Cleansers 101

Looking for your perfect cleanser? First you need to understand a little about your skin type, this will go a long way to identifying it's needs and how to treat any issues you have. Secondly don't assume that because something has worked for you in the past it will always work.. I for one know that skin types can change as I've recently gotten much drier where I used to be Combination/Oily.

So, I'll run down my recommendations for each skin type, this is just a guide for those unsure of or starting out in the world of cleansers. There are so many on the market it's tricky to understand what you're looking for so hopefully this will be of help to someone.
 

Dry Skin

There are different degrees of dry skin so be aware that a product that says it's formulated for 'dry skin' may not be the one for you. It's can be the toughest skin type to work with but the following cleansers are a good place to start if you're looking for something new.

Superdrug Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser £5.99
I bought this looking for a cheap alternative to the Liz Earle favourite, if you'd like a full comparison let me know. This was much thicker and left a residue, much better for drier days/winter months than summer when it could be a bit much. It's safe to use on eye makeup though which is a huge time saving plus for me.. it does however smell like sun cream.


Botanics Organic Cleansing Balm £6.63
Also a product I bought hoping to find a Liz Earle dupe.. this was completely the wrong choice. It's a balm as opposed to a cream or a liquid so totally different to anything else I've used. It's supposedly a dupe for the Eve Lom cleanser (I may have been confused) and although at first I hated it I came to realise it has it's place. It's all natural and soothing so for those with skin prone to react with products it's probably going to be perfect. Not unlike the Vitamin E cleanser it also leaves an oily film so I decided it was more suited to dry skin types.

Oily Skin

A common misconception for those with oily skin is that you should avoid moisture at all costs when in fact the opposite applies. All skin types need moisture but often products targeted at oily/blemish prone skin are high in alcohol which strips your skin of the oils it needs causing it to over compensate and produce even more oil leading to breakouts.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2in1 Face Wash/Mask £3.99
I used this on and off for years during my blemish prone periods and it's a great product to have in as it doubles as a face mask. It's really effective at keeping excess oil and breakouts at bay.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Gel Wash £4.89
First of all this smells amazing. There are 3 options which I believe are targeted at different levels of oil control. The scrub was a little too drying for me, this was much gentler yet did the job and I think if you're on the oily/combination fence you may be more at home with the cream wash.

Combination Skin

Combination skin is trickiest when you're trying to clear your skin of blemishes. Just as above the last thing you feel like you need is something thick or oily but the drier patches crave it. You're looking for something that will meet two needs and restore a balance and these are those I've tried myself and found effective.

Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean £7.00
This gives a deep clean while smoothing with fruit acids to gently exfoliate. It's creamy and refreshing and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this smells divine! Most importantly it's not drying and it goes some way to evening out combination skin.

Clinique Facial Soap £13-£14.00
As you probably know you can purchase this is liquid or bar form. For combination skin I would suggest the milder formula and if you err more on the side of dry than oily I would go for the liquid over the bar however the bar lasts a lot longer. Most importantly you don't have to use this in conjunction with Cliniques 3 step programme.. it doesn't suit everyone but the cleanser is still really effective and something I would recommend everyone try at some point.

Sensitive Skin 

I have never suffered from sensitive skin myself so can only empathise with your problem and suggest the following cleansers which seem to work for others of the same skin type. I would recommend going organic and trying the all natural approach if you can as this seems to be the best answer for those that react to everything they try.

Cetaphil £8.99
 Now I have actually tried this and have to say.. I wasn't impressed but I'm led to believe that for those with very sensitive/problem skin it's a life saver.

Dr Organic Rose Otto Cleansing Milk £8.19
The Dr Organic range has a lot of fans and if you're in to that kind of thing you might want to pop over to Holland and Barrett to check it out. This is a cleansing milk as opposed to a wash which often people with more sensitive skin prefer as it's a little more soothing.

All Skin Types

I wanted to avoid using the term 'normal skin' as I don't think there's such a thing. Throughout our lives we'll all probably have our oily/dry/sensitive moments but some less than others. These are the cleansers that claim to suit 'all skin types', you should find less irritating ingredients in an 'all skin types' product but if you are sensitive always check the label!

Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser £14.25
No matter what phase my skin is in this cleanser always works for me. It's gentle but be warned your skin can become reliant and break out when you stop using it.

Simple Refreshing Facial Wash £1.32
If you have no skin woes.. why spend a fortune when you don't have to? All you want is to feel fresh and clean and this will do the job for a bargain basement price. Some of us spend a fortune looking for 'the one' so why not take advantage of your enviable position?

The most important thing I learnt about cleansers recently is not to be fooled by texture. I used to hate creamy cleansers 'cause I never felt like they were doing anything until I discovered exfoliating acids. Whether they be glycolic or citric they can smooth the skin just as well as any face scrub so like I said.. always check the label! My favourite cleanser of the moment has to be the Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean which contains said acids and leaves me feeling squeaky clean so unless you've already found your holy grail skincare regime why not throw out any preconceptions and try something different?

...and if you have found your HG cleanser let us all in on your secret!!!

Miss BB

All Used Up...

I was inspired when Fee at MakeupSavvy did an all used up post some months ago and vowed to start collecting my empties and do the same. It's taken a little while and unsurprisingly there are more skincare items than cosmetics (I don't like to use anything up) but here's e everything I've recently used up..

The question is.. would I buy it again?

Soap & Glory 'Some Like It Hot' Thermal body scrub

I love thermal products! It seems a little bit magical, doesn't it? Well it does to me and the instant warm sensation of this scrub had me hooked.. at first. Unfortunately the heat barely lasts 10 seconds and after that it's just your average body scrub and I wouldn't pay £8 for an average body scrub. I did discover toward the end of the tube a lot of grey liquid which got extremely hot on contact with my skin so I believe that it was all stuck in the top on the tube, unfortunate because if it had all been like that I would have really liked this product!

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

This s a firm blogger favourite but it took me a long time to pick it up and even longer to actually use it. I tried it a couple of times and it was ok but nothing revolutionary so back in the cupboard it went and n to the next cleanser I was. I revisited Liz Earle in November and began using it on a daily basis, the key to this stuff is regular use! My skin had never been smoother/clearer and I have since repurchased this! I do begrudge paying £23 for 200ml but I will continue to until i find a replacement.

Mama Mio Boob Tube

I loved this, I really did! I used it when i was pregnant and I'm not sure if it made a different to the firmness of my bust as I lost my baby weight but the condition of my skin improved after only a couple of days. Unfortunately this is one pricey lotion at £29.50 for 100ml and that is just out of my budget for essentially a body lotion! If ever I have the spare cash or it is gifted to me I will be very happy to be reunited but for now.. It's just not worth it.

Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser

Regular readers will know my feelings on this wonder-stuff and needn't continue reading this section but would I repurchase? Yes, Yes A thousand times YES! I use it as a moisturiser, I use it as a treatment for blemishes and for £2.99 you can't afford not to try it! You won't be disappointed.

Garnier Cleansing Wipes

Just rubbish. There's not a lot to say about cleansing wipes, they either work or they don't and these my friends.. do not! They are too dry to wipe ANYTHING and I would absolutely not recommend them! They are only £2.99 but it was £2.99 I wish I hadn't spent.

Herbal Essences Smooth & Soft Mask

I tried this and the tousle me softly at the same time and both really impressed me! As drugstore haircare goes Herbal Essences really know their stuff! I would buy this again if I wasn't so in love with my Aussie and Macadamia stuff but never say never and I would recommend them to any of you considering a drugstore mask. My only advice would be to shop around.. you can usually find these on offer somewhere, currently that place is Superdrug where they're half price at £1.95

Garnier BB Miracle Skin Perfector

This was £9.99 when it launched but I haven't seen it anywhere for more than £7.50 for months. I would repurchase it full price though again and again. It's supposed to be a 'BB' cream but not knowing exactly what to expect from a BB cream i would describe it as the best tinted moisturiser I ever tried! It diffuses imperfections and evens out skin tone while giving the illusion of a makeup free face.

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer 

This stuff is really good. It's dubbed as an industrial Strength Concealer and I've always had one in my makeup bag since I discovered Benefit about 8 years ago. It hasn't always been my go-to but it's been nice to know it's there if I need it. I would have said I would repurchase had it not been for a very recent acquisition. Soap & Glory's Kick-Ass concealer knocks this out of the park at it's just £10 as opposed to £16.50. Sorry Benefit, you've been beat!

