Update | inexpensive skin care for clear skin

Since I started this little blog of mine a few years ago, I have done more than a few different skin care routines. The only problem was that they all seemed to be based around high end products. Which present day self can no longer afford (due to house moving and such!) So I thought I would switch it up and try a few less expensive goodies that were easily accessible and low in price. Surprisingly, I'm pretty over the moon with the wonders this concoction has done to my skin. My cheeks are no longer overly pigmented, I have no break outs and there isn't a dry patch of skin in sight! (Which is shocking as it is -1 here in England and usually my skin would go crazy!) So, let's get onto all my lotions and potions!

Evening -

Once I get home from a long day at work there is no better feeling than taking off all that makeup I've been wearing though out the day! So I start off with a few cotton pads soaked in my Garnier Micellar water and in circling motions, I removed most of my eye and face makeup. I usually end up using three cotton pads, two for each of my eyes and one for my face and neck. (RRP: £3.33)

Moving onto cleanser, in the evening I like to wind down with a cream cleanser that will clean my skin but won't wake me up with a strong scent. I've been loving the No7 Beautiful skin cleansing balm and a muslin cloth to remove any left over makeup, dirt and grime. (RRP: £9.50)

Next is a new step I've added into my routine, toner. I never thought I would be a toner lover due to my dry skin, but oh man was I so wrong. Toners can come in many varieties to suit all sorts of skin types, it's a great way to rebalance your ph levels in your skin and really prep your face ready for moisturising. You may just have to keep your eyes peeled for a dry skin one though, as they seem to be like gold dust. (If you are on the hunt for one, look out for rose oil in the ingredients, this usually is targeted for us dry skin folk) Happily for me I found one in the shape of a Glossybox goodie. The Kueshi pure and clean facial toner. (RRP: £6.00)

A few times a week I like to give my new skin cells some life with a lovely scrub. The one I've been obsessed with is the Body Shop tea tree scrub, it has very tiny vigarating beads which really get in there and remove all of that dead skin. It has a really revitalising scent which helps you to wake up in the morning which is a bonus! (RRP: £6.50)

Moving onto face masks, as we all know I am the number one fan of Montagne Jeunesse, all of their masks are to dye for and at £1.00 each there really isn't anything to complain about! 

Moisturises can be tricky at night, as you want them to be light enough to sink in but heavy enough to actually help your skin out. I've been really enjoying the Garnier moisture match for dry to very dry skin, it really replenishes the moisture in my face and leaves it feeling velvety soft the morning after. (RRP: £3.99)

Treatments -

I like to finish off my routine with a thirst quenching eye cream, which I've been using for around 2 years, it is the Simple radiance brightening eye cream, it makes fine lines disappear and brightens up my eyes by removing the dark circles. If a sudden rouge spot pops up, I love the zap! zap! zap! gets that chap spot treatment by Anatomicals. I can easily get rid of it in 12 hours or less with this duo day and night spot treatment, it's a life saver. (RRP: £3.89) Lastly I top it all off with a moisturising lip balm. I usually use any that I can get my mitts on, but lately I've been drawing more towards the Superfruits naked lips to keep my smackers plumped up. It doesn't have an offensive smell like most others and I can really feel it sink in. (RRP: £3.78)

Morning -

As I am neither an early riser nor a night owl, getting up in the morning is a pain in itself. So I like to keep my getting ready time as short as possible to get optimum lie in time. So I usually wipe my face round with some of my Micellar water to wake me up and moisturise with the Garnier moisture match for normal skin to prep my face ready for makeup. (RRP: £3.99) Because who would chose 10 minutes of skin care over 10 minutes extra in bed? Not me that's for sure!

So as a grand total my skin care routine comes to... 

£42.07!

Not too bad considering it used to be over £100! So it costs you just over £40 to have smooth beautiful looking skin! As you know I'm always on the look out for new goodies to try, so if you have any suggestions please leave them below! 

Hope you enjoyed! 

Post soon,

Love Danielle xoxo

Autumn/winter skincare routine | Morning

When it comes to getting up and ready in the morning, I can be pretty lazy and I will stay in bed for as long as possible. So saying that and that start of the day I rarely have the time or energy to have a long tedious skin care routine, so I like to keep it simple. I use 3 products in the morning; 2 skin care and one pre makeup product. 

I start off by dragging myself out of bed and hopping into the bathroom to wash my face with the No 7 Beautiful skin cleansing cream for dry to very dry skin, I apply this all over my face, massage it in and remove it with a wet, warm flannel. I love No 7 skin care especially the super dry range as it really plumps up my skin and hydrate it during these colder months. I usually buy this when boots give you those No 7 money off vouchers so at a RRP of £9 I usually am able to buy it for £5! 

I then move on to moisturiser, again I don't use anything fancy, I just want to hydrate my skin ready for makeup application. And to do that I use the Boots botanicals rich face moisturiser with A & E vitamins. I apply this by warming it up between my finger tips and gently massage it on my face, neck and décolletage until it's completely sunken in. This cheap product really is quality rather than quantity its around the £4 mark and you can purchase it in your local Boots.

I finish my skin care by liberally applying a light primer to my skin to prep it for makeup application. I use the Maybelline Baby Skin in cool rose, it's a great before makeup product for dry skin types as it doesn't suck up all the moisture like most primers. You can purchase this at any Maybelline counter and it will set you back at a mere £8.00 pretty good bargain if I do say so myself! 

And that's all there is to my morning routine. Nothing complicated, nothing expensive just simple products that does the job nicely. 

I hope you enjoyed my morning skin care and maybe have found some products you are wanting to try out.

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo

Autumn/Winter skin care routine | Night (normal/dry)

After a long tiring day at work, I like to come home and light up a few candles, run my self a nice hot bubble bath, pop my hair up in a bun and try and relax as I do my skin care routine. After an 8 hour day at work, coming home and taking time to remove all my makeup can be a bit of a chore, but I have found the perfect formula that turns this boring old repetitive routine upside down and makes it an enjoyable, relaxing pamper evening, even if it only takes a few minutes. 

I start of by removing the majority of my makeup with the Garnier miceller water with a few Cotten pads, leaving the remover on my closed eyes for a few seconds and then gently wiping it away, circular movements seems to do the trick of getting the bulk removed. I also do the same steps for my face makeup. 

Then I move on to my cleanser, I usually like to splurge on this part to get a high quality high end cleanser. Only I feel this really makes a real difference on how good my skin is, so I have been using the Emma Hardie amazing face cleansing balm just to clean up any makeup I have missed and prep my skin ready for moisturising. 

About once or twice a week I like to treat myself to a face mask, and my absolute favourite is the Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea mud pack (which by the way is only £1 and can be used up to 10 times!) This mask just gets rid of any impurity so have and really gets deep down into my pores and gets all the rubbish out.

Onto moisturising, my number one night time moisturiser is the Sanctuary Spa night concentrate, I usually generously apply this to my face, neck and décolletage to keep my dry spots at bay and to prevent ageing.

As my last step I always finish off with a little bit of Simple eye cream and a smothering of Carmex lip balm all over my lips, got to keep everything moisturised and preventing a dry break out!

Hope you enjoyed my nightly skin care routine for autumn/winter

Post soon,

Danielle xoxo