I’m a sucker for a good on trend product. But what that really means is that I end up with a lot of products that I a) don’t like or b) just don’t work too well on my skin.
It’s my 29th birthday tomorrow (woohoo) and over the past 15 years I have been trying to find a beauty regime that works for me. I don’t want to peek too soon but I think I have finally cracked it.
In a recent article of mine for The Bath Chronicle, I looked in to what was really in the products that we use on our skin and it quite frankly shocked me.
Since then I have been on the hunt to find products that are great for my skin, don’t break the bank and have ingredients that I can pronounce.
A little background about my skin and hair:
I have always been quite lucky with my skin on my face, I rarely get breakouts but I do suffer from severe dry skin. Mainly on my forehead and nose. The skin on my arms and legs get fairly dry and a little spotty, which is mainly down to the foods that I eat.
My hair is fine, really fine and also quite dry. I’m a nightmare when it comes to taking care of it, which is code for: I had to have it all chopped off because it was so badly frazzled from the heat.
So, let’s get started.
Eyes
First of all, I never use a make-up remover. My skin just doesn’t like it. It gets dry immediately and so I have given up finding a product gentle enough. Instead, I use coconut oil. Yep, the type that you can buy in the cooking isle of Asda. Just scrape a bit out of the pot, warm with your fingers so that it becomes a liquid and massage on to closed eyes to get rid of mascara. It does get a little messy so you can always apply with a cotton pad if you’d prefer.
Skin
The only product that I have found that doesn’t dry my skin out but still gives a good exfoliate and cleanse is Lush’s ‘Angels on bare skin’. It’s made up of almonds (sorry allergy sufferers), lavender oil, rose absolute and kaolin. I use this very lightly over my face, upper arms and tops of my thighs where I get the dries skin. Once I have scrubbed and dried my face, I will then moisturise with my trusty coconut oil. If the skin on my body needs a little extra exfoliation, I use my exfoliating mitts with my favourite shower gel (Lush Olive Oil).
Moisturiser
I switch my moisturiser between a lavender smelling body butter that I bought from a little boutique in Bradford – on – Avon and a fabulous body oil that I was given by a company called Yogandha Muscle Soothe if I want to pamper myself. It has lots of essential oils and is great for using to relieve tired muscles.
Hair
My all- time favourite shampoo is ‘New’ from Lush (obviously). Its amazing for giving my hair a little more grip for styling. The cinnamon and peppermint in this shampoo bar has great results in stimulating your scalp. I usually wash my hair twice with this bar and then condition with Tigi Bed Head. I do this when I first get in the shower to allow the conditioner to really work its magic on my hair.