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

This was my pressed powder for 2 years! I have lost count of how many I've bought over that time but given that it's only £3.99 I didn't mind repurchasing. It didn't do anything life changing but it was a good value pressed powder that held my makeup and kept me relatively matte for a good portion of the day. As I said I have repurchased in the past and wouldn't rule it out for the future but I just replaced it with 17s Shine Control version for the same price and am preferring that right now.

Maybelline One By One Mascara

This was my favourite mascara for most of last year. It was the first mascara that seemed to really work with my stubby lashes and do something a bit special with them. It really opened my eyes (literally) and I would definitely repurchase. My last mascara buy was the Volume Million lashes from Loreal which I also really like but I will purchase the one by one next to see which is really my favourite.

What are the products you repurchase time and time again?

Miss BB

Liz Earle - Skin Tint

I received some samples of the Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint with my last Cleanse & Polish purchase and it's not until today that I really felt inclined to try it out. I so rarely get a pale enough shade in a sample that I generally don't bother but as the folks at Liz Earle had been smart enough to include 3 shades I thought I'd give it a go and I have to say the Bare 01 for fair skin tones is a great match. Here's my before and after...

It gives about as much coverage as my Garnier BB cream, perhaps a touch more. It evens out my skin without looking like I'm wearing a lot of makeup but I still need additional concealer on redness and my under-eyes. The formula was unexpected, I thought it would go on creamy but it's thicker and quicker to dry than I'd imagined. Liz Earle cosmetics do appeal to me given the natural ingredients the brand are known for and that might be a big plus for some consumers, I'd definitely be inclined to try a more natural foundation if I was suffering from frequent breakouts or sensitive skin.

Overall The finish is nice and it has decent lasting power for a sheer face product but it's just not for me. It gives me the same effect that my BB cream does but the texture is distinctly foundation-like, not tinted moisturiser as I imagined it would be! If I'm wearing a full on foundation I like more coverage so this is not going to lead to a purchase but I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good light coverage foundation.

Liz Earles Skin Tint in available for £21.00 here

Miss BB

My January Favourites

It's that time again! Last year I wasn't great at putting my monthly favourites on my blog as well as my YT channel but it's a new year.. new start, those of you that don't watch my videos might appreciate my new commitment to the monthly posts. 

A lot of what I've used throughout January has been in my regular routine for a while, I haven't made many changes since it's all kinda working for me right now. I'm totally in love with my skin and hair care routines for the first time maybe ever so it's really just cosmetics that I switch out from time to time and even then.. the Garnier BB cream has had me hooked for 6 months.

Skincare

Liz Earle Cleanser 100ml £13.75 here

Clarisonic Mia £120 here

Soap & Glory Pulp Friction £8 here

Body Shop Shea Body Butter £12.50 here

I am absolutely obsessed with my Clarisonic.. I'm not convinced the Liz Earle does anything special for me but the fact I can remove my makeup in the tub is awesome!! I will be trying some drugstore variations this month. S&G Pulp Friction is fab.. keeps me as smooth as can be the only down side is that it's such a pain to clean out of the bath afterwards.. if it wasn't I'd probably use it twice a day. Lastly the Shea Body Butter... ahh the smell, it just melts in to your skin and is fantastic value for money as a little goes a really long way! Totally changed my mind about The Body Shop Body Butters, I used to think they were a total rip off but this one is great!

Haircare

Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo & Conditioner £3.99 each here

Macadamia Natural Oil 125ml £23.95 here

The combination of these three products have totally rejuvenated my hair. I never thought I'd find a shampoo and conditioner I genuinely valued, intensive masques and treatments, yes but not run of the mill shampoo and conditioner. I tried very cheap, I tried very expensive nothing did anything special until I tried Aussie. Luckily they are very affordable as well as being super effective.

You may recall me mentioning "Project Hair" which I started at the beginning of the year, well I've had a lot of questions lately about how I've improved the condition of my dry, damaged barnet and you can look forward to a comprehensive hair post very soon!

