Sunday 14 September 2014

Skincare Series Edition 2 - Makeup Removers & cleansers


Welcome to Skincare Series Ed2. Today I'm talking my current makeup removers and cleansers.
I love nothing more than taking my makeup off at the end of the day, I enjoy it almost as much as putting it all on...It's kind of like taking your bra off at the end of the day, am I right ladies?!
I'm a double-cleanse kinda gal, I'll use a cleansing balm or oil to remove my makeup and then head in with a gentle but effective lotion or milk to cleanse my skin.

As I've told you previously, I have oily skin, prone to breakouts, dehydration, redness and reactivity. I try to avoid using alcohol and fragrance but I don't mind it in small quantities in cleansers as they don't stay on my skin long enough for it to be a problem

So I'll start my routine by removing my eye makeup. If I've had a heavy eye makeup on that day I'll remove the eye makeup first with a micellar water like Bioderma Sensibio (name now changed to Crealine H20 Solution) or Garnier Micellar Water. These are very comparable products but Garnier is a lot easier to get your hands on, and if your shopping in the UK or Australia, a lot more affordable. I do only tend to use these products for removing eye makeup, unless I'm having a really lazy day, then I will use it to remove my makeup. I find the Garnier Micellar water to be just as effective at removing eye makeup but perhaps not as "slippy" or moisturising as the Bioderma. Both are fragrance and alcohol free so great for all skin types and the sensitive eye area. This is important for me with this product as you don't wash it off, you apply with a cotton pad and if you used it to completely cleanse the skin you can then follow on with your regular toner/serum/moisturiser. No need to rinse. Ultimate convenience.

Ill then remove the rest of my face makeup with a cleansing balm or oil. I use Oskia Renaissance cleansing gel, using dry hands and a dry face i work the product into my skin until it turns into an oil, ill then wet my hands slightly and work the product some more until it forms a milk and then flannel off. The same process applies for Dermalogica preCleanse.
Both products are quite fragranced and contain alcohol, although I've not found that this has bothered my skin at all as the product is on for such a short time. If I was doing a really deep clean with massage and leaving the product on longer I would look for something without fragrance & alcohol for me. The main job I want these products to perform is to remove my makeup and they both get top marks for that.

So when my face is free from makeup I'll then go in with a gentle cleanser. I like to look for calming, moisturising ingredients in a cleanser and avoid any harsh detergents that might strip my skin of its natural oils. When I first found out I had oily skin I went straight for the acne fighting, oil stripping products and all that did was make my skin more oily. Since I've been using gentle, hydrating ingredients my oil flow has never been more controlled.

I like Alpha H Balancing cleanser (anything with the word balancing in the description tends to get my attention), this is a light lotion containing Vitamin E and Aloe Vera which claims to balance the skins natural PH level.
In the colder, winter months when I find my face really dries up, I like to use A'kin Rose & Geranium Pure Creamy Cleanser & Toner. This product states it's for normal, dry or sensitive skin and I picked it up as soon as my skin started turning as the weather got cold. I had previously tried Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser and I find them very comparable. The A'kin is a little thicker & contains shea butter which can be a tricky ingredient if you have large open pores that can get clogged but neither leave a film on the skin after removal, despite them both containing various oils. Pai is quite a bit more pricey, in a smaller bottle and difficult for me to get my hands on which is why I tend to use the A'kin more readily. I would certainly repurchase both though.

The last product on my list today is Neutrogena Extra Gentle cleanser. Neutrogena is one of my favourite drugstore skincare brands, its reasonably priced, easily accessible and delivers results. Neutrogena makes a real effort to provide fragrance free, sensitive skin products, which I love. This Extra Gentle Cleanser is exactly what it says, its a gentle, effective light lotion (slightly lighter than the Alpha H Balancing Cleanser) that removes dirt and impurities with a "non soap formula". It's fragrance free and again leaves no pore-clogging film when rinsed off and leaves your skin feeling fresh and soft, not tight or dry.

So those are a few of my favourite cleansers and makeup removers. I'd love to hear your favourites so please leave me a comment below.

Thanks so much for reading

1 comment:

  1. Oooh I think I need to try a creamy cleanser to follow my micellar water, good tip! The neutrogena is on my shopping list! :)

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