Skincare secrets with Farfetch Beauty

Gone are the days when I could sleep with the remnants of the day's makeup on and not suffer the consequences. As a teacher with busy school days, and even busier weekends, I find my morning and evening skincare routine to be a bit of light relief.

I'm just about to reach the end of one of the busiest terms - we waved off year 11 four days ago,  only now seeing them when they come in for their GCSE exams. The last month has consisted of early mornings and late nights, when marking 180 mock exams has had to be a priority and deadlines for grades and reports have been looming, taking up the work day and the evenings.
Due to this I've been trying to schedule in time to keep myself sane; in the mornings it's with my makeup and in the evenings it's been with my skincare regime.

My mornings usually consist of a quick rendezvous with my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish, a hearty swipe of my Pixi Glow Tonic which is chased by Lush's Enzymion moisturiser. Somewhere in there I make a cup of tea (usually managing to drink half before forgetting about it...) and maybe have a little dance around to my morning playlist.

After a day of teaching, talking, laughing (or maybe crying, depending on the day...) and marking I'll be ready to wash off the day. If it's been busy I'll hop in the shower and grab my Clarisonic face brush with my Bioderma cleansing gel. Together, these remove makeup and thoroughly cleanse the skin leaving my face feeling smooth.

Once I'm out, there's an opportunity for hair oil or leave-in conditioner which at the moment is either Aussie's 3 Minute Miracle or Phillip Kingsley's Damage Defence spray. I brush these through with my Wet Brush and then move back on to my skincare products.

Then, I go back over my whole face with my Pixi Glow Tonic and Enzymion. To avoid puffiness and keep the delicate under eye skin hydrated I rely on my Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment and pat that gently underneath my eye and a little round the sides to the edge of my brow bone.

After that there's just enough time for a swipe of my Nivea lip butter and that's when I'm done!

It does seem like a lot of products just for one person, but they all work together to keep my skin in good condition. I find having some confidence in the way my skin looks helps my body confidence remain at a relatively good level, even if I'm completely wiped out after a day at work!

Do you have any skin secrets to share that might help me remain sane in these last few weeks? If you need inspiration too have a browse of the Farfetch Beauty section.

Comment or tweet me!

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This post was published as a promotional piece with Farfetch.com 

A Lush Skincare Haul

I'm having some serious skincare woes at the moment. I've got a bit redness and some very frustrating under-the-skin spots, as well as some uninvited blackheads...ain't I a TREAT!?

So, I ventured into Lush and talked to a lovely lady who pointed me in the direction of these three products: Ultrabland for cleansing; Herbalism for exfoliating and Enzymion for moisturising.

Enzymion (top) is a lovely, thick moisturising cream that sinks in relatively quickly and makes a lovely base for make-up. A little goes a long way with this and I have to remind myself not to be too liberal. £14.95/100g here

Herbalism (bottom left) is quite crumbly initially, but when mixed with some water it forms a thick paste. I like to use a fair bit of this and rub in circular motions on my cheeks, forehead and chin. It's not particularly abrasive, which I quite like as I never feel like I've overdone it, but if you prefer a slightly harsher scrub this may not be for you. £6.95/100g here

Finally, Ultrabland is a thick cleanser that you apply all over the face. I'm careful around my eyes, but it doesn't irritate them at all. This removes make-up well, and is also nice to use to clean the face even if there's no make-up there. I use mine with a muslin cloth, but you can also remove it with a cotton pad. £11.50/100g here

Overall, I've really enjoyed using these products. I think Enzymion is my favourite as it is so fuss free ...there's no waiting for it to sink in and I'm never left feeling greasy. When I get through my pot of Herbalism I might experiment with another exfoliator, mainly for the pesky blackheads on my chin and around my nose.

Have you got any of these? Let me know your thoughts :)

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There is no guarantee that these products will work the same for others, I am writing from personal experience.

Burt's Bees // #SaveYourPillow

There is nothing more frustrating than leaving remnants of mascara, eyeliner or lipstick on a pillowcase after a night out. I always take my make-up off before I go to sleep, but I don't always use products that will help my skin.

Make-up wipes might be the cardinal sin of beauty bloggers everywhere, but sometimes they're the easiest, most convenient and quickest way to remove the war paint.

Last week I received two new products from Burt's Bees, both designed to take your make-up off quickly.

Firstly, the Orange Essence Facial Cleanser(*).
This is designed to make it super easy to take of make-up or cleanse the skin of any dirt left over from the day, and is used by massaging onto the skin and then washing with warm water or a damp cloth.

