When you work out, all that effort you put into improving your physique, stamina and body can have an effect on your skin. I find that exercise has helped my skin many ways, like achieving a glow, but there are certain things it can’t do, which skincare products can.
I’ve been obsessed with Lush recently. Every time I’ve been window shopping, I’ve promised myself not buy anything. That failed; I’ve bought a lot from Lush and love what I bought so this is an overview on the best ones I bought.
I bought the 9 To 5 Cleansing Lotion because when I’m in a hurry to get to work, I need to quickly cleanse my face. The cleansing lotion is really gentle and is lightly scented. I sometimes find that I wake with slightly dry skin and this 9 to 5 cleansing lotion really jumpstarts the skin and moisturises it. What I find really good as well is that takes off any excess dirt and make-up that my make-up remover hasn’t taken off.
Once I’ve finished my morning skin care routine, my face feels so soft and fresh making me feel ready for the day. I’ve had this for about 2 months and there’s still a lot left in the bottle. I don’t really like using it on the weekend as I’m not in a rush (most of the time!) so want to spend a longer time with my morning skincare routine. This is something I’m definitely going to buy again!
Angels on Bare Skin is another product I bought. I’ve used it about three times so far so I thought I’d give it a quick review on how I’m liking it so far. It is a cleanser, but when I bought it the lady told me it can also be a gentle scrub, which is how I’ve been using it.
It’s one of Lush’s bestsellers, and that’s no surprise as it’s aimed for all skin types, though it’s works best on dry skin as it nourishes it but it can be used on acne-prone or oily skin too. It exfoliates the skin and absorbs the excess oil without stripping the skin.
I consider myself to have normal skin with an occasional acne breakout (usually when I’m under stress) and I used this when I had a ginormous spot on my nose- luckily no-one called me Rudolph! I really liked using Angels on Bare Skin at that time because it gave a gentle scrub to my skin (nothing harsh), whilst exfoliating and soothing it at the same time.
It is a little messy when you use it; it comes as a sort of dry clump in the tub and you take a small amount (a little goes a long way), add a little water and mix in your hand until it forms a paste. I think my favourite part of this is the lavender flowers. The feeling of that on your skin and smell of the lavender brings me back to summer holidays in the south of France and Provence.
Once I’ve used this, I moisturise my face, though you could use toner afterwards and then moisturise if you wanted.
I’m currently using this three times a week to help the acne breakout but once that’s gone, I’ll only be using it once or twice a week.
The only thing I find slightly annoying is the shelf life. Whilst I love the fact there are no preservatives (as you know, I love natural products), this does mean that it won’t last as long.
Will I buy again? So far, I think so.
Ok, so the other Lush product I bought is the Mask of Magnaminty.
I normally use mud masks and I love using them because they help give my face a radiant glow and tone it. I’ve been looking for other types of masks to vary my weekly masks. And I’ve found it: Mask of Magnaminty.
It’s a peppermint mask that polishes, cleanses and invigorates your face. Plus it’s green; there’s something special about a mask that’s green isn’t it? The scent is amazing and really hits you as soon as you open the tub; it smells of fresh and real mint.
I loved the thickness and creaminess of the mask too, which also means that a small amount goes a long way. It is a little grainy from the aduki beans, which polishes the skin and stimulates circulation. When you apply it onto your face, you can really feel the mint going into your skin. Lush recommends leaving it on for 10 minutes, but I left in for around half an hour because I just loved the feeling of it on and the smell.
The result was that my skin felt polished and invigorated. I’m using this once a week as part of my post-workout pampering, but you could use it twice a week, nothing more. Mask of Magnaminty comes in two different sizes and two types; one self-preserving and one non-preserving. I bought the self-preserving version as the self-preservative used is honey, and you know I just can’t get enough of honey! It also means it has a shelf-life, but you know what? I can’t complain that this means I may have to use it more than I wanted to, because it is just so minty Lush-ious.
When my brother went back to university, his university gave out lots of samples to the students and he gave me the Bioré Pore Unclogging Scrub because he didn’t want it. I haven’t found any fault in the scrub; it has a similar cool minty feel like the Lush Mask of Magnaminty but unlike the Lush products, this scrub much more of a scrub as the exfoliating beads are much bigger and have a much bigger effect on the skin. It has salicylic acid which helps treat acne, so I have used this much more whenever I have had a breakout. This also means that you shouldn’t use it more than twice a week because it does feel strong and you can feel it working for a long time after you’ve washed it off.
This is probably one of the best high-street facial scrubs I’ve used so when I’ve finished this sample, I’ll definitely be buying it.
Im quite lucky because my breakouts are very rare, but the catch is when I do get them, I get a bad breakout, which feels like it’s been dragging on for months and months; in reality, they’re only a few days!
A few days ago I woke up to a Rudolph red nose. That brought me into complete panic mode. How was I meant to leave the house? Could I just phone in sick? My mum tempted me from hiding under the duvet and to face the world (with concealer- how did I not think of that?).
I was out with Talia one evening, when we were discussing our favourite acne-treatments. I was complaining that my normal products weren’t working, when she recommended Boots’ own Tea Tree and Witch Hazel Blemish Stick.
It comes as a blemish stick, like a lipstick; You twist it and then apply it on the problem areas. I found that it does sting a little and does have a strong medicated type of smell, but I think that’s the tea tree oil, which fights bacteria and acne, but it doesn’t bother me. In the stick, it looks blue but when you apply it onto skin, it is clear.
You can apply it as many times as you want but Boots claims that it helps clear spots and blemishes instantly. This doesn’t work its magic that quickly but I have found that it has dramatically reduced the size of the spot over the past 3 days, especially when I’ve cleaned the offending spot with Savlon Liquid, before applying the blemish stick.
Mara xxx
