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.

No Money March: Olay Daily Facials Cleansing Cloths

I could have titled this post many things referencing the unlikely-hood of what you're about to read, but there were so many choices that it all got a bit overwhelming and so I went for the obvious. Basically, Emily of Beauty Broadcast has been talking about the Olay Daily Facial in a Box on her channel for years now. So despite them being two of my top skincare loathes in one (foaming and face wipes) I just had to try them, and I'm pleasantly surprised.

These aren't your typical face wipe. They come in a box and they're dry cloths that you dampen and then they lather up. I picked up the kind for sensitive skin (in the UK I've only seen the "Sensitive" or "Normal" varieties, but in the Us I believe they carry options for both "Dry" and "Oily/Combination" also) and you get 30 in a box.

The sensitive cloths have holes in the cloth which gives them a slight texture that offers a tiny bit of gentle exfoliation to the skin without them being scratchy or abrasive at all. The actual lather is nice and soft and they cloths remove makeup really well without leaving the skin feeling stripped or dry. I personally use these to remove makeup either as a first cleanse or as a lazy night where I just want to remove the makeup and get to bed, but I can see them working equally well as a morning cleanse.

The only thing that has me a bit torn is the value for money. At full price they're £4.99 but they can be found on offer for £3 in a lot of places, so for face wipes they're a reasonable price but I just think that face wipes are generally not the most cost effective way to wash your face. However that being said, these are really nice and they're a lot cheaper than the Skyn Iceland Glacial Cleansing Cloths (£13 for 30) and they are the only other face wipes I've used that I'd recommend.

Cleansing With Elemis

I recently picked up a couple of mini's of some Elemis cleansers. Now Elemis for me are one of those brands where, because their products are quite pricey and I don't hear a lot of bloggers raving about them very often, I often give them a miss when I'm picking up new products to try. when I'm picking up new products I usually pick up things that I'm interested in personally and base my posts around products that I'm just purchasing for myself but I figured people might want to hear about these so here we go.

The first cleanser I picked up was their Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash and I'm a little on the fence about it to be completely honest. I like it from the point of it being a lazy girls dream because in theory it's your cleanse stage and your exfoliation stage in one. This meaning you could strictly speaking use this, eye cream, moisturiser and go, but the formula does have some problems, especially for a pricier product. Firstly, the product actually says on the back "avoiding eye area" meaning to properly wash your face you'd have to use a different cleanser all over and then use this, which seems like a bit of a faff really. You should be able to use a cleanser on your whole face. My second point about the cleanser is that it's nothing special really. For almost £30 for the full size, the smell isn't luxurious, it doesn't feel particularly indulgent during use and it doesn't leave my skin feeling hydrated and supple after use. Generally I think there's a lot better out there for the money and so this was a bit of a miss for me.

The second product I picked up was the Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm, I love a good cleansing balm for my second evening cleanse so I was excited to try this. For me, the scent is too fresh to be an evening cleanse but I actually really like it in the morning for a more indulgent morning cleanse and my skin seems to really like it. It's more of a gel consistency than something like the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm but more balmy than the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel, for me the texture of the Elemis sits perfectly in the middle of those two products. I do like this but I still think I prefer the Oskia and the Emma Hardie as for me, they're both products I wouldn't have a problem using in the morning or the evening.

So not a great pair for me, I can't see myself taking the plunge for a repurchase on either of them as it stands, but they'll definitely make it to an empties post so I'll update you then.

The Spring Tag

I wasn't actually tagged to do this, but it looked cool so I thought why the hell not. Enjoy :)

1 . What three colours remind you of Spring?

Blue, Pink and White. Reminds me of clear skies and lovely flowers.

2. What is the first thing you add to your Spring wardrobe?

Light tshirts, and as of this year, white jeans.

3. What is the first item that you ditch from your wardrobe to make it more Spring-like?

Jumpers. I’ve become very much a jeans-and-jumper girl this winter, I can’t wait for it to be jeans-and-tshirt weather again.

4. What are your ultimate nude and bright lipsticks?

Nudes: Nars Satin Lip Pencil in “Descanso” and Revlon Lip Butter in "Peach Parfait"

Brights: Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in “Hot Pepper” and Estée Lauder Color Envy Lipstick in "Tumultuous Pink"

5. What is your signature Spring fragrance?

My general go-to perfume is “Nina” by Nina Ricci, but lately I’ve been loving Diptique’s “Do Son”.

6. What do you add or drop from your skin care routine?

I add in more deep cleansing or exfoliating masks as I tend to spend more time out doors and it can make my skin feel a bit dirty. My favourites are Origins Clear Improvements Active Charcoal Mask or if you fancy a real treat, the Omorovicza Deep Cleansing Mask.

7. Do you change your hair up in Spring?

Not particularly, although I’ve recently been embracing the bun, it’s such a convenient but put-together hair cheat.

8. Are there any exciting beauty releases that you can’t wait for?

Charlotte Tilbury’s Norman Parkinson collection looks lovely *sigh* must be patient.

