Skinfood Cleans All: Some little wonder from New-Zealand. I found it by chance one day at Tesco but it doesn't seem to be distributed all over the place. First of all, this product is paraben free, not tested on animals, free of artificial perfumes and colourings, non comedogenic and has a recyclable package. It can be used by both men + women (though I've never seen any reason NOT to do unisex cleansing products so good point for this company). It feels more like a cream than a cleanser though it does wash out any dirt and make up and leaves the skin perfectly smooth and hydrated. The smell is quite strong but delicious (lavender and orange oils, manuka honey). It's also rather cheap (round £4) and lasts a long time because you don't need a lot to do the hard job.



The SPF 15 + moisturizer from the same range is also a great product and great base for make up. It contains avocado, lavender, orange and tea tree oils (the smell you'll notice over the others). The packaging is exactly the same and can be used indifferently by men and women. Again a little goes a long way. No spots, no itch, no allergies, it's just fabulous.

http://www.skinfood.co.nz
worldwide online shop available!

Kiehl's calendula toner: Kiehl's is way out of my budget range though I made an exception for this one because it really did wonder to improve the colour and texture of my complexion.  At £30 something the 236ml bottle, that's a pretty expensive product!
I found it after many researches for a plant that would help with the spots and redness I had a few years ago. Calendula or Marygold is known to help treating various skin diseases and has anti-bacterial and healing properties. And so far so good, that toner has been doing his job. The calendula petals float in the bottom of the bottle. I must say I'm not insensitive to the snowglobe effect here...



It's alcohol free and balances the skin oils. It neither smells bad nor good, just 'plantish'. To see any effect, it should be used twice a day for a least 2 weeks. Kiehl's is very famous brand however I like to buy it from Space NK who has gorgeous paper bags with cord handles. I have tried other stuff from the brand on occasions but was not impressed at all or they were containing dreadful almond oil that has the mighty power of giving me huge breakouts.

Nivea aqua sensation anti-shadow eye cream: As much as I don't like the rest of Nivea products, I have been using this one for ages (it had another name before this version). So here's the problem: I usually wake up with puffy lids and the eyes very dehydrated. If you've ever tried to apply cucumber slices on your eyes, you'll see how good it is to turn monster eyes into rather nice and fresh ones. Well that little pot just does the same and is far more practical than to carry your cucumbers around.




I'm always very suspicious of any marketing blahblah. Without being miraculous, this one does what it says on the box. I'm glad they're still making it after all these years.

When things go wrong, I start to have zillions of tiny whiteheads and uneven complexion. Scrubs are not for me. My skin hates them with a passion. After I stopped my acne treatments, my skin kind of returned to spots and misery. On top of that, it could be very dry when in the cold and raging winds of Scotland despite the high degree of humidity. The problem of acne is not so much that it is ugly, I could do fine with it. But it never lets you do a proper make up when you feel like cheering you up a bit. So how could a dry skin also be an acne-prone skin? That's a good question and a mystery but I'm the living proof it's possible. Au naturel, my skin isn't oily at all. My problem doesn't come from overproduction of sebum. It comes form hormonal imbalance I know I have and very likely my skin barrier not working properly. I've seen people with oily skin and not a spot in sight! My skin does need exfoliation though. After many tests, I have become a great fan of....

Garnier Pure Skin Purifying Peel Kit: The product comes in 2 parts. One tube of scrub and one tube of peeling solution. The scrub is not too harsh and the skin doesn't feel dry thereafter. The peeling solution is a kind of transparent gel that is applied in generous quantity and left overnight and rinsed in the morning. I have never ever had any problem with this kit just good surprises with a noticeable reduction of whiteheads, acne scars (I still get the odd PMS spot) and generally a much smoother skin within 10 days.


The unlucky bit is that...they seem to have stopped manufacturing it and I haven't come across something as good as since.

Lancaster Monaco SPF30 sunscreen: The acne medications have unfortunately made my skin very sensitive to the sun and shortly I needed a very high SPF (and not just a 15 one!) if not a total block. Previously I used Roc Minesol that was great until they changed the formula into a greasy weird liquid thing. Once I was at the airport boring myself out of my head, I picked up a Lancaster sunscreen to give it a go (and a potential random mistake). This one has an excellent consistency and can be used as a moisturizer and make up base. It sets rapidly on the skin and smells like holidays in Tuscany.



What else? The hydration lasts for the day without feeling greasy. It never caused me any spots, redness, itch or allergies. As for the SPF, I'd easily go one step up. Again for this one, looks like they stopped it as it is very difficult to find. Another one I've been using for ages.

Burts Bees' repair serum: You should know by now I'm a sucker for beautiful packaging. For a while, I used to go and have a back massage at Willow Trade (that's when I was semi-rich!) in Glasgow and spotted some Burts Bees stuff among their shelves. The brand sold several of their products in travel size in a small pouch so you could try almost everything without blowing the Bank of England! Some of them contained almond so let's skip those, some others were just plain ineffective. I got hooked on two: The repair serum and the lavender/shea butter handcream. I previously mentioned the repair serum. It's almost nothing but oils and unexpectedly it did wonder to my skin. It's quite expensive but as for most of the products listed above, you only need a little. Repairing? I wouldn't go that further but It's very light when mixed on a watermisted skin and keeps it hydrated and protected and the fine lines definitely disappear...at least for a while.



I buy it from a UK website called 'My Burtsbees' http://www.myburtsbees.co.uk because they have a fantastic customer service and delivers to Europe (despite their awful bubble envelops however you can ask them for a box package. I warn you, if you don't, everything will be smashed). They have a twin website at http://www.bloomsburystore.com/ if you're in need of inspiration for unsual gifts and deco stuff.

Other good things from Mother Nature:

Cucumber



It's delicious with creme fraiche, salt and pepper, mustard vinaigrette and of course to give a treat to your skin

Shea butter



I first heard of shea butter when I was 15. One of my classmates (she was from African origin) was using it on her body. It's very very thick and needs to be worked on the palm until it gets smooth. It sinks into the skin and is extremely protective. It won't wash away and water will roll on your skin. However for having tested it on my face, I wouldn't recommend it or maybe just on chapped lips. It is widely used in cosmetics and beauty products (you sometimes see its Latin name 'Butyrospermum Parkii'). I'd reserve it for night hand masks (a generous amount + white cotton gloves) and for any dry part of the body (elbows, knees, heels, legs).

I'd strongly encourage you to buy the real stuff because it's less expensive and comes in big pots. Also many online sellers offer Fairtrade shea butter and that's definitely the option to take to support local producers in Africa.

Olive and jojoba oils:

Jojoba

Olive

These are my two favourite oils. Olive oil is definitely something most of people have in their kitchen. It's thick enough to remove make-up or to mix with a liquid cleanser. I have used it for a while in place of the Burts Bees serum but it's just too thick to use as a moisturizer and takes ages to be absorbed. Jojoba on the other hand, being the closest thing to the skin natural sebum (it's actually a kind of wax) is very silky and is a bit more versatile (face/body/hair) unless you have very dry skin. It's also a great oil for massage. It doesn't smell so good so you can add a couple of drops of essential oils if it's putting you off.

I'm off to Scotland tomorrow for a few days. I'm quite excited to be able to visit some of my friends and also just wandering around shopping after 2 months of necessary abstinence can only do me good!



Coming soon: Favourite Make Up Gear, Favourite Body Gear