Evening Skincare Regime for Combination and Sensitive Skin

Hello my darlings!

Summer is just around the corner and I am trying to ensure that my skin is ready and rearing to go. When it comes to skincare I try to keep it simple and fresh, and generally stay clear of fragranced products.

I have incredibly sensitive skin – almost anything and everything seems to irritate it – and if that wasn’t bad enough, I also have the annoyance of a combination skin-type. So, as you may expect, I struggle to find the perfect skin-care products. It can really difficult to find the perfect products because you need to maintain moisture but at the same time you need to ensure that you don’t cause your skin to become too oily.

So, this is my current evening skin-care regime. I start with the Clinique Take the Day off Cleansing Balm (here) to remove all of my make-up. This is one of my favourite products and has well and truly converted me to cleansing balms. Read my full review of this product here. I then use the B. Pure Micellar Water (here) to further cleanse and to leave my skin feeling refreshed due to the cucumber extract. This product  is perfect for sensitive skin as it is incredibly gentle.

After I have removed all traces of my make-up and my skin is thoroughly cleansed, I move onto my toner. I am currently using the Clarins Toning Lotion with Iris (here) which ticks all of my boxes. It is ultra sensitive so it doesn’t irritate my skin and the touch of iris leaves your skin feeling amazingly refreshed and rejuvenated. It is also tailored for combination skin types – perfect – so leaves my skin toned but not dry, nor does it leave any residue that makes the skin seem oily.

My final step is to reach for the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion + (here) I cannot swear by this product enough – I absolutely love it. This moisturiser is wonderfully light and feels cooling on the skin, leaving it moisturized until morning – a dream to use. Clinique products are perfect for those of us who suffer from sensitive skin, offering effective but incredibly gentle products, packed full of moisture but that never leave your skin looking greasy so are perfect for combination skin types.

Have you tried any of these products? What is your evening skin-care routine? 

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

Manuka Doctor // Purified Bee Venom & Manuka Honey Skincare First Impressions

Hello my darlings!

The other day I stumbled across Manuka Doctor while I was searching for new beauty products. As I had never tried this brand before I was slightly apprehensive, especially because the products contain bee venom which I was worried would be too harsh for my skin, so I was so excited when I saw that Manuka Doctor were offering a free ApiNourish starter kit (click here to be linked to offer). I don’t know why I don’t order samples more often as it is such a good idea. I have, over the years, wasted so much money on products which end up not working for me … So why not try before you buy?

They even throw in with your free sample 25% off your next order, which I may just have to make use of very soon!

Manuka Doctor ApiNourish Rejuvenating Face Mask // £49.99

Like the other two products, the rejuvenating face mask doesn’t have any scent. I usually prefer my beauty products to be fragrance-free as they are more sensitive on the skin, but I do prefer my face masks to smell good so I was slightly disappointed. The face mask is more like the consistency of a moisturiser than your typical facial mask, and as a result it is soothing  and doesn’t feel tight on your skin for the 30 minutes you have to leave it on. Due to its consistency, it is really easy to rinse off and it doesn’t feel caked on your face. My skin didn’t feel as soft afterwards as it usually does after using other facial masks, and I think it is too soon to tell if helped to restore my skin, but on first impressions I think that I don’t think I will be purchasing this product because it is quite expensive and I didn’t feel that I saw noticeable results.

Manuka Doctor ApiNourish Restoring Night Cream // £24.99

I am not a fan of the night cream. When I first applied it all seemed well, it felt soothing and nourishing, but as the night went on it felt increasingly tight on my skin and it even started to sting my skin slightly. I ended up washing the night cream off halfway through the night as I was aware of the product on my skin, which I do not like as a product should be lightweight enough that I am unaware that I am even wearing it. I think that my skin is just too sensitive for the Manuka Doctor Night Cream and I won’t be purchasing this item.

Manuka Doctor ApiNourish Age Defying Serum // £24.99

This product is meant to nourish and hydrate your skin to leave you with a youthful complexion. I can’t testify that it does this but on first impressions it did seem to make make skin look smoother and brighter. Although, I feel this is a product which would only yield results after a longer period of usage which makes it not the best choice for a sample product.

