March High Street Skincare Favorites

At the moment skincare has become the be all and end all to my life! Probably due to the fact I’ve hit my thirties and live in fear that I’m going to wake up one morning and my skin will resemble a Shar Pei (cute on the dog not on my face).  As my fear is so rife I have decided to do my first products of the month around affordable skincare that is helping my face stay healthy and wrinkle free.

I’ve really changed my skincare routine in the last few months and it has really started to make a difference to the texture of my skin and helped prevent breakouts. After reading Sali Hughes’ Pretty Honest I began to realise how important skincare is not just for prevention of wrinkles but due to skin being our biggest organ that is constantly exposed to the elements so it’s going to need some TLC and if you take the few minutes to get your routine in place your skin will most definitely thank you for it.

Upon Sali’s advice the first thing I have done is changed my everyday facial scrub to a cleansing milk. I have currently been using the Garnier Natural Rose water cleanser (linked down below) and at £3.50 for a 200ml bottle it has become a staple. The bottle is only currently half way through and I have been using it day and night for at least two months (if only other things lasted this long!)

Before I did not realise how other more soapy products had been dehydrating my face and stripping it of its natural oils. The poor thing must have been crying out for moisture like a man lost in the Sahara.  Garnier’s cleansing milk is so much kinder and gentle to the skin whilst still leaving it feeling clean and make up free. My face generally feels softer, less tight  and due to it being specifically for dry and sensitive skin I am also left with a lot less redness immediately after washing.

I have recently received a few compliment due to the improvement of my skin (I am prone to bad breakouts and get a lot of redness) and I do believe it is from changing the start of my skincare routine to a cleansing milk. Garnier’s is affordable and does the job well, you can literally see the dirt being removed from your face on the cotton pad!  The rose water adds a nice scent that does not overpower of cause irritation to the face and my skin is left feeling clean and much softer then before. To date I have not had one breakout since I began using this months ago.

My second product of the month is a total bargain, so much so that I have bought four and have one in my bag, bedroom, car and bathroom. What is this fantastically cheap product?

Introducing Palmer’s cocoa butter lip balm that retails for an amazing £1.49 for 4g/15 oz. The smell of this lip balm is fantastic the cocoa is so strong you feel as if your lips have been dipped in chocolate. The butter like texture leaves lips feeling incredibly soft and moisturised without being sticky. As an added bonus the balm is also enriched with vitamin E and has a SPF of 15 so as well as keeping your lips kissable all day long your also being protected from the harmful sun rays and wrinkles (what’s not to like). This has helped during times when my lips have felt a bit chapped and sore, leaving my lips soothed.

My favourite lip balm brand is the EOS and I can say the Palmers’ is on an even keel and half the price, as I stated above I now have them littered around the house!

My next current favourite is an oldie but a goody the Nivea Aqua effect regenerating night cream. It’s a product I started using a few years ago which got lost in the pack of my ever growing cosmetics cabinet, it wasn’t until I saw it at Boots a couple of months ago that I snapped it up and reignited the love.

I am so thankful that my retinas stumbled upon this again as it is the thickest most intensely moisturising product I have ever used. It retails for £3.90 for 50ml and has the ability to last you a lifetime due to the amount you need to use as this cream is rich.

If you suffer from dry or dehydrated skin then this night cream could be the one for you. I personally have dehydrated skin but I do tend to get an oily t-zone so I worried at first this would be to intense and bring me out in blemishes especially around the t-zone area. I was wrong! Ever night I massage this into my skin and neck and in the morning I wake up with the softest most plumped out skin I have had in years.

I’m not going to lie when you put it on at night it is a heavy cream that leaves you looking greased up but by morning your skin will be doing a Shangela “Halleloo”. 

It is the most intense moisturising cream I have ever used, I am so glad I’ve found it again. My skin is the most hydrated it has ever been, it’s texture has changed and not one breakout, I could not sing the praises of this cream enough and for under £4.00 it’s fast becoming one of my ride or die products once again.

Last but not least on my current skincare faves for the month of March is the new Garnier SkinActive Pure Charcol black tissue mask (currently £1.99 at Superdrug linked below). This mask promises to be hydrating and pore – tightening which is something this girl needs. Enlarged pores have become the devil.

Very much like the skinactive moisture bomb it is a sheet mask only it is black in colour. It has a different smell to the moisture bomb and reminded me slightly of sea weed but if it’s going to shrink those pores it was worth a go.

The formula for this mask is very sticky even after the fifteen minutes setting time I was surprised with how much product was left on my face and the sheet itself (I rubbed the sheet over my face to help my skin soak up the excess). It is a very hydrating mask but the stickiness gives it a primer vibe which I was more surprised by then mad at.

Pore wise I don’t feel on first use it helped to minimise the appearance but when I used two a week for about three weeks I did begin to see a difference in areas where my pores are enlarged such as my nose and chin.

Overall as with the moisture bomb if you are looking for something penny saving with good hydration for the skin and if you are stocking up on a few to gain the pore minimising effect then this is a good product.

I can’t believe we are four months into 2018, let me know in the comments below or on twitter @KateL564 what your product for March were? Have you tried any of the above? if so did you love or hate them?

Until my next post.

Kate x

 

Links

http://www.boots.com/garnier-skinactive-naturals–rose-milk-cleanser-200ml-10229295p?cm_mmc=bmm-_-Google+Boots+PLAs-_-BAU-_-C=%28GB%3AWhoop%21%29+Boots+Shopping+-+Category+-+Beauty+-+Desktop_%28GB%3AWhoop%21%29+Garnier&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6OSw6fSt2gIVCrvtCh3TrQHiEAYYASABEgJEcvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds (Garnier Rose water cleanser – available on the three for two)

https://www.superdrug.com/Palmer%27s/Palmer%27s-Cocoa-Butter-Lip-Balm/p/379131?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-qudlvWt2gIVyLftCh0DpAWKEAQYASABEgKxZ_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=COGjopj1rdoCFdWeGwodYFwOtw (Palmer cocoa lip balm  – currently 25% off)

https://www.notino.co.uk/nivea/aqua-effect-regenerating-night-cream-for-normal-to-mixed-skin/?item=96189&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6enH6_Wt2gIV7BXTCh1pNgHwEAYYASABEgLjgfD_BwE (Nivea aqua effect regenerating night cream)

https://www.superdrug.com/Skin/Face/Face-Masks/Garnier-SkinActive-Charcoal-and-Algae-Hydrating-Sheet-Mask/p/754167?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4Zyw_oGu2gIVyrvtCh3bPwheEAQYASABEgJN2vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CPzeuoGCrtoCFUSMUQod0zMO7w (Garnier Skin Active pure charchoal black tissue mask)