SUMMER HOLIDAY PREP

It's coming to that time of year that some of you may be jetting off to somewhere sunny on a mini break or a holiday, (I am going to Madrid soon, which I am very excited about), and so I have been starting to think about how I am going to prep for the getaway, so why not make it into a post... Brace yourselves, it's rather lengthy.

Tanning: I am quite lucky when it comes to tanning, I tan easily even with SPF50 on, but sometimes if your legs have been stuck in jeans for a long time over the previous seasons you may be reaching for the faux glow in an attempt to avoid blinding everyone with your limbs. I have 2 offerings for you, a pretty hardcore one - the Vita Liberata pHenomenal Long Lasting Tan Mousse Medium*  which supposedly lasts for 2-3 weeks but has a lengthy application process. For me, this is quite dark, but I wouldn't say it isn't natural and it fades nicely anyway.. For something more hydrating and gradual I have been soaking up the Garnier Summer Body Sun Kissed Look Moisturising Lotion (these two get the awards for longest product names), but honestly I love the subtle hint of tint this gives.

Manicure: I hate feet, so this'll make me cringe typing, but there is nothing you want less than cracking out the sandals and having chipped nails, so you want something long lasting. I recently got sent the Fuse Gelnamel Set* but wasn't happy with the results (they looked dull and thick, and I ended up peeling them off in sheets the next morning), so I suggest opting for a good topcoat instead. Throw on some cuticle oil like this Sinful Colours one (which smells divine) and some Soap and Glory Heel Genius and you are good to go.

Body: Removing the hair on your limbs is a good way to start, and I prefer waxing as it lasts longer for me, but if not, take a razor and a mini shaving foam - the Satin Care Apricot offering smells amazing, and you should be able to avoid looking like a yak on your holidays as well as being able to sort out any patches you may have missed beforehand... we've all been there. 

Skin: If your ditching the makeup in the daytime when poolside, you want your skin to be in good condition. Get yourself into a good routine a few weeks before - using a serious mask like the Origins Clear Improvement the night before will most likey bring all the blemishes to the surface, and also use something like Effaclar Duo [+] from La Roche Posay as a further treatment if need me.

So, prep sorted, now time to scour the mini's in Boots and depot all the skincare stash...

LA ROCHE POSAY EFFACLAR DUO[+]

Quite a while ago, you may have read my rave-review about the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo, and when the time came to repurchase, I thought it would be a good idea to give the reformed and improved Effaclar Duo+ a whirl.

The new product costs a little more, coming in at £15.50 rather than the £13 for the original, but it includes some new ingredients which are supposed help reduce and diminish scarring - something I have an issue with along with blemishes. Since using this, I have noticed a small difference in my skin and everything seems too have faded a little and reduced in size.

I use this day and night (not every day) either underneath my moisturiser or alone if I have a lot to clear up. It is a gel texture, but isn't drying - it's actually fairly moisturising and doesn't fee uncomfortable alone. To be fair, texture wise there aren't all that many differences apart from the fact that I feel more open to applying this all over the skin rather than with the original, I would tend to take it just down the T-Zone and affected areas.

Have you tried any reformulated products and really liked them?

ORIGINS CLEAR IMPROVEMENT MASK

I'm sure you all get tired of me complaining about how my skin is rather bad, but it seems that here we are again. But, I know most of you have heard the story (main characters: my face, and a ton of spots), sI ove I will just get onto the product that I have found to help me out a fair bit.

I love face masks, and when one promises clear skin, I'm all ears. The Origins Clear Improvement Mask has been on my wishlist for quite some time now, and when I got it in a trio last Christmas, I knew it would be love.

At first, I thought this would be a clay like mask, but when you squeeze it out and start applying the mask, it is like a thick gel, but then hardens after some minutes of waiting, but you don't get that cracking, clay effect which I actually like. I'm not sure whether this is meant to happen, or that my imagination has just run wild, but it almost feels a little warming on the skin once it is applied - correct me if I am wrong (I probably am).

The morning after using this, I feel like my skin looks much clearer. If you know me in person, you will know (Megan knows the best), that my skin looks much worse because I have awful scarring, and when you actually touch my face there are barely and bumps which is an annoyance. But this seems to reduce redness and the size of any spots I have and then any new scars (I have finally gotten over the fact that my old scars won't be going anywhere any time soon) and faded slightly too.

I think once I have finished this bottle, I will have to buy another, because using this weekly on Sundays just seems to get my skin ready for the upcoming week...

BEATING THE BREAKOUTS

My skin is something that drives me crazy. Some people worry their skin looks bad because they have a one single blemish on their cheek, in their hairline, or on their chin, and it makes me quite conscious of how they think mine looks, if theirs is 'awful'. I take various steps to keep the breakouts at bay, a stop to the spots if you will, but nothing really works.

My skin is problematic, and oily in most areas, bar the cheeks (lets say combination). Spots everywhere, at least a handful a day (not new ones, my spots linger for days), and scarring more purple than the worst dark circles I have ever seen. I know it is a teenage thing and I cannot wait for the days I will have clear skin again (fingers crossed), but frankly, I see less and less fellow blemished people by the years...just me being paranoid?

Masks are the way to do it with blemishes. The first offering for me is the Super Facialist Tea Flower Pore Purifying Clay Mask which is a budget friendly £8.99 high street option. This just smells like it is clarifying, but not stripping on the skin in the slightest. The other is basically the same, which is the A'kin Express Purifying Facia Masque*, just more expensive at £16.50, so opt for the Super Facialist one if you can. I am hoping to get the Origins Charcoal Mask soon too, so hopefully that'll work wonders for my skin.

To be quite honest, the Lush Tea Tree Toner has been in my collection for quite a long time now, and I am just trying to finish it off. I'm not sure what this does blemish-wise, but it does feel quite refreshing to spritz on the skin before moisturising day or night. It costs £3.95, and has mainly natural ingredient too.

Treatments are where it is at currently in the skincare world. As much as I would lust over that glorious bottle of Esteé Lauder Advanced Night Repair on my shelf, my tight budget won't allow it, so for now, I will bear without. For me, it is the all famous La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo which is a light, yet moisturising gel which unclogs pores and all that jazz. Then, it is the recently acquired Spa Find Perfect Purity Dermabalance Spot Treatment*, which I wouldn't recommend for dry skins, as this kind of dries on the blemish and pulls out all the nasty stuff to the surface. This is a brilliant overnight treatment.

That was your tour around my breakout busting squad, but lets just hope the bad skin will be gone soon and these won't get picked off the shelf so regularly. 

 

LA ROCHE POSAY EFFACLAR DUO

Being someone with considerably 'bad' skin, (it is improving must I add, touch wood), I am always on the lookout for something to improve and help it, and the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo ended up in my basket on Escentual.com...

This is a gel like texture, which soaks in very quickly, but still adds enough moisture which allows you to wear it as a moisturiser in the day, and under (or over) and moisturiser, serum or any chosen product at night. This is akin to any kind of serum anyway, but I wouldn't complain about wearing it stand-alone as a moisturiser. 

So, onto what it actually does. A lot of people use this the first time, notice quite a bit of difference, then nothing else. Others improve the more they use it, and I would say I have had both. I noticed difference after one use, but I feel like it still does a little something, something to my skin, and I now can't imagine not having this, and using it at least every other day. I think it is purely paranoia that if I don't repurchase and use this all the time, my skin will get worse again. 

I definitely think this has reduced the amount of blemishes I have, and faded a few scars here and there, through unclogging pores, and making my skin a lot more 'pure'?, and I repurchase will be on the way as soon as I get remotely close to the end... *cough* probably soon...