Credit to No 7 and a skincare update!

For the first time in a while (fingers crossed), I think I can declare that, my skin is in pretty good condition at the moment.
These are my current skincare products:

No 7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser; Lush Tea Tree Water; No 7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum; Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream

I actually think that I will stick with this routine for the time being. It just seems to work for me. Here is a little more about what I think of each product.

No 7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser
I have been in to hot cloth cleansers ever since I first used the Liz Earle one. They really seem to do the job and there is something about the whole regime that really leaves your skin feeling refreshed and yes, polished. I've also used the Soap and Glory one and the Botanics Balm. I have heard that the No 7 one is inferior to Liz Earle. I'm not so sure. I have nothing to complain about as far as the No7 version is concerned and it is so accessible, if you can find a Boots.

Tea Tree Water
This toner is billed to tone and detoxify oily skin with Tea Tree, grapefuit and juniper. Now, I'd say my skin is prone to dryness but I still use this product on cotton wool twice a day in a bid to keep any blemishes away. I also use it if my skin feels a little tingly just in case there is a nasty spot on the way. I just spray it straight on to the tingle and it seems to work. Still (fingers crossed again please) blemish free.

No 7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum
I have been wanting to incorporate a serum in to my skincare routine for a while. Serums no longer seem to be deemed as a luxury extra. They have actually secured a step all of their own in the ideal skincare routine. This one has always being on my radar. Who doesn't remember the headlines when it was first released in 2007 and proven to deliver its claims?!
This product claims to reduce 'the appearance of pores and smoothing lines and wrinkles in just 4 weeks' so I'm hoping it is doing some work on my forehead lines (the work the Frownies shirked) but I haven't really noticed that yet or giving the issue too much attention as the main reason, I brought this product was for the resurfacing. Although I've got rid of those horrible blemishes that blighted me a year or so ago, sometimes my skin still looks a little harassed but this serum promises to 'Reveal younger looking, beautifully refined skin with this powerful blend of protecting and renewing ingredients' and yes, I think my pores look smaller and my skin looks smoother and more refined. Yay!

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream
This cream seems to be keeping my skin soft without annoying it. I use it twice a day and very occasionally, I feel a little dry around my forehead but that is soon solved with a fix of the Avene Soothing Moisture Mask. There are three big reasons why I like this moisturiser:
1/ It seems to do what a moisturiser is meant to in that it moisturises and keeps the skin soft
2/ It does its work without irritating my skin.
3/ This cream is so easy to use. It sinks in to the skin quickly meaning the face is ready to be made up quickly in the morning and there is no sticky residue on the pillow at night.
Hardly ground-breaking results but I can tell you it is fricking hard to find a moisturiser that delivers in such a manner.

I honestly think that the key to this whole routine is that it seems quite gentle. These products focus more on soothing and gently smoothing rather then attacking and scrubbing. My new routine and its products may seem a bit too simple, compared to some regimes and higher end products but all I can say is look back through my blog, I overlooked gentility and simplicity for a long time. I've used a lot of different skincare products and regimes and I do wonder if some sent my skin in to overdrive.

And also . . .
I really want to give the Boots No7 brand some credit. I have never really took much notice of No 7 before and have mostly only purchased make up brushes or nail polish from them when I've had one of the £5 till vouchers but recently, I've added more of their products to my daily routine and they have really stepped up to the mark.

I have already talked about the cleanser and the serum in this post but I should also give a shoutout to the Lash Adapt Mascara (see earlier post), I'm still loving it! Sometimes, I slap mascara on in the mornings without thinking about it and it is only when I'm taking pictures for this blog that I realise how fantastic this mascara is. It really opens the eye up and adds length. The only but is that as it has aged, I have noticed that this mascara does not behave quite as well as I believed (unlike Max Factor Lash Extension). In the rain, this mascara will smudge and layered up, it does sometimes clump a little on my lashes(contrary to its no clumps marketing claims). However, I'm not one to worry about a clump or two. The final look is more often then not what I mainly rate a mascara on and the wide eyed look produced by this mascara is up there with the best of them.

So at the moment, No 7 definitely falls on the right side of me and next time I need a new beauty product, of whatever nature, I will consider the offerings from No7.

What skincare products are you enjoying? What mascara should I try next? Ha, you know it is going to happen. I never stay loyal to a mascara for long.
Before I go, expect a post soon about my new dress. (This one! Click here!!) I have fallen for this one big time. I keep opening the wardrobe just to look at it!

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Etc!

So today I had a post all planned about my beloved leather jacket but no way! I'm not going to be the one to jinx this amazin' weather so instead I thought, I'll just babble on a little bit about the things I'm liking or looking forward to right now etc.


And the first one is wearing this top.

I brought this TopShop tasseled top earlier in the year and was looking forward to adorning it in the summer sun. Well, sadly, due to the wind and cloud we got instead, this top has resided in the back of my wardrobe since purchase. Hopefully, I will finally have a chance to flaunt it this weekend.

I don't think it will be the easiest of tops to wear. Those tassels are hardly practical and even from bag to wardrobe, tangles have appeared. However, this is one of those tops where the extra care required is outweighed by the number of things I really like.

1/ I love the tassels. They make me happy and sort of makes me want to dance. I love the fact that people will be taken back to see me wearing such an interesting top. Normally, I'm block colours and simple shapes all the way. This is almost 'out there' for me.