With a consistency similar to that of Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, you can feel this product on your face. It's thick but not greasy with a gorgeous citrusy scent.

It removes base makeup as well as heavy duty eye products too.

Next, is the Soap Bark and Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream(*).

Working in a similar way to the other cleanser, this is applied to the face, massaged on and then removed with warm water or a damp cloth.

This cleanser is a thick, white lotion similar to Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanser. It has a strong scent, similar to Parma Violets or Swizzlers Fizzlers. I find it quite refreshing and pleasant, though it might be too strong for some people. I did get a little bit in my eyes when rinsing and it was a little unpleasant. This isn't recommended for eye make-up!

I have loved using both of these products and I really don't have a favourite at this point! I'll continue to use both regularly. I'm most likely to use the orange cleanser daily and the deep cleanser once or twice a week to make sure I'm giving my skin a good looking after at the end of a long day.

The Orange Essence Facial Cleanser and the Soap Bark and Chamomile are currently available for £10.99 each (RRP). They can be bought from Marks & Spencer (click!), Holland & Barrett (click!) and of course, Burt's Bees (click!). There are two other products in the #SaveYourPillow campaign - a Peach & Willow Bark Deep Pore Scrub and Facial Towelettes with White Tea Extract.

Have you tried these? Let me know!

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(*)These products were sent to me free of charge. I have not been paid to review them and, as usual, 

have been honest about my opinions and experiences with the products. 

All opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Burt's Bees or Fluorescent PR.

There is no guarantee that these products will work the same for others, I am writing from personal experience.

Dermalogica Clear Start Matte Moisturiser

Early last year I posted about this product, except then it was under a different name and in slightly different packaging. Click here to read my thoughts on the original product (!). Going from "Clean Start" to "Clear Start" might not seem like much of a leap but for teenage skin clear is certainly what I was after. We all want clean skin but that comes from a cleanser or face wash; clear skin is personally how I want my skin to look. 

Still aiming to target oily skin, not much has changed aside from the packaging. Personally, that's a good thing. This is my favourite daytime moisturiser and has been for well over a year. I can wear it alone if I'm in the sun or under make-up to give my skin a matte base. It still smells faintly like cola cubes and doesn't leave any unwanted residue.

When I was at my local Dermalogica counter I asked why the change had taken place and I was told it was to make the brand "more Dermalogica" as Clean Start was previously part of another brand. 

Once that's confirmed I will make sure I clarify that here!

This product is a 10/10 would recommend to teens and young adults who want to combat excess oil in the skin. You can buy one here (!) for £16 / 60ml.

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First Impression : Clarisonic Aria

Okay, so I caved... I've been considering getting a Clarisonic for a while but haven't felt I could justify it. I've read loads of reviews and tried to figure out which model to go for and finally settled on the newest release, the Aria.

The handheld device is a sonic facial cleansing system. From what I understand it doesn't spin but it vibrates and pulses to deliver a deep cleanse to the face. With an easy to use brush head and timer this product does actually look like it could do the job of fully cleansing my skin and ridding my life of blackheads without over complicating my cleansing routine.

It comes with a drying stand and a magnetic charger that can be slipped into the stand to make it a charging stand. The cable is a USB so it can be plugged into any USB friendly device to charge. This makes travelling with it much easier as there's no fussy plugs to worry about! 

My first impressions have been something like this : "Ooh, okay. That's weird and kind of new to my face." After the initial getting-used-to-it period it's actually quite therapeutic to have this little thing buzzing away at your blocked pores! I've tried two liquid cleansers and ultimately have been left with smooth skin so far... What I'm really interested in is if it clears blackheads and milia (tiny little calcium bumps) as well as encouraging all the gunk to get out of my pores so spots don't form.

I'll be updating you on here under the tag "Clarisonic Aria" with my opinion on the Clarisonic every week so check back next Monday for how I'm getting on!

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The Holiday Series: #1 A truly necessary holiday haul

In 2 days' time I'm heading off for my first family holiday in a couple of years. Naturally, going on holiday means buying lots of things I don't need. I've grabbed a couple of Hawaiian Tropic products to ensure I "smell like holiday". Ja feel?

The little pink thing is of course a tiny little floss dispenser! I'm taking that on the plane incase I get plane food stuck in my teeth... totally normal!

I also grabbed 2 small hair products from Charles Worthington to protect my hair from sun damage. I haven't tried these but since I've joined the blonde crowd I'd rather be safe than bald at the moment.

I've got a couple more posts lined up for this Holiday Series - next up is my 2014 hand luggage / carry-on beauty essentials. Before I've finished packing my bags up let me know in the comments if there's anything I should remember!

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