time filling the posts on this blog with raves about a products scent, and this oil is no exception, it's fresh and maybe a little bit minty and the smell just adds another level of sensation when you're using it, and for me, it's what makes a product feel like a luxury and refreshes that excitement about skincare all over again. Of course I'm going to enjoy my morning and evening routines more if I enjoy using the products I have on rotation.

As far as the effects it's had on my skin? It's lovely, I find it's nicest to use in the morning as the scent is too fresh to be an over-night oil. Additionally its oil controlling quality makes it a great oil to use under make-up. I find it sits under a full face well and plays nice with moisturisers, primers and foundations a like.

My Top Three For Healthy, Happy Hair

While I'm not a big hair-styling enthusiast, colouring my hair and using hair lightener definitely takes it's toll on my locks and so I've been getting more and more into haircare over the last few months. I could do a bigger post on my full haircare routine if anyone would be interested but for now I thought I'd keep it short and sweet and just focus on my top 3 nourishing picks for dry and colour-damaged hair.

So the priciest product in this line-up by far is the Oribe Supershine Moisturising Cream, at almost £50 a tube this bad boy is definitely a luxury product but I picked up a mini of it in the January sales this year and I think it's great. I haven't tried many leave-in conditioners but you only need a tiny amount of this so I'm finding that even the small size is lasting me a good while.

For the low-maintence girl there's the good old traditional conditioner. My favourite one right now is the OGX Renewing Argan Oil of Morocco Conditioner. I love this because not only does it smell great *sniff* but it's a nice thick formula that really grips to the hair in the shower. I find that even some of the more luxury brand conditioners feel a bit flimsy to me. I apply this to the mid-section and ends of my hair, wash and exfoliate my body and then rinse it out, just so I can try to keep the conditioner on the hair for as long as possible whilst also managing not to be in the shower for 2 days. Leaves my hair soft and shiny, and the bottle looks lovely on my bathroom shelf.

But if that's not enough, you could always go in with a little of my 3rd option: a hair oil. I've been loving the Percy and Reed Smoothed, Sealed and Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil lately. I hate the feeling of product in my hair so for me, this is a great option, it's so light that you barely know its there. It can leave a little grease to the hair so I generally use it when I'm doing a bun style just to nourish the mids and ends while I run my day-to-day errands.

Friday Review - Percy and Reed Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil

I've mentioned on this blog many a time that I'm not a hair-product enthusiast, so when I find something new that wow's me I'm really impressed. With that in mind, I can't say I was entirely thrilled to open my most recent Birchbox to find a generous sample size of this product, the Percy and Reed Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil (try saying that 10 times fast), because I knew hair products weren't really my things (AND I mentioned that on my BB profile), but I tried it anyway, and am I glad I did.

This light hair oil is another one of those restorative but not heavy hair products that are prefect for girls like me that are somewhat low maintenance with their hair and don't like to feel product weighing it down. I add a tiny pump to the ends of my hair after blow-drying to tame any feeling of fried ends (I'm so overdue a hair cut) and if you do a day 3 bun (or a day 4 bun, I know, it's shameful), this is nice in the lengths to tame any fly-aways in a really nourishing way.

I wouldn't run it through the lengths of my hair on hair-down day, just as with it being an oil it can add that slight oiliness to the hair that isn't particularly visually pleasing, and I wouldn't take it anywhere near the roots (the roots don't really need a product like this anyway) but other than that, it's a really lovely product.

My Cleanser Collection

So first up is the Oskia Renaissance Cleasning Gel, I'll try to keep this one short and sweet because we all know I love this. It's a light gel that, when applies to a dry face, feels almost oil-like in texture and can be used on even the most sensitive of skins. Plus the smell, need I say more?

The Athony Glycolic Facial Cleanser has been reviewed on this blog before (Here) and is a good second or morning cleanse. I personally use it in the morning when I want a quick skincare routine as it negates the need for an acid tone step.

Emma Hardie's Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm is one that everyone must have heard of my now, the citrus-smelling balm was my gateway into "proper" skincare. Before I found this I was washing with a foaming cleanser and then slapping on a BB Cream and hoping for the best. This is a lovely cleanser that's thick and not moisture-zapping at all, can be used as a second cleanse or to remove make-up but I find it a little heavy for morning-use.

The Omorazicza Cleasning Foam may be a controversial one in my collection with it being a foaming cleanser, but I generally save this for when I'm staying out overnight. As much as I love my oil and balm cleansers, wash cloths get complicated for overnight stays and so I just throw this in my overnight bag and it does the trick. It has a lovely light scent and isn't too stripping on my skin.

