L'Occitane's Angelica Hydration Face Cream £30

Our skin can feel dry this time of year (in the UK anyway). But whether the weather is hot or cold you are always in need of a good moisturiser.
I am a lover of serums but it could be said that your moisturiser is one of the most important products in your skincare routine. Your moisturiser creates a protective barrier that boosts our natural oils to protect from the elements. Facial moisturisers can dramatically change the texture and overall look of your skin. 

There are so many face creams on the market promising brightening, toning, protecting, clarifying, hydrating, smoothing properties. But what do I want from a moisturiser? Just all of the above! Is that too much to ask? Surely not these days..

I have been testing L'Occitane's Angelica Hydration Cream £30.

This moisturiser can be used day and night and is for normal to combination skin types.

Ingredients:
Angelica root extract- Hydrates, protects against the environment (free radicals)
Glycerin- Retains the moisture in the skin
Shea Butter- Protects and nourishes
Borage seed oil- anti-inflammatory, good on spots and redness
Peppermint- Antibacterial, good on spots, and balances the oils in the skin (good for oily T-Zones)

I was surprised at how many natural and organic ingredients this product contained. I love the smell of this cream, it reminds me of freshly cut grass, so refreshing. I applied the cream day and night. It has a light texture which absorbs quickly in to the skin.

I have only been using this product for one week and feel like I need to give it a chance because of all the goodness that it has in it. I have recently had a few blemishes, which is not great as this cream is supposed to help with spots! It may be a little bit too stimulating for me or it could have been those chocolates!


I have seen mixed reviews so what's the verdict? I will keep you posted!

Melvita face scrub review £16

Facial scrubs are just as prescriptive as facial moisturisers and I am very fussy when it comes to purchasing one. Either the granules are too small/big or not there's not enough/too many of them!

Hopefully you have a scrub in your skincare routine. I would use one every other day or twice a week. A good scrub will also instantly brighten and smooth your skin, so it is essential for getting your make-up to glide on to the face and keeping your skin clear.

Melivita Foaming Facial Scrub £16

I like my scrub to be quite rough and feel as though it is doing something. I am not too keen in the gel or foaming formulas, which this is, but I will give anything a go.

Melvita makes organic, natural cosmetics that is a sister company of L'Occitane. This is the first of it's skin care range that I have tried.

Formula-

Glycerine and carnauba wax-  Keeps the skin moist 

Sunflower seed oil- Healing/moisturising

Bamboo tears- antioxidant, anti-aging

Silica- This is the exfoliant particles

Pink Corallina- A seaweed rich in calcium that promotes healthy cell renewal

This facial scrub smells of grapefruit, which was nice but not particularly special. I used a pea size on dampened cleansed skin, using circular motions. Wasn't sure on the texture as it was slightly runny (I now shake the bottle before using). I used a damp muslin cloth to remove.

I would have liked the scrub to be slightly more abrasive, but this would be the right texture I'm sure for most. My skin was definitely brighter and smoother.      

I purchased this product from TK Maxx for just over £4. BARGAIN! I am happy with it but wouldn't buy at it's retail price of £16.

  

Review, Divine eye cream, L'Occitane £46

How often do you apply a hand cream? Couple of times a day? Once a day?

What about an eye cream? Day and night? Once a day? Once a week?.... Never?

Just like our hands, our eyes are constantly being used, however I feel it is a product that is overlooked. I am one of those people!

Divine Eyes, L'Occitane £46

Your eye area is 6 times thinner than the rest of your face so it is really important to use a specific product for the eyes. Your moisturiser is too thick and can actually do more harm than good and should only go as far as your eye socket.

The product I have been testing is L'Occitane's Divine Eye Cream. This is a high end product costing £46.00 that contains natural plant extracts and oils. It claims to be a 'one does all' product, which I like, and be effective on puffiness, dark circles and lines.

Key ingredients:

-Rose to calm the skin. Also good for lines

-Buckwheat extract for puffiness

-Ash tree extract for dark circles

-Organic Immortelle flower extract for smoothing the skin

-Hyaluronic acid that is encapsulated so that you get 24 hour hydration

Sounds magical!!

I applied half a pump of the eye cream around the eye socket after moisturising. This felt very calming and cooling with a light creamy texture. I had no problems applying my concealer on afterwards, which is a big thumbs up. I also suffer from very sensitive eyes, and it did not irritate.

This isn't the colour of the product, just an indicator of where to put it!

I found this product moisturised my eye area. I am lucky that at the moment I do not suffer with lines or puffiness but I do get dark circles. I think you would need to use the product for longer to see results.

I would recommend this product to people with sensitive, dry eyes. 

Tips

Apply your eye cream with your wedding ring finger and dab along the eye socket with the lightest touch. Do not drag the skin!

Always apply your eye product after your moisturiser both morning and night.

Add your eye cream to your make-up routine. Make-up unfortunately is one of the biggest culprits for dehydrating your skin. Apply before your make-up and that way you will not forget about it.

So I am going to try and remember to use my eye cream. If you have a favourite I'd love to here about it.

 

 

Dry skin + Shea Butter = Soft Skin Review

I have been a big fan of Shea butter for years. Ever since a friend recommended using L'Occitane's shea butter for my dry lips I was hooked. This product WORKS.

L'Occitane Shea butter 150ml £26.00

Shea butter is close to the natural oils in our skin and so it puts back what is needed. Whether it is for you lips, face, knees, feet, hair, anywhere, it works. Whatever your skin type there is always room for a tin of this in your beauty stash. It is also said to have healing powers and is great on scaring, eczema and cirrhosis.

There are so many uses for this product. I have even used it as a shoe polish! However for the skin I love using it as a face mask.
For very dry skin apply after cleansing heat a pea size in your hands and massage on to the face. Leave for as long for about 10 minutes. I sometime do a 3 minute express mask which is great if you have little time. Then remove with a damp muslin or cotton wool. Use warm water.
Tone, serum and moisturise afterwards.

No more dry patches. Your make-up will glide on.

Other uses- lips balm, eye brow shaper, cuticle cream, hair masked, hair serum, hand cream, foot cream, body cream, after shaving balm, scarring, bites, eye lash cream, cleanser.... any others you can think of?

I use L'Ocitane's Organic and Fair Trade Shea Butter which is from Africa. The company was one of the first to bring the ingredient to the UK and take pride in the high quality. I have had this tin for about 2 years now and it is still going. Impressed