Taking control.. of Spotdom

Recently my face has decided it doesn't like me and must punish me with spots and clogged pores despite having  normal/dry skin. I decided enough was enough and went to search out some solutions to rid my skin of pesky blemishes!

I got my hands on T-Zone's antibacterial pore cleanser, which reminds me of the first cleanser I ever had, it's just like water in consistency and it smells of tea tree and generally clean and fresh, I personally really like the scent to it! I've been using it for about a week either before cleansing in the morning and before I wash my face in the evening/after facewipes. It does nothing to exfoliate my skin and little to look after it so I don't fancy using it all on it's own. I have to admit though it's not been drying and I've had no problems with my skin reacting badly in any way.

You literally squirt some onto a cotton pad and wipe it over your face and that's it. It's doing a good job of keeping my skin balanced and it's definitely made a big difference to the congestion and blackheads in my pores, especially on/around my nose. It's also got on top of the spots I had which left much quicker and the amount of blemishes plaguing me has dramatically reduced

I picked mine up from Home Bargains and I can't see it online in either Boots or Superdrug.. Definitely worth having a look for it though if you're after something to keep spot-prone skin under control!

Are you a fan of no-water cleansers? Any suggestions for me?

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Neal's Yard Remedies... Chamomile Cleanser

I love it when a product surprises you and your opinion changes from one end of the spectrum to the other...

Neal's Yard Chamomile Cleanser was one of those. I received it as a gift for Christmas and eagerly used it for the first few days, waiting to get used to it and love it. It didn't happen. I didn't like the scent, the lack of "slip" when I massaged it into my face made me want to throw the pot, and it wasn't doing anything for my skin. Eventually I stopped using it and it was only after a break of a few weeks that I went running back to it with my arms wide open (think slow-motion romantic end of film) realising that I did in fact love it.

I've used it just about every day since then and it's wonderful. I recently found out from the website (a little video in the bottom corner of the page..) that you can use it with water rather than massaging it onto dry skin which makes a big difference to how much I need to use and how easily it moves over my face (this is totally missed out from the- reassuringly heavy- jar). The key for me is that once it looks like it's gone from my face, it really has gone; it's not possible to rub it in any further, as that just results in non-slip frustration.

I use it with a muslin cloth to remove it which makes sure my face gets a little exfoliation too and leaving it on for a few minutes results in baby soft skin. I still think that it's not the best for helping to clear congested skin, you'll need something extra too, but aside from that it removes make up perfectly, leaves my skin soft and smooth, the scent has definitely grown on me to the point where I really like it, and it's become a real favourite.

Neal's Yard Chamomile Cleanser costs £11.75 for 50g and is available from their website.

Have you tried anything from Neal's Yard?

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Skincare routine: Cleansing

After I ran out of my beloved Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish a couple of months ago I decided I'd not go back for it straight away, simply because I get bored easily and fancied playing about with some other cleansers for a bit.

I received the Neal's Yard Chamomile Cleanser (I plan to do a proper review of this very soon.) as a gift for Christmas and got on with it relatively well, it's taken some getting used to as it doesn't massage into the skin as easily as some cleansers but it does leave my skin soft and smooth. I don't think it's the best at deep cleansing though so I was needing something more suited to that to add to my routine.


So with my £5 off No7 voucher in hand I went in search for the No7 Radiance Boosting hot cloth cleanser. I've only been using it for a few days but I'm really liking it, after use my face feels clean and soft without any hint of tightness. It is missing the scent of the Liz Earle one- the No7 one smells more.. soapy? and it's not quite as luxurious feeling, but then it's normally £9 for 200ml instead of £11 for 100ml, and with a voucher a bargainous £4 for 200ml!


Soap and Glory's Greatest Scrub of All is my current exfoliator and has been for a while. It's the perfect amount of scrubbiness but I just don't feel it's working for me anymore, so any suggestions are most welcome!

I'm using deep cleansing sponges as well as a muslin cloth to remove my cleansers at the moment, I find it's quicker and easier and something I can see myself sticking with. They seem to do their deep cleansing job well whilst still being really gentle too, they're from the Botanics range and they were around £3 for two.


The Body Shop's facial brush is another favourite accessory, it's great for transforming a normal cleanse to a really thorough exfoliation, it is something that's likely to make you break out at first though, as everything gets settled down and your skin gets a really good deep cleanse, so not one to start using right before a big event!


The rest of my skincare routine will be coming up soon!


What are you using for cleansing at the moment?


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Review: Good Things Fresh Start Creamy Cleanser...

... Superfruit extracts Grape and Pomegranate.

Good Things is a brand designed specifically for young skin, free from parabens, mineral oils, SLS and animal ingredients. The pricing's really reasonable and the packaging's attractive without looking like it's been designed for an 8 year old as some younger skin brands have a tendency to be.

I had high hopes for this cleanser having read wonderful things about the face mask and night cream but it's been a minor disappointment really. Having said that, one of the main things I dislike is the sickly sweet smell that for me really doesn't conjure up fresh-face thoughts, more mega amounts of sweets and sticky small people, but of course scent is definitely one of those things in which people's taste can vary hugely!

Good Things say:

"Regular Cleansing is the first step towards fabulous skin. This gentle creamy cleanser is enriched with moisturising mango-seed oil to clean and comfort your skin without drying it out, while skin calming cactus extract and skin boosting anti-oxidants from grapes and pomegranates give your face a fresh start."

Directions for use are similar to hot cloth cleansers in that you apply and rub in for a minute before removing with a flannel (I use a muslin cloth) dipped in hot water. I love cream cleansers, the texture, the softness of my skin after and the way you can dual cleanse and gently exfoliate...But whilst this doesn't claim to be a cream cleanser the way they suggest you use it, and the expectations I had of it's results having read the back of the packaging could easily lead to confusion....

After use I personally find that my face can feel quite dry and tight and there are still visible amounts of eye make up left on my face so this is definitely something you'd need to use an additional eye make up remover with.

I think that this would probably be more suited to an oilier skin type than my generally dry/normal combination skin and to someone who's not put off by sweet smelling skincare. I'm definitely still intending to try out the 5 minute face mask and dream cream but will be just be keeping this as a back up rather than everyday use. Have you tried any of the products from Good Things? What did you think?

Good Things is available from Boots and the cleanser is priced at £5.10.

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