Base

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector (BB Cream) £7.49 here

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer £4.19 here

My Garnier still reigns supreme as my favourite daytime "foundation" but this month made way for a brand new concealer. I've lost count of the amount of recommendations I've had to buy this so I finally caved. It's a similar consistency to YSL touche eclat and great for the money but I do think while I'm surviving on little sleep I need a touch more coverage under my eyes.

Cheeks

Miners Bronzer/Blush Blend in Sunblushed £4.99 here

Only one product this month but this has been a long time love of mine! Not many people are familiar with the brand (or at least not since they were around in the 90s) but there are some great, affordable products to be found there. This gives just enough glowy colour to do the job of a bronzer and blush in one.. I wore it at my wedding, that's how much I love it!

Eyes

Loreal Volume Million Lashes Luminizer £11.29 here

Rimmel Exhaggerate Liquid Liner £5.29 here

Rimmel Brow Pencil in Dark Brown £2.99 here

The mascara has served me well over the last three months, used almost every day it does exactly what it says on the tin. I plan to repurchase the Maybelline one bu one this month to really test which is my all time favourite. The liquid liner is back. It's been my go to look since Christmas, it's a quick way to open up my eyes and look more awake in the mornings and this particular liner has been a firm favourite for more than 5 years! The Rimmel brow pencil is the same.. I never strayed from this from the ages of maybe 15/16 to 23 when I discovered brow powders. I've recently returned to my old faithful because quite frankly.. it's easier!

Lips

Miners Matte Factor in Peach £3.99 here

Another one from Miners, my friend StyleSoCoy recently did a review of this range you can check out here. I love that these are easy to apply, long wearing and non-drying and still so inexpensive. My favourite everyday shade is peach (more pink in my opinion) but I love them all.

So that's it for January.. well this is actually February (oops)

I love these posts because in a years time I could be using something else that's not doing it for me and I can look back at my own recommendations.. plus it's always interesting to see what consistently makes the favourite lists. Sometimes you just use things for months without really thinking about how great they are or why you're repurchasing.. next month I'm bringing in shower gels and such.. an under-appreciated product in the beauty blogging world in my opinion but I love mine!

Miss BB

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish

Everyone raves about this stuff and if you know me.. the more people say how great something is the longer it takes for me to buy it. I'm always sceptical.. there are so many bloggers out there that seem to be paid to review things positively you never know which reviews are truly honest. That's not a dig at any particular bloggers FYI... it just seems to be a growing trend. Anyway.. I bought a 100ml tube on eBay thinking it was expensive but I think I ended up spending around the same money I would have had I bought them from the site itself. I couldn't wait to try it out and busted it out as soon as it arrived but upon first use I was distinctly underwhelmed. It was a pain that I had to stand over my sink for 5 minutes to use it when I'm used to cleansing and toning in bed. I must have tried it on and off for about a week before I decided it was over-hyped and it was relegated to my beauty cupboard. 

I don't know what made me want to give it another go but a month ago I reached for it again. I worked it in to my nightly bath time routine. It was never going to work for me having to stand over the sink twice a day but while I'm in the bath waiting for my conditioner to do its stuff I have some time! I used it every night for two weeks and my skin had never been so soft but as soon as I stopped using it (I ran out) my blemishes returned.. perhaps even worse than before.

How I use it...
I use one pump for my whole face
I massage the cleanser in to my skin an leave it to sit for a minute
*I try to have the sink/bowl filled with hand-hot water
I immerse the muslin cloth (included) in the water and ring out
I lay the cloth over my face to create a mini steam treatment
using circular motions I "buff" the cleanser off my face

My skin has never felt so smooth and clean and the cloth itself is gentle yet super exfoliating (be careful not to over exfoliate.. I've made my skin raw in parts before) The ingredients are all natural and its really not as expensive as I first thought when you consider how long it lasts. I would definitely recommend the pump bottle as it's easier to measure how much you use and I think it will last me longer than in the original tube. Liz Earle offers discounts on bulk buys and if you're a convert as many are that's definitely something you'll want to take advantage of. Once you start using this you really need to keep it up. This stuff did wonderful things for my skin but it may well be one of those products than your skin relies on and I'm not sure that doesn't do more harm than good in the long run. I now have a giant 150ml pump bottle so I will continue to use it until that runs out but I'm not 100% sure I shall repurchase.. especially as I've just taken receipt of a Clarisonic (exciting!).