I like the Garnier Micellar Water for rushed mornings. It's my "I need to cleanse but I don't really have time to' cleanser. A quick sweep of this and then a good moisturiser or face oil does the trick in a pinch. It's also nice as a first cleanse in the evening to remove make-up, although I've found something I like better for make-up removal recently in the:

Superfacialist by Una Brennan Cleansing Oil, This is my go to make-up removal step most nights and is good for all types of cleansing, first cleanse, second cleanse, morning cleanse? No problem. It's light and refreshing but has the power to really shift all the gunk and grime from the day, and it's so affordable that I can't see myself being without it.

Another foaming cleanser that I haven't given up on is the First Aid Beauty Foaming Cleanser. Like the Omoravicza it's light and not stripping like most foaming cleansers and is good for a morning cleanse or for travel. I think sometimes I just need a foaming cleanser, old habits die hard, right?

The Clarins Face Cleanser is one of my favourites. Although yo can get the same results with much cheaper cleansing milks this one just tops them all. I think it's the smell that sells it to me but the texture is so light and fluid that while the results may be the same as the more affordable alternatives, the experience of using this cleanser is just lovely.

I have a small sample size of the Omoravicza Thermal Cleansing Balm in my collection. This is one that I thought I'd love but I just can't stand the smell. The full size of this would be the most expensive cleanser in my collection and I much prefer using others and so I won't go back to it once I've finished the mini.

Soap & Glory Peaches and Clean is another affordable cleansing option. This is a light glycolic milk cleanser. It's kind of like the Clarins and the Anthony had a baby. Personally I find this to be a very strong glycolic cleanser and while I always leave glycolic cleansers to sit for a few minutes, I find myself rinsing this off after maybe 30 seconds as the tingle really kicks in quickly with this.

I recieved the Cailyn Dizzolv'It Make Up Melt Cleansing Balm in a LoveMeBeauty Box and have enjoyed experimenting with it. It's a greasy balm that I think works best (as suggested) for makeup removal and I wouldn't use it for anything else because of this. The full size is around the £30 mark and for the money I think the Una Brennan is more versatile, but it's still a nice pick.

Sarah Chapman Facial Oils: Morning VS Overnight

Despite the title of this post, I'm not going to say which of these products is "better", it's just factors to consider if you would only like to buy one and would (obviously) like to get the one that's best for you. In this post I'll explain the minor differences between the two oils so you can decide for yourself which one you'd prefer.

Morning:

Collageneer®, Juvinity™, Kalpariane®, Timecode™, Rosehip oil, Vitamin A Palmitate, Gatuline Intense®, Ultra filling spheres™, Antileukine®, Hydrasourcing (am+ps), Passion flower oil, Seabuckthorn oil, Boabab oil, Borage oil, Argan oil, Nyamplung oil.

Overnight:

Vitamin A, VCIP Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Lipobrite®HCA-4, Coenzyme Q10, Renovage™, Dermaxyl™ Oligopeptide, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Abyssinian Oil, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Melon Oil, Baobab Oil, Jojoba, Jasmine, Rose. 

So while the Morning Facial was marketed as a lighter, daytime appropriate counterpart to it's overnight equivalent, the two are very different in the inci lists. I personally enjoy them both. The AM version is a light oil, I personally don't apply it right before makeup just because it can add a bit of a slip to the face that can mess with your foundation a bit so I normally apply it, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then go in with the makeup.

The Evening Facial is a slightly heavier oil but it still sinks in nicely. I apply it as the last step in my evening skincare routine and really massage it into the face and give me skin a real treat. The smell is very relaxing for the eveing, where the morning equivalent smells quite fresh and works for me as a wake-me-up kind of scent.

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate - The Review

I'm sure a few of you notice that Space NK had £10 off when you spend £60 with them online this week, so as a beauty lover with a love for a bargain, I ordered myself a few things that had been on my beauty hit-list for a while, one of them being the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Complex.

So it took me a few goes to work out how to use this product. It say's nothing on the bottle nor the box! "Apply to a freshly cleansed face", what good is that? So not knowing where to use it in my routine I tried it first in place of a serum which worked nicely, very hydrating when paired with a moisturiser and provides a little bit of slip for the cream products. But then I saw that the front of the bottle mentioned the oil content and used it as an oil step, on top of a hydrating serum without a moisturiser and it's lovely. I personally think it works as one of those serum-in-oil formulas where you can just cleanse, tone, this and be done, and who doesn't like a does-it-all product? And the smell is like a less intense MV Organics Rose Plus Booster, rose-y and sweet.

And so another oil makes it to the skincare hall of fame. I would do an updated favourite oils post, but my collection is no where near complete yet and so it would only need updating again in a few months time.