9. What are your three favourite nail colours for Spring?

I’m not really a nails girl, but Inglots Nail Enamel in “942” is an amazing blue that’s always on my toes. For spring I like lights and brights so I find myself reaching for Topshop Nails in “Crystal Clouds” a lot, a light, sparkle-y gold. And then for a bright I love MaxFactor’s “Disco Pink” (finally been able to find another bottle after maybe 4 years of searching!) it’s the perfect spring/summer pink.

10. Who do I tag?

Anyone who wants a go :)

Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel - Revisited

It's no mystery at this point that I love Oskia's Renaissance Cleansing Gel, the non-foaming gel formula that melts into your skin like a balm, smells amazing and leaves your skin feeling oh so soft. "So Jodie" I hear you say, "why do you need to revisit this cleansing god/goddess of a product?". Because my lovely reader, it recently passed the super-ultra-sensitive-skin test.

So one of my good friends came to stay with me last weekend, we lived together for a year during my last year of uni and she's a skincare nut like me. Unfortunately for her, she has the most sensitive skin I've ever seen; eczema, dry patches, psoriasis. You name a sensitive skin issue, my girl has had a go.

With that in mind we have our skincare chats, "What are you using?" "Have you tried *product*?" and I managed to get her to try out my Oskia. Obviously having such a sensitive skin she's cautious about spending a lot on untested products but I figured it was the kind of texture that her skin would get on with. She did a patch test on her hand and after 10 minutes decided it was worth a try on her face and she was instantly impressed. After massaging it in for a good 5-10 minutes, she finally removed and was almost immediately on Cult Beauty and Space NK, budgeting for a bottle of her own.

So in addition to all the raves this product has previously recieved, it can now add "preferred cleanser to super sensitive skins, even over prescribed products" to it's list.

Cailyn Dizzolv'It Makeup Melt Cleansing Balm Review

I've been trialling a lot of new skincare lately (thanks to my recently discovered obsession with beauty-box subscriptions I'm finding myself with an awful lot of products to sample, see Wednesday's post for more info), and the most recent product I've been working my way through is the Cailyn Cosmetics Dizzolv'It Makeup Melt Cleansing Balm.

From the ingredients list I don't see anything that screams "nasty" to me and the formula is nice, a very greasy balm that, as the name recommends, I use as a first cleanse in the evening to remove make-up before I go onto a second "skin" cleanse. I personally would only use this as a makeup remover as the texture is greasy and oily and perfect to remove make-up, but there are balms out there with a nicer texture like the (say it with me now) Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel which I prefer to use as my morning or second cleanse.

As part f my testing I used it for 3 consecutive nights to remove make-up before going into a typical skincare routine and although it removes makeup well, I do find it slightly more drying on the skin than my usual makeup remover (Superfacialist by Una Brennan Vitamin C Brightening Cleasning Oil) and so, at almost 3 times the price for the full size, I don't see myself repurchasing this item over the Una Brennan. That said I will continue to use the product while I have it.

February Favourites

This month I've been testing out new products like a mad lady so quite a lot of my usual products have found themselves being neglected. However in light of this, I've found some real gems that I'm incorporating into my routine on a regular basis.

Firstly is the make-up things, I've already spoken about the two base products on here before but I just wanted to touch back and really hammer my love for them home. I picked up the Maxfactor FaceFinity Foundation Primer from Boots a while back and though I've used others in the past and even recently have been trying out some more pricey options, I think this one still comes out on top. It's basically the glue you need to keep your foundation on all day.

With that I've been wearing the Loréal True Match Foundation, I have the shade "N1 Ivory" which is the most perfect colour match for my skin tone I've ever found on the high street. In addition to being a better colour match for me, it's a little lighter in coverage than my usual Revlon Colourstay and it's a little more satin-y in texture which works better over the Maxfactor primer as I was finding that things were looking a bit flat when I wore a matte foundation over a mattifying primer.

I've also stopped being a lazy-bum when it comes to moisturising, the winter in England is getting a bit harsh on my skin and I've been finding that my usual Soap & Glory Whipped Clean Shower Butter just wasn't cutting it so I've been relying on their The Righteous Butter instead and it's made a world of difference to my skin.

I'm still religiously using and loving the Colorwow One-Minute Transformtion Styling Cream that I talked about in my "The Mother of all Goodie Bags" post. Incase you didn't catch that post it's basically a creamy texturing gel and I put a tiny blob through the ends of my hair to give it a bit more of a lived in look.

Another one from that post is the Jurlique Rosewater Hydrating Mist which has become my go-to evening second toner (so and exfoliating toner and then this) and it's just lovely. I spray around 3-4 sprays onto my skin before eyecream/serum/moisturiser and it's just very calming and hydrating on the skin. Smells lovely and provides a bit of slip for my serum afterwards. Love.

And finally, we have the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel, oh my. The texture is amazing, the smell is amazing, even the packaging is amazing. I just love it. It's slightly smoother on the skin than the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm, although I do still love that one too. The mask from this range is also really nice, but I haven't used it enough to call it a "favourite" just yet. I've been using the cleanser most nights as my second evening cleanse and it really gets on with my skin and has left me eager to try more from the range.