2/ I love the contrast. This top really seems to balance itself out. There is the tassels contrasted with the sweet bow detail on the straps. And then there is also the whole colour versus the tassels factor. I think this lovely colour is a great choice to tone down the tassels and along with the choice of the fabric stops the top from being 'cheap'.

3/ I love the colour in itself. The photos don't do it justice. It is just a beautiful warm pink which seems to liven up my green eyes a little.

4/ I love the fabric. Although the tassels seem to lend the top a summery and slightly, Hawaiian feel. The fabric (polyester and viscose mix) gives the top a bit more substance and makes it more then beachwear (to be honest, this top wouldn't last two minutes on a beach with me. Shingles, tassels and me wouldn't mix) and possibly an item that could be styled to be worn all year round.

5/ I love the fact that this top ain't gonna need an iron. Ironing is the bane of my life!

In other news...

- Make-up wise, this week has been all about Maybelline's Ambre Rose. I absolutely love this lipstick at the moment and that Lash Adapt (also pictured above), is on Ambre Rose's tail as make up item of the week.

- Now the sun is here, I've stepped up on my body care routine a bit. The combo of Ocean Salt and the Dream wash (both from Lush) is doing wonders for smoothing out and softening my skin. They leave me smelling pretty good too.

- I have finally finished When God Was A Rabbit and I've got to say, by the time I had finished (it took me about two weeks, a very long time for me), this novel had won me over. The style of narration actually makes a bit more sense as the plot finally reveals itself. I eventually enjoyed this book (quite a lot). I would recommend it but I think you have to enjoy reading to have the patience for this novel. I'm not sure it is one to buy if reading is a bit of a fad for you and you're looking for your one book to read this year.

For me, that is another book down.

I'm now a chapter or so in to Maggie O'Farrells, After You'd Gone. Published in the year 2000 and with rave reviews, I've had my eye on this book for a long time. The blurb suggests it about a lady, Alice, in a coma and how she uses the conversations she hears while she is in a coma to find out about her life and how she ended up there. I'm really looking forward to this one.

So I've got to work, read and wear that top this weekend but I'm also hoping to put together a current perfume collection post so look out for that. Until then, I hope are all well. Enjoy the sunshine and tell me in the comments, what are you enjoying or looking forward to at the moment?

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Ps The fastening on my Accessorise bracelet has already broken :(

Ocean Salt from Lush!

So the quest for skin wonders continues. This week I have started to use two MORE products. Ocean Salt from Lush and the Neutrogena Wave.


Today I will talk about the Ocean Salt.

I have wanted Ocean Salt for a long time. It is a Lush product that I've heard mentioned so many times. Most people seem to love it. I get the impression that this little concoction is meant to be the exfoliator of exfoliators. Lush haven't used this title though. Instead they label the product as 'a facial scrub for a complexion that glows.'

Now, is it just me or does this look delicious?

It is made up with lime, grapefruit, coconut and sea salt and these are mixed together in a fruity, vodka based scrub. The sea salt is meant to scrub away the dead skin and all the horrors blocking the pores. The coconut hydrates and meanwhile the lime and alcohol have antibacterial effects. So it all sounds quite promising but then is there any skincare product that doesn't sound promising?!

Despite being labelled as a facial scrub, I brought the Ocean Salt to use mainly as a body scrub. I have a few dry patches where I caught the sun a month or so ago and nothing seems to have brought these areas up to par yet. I'm hoping that the Ocean Salt will do the trick!

My first attempt was a tentative one as I know the few who do not like this exfoliator generally find it too harsh for their skin. I was expecting some stinging. In fact, I was a little bit scared as one of the Sanctuary scrubs really seems to sting me but no, I haven't experienced any stinging at all with the Ocean Salt, even after shaving. The product actually looks and feels a lot creamier then I was expecting and even foams a little. Consequently I'm finding that I'm not using much product at all. I have used this on my body about three times now and have experienced no stinging or soreness. The dry areas that I wanted to work on feel smoother. My skin is certainly less bumpy near the top of my arms and may in fact also, be a tad softer.

With caution, I have used this product on my face maybe three times. Again I have had no stinging and it certainly does not seem to have irritated any blemishes or caused further breakout. Fingers crossed, my damaged skin seems to be healing. However, I don't think that is due to this product. I have only used it a couple of times. Though I might be wrong as I am using so many things in my skincare at the moment that it is impossible to identify cause and effect. Currently I'm using everything a bit haphazardly as and when. However, I'm hoping that this product will prove itself a staple in my face routine and I can use it every other day once my skin returns to a more 'normal' state.

The only area where I may have had a slight reaction to this product is on the thinner skin around my decolletage where I noticed some scratch and prick-like marks after a relaxing bath. Now I'm not sure if this was the Ocean Salt but to be just sure, I have refrained from using it again in this area which luckily is quite smooth and clear anyway. The scratches and prick marks cleared within 36 hours.

I have encountered no further problems with Ocean Salt and am actually looking forward to using it. For me, it feels like more of a treatment for my skin then so many of the other exfoliators I've used out there including my own Coconut Oil concoctions.

I have only just started using this product but let me tell you now, I love the scent of this. For me, the scent is more remniscent of a moisturiser and body butter. It is lovely and lingers all day. I'm not sure how to describe it. You can certainly smell the lime and maybe even the ocean air . . ! When you add this gorgeous, yummy scent to the creamy soft texture then I'm so glad that this product got to the top of my wishlist and on to my skin.

250g of Ocean Salt currently costs £11.20 so fingers crossed that this does indeed go a long way!

Have you tried Ocean Salt? What do you think?

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