Hydraluron

So I'm pretty sure we've all heard of Hydraluron now, right? I picked it up a couple of months ago when it was 1/3 off from boots as I couldn't justify spending the whole £24.99 on a product I wasn't sure I would even like, but as always curiosity got the better of me. The whole point of this product is that you apply it prior to your moisturiser and it holds 1000x it's weight in water, pretty impressive! It's capable of doing this from it's high levels of hyaluronic acid which is an ingredient which is really well known for retaining water and having high moisturising capabilities. When you first apply it, it sinks into your skin and leaves behind a tacky feeling which isn't pleasant what-so-ever but this goes as soon as your pop your moisturiser on top of it.

I started using Hydraluron and began to get annoyed as I wasn't seeing a difference, everyone was claiming it does amazing things to your skin yet I was noticing nothing, had I really spent so much money on a useless product? oh no... how wrong I was, after a month of constant use I noticed that my skin didn't feel dehydrated at all or lack lustre, it looked plump and healthy. To put hydraluron to the test, to definitely make sure it was this product that was making my skin look so good I stopped using it for 2 weeks, during that time I noticed I had a bit of flakey skin on my forehead and my skin's texture felt more rough rather than the baby smooth skin I was now used to! Now that i'm back to using this product everything's back to normal and I'm happy. I do think you have to take a break from it to notice the amount of good it's doing for your skin, will I purchase it again? yes, of course but I think I'll wait until it's on 1/3 off again before I do!

Morning skincare routine

I like to keep my skincare basic and I always use the same products everyday, I find that If i try out too many products at once my skin doesn't like it and hell breaks loose!

The very first thing I do when I wake up is wash my face with the Clarins Pure melt cleansing gel, I also use this at night as I find it leaves my skin squeaky clean without making my skin feel tight, I wash this off with cold water because it helps wake me up in the morning and leaves my skin feeling refreshed.

Next up I tone my face with the L'oreal Micellar solution to remove any left over product or dirt, it's so gentle on the skin and doesn't leave my skin red or irritated like most toners make me, maybe I should branch out more in the world of micellar solutions? my skin clearly loves the L'oreal one!

Time for my serum of choice which is the Hydraluron... I have dehydrated skin and found that this product has really helped me retain moisture from using this every morning. At first when you apply it, it feels tacky and uncomfortable on the skin but that disappears as soon as you put a moisturiser on the top of it, this product just helps my skin look more plump and full of moisture!

Speaking of moisturising, I then go ahead and use an eye cream, and I'm currently using the Vitamin E Eye cream from the body shop and I love it, I've tried all of the body shops eye creams and this is the one I'd recommend the most as it actually leaves the under eye area feel smooth and not dry! I can't say that it massively reduces the appearance of under eye circles but that might just be because mine are massive 24/7 and can't find anything to help them a great deal.

Finally moisturiser, since it's started getting colder in the UK again i've gone back to using my Vitamin E moisture cream from the body shop as I feel like my skin needs that little bit of extra hydration during the colder months and it absorbs into my skin quickly which is perfect for me because i'm an impatient person who can't be dealing with waiting for my moisturiser to sink in!

whilst i'm on the subject of skincare, I will be posting an additional skincare products post soon which will include masks and treatments of all sorts!

Night time skincare routine

There's nothing I love more than taking my makeup off at the end of the day and smearing moisturiser all over my face.. but there are a few extra steps in my routine than just wiping off my makeup and moisturising my skin.

First up I love to massage the L'oreal skin perfection 15 second miracle cleansing oil all over my face until it's black from mascara and everything has been dissolved, I then run a flannel under hot water and wipe away the makeup. After I've done this step there's no visible makeup left on my face, this product does such a great job at removing makeup and the flannel adds a bit of manual exfoliation.

I then pat my face dry and for my second cleanse I use the Clarins pure melt cleansing gel which is such a beautiful product and I'm currently on my second tube! It starts off as a gel and when you massage it into the skin it turns into an oil, I clean the flannel I used before and wipe away the cleanser. When it comes into contact with water the oil turns into a milk, this cleanser makes my skin feel squeaky clean without leaving it skin tight, it leaves my skin feeling smooth and moisturised.

I've steered clear of using facial scrubs and starting using chemical exfoliation, this is where the La roche-posay lotion astringent micro exfoliant comes in, this removes any left over makeup (which there never is) tightens my pores and exfoliates my skin.

Next up possibly the most hyped up skincare product in the blogging world Hydraluron, I apply this before my moisturiser and it leaves my skin feeling tacky which isn't the most appealing but I have noticed that my skin hasn't been as dehydrated since using this little gem.

Can you tell I like oils? I find that they work well with my skin and are an absolute pleasure to massage in! The trilogy certified organic rosehip oil adds a little bit of extra moisture to my skin and helps get rid of any scarring or lines I may have on my face, I've noticed such a difference in my skin since I've started using this!

finally and the least exciting part of my routine is my moisturiser, I'm currently using the Palmers cocoa butter night renewal cream and I can't say I love it, It's okay and does moisturise my skin but I certainly don't plan on repurchasing it, I'm currently looking for a night cream which won't break my bank yet does an effective job.

Any recommendations for a new night cream and exfoliating toner would be much appreciated!

Beauty haul

Worlds worst blogger award goes to myself! I've used all of these products already, bad right? I can't seem to hold back the temptation, well at least the products aren't half empty!
Asda currently have an offer on NSPA products, two for £4 so I did a little mix and matching and brought the Peach shower gel, and the creamy coconut body spray and oh sweet baby jesus, both of these products smell incredible! I just wish that they did the peach scent in the body spray, that would be just snazzy, the coconut body spray smells divine, I like to layer it with my estee lauder bronze goddess perfume and I smell like summer all day.
whilst browsing the boots website (which may I add I too way too often) I noticed that hydraluron was 1/3 off bringing it down to £16.65, say what? bargain! Sadly it was sold out online and had to go to TWO boots shops before I could find it in stock, and whilst I was there I picked up the bourjois colour boost lipstick in Fuchsia libre, I was going to buy "peach on the beach" which cutest name ever, but in general I can't get peachy colours to work for my complexion so sadly I left that behind.
Oh benefit, how I love you and your quirky packaging and beautiful products... I repurchased the Benefit they're real! Mascara, and brought a creaseless cream shadow in R.S.V.P because at the moment I have an obsession with cream shadows... I don't know where it's sprung from or why.
Also, you can now see how small Rio really is... in the picture of him he's stood next to a 500ml bottle, what a cutie patootie.