I don’t think I will be purchasing any of these three products but I am still keen to try some of the other ranges that Manuka Doctor skincare offer as I feel that ApiNourish was not the range for me. I really want to try the ApiClear and the ApiRefine ranges from Manuka Doctor, especially the Manuka Doctor ApiClear 3-in-1 Purifying Facial Wipes and the Manuka Doctor ApiRefine Flawless Primer.

Have you ever tried any Manuka Doctor products? Which is your favourite Manuka Doctor product?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

High-Street Beauty Haul #1

• Daisy by Marc Jacobs // £47.50
• The Body Shop Madagascan Vanilla Flower Fragrance Mist // £7.50
• Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser Dry Skin 250ml // £3.56
• Superdrug Style Expertise Straight Cream 150ml // £1.99
• Superdrug Style Expertise Curl Cream 150ml // £1.99
• No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser // £9.95
• No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-up Remover // £8.50
• Clinique All About Lips 12ml // £18.00
• Super Facialist Rose Intense Moisture Mask 125ml // £8.99
• Super Facialist Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil 200ml // £10.99
• Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+ 125ml with Pump // £29.50
• Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm all Skin Types 125ml // £21.00
• Botanics All Bright Hydrating Night Cream 50ml // £4.99
• Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick – Mulberry 685 // £7.99
• Benefit Gimme Brow Gel // £17.50
• Clinique Superbalanced Makeup Foundation for Dry Combination to Oily Combination Skin Types. Oil-Free 30ml // £22.00
• Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Hydrating Colour Corrector Broad Spectrum SPF 30 // £28.00
• Body Shop Plum Lip-gloss // £7.00

Hello my darlings!

Here is a round-up of the high-street beauty items that I have purchased lately. It is quite a mismatch; there are some new purchases and some re-purchases purchased from either Boots, The Body Shop  or Superdrug. I was planning on posting this on Thursday but life got in the way as it has a tendency to do. But here it is – we got there eventually! This is quite a long post – it was meant to be a video but again life got in the way – so hope you like it …

New Purchases

Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser // This is the one if you love lazy perfect beauty products. You just simply use it like a body wash – apply it in the shower, rinse it off and then get dry – easy! I love this product as it saves time and energy, whilst the almond oil leaves your skin beautiful soft.

Superdrug Style Expertise products // These are so cheap – less than £2.00 each – you can’t argue with that! I really like the the straightening cream, it isn’t as effective as similar products that I have tried in the past but it does the job and for that price it is the perfect budget buy. I wasn’t as impressed with the curl cream but I will give it another whirl …

Una Brennan Products// I had missed feelings about these but I feel that the Una Brennan range is a high-street gem. I have reviewed these two products for this blog previously – links can be found at the bottom of this post.

N07 products // I haven’t had a chance yet to try the hot cloth cleanser but I will be writing a review of it soon so keep an eye out for that. The eye make-up remover is one of those products that does what it says on the tin – it removes all of your eye make-up, even stubborn waterproof mascara and heaps of eye liner. I find a lot of products I have tried overly harsh on my eyes but this was so sensitive and soothing – it definitely gets a thumbs up from me! 

Clinique Take the Day off Cleansing Balm // I absolutely love this product – read my review via the link at the bottom of this post. 

Botanics All Bright Hydrating Night Cream // This was another budget buy. I am not sure how I feel about this product yet – sometimes I like it, others I am like errmm! It does leave your skin moisturised but I do not think it as effective as the moisturiser from Clinique. Anyway the jury is still out on this one so I will keep you posted.

Lips // The Max Factor Colour Elixir Lipstick in Mulberry has a lovely vibrant colour and is luscious on your lips – I will be returning to Boots very soon to invest in a few more. I wasn’t as keen on the Body Shop Lip Gloss as although I liked the colour, it was too sticky and too shiny!

Benefit Gimme Brow // This is my new go to product for my brows – read the review via the link at the bottom of this post!

Re-Purchases 

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturiser + // I love this moisturiser! Although I occasionally experiment with other products, this is one product that I cannot be without. It moisturises and hydrates your skin without leaving it feeling oily, and that soft-skin feeling lasts all day. If you are looking to buy a new moisturiser I would definitely recommend this. 

