Skincare Routine: Make Up Removers and Toners

I’ve been meaning to do a skincare routine post for ages, but I’m worried if I did it all in one post in might be a bit too long! So today I’m talking make up removers and toners!

I always use a make up remover as soon as I get in from work, to get both my eye make-up and the majority of my foundation off. If I’m wearing quite a lot of make up I use the Bioderma Sebium H2O (I use this seller) on a few cotton pads, I find this really cooling on the eyes, and the best way I’ve found to use it is to hold it against my eye for as long as possible, so I don’t have to rub my eyes at all. I also use another cotton pad just to get the majority of my face make up off. A new addition to my collection is the No7 Cleansing Water, it’s great to see British High Street Brands catching on to the cleansing water trend, and I picked this up for £4 (£9 without a voucher). I really like this product but it isn’t as effective as Bioderma, and I struggle to remove all of my eye make up with it. It’s great as a refresher in the morning, but I wouldn’t rely on it to get all of my make up on it. I do LOVE the packaging though, having a pump is so useful, saves spilling it everywhere/overloading the cotton pad with product and I will probably decant my Bioderma into this bottle when it runs out, and I would repurchase it.

I don’t use face wipes to remove make up generally, but if I have no other choice, the only ones I have found that don’t irritate my skin are the Sainsbury’s Skin Therapy Sensitive Cleansing Wipes (link) which are fragrance free, and the wipes are moist enough that they don’t drag.

I currently have two toners in rotation, I use a few spritzes of the Caudalie Beauty Elixir (link) in the morning, which makes my skin feel refreshed and I normally pat it onto any blemishes, as I find it really calms them down. At night I prefer something a little more moisturising (also the Caudalie Beauty Elixir is ridiculously expensive!) so I use the Avene Gentle Toner which is really gentle and soothing on the skin.

What are your favourite make-up removers and toners?

French Pharmacy Skincare: Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser

Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser is as the name would suggest a very gentle cleanser for sensitive and reactive skin. My skin is very sensitive and will flare up at the smallest thing. During a bad patch with my skin last month, even my beloved Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish was breaking me out so I needed to try something new. I picked this up from Boots when it was on 3 for 2 and have used it for just over a month now.

This cleanser doesn’t make any ridiculous claims, it just cleanses the skin really well without irritation. The texture is somewhere between a milk and a gel and it doesn’t foam. I use this after I remove my make up with a Micellar Water, but I have used just this, and it removes make up effectively, including mascara. The bottle says too tissue this off but I prefer to use a damp muslin cloth.

It is perfect for sensitive skin, it has no scent, and I haven’t had any bad reactions to it.

This leaves my skin feeling really clean but not stripped or uncomfortable. I love this because it does what it is supposed do, cleanse your skin, it wont give you perfect skin, but it’s a great staple for your skincare routines.

Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser costs £8.00 and is avaliable from Boots or Escentual

A Small Haul : Maybelline Color Tattos, No7 & Avene

Just a few things I picked up at Boots and Superdrug today. Maybelline is currently on 3 for 2 at Superdrug, so I had to pick out a few 24hr Color Tattoos, so glad the Taupe shade got released here! I also found this Gosh Fan Brush for 10p! Definitely worth checking out for that price!

I used my No7 voucher to get the Beautiful Skin Moisturiser for Oily skin, it has SPF 15 and 5* UVA Protection, which is great as I forget my SPF quite a lot! I also got the Avene Cleanance K to try, a chemical exfoliator with AHAs and BHA’s.

I will try to get some swatches of the Maybelline Color Tattoos up tomorrow!

What have you been hauling lately?