Skincare Routine: Serums

I love serums, and now my skins on the dry side (who am I kidding, my face has turned into the Sahara!) I always use one before my moisturiser for an extra dose of moisture.

In the morning I use REN’s Radiance Perfecting Serum which has Hyaluronic Acid to hydrate and fruit acids to brighten and fade dark spots. This sinks in pretty quickly and has a lovely light formula, my skin feels really soft after using this. I also use the REN Glycolatic Radiance Renewal Mask and the combination of these have really helped to fade my acne scars.

At night I either use the Radiance Perfecting Serum again or if my skin or I will use one of my other serums. The Elemis Super Boost Moisturising Serum* (review) is great for dehydration, and really perks up my skin by the morning. At the minute though my skin is so dry that I have been using REN’s Omega 3 Night Repair Serum, which is in truth more of an oil than a serum. It has Rosehip and Wheat Germ Oils, and it has quite a herbal scent, which may be so strong for some. My skin looks really plumped in the morning and it really sorts out any dry patches.

Once a month when my skin gets a bit spotty, I apply REN’s Clearcalm 3 Replenishing Night Serum just to my chin, jawline and T – Zone and it soothes any annoying spots.

What are your favourite Serums? Any I should try?

Disclaimer – Elemis product provided by PR, REN products purchased by myself.

Dealing with Acne: Cleansers

Cleansing is the most important step in my skincare routine, and it should be the most important step in your as well! You should cleanse every night (no matter how late you get in from the pub) and every morning. Face wipes don’t count, they’re fine in emergencies, but other than that steer clear.

If you have acne the temptation is to immediately go for something oil free, that will just strip your skin of all it’s natural oils, and inflame your skin. I got stuck in this cycle a few years ago and my skin just got worse.

When my acne was at it’s worst, and during the hormonal flare ups I still get, I avoid anything that foams (I always avoid SLS anyway) and anything that is at all drying.

The first step in proper cleansing is to get all your make-up off. I get my eye make-up and the majority of my face make-up off with Bioderma, but if you prefer you can use a balm or cream Cleanser to remove most of your make up, my favourites are Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish and REN’s NO.1 Purity Cleansing Balm. I use either of those on dry skin to remove every last bit of make up, they are both fine to use around the eyes, I remove with a hot muslin cloth or a flannel.

I always double cleanse, and when my skin is behaving really badly I will use RENs ClearCalm 3 Clarifying Clay Cleanser or Metique’s Hygienic Skin Wash, either with my Clarisonic, or if my skin is feeling very sensitive without. The REN is a clay based cleanser that is great for dealing with a lot of excess oil without stripping the skin, and I love using it when my skin is feeling oily but I don’t have time to use a face mask. Metique’s Hygienic Skin Wash is a lovely non-foaming face wash that contains 5% Tea Tree Oil, a great natural anti-septic and natural Vitamin E so it won’t dry out your skin.

If you have acne prone skin cleansing properly is so important, don’t sleep in your make-up and don’t use face wipes. If you cleanse properly, anything else you use will work a lot better, and be way more effective.

What are your favourite cleansers? Are you guilty of relying on face wipes?

Deal Alert: REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask for £1.24

Just a quick post to let you know about this fantastic deal from REN! If you spend £50 on anything from the website this weekend you can get a  Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask for £1.24 (which is the 1950’s equivalent of the current price).

I love RENs products and would happily recommend all of the products I have tried my favourites being the Purity No1 Cleansing Balm, the Radiance Perfection Serum (which compliments the mask perfectly) and the MayBlossom T-Zone Balancing Day Fluid.

All of REN’s products carry the badge,pictured above, and I have experienced no irritation from any of the products I have tried.

You can find this offer here.

REN Glycolatic Radiance Renewal Mask

Perhaps my favourite product I have tried this year, this mask is an chemical exfoliant that uses fruit and lactic acids to break down dead skin cells and encourage a brighter complexion. This mask is gentle enough to be suitable for all but the most sensitive skin, but it still gives a through exfoliation leaving my skin looking more even and feeling smoother. And all without the use of manual exfoliants, which can often aggravate the skin and in my case cause redness and sensitivity.

Using the Clarisonic has improved my congested skin, the texture and scarring need a bit more help. I use this mask once a week, and it does take some getting used to, it has a very strong fruity pineapple scent, and feels a bit like runny jam! It does tingle but you won’t notice results immediately, but I think my skin looks better the morning after.

I think this mask will be a part of my routine for a long time, and hope it continues to fade the scarring I have from acne. If you are interested in chemical exfoliants I think this mask is a great place to start.

REN Glycolatic Radiance Renewal Mask costs £30 and is available here

REN Kit for Blemish Prone Skin

REN are a skincare brand that I am becoming very interested in. I picked up this little kit of travel size products from Beauty Expert which contains four products from the ClearCalm 3 line, which is aimed at blemish prone skin. My skin has calmed down a lot recently (more on that soon) but I have a feeling I will still get some pesky spots once a month.

As my skin is between types at the minute it made sense to try a few smaller products, and these will also come in very handy for the weekends I spend in Leeds.

I haven’t tried these yet, but I got such a good deal I had to share! If you shop at Tesco a fair bit no doubt you get sent a fair few coupons every few months, I found myself with a quite a few and wanted to spend them on something more interesting than milk and bread. £5 of coupons can be used to get £10 in Beauty Expert vouchers, and along with a 20% discount code I got a pretty good deal on this and some other bits I picked up! They send out quite a lot of discount codes, so if you like high end beauty but not the price I definitely recommend signing up for their newsletter.

The REN Kit for Blemish Prone Skin costs £15 and is available at Beauty Expert.