5 Tried, Tested & True Skincare Products

Now that I’m 30, I can safely say I’ve been around the block when it comes to skincare.  I suffered with pretty bad acne during my teens (and I mean sobbing at the Doctors, bad…) and during my 20s I went through a fair share of raspberry-faced allergic reactions after being duped into buying every high-end, cure-all, must-have product I could afford.  Yup.  My skin and I have had a stormy relationship over the years, but these days I think we’ve come to an understanding of sorts, and I think it’s all down to having a simple routine with the same products.  You don’t need to squander your life savings to be happy in your skin – you just need to find what works and stick with it. 🙂

1. Nivea’s Daily Essentials Rich Moisturising Day Cream (Dry & Sensitive)

I’ve tried a lot of expensive face creams over the years (I used Kiehl’s “Super Multi Corrective Cream” for a while, Clinique’s “Dramatically Different”, and then Clarins “Hydra-Quench”), but every single time I came running back to this one.  This daily moisturiser is THE ONE.  It keeps my combination skin hydrated without feeling greasy, and creates a nice glowy base under my makeup.  My skin loves it (I even wear it at night), and so does my bank; it’s only £2.00.  It’s a keeper. 🙂

2. Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask

Origins do face masks right, but this one is my all time favourite.  I use it once a week in the bath to clear the weekly skank out of my pores, and I even dab a little on overnight if I can feel a monster spot coming on (just don’t forget to wash it off before you answer the door the next morning – a mistake I’ve made more than once, my friend…).

3. Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate

Oh this stuff.  It’s expensive, but – ho man – it works miracles.  I don’t use it every night, instead it sits in my bathroom cupboard in case of emergencies – i.e. when my skin’s having a ‘mare.  A couple of drops massaged in under my moisturiser goes a long way to putting things right the next day.  I’m down to the last few drops right now too 😦

4. The Body Shop Chamomile Cleansing Butter

I’ve always been heavy on the eyeliner, and I ruined so many of my mother’s towels and pillowcases growing up (sorry Mum!).  In my defense, those were the days before Micellar Water and Cleansing Balms.  I’ve tried all sorts of ways to remove my eye makeup, but cleansing balms are my favourite.  I started out with Clinique’s “Take the Day Off” (which is great), but moved on to the Body Shop’s own because it’s much, much cheaper and does the job just as well.  It’s really satisfying watching my eye makeup melt off under my fingers, and even more satisfying is using a hot flannel to take it all off. 🙂

5. The Body Shop Body Butter in Shea

No explanations necessary, except that I’m hoarding pots of these in my bathroom cupboard in case the zombie apocalypse arrives.  They won’t be able to grab me on a count of my slick, moisturised skin.

What are your favourite, tried and true skin care products?