Clinique All About Lips // I have been purchasing this product for around a year now and I do not know what I did without it. It is a kind of exfoliater for your lips, buffing away any dry skin (sorry I know that sounds slightly disgusting) and leaves your lips feeling beautifully soft. To achieve the best results, apply this product before bed with a cotton bud, then moisturise and add a layer of vaseline. The moisturiser will absorb into your lips now all that nasty chapness has gone and the vaseline will seal in this moisture.

Fragrance // I am quite boring when it comes to fragrance and I really should branch out. But I just can’t help loving my old faithful scents – Daisy by Marc Jacobs and the Madagascar Vanilla Fragrance Body Spray from The Body Shop. I just feel that both smell divine and are perfect for spring/summer!

Maurice decided to help me with photographing or just get in the way – it is hard to tell!

I have already reviewed a few of the items listed here – all the links for which are below:

Superfacialist by Una Brennan // Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask & Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil Review

Clinique // take the day off cleansing balm

Benefit Gimme Brow // Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx

Superfacialist by Una Brennan // Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask & Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil Review

Super Facialist Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask 125ml // £8.99

Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil 200ml // £10.99

Hello my darlings!

As you will now if you have read some of my recent posts I have been trying to perfect a new skincare regime as my skin has not been playing ball lately. I have the really annoying combination type of skin which means that it gets both dry and oily, and to top this all off it is hyper-sensitive with most products causing me great irritation. So, while I was recently prowling the aisles of Boots trying to find some new products to save my current skin disaster, I discovered the Superfacialist range by Una Brennan, which promises to provide you with ‘healthy, beautiful, youthful looking skin.’ As I haven’t tried this range before I decided to just purchase two items just in case I didn’t like it. After some thoughtful deliberation I decided on the Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask and the Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil.

The Rose Hydrate Intense Moisture Mask

Claims to: “Boost skin moisture levels and radiance with Superfacialist thirst-quenching Intense Moisture Mask developed even for the most sensitive skins. It expertly blends White Willow extract, known to enhance skin cell turnover, Vitamin E and Urea with soothing Marshmallow extract to effectively hydrate, plump and replenish skin. Complexion appears calmer and visibly renewed, glowing with a healthier radiance.” 

I really like the packaging of the Una Brennan range as it simplistic and looks a lot more high-end than it’s price tag. On application the Rose Intense Moisture Mask seems more like a moistouriser than a facial mask, you simply apply a generous layer to your face, leave for five minutes and then wash off with a warm muslin cloth. After I had washed off the mask my skin felt incredibly soft and moiturised. I preferred this mask to other facial masks I have tried, especially the clay ones, as it didn’t feel tight on my skin and it was also a lot easier to wash off as it becomes a milk-like consistency when you apply water.  I usually try to stick to fragrance-free products and I wasn’t 100% keen on the rose scent of the mask as it reminded me of the drawer liners that you would find in an outdated B&B. But on the bright side the fragrance isn’t long-lasting and I couldn’t smell it once I had washed it off. As this is an intense moisture mask it is best to only use this product once or twice a week, I use mine on a Sunday night so that I am ready to face the week ahead!

Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil

Claims to: “The ultimate cleansing experience for fresher, more revived skin starts with this unique lightweight cleansing oil. Infused with Vitamin C and nourishing Olive, Grapeseed and Rosehip oils, this highly soluble oil transforms itself, upon contact with water, into a light milky texture. Boosted with Rosemary oil, Vitamin E and soothing Cucumber oil it gently dissolves face and eye make-up and removes daily impurities.Skin is left cleansed, refreshed and softer to the touch.”

The cleansing oil ‘does what it says on the tin’ – it effortlessly dissolves and removes your make-up and feels soothing as you massage it into your skin.  Unlike the Intense Moisture Mask I quite like this product’s scent as it is quite subtle with only slight hints of cucumber and rosemary. I did like this product as it leaves your skin cleansed, refreshed and considerably softer, but I found it irritated my eyes (even though it said it was suitable to remove eye make-up) and caused me to break out. 

I think that I will repurchase the Superfacialist Rose Intense Moisture Mask as I was pleasantly surprised, but I I won’t be re-purchasing the cleansing oil. I will be returning to Boots soon to pick up some other Una Brennan products as I feel they are great budget gems that do exactly what they set out to do. 

Have you tried any Superfacialist products by Una Brennan? What is your favourite product in the range?

Lots of Love,

Hannah xx