You can buy 100ml starter kit in pump bottle here £13.75

Miss BB

The Secret To Super Clear Skin?

In the late stages of my pregnancy I wasn't sleeping so well, I spent hours watching YouTube videos on the widest variety of topics imaginable but one I randomly stumbled upon I actually found really useful. I love Ruth at AModelRecommends.com but I'd never watched her videos before. I trust her advice when it comes to product recommendations as she's tried so many different brands and seems to really know her stuff. I will link said video at the bottom of the page, it's really insightful but as she says she has combination skin and is 30.. not everyone's skin will react the same way to the products she uses. I am not 30 but I'm not teenager and children definitely take their toll so I think what she recommended will work for me.

I have recently started using my Liz Earle cleanse and polish again after writing it off as too much hard work and not really seeing a marked improvement in my skin. I have used it for about 3 weeks and in that time the closest I've come to a breakout is a little, rash-like patch of blemish "threats" on my chin which never developed in to anything. I have always suffered with hormonal breakouts and they are usually around my chin so if this cleanser can prevent those it is absolutely a winner in my book. Of course the true test will come now that I am no longer pregnant and benefiting from all of those lovely hormones that give you glossy hair and great skin... will it continue to work so well? I am ready to persevere.

Anyway... Ruth mentioned Liz Earl as one of her favourite deep cleansers, suggesting you leave it to soak for several mites before buffing it away with a muslin cloth or Clarisonic (I wish). She attributes her clear, healthy looking skin to this daily deep cleanse and one more thing...

Overnight Exfoliants.

I'll admit I am a total skincare novice. Just as I think I have it sussed I hear something like "overnight exfoliants" and realise I am still so far from well educated in that field. There were a few bits and pieces she mentioned that I was already aware of, one of which was that if you totally strip your skin of oil it will then over-produce more to compensate.. leaving you with a much higher chance of break outs. It took me a really long time to realise how important it was to replenish the moisture in your skin even if you are oily. I am so used to my night-time moisturiser that the thought of using anything that leaves my skin feeling tight or dry is definitely out of my comfort zone but if a model recommends, what can we mere normals do but follow, right?

The main point Ruth was trying to get across in the second half of her video was about cell renewal. As we get older this slows down and leaves our skin looking dull. Since she's used exfoliants she has found it appears brighter and her other products are allowed to penetrate her skin more deeply and therefor work more effectively. The exfoliants she talked about were all Glycolic acid based. Now as i said.. I'm no expert (which is why I am linking her video) but I've seen a lot of products on the market recently trading off this ingredient so I was already semi-aware of the benefits. Lot's of bloggers have reviewed the Sanctuary's peel off mask (part of a 30 day skin renewal system) which I've been dying to try and after Ruth's video I am absolutely convinced it's what's missing from my routine.

I am probably going to start off with that as it is a mask and allows me to still wear a regular moisturiser to bed but if I see any results whatsoever I am almost certainly going to have to try Ruth's "Hero Product", Liquid Gold. She had already raved about it on her website and for those wanting her full review as well as great places to buy you can find that here.

I understand I'm not giving you any new information here, it's a lot of regurgitated recommendations really but for those of you that don't follow amodelrecommends.com I couldn't let you miss out on her fantastic advice, you really must get over there for yourselves! I also wanted to let you know this is the new skincare I will be following over the coming weeks/months (we'll see how it goes) so if you see a great improvement in my skin you'll know why. I will of course review the routine once I have first hand experience but for now.. here's what I'll be using...

As it is I use my Liz Earle and alternate my Clean and Clear moisturiser with Soap and Glory's Wish Upon A Jar so the only changes I'm making are introducing a facial brush (I don't feel the muslin cloth really leaves my skin as smooth as it could be) and the Glycolic peel. I am very interested to try the liquid gold but I'll start with the Sanctuary mask and see how I go. 

*for stockists click on the photos to be taken to the website*

Here's Ruths video as promised...

Have any of you tried Glycolic Acid on your skin?

Miss BB