♥ Skin Care Solutions

I've never really had a 'skin care routine'. I don't use any fancy pants products and always change up the things I use because my skin doesn't seem to react at all, no matter what I try and do for it. If you've been reading my blog for a while you may have noticed I moan about my skin a lot. It's because over the past six months my skin has been an absolute nightmare and nothing has helped it clear up. I've been trying out loads of different things - new products, new moisturisers, going makeup free and coming off the pill. Something has changed though, recently and my skin might finally be over freaking out (even though I still get hormonal breaks out every month) but I thought I'd share the few items I'm using at the moment.

Instead of going straight in with a cleanser and rough hands, I now try to take off my makeup with my Garner Cleansing Micellar Water and a few cotton rounds before I cleanse. I place them over my eyes to get stubborn mascara and eyeliner off. I love doing this before going in with a cleanser because as it's not harsh at all and gets the majority of my makeup off without much trouble. I'll then go in with a cleanser. I've started using the Garnier Pure Active Anti-Imperfection Cleansing Gel and I absolutely love it. I bought it because it had Salicylic Acid in it, and I know that's supposed to be good for problem, acne ridden skin. It's doing really well so far. I love the thick, jelly like consistency of the wash and it lathers up and makes my skin tingle - which I think it the acid doing its job. It's not as stripping as I thought it would be and it leaves my skin clean and clear of any make up. Every few days I'll use an exfoliator. I know these aren't great for the environment and I should probably use a sugar scrub or something more natural, but I love the harshness of the beads in exfoliators. If my skin and pores feel especially clogged I'll use an exfoliating glove with them just to get rid of dead skin and everything else. I quite like the abrasive nature of it, but I don't do it very often because it can't be very good for you! I tend not to stick to a particular product so when it comes to exfoliators and I've got a few, including a Garnier one, a Superdrug own brand and a No.7 one on the go at the minute. For moisturiser, I picked up the Clean and Clear Advantage Spot Control Moisturiser on clearance recently in Superdrug for 45p. That's right. It cost 45p. The packaging says it's proven to purify but I haven't been using it long enough to agree with that statement... I really like my Estee Lauder Revitalising Supreme Creme though, it's just a sample size but the thick texture of this one feels like it's doing my skin the world of good, however, I doubt I would purchase the full size. I wrote a review on the Lush Grease Lightning that I use on blemishes, and this is something I couldn't live without now. I really, really like it and do feel like it makes a difference. I try to apply this morning and night, directly on blemishes to try and dry them out... To further combat spots and blemishes, I'll apply Tea Tree Oil directly onto them, to try and soothe the skin and reduce redness. Another cheap skin care bit I love are the Superdrug own brand face masks. The De-Stressing Aloe Vera Mud Mask really soothes down my skin and leaves it feeling lovely and soft - it comes in a tiny bottle but it's only a couple of quid so I don't mind buying it all the time. I do really want to find a good peel off mask, though, as I love the blackhead strips you can get and I imagine they're quite similar, so do let me know of one if you use one!

I know it sounds like a load of products, but they all do different things. The one brand I always seem to go back to when it comes to my skincare products is Garnier - their washes, exfoliators and make up removers are such good value for money and all have the right sort of ingredients that are supposed to help stubborn spots and problem skin. Another brand I always pick up for skin care is Nivea. My nan used to use their thick creams and I think all their products are nice, without containing too many nasty ingredients. I'm always on the look out for a new moisturiser, though, as I have horribly dry skin on my face and around blemishes so if you have any recommendations I'd love to hear them! Thanks for reading.

Em x

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