Review: Charlotte Tilbury - Goddess Skin Clay Mask

The latest new product from sought after Celebrity makeup artist, Charlotte Tilbury, is an addition to her skincare range; Goddess skin. A wonderful clay mask like no other which, no surprise, aims to give you goddess like, baby soft skin.

Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask £45.00

 The first thing I have to mention about this mask is the scent! It has Frangipani extract in the ingredients and oh my word, the scent is heavenly.
For me, it is the main reason I love this mask so much, the fragrance just lifts me and makes me feel so utterly relaxed and blessed out whilst I wait for the spanish clay to work its wonders on my skin. It's little things like this that make the whole at home pamper evening feel that much more enjoyable and spa-like.
My skin seemed to drink this mask up and felt visibly plumped and soft to touch after the first application. There was no tightness which is usually associated with clay masks... nice one, Charlotte! I hate using astringent formulas since my mid twenties. I no longer feel the need to rid my skin of every last bit of moisture in order to feel cleansed. Clean, balanced and nourished skin is all I crave these days. The other pleasant thing about this mask is how easily it glides on, it is really pliable. Thought it does dry rather quickly so use a generous amount if you're wanting to message your skin for extra skin glowing POW! You can head over to Charlotte Tilbury's site and watch her technique - i'd really recommend this if you have time.

At £45.00 a pop it isn't the cheapest of masks and with lots of clay masks lining shop shelves ranging from 99p upwards it might seem hard to justify. It really is a luxe skincare product and although it didn't completely blow me away, I don't think you can find a similar mask that smells and feels so yummy on the skin. The only reason I say it didn't blow me away is that it only does a few things such as no tightness and amazing scent that other clay masks don't seem to have but i'm sure there are some very good alternatives for much cheaper if you look hard enough. The Montagne Jeaunesse single packs are 99p and smell yummy and some are super moisturising so in that sense, you can have the same but there's something just so luxurious and high end about Goddess Skin.

Review: Bioderma Micelle Solution - Sensibio, Hydrabio and Sebium H20

The easiest and most gentle way to cleanse your skin... Look no further than Bioderma's Micelle Solutions. I first tried this around a year or more ago when French pharmacy products started to gain hype and i've never looked back. Sure i've dabbled with one or two other brands just out of interest but none have managed to steal the shelf space of Bioderma's cleansing waters.

There's a bottle for every skin type:-

Sensibio - Normal to dry

Hydrabio - Dry 

Sebium H20 = Oily/Combination

I first tried the Sensibio (formerly Crealine) which is the most popular and aimed at 'normal' skin types if there ever is such a thing. I think this one is definitely the best of the three variations - it suits ALL skins, not just normal I find. Mine is combination so if you're worried about this one being too oily or heavy, I can guarantee that it won't be. There is no residue left and my skin is left totally balanced after cleansing using a cotton pad. It erases makeup with ridiculous ease whereas the others seem to take a little more time and need working into the skin a lot more to dislodge. This is particularly true of the Hydrabio one I've found... It doesn't get rid of eye makeup very well at all.

I would recommend the Sebium H20 bottle if you have severe problems with oiliness and acne maybe, as it is a little more astringent than the other two bottles but the thing about cleansing waters is how normal and balanced the skin feels after cleansing, no tightness etc.

I absolutely love to take the 100ml bottles (far right) on trips and holidays, they are fab to take on planes (always remove drying makeup in flights ladies!) and just small enough to carry around in your gym bag etc.

They are so reasonably priced and Escentual.com do regular 1/3 off French Pharmacy products which make them absolutely bargainous. I definitely stock up, i don't think anything will ever replace this nifty little cleanser.

Prices

100ml - £4.80

250ml - £10.20

Review: La Roche Posay Serozinc

I cannot get enough of French Pharmacy products...

Let me try and explain why. When I think of French women, I think of bright, glowing skin, free of imperfections. Simple and fuss free; their products don't have a list full of weird and wonderful ingredients.

So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that La Roche Posay's Serozinc was hitting shelves in the UK! After what feels like years of hearing rave reviews about this product, I was finally going to get to test it out for myself. And it couldn't have come at a better time... My skin has been awful since just before Christmas really.

Serozinc is a toner and one of the main ingredient is zinc sulphate as the name suggests, which has been shown to be very healing and restorative when applied to blemish prone skin. This alongside spring water and sodium chloride provides a cooling and refreshing effect post cleansing.

I've been using the toner since it arrived about 2 weeks ago now - I preordered from Escentual.com. I cannot reccomend this product enough, I swear. It is absolutely perfect for oily/blemish prone skin! Once applied and dried, my skin was left feeling cooled, toned and mattified. I was dubious about it being able to mattify the skin but it really does a good job of keeping shine at bay. I'm not saying i don't have to use powder or blot later in the day but I stay shine free for longer. My skin just felt so soothed like no other toner has managed to do before.

The only downsides I can think of which are negliable for how good the product actually is anyway is that the toner comes in a aerosol can so perhaps this can make dispensing the toner a little hard to control at times and you use too much. It does seem to run out quickly from what i've heard but mine still feels pretty full at the minute.

I have tried soaking a cotton pad and using this in the 'nomal' way I usually use toners but i think i prefer the feeling of the mist hitting my face. But it is all down to preference at the end of the day.

I would say this product is a must have for your beauty cupboard in 2015 and is worth of its cult status!