My skincare, the extra bits…

Hello ello,

How is everyone? I’m currently sitting looking at my orchid next to my desk that I thought I may have possibly killed, thinking it’s actually looking like it finally has some life in it again. This is clearly what lockdown has come to now… how sad haha. Minus my super interesting orchid story, this week I’m here to do a little extension of my last post ‘What I put on my skin day in, day out…’, and tell you about the products which don’t need to be used quite so often, but are still very much loved by me. You know those ones you only really tend to use when your skin needs a little pick me up? Yeah those!

Like I have said in my previous post, none of the products below are sponsored/ads, they are purely just very much loved by me! Also as a little reminder, it’s the same again; one thing that works for me, may not work for everyone in the same way. I wish it did, then the beauty industry would be much simpler, but that would be very boring lets face it eh!

So here goes…

My all time fave face mask (Try saying that with a mouth full of marshmallows, instead of ‘Chubby bunnies’) ;)…

Elemis Peptide4 Thousand Flower Mask, £37.

Well what can I say? This is such a lovely mask. I’m fairly new to this bandwagon (I’ve been using this for about 5/6 months now) but I absolutely LOVE it! This is labelled as a ‘Revitalising face mask’ and is said to renew and revitalise the skin to restore natural radiance, which it sure does, but it’s also great for blemishes/pigmentation and anti-ageing. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by this as I didn’t think it would work for my delightful blemish prone skin, but it honestly works wonders, a very, very pleasant surprise indeed! I originally got given a sample of this to try before splurging on the full size. I was intrigued why this worked so well, then I read the ingredients, and well, it all well and truly makes sense now… The main ingredient in this is ‘Nordic peat’ (I didn’t know what the hell that was either by the way), but it turns out its very mineral, vitamin and antioxidant rich and comes from the organic matter of thousands of flowers (hence the name!). It also includes ‘Brazilian black clay’ (as well as other many ingredients) which work really well to purify the skin and draw out all the nasties. One thing I will say though, it might not be ideal for dry skin as it’s fairly tightening, but if you like that feeling, you’ll be all good to go. Overall it’s a really lovely mask in my opinion and I would definitely struggle without my weekly date with this tube now!

Now let me introduce- My favourite face scrub…

Templespa Breakfast Smoothie, £28.

Doesn’t the name make it sound amazing? This scrub has well and truly turned into a firm fave now for me. I was introduced to Templespa products when I used to work as a spa therapist and I can honestly say that I was hooked from day dot. Saying that, they are a little on the pricey side hence why this is the only product I now point blank refuse to move on from. This is such a beautifully creamy but scrubby formula, although it’s definitely not scrubby in a harsh way whatsoever. I tend to use this once a week/every 10 days when you need a pick me up, however it is renowned for its ability to be used daily if need be, it’s that gentle! The key ingredients in this are: oats, honey, strawberry, orange, papaya and pear juice. Can you tell where it gets it’s name from haha? Also a major added bonus is that it leaves your skin feeling super hydrated, plump and most importantly not ‘raw’ like some scrubs tend to do. It’s beautiful. Oh and did I mention it smells amazing?

Drumroll please for the next in line – My favourite acid (it’s not really as scary as it sounds, promise)…

The Ordinary Azeliac acid, £5.50.

If you haven’t heard of this wonderful ingredient, where have you been? This I discovered about 2 years ago now and haven’t really looked back since. I sometimes use it all over or just on certain areas (i.e. blemishes, pigmentation marks etc.). If you haven’t heard of it, here’s a little bit about it; it’s an antioxidant which is found in grains and produced by yeast, when applied to the skin it brightens, evens, improves texture and believe it or not calms the skin, even with acid in the title! I often like to use this as the last step in my routine in the evenings over my face oil, I don’t always use every night just when my skin needs it, I slap it on where needed. It is recommended to only use at night though, it works wonders while you get a few zzzz’s. As it is an acid you do need to be careful you don‘t overdo it, but as long as you aren’t slapping 101 active ingredients on at once, you generally should be ok, just make sure you clue yourself up a tad before using (but you’re halfway there reading this so…). Also what a bonus, look at that price tag eh! I love it.

Then last but no means least for face, we have – Eye cream!

Superdrug’s Vitamin C Brightening Eye Gel, £4.99

Now when it comes to eye creams personally, I don’t think you need to splurge quite as much, but that’s just me. In the past I have tried multiple Superdrug eye creams and they all seem top notch! I am loving this one at the moment as it’s super lightweight (which I feel, is sometimes all you need around the eyes unless you are really on the dry side) and it gives you a lovely, refreshing boost around the eyes. Also another thing which is thoroughly appreciated by me is; it comes with a rollerball applicator which makes it super easy to apply and feels oh so cool on application. Overall I’m not sure if this one makes a huge difference on the terms of long term benefits, but a little hydration around the eyes never hurt anyone! Little tip – Did you know that you’re only supposed to apply eye cream to the tops of your cheekbones on the eye socket bone? This is because the eye area is super sensitive and if you load on too many products close to your eyelid it can sometimes be a tad too much (your under eye skin will absorb up what it needs when placed lower down) and eventually it can reverse what you want it to do! So all in all, less (and lower) is definitely the way to go here.

So that’s that, those are the extra bits! I know it looks a lot (especially with all in my last post) but the 4 products above I don’t always use on a daily basis remember! Plus I guess I am a little bit ‘extra’ shall we say when it comes to skincare haha. Also, some of the above are pretty pricey *cough* Elemis & Templespa, but they are all used in moderation so you really do get your money’s worth with these.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to show that I really do get my fair share of ‘breakouts’ and post a picture with zero makeup on (as I haven’t already and feel like a little bit of a fraud if I don’t…). Plus, I know all the photos of me so far have been me with makeup on, so don’t be fooled! As I have pointed out before, breakouts/spots/acne (whatever you want to call them) are SO real and normal, we all (myself included) spend too much time scrolling through social media comparing ourselves to the photoshopped images on there and it is not real life! Even with a solid skincare routine they can still appear. So when you do get a breakout (like mine last week pictured below, it wasn’t the worst ever, but they did show their bright reds faces), it’s totally okay. It’s hard to believe this when your skin is not playing ball, but please try your best to! We’re all in this together after all.

Lots